The Pantry

I found a long HAIR twice in my food and the coffee is not good at all! I doubt it's just coincedence that it was aweful everytime I've been there. Nothing special about the food here, it's ordinary breakfast you can get at diners. I've been here a few times because it's my bestfriends favorite breakfast spot. The staff is very ""standoffish"" except for this one young hispanic looking man I've seen seating customers a few times, he seems to be the only one that is able to smile or be polite. I complained once about the hair in my food and not only did they still charge me for it, they were so rude to me as though it was my fault! I don't know if he was just the cook or the owner, but he was so unprofessional & yelled at my waitress, she wasn't very pleasant to begin with but he's the cook, how is it her fault?! The hair wasn't even her color! Anyway, I believe in second chances which is why I didn't write them off immediately but this is too much. Yeah, I wont be going back there! I advise those reading the same, sorry but true. more

Whoever runs this place needs to get out of New Haven more often. The food is only acceptable in comparison to otherwise poor local offerings, and the coffee is genuinely vile. While I've found the waitstaff generally friendly and competent, the same can't be said for the lurking, wicked, dwarf-like owner / manager. Pros: Decent benedict Cons: Awful coffee, psychotic owner / manager (?), overpriced more

I'd heard about this place from other students. Being new in town I've been looking for good restaurants to... more

I'd heard about this place from other students. Being new in town I've been looking for good restaurants to try out. I came here on a Saturday mo... more

I had my parents in town and took them to the pantry for breakfast (I'm not a college student and they are a bit older). My father ordered the eggs benedict and asked if the potatoes and fruit could be placed on a side plate to prevent hollandaise from getting on them (he has preferred to not have his food touching since his days in the army ? a little odd but not an unreasonable request). The waitress took the order and everything seemed fine until the ""host"" (who I later discovered was a co-owner) came charging out of the kitchen and informed us, in a rather confrontational tone, that ""he"", meaning the cook, would not prepare the food that way. I politely stated that we needed no special preparation, just please scrape the potatoes and fruit on to a small side plate. He, again in a hostile tone, said ""no! we won't do it?"" and turned to walk away. At this point my father was just embarrassed and kept saying ""it's fine, it's fine"" but I could not believe that they would not do something so simple. I had to ask the host not to walk away and asked in a stunned tone, ""so there is no way we can get the potatoes and fruit on the side?"" At this point, in a VERY hostile tone, he said ""you will have to pay for the sides"" at which point I said ""fine"" just to prevent upsetting my parents anymore. So we proceeded to have our meal while the host continued to glare at us. This is crazy! If I hadn't been with my parents, who needed to eat as it was getting late, I would have had a more ""direct"" conversation and walked out. Instead we paid (and did not stiff the waitress for the record) and vowed never to come back. I was going write a letter to the owners to let them know what a terrible host they had and discovered the host is one of the owners!! Talk about a lack of customer service. So my only recourse now is to ask people NOT TO EAT HERE. Such a lack of respect for customers should not be supported. MENU down the street has better food and much better service Pros: average food Cons: rude service more

I would discourage anyone from waiting in line for this establishment. There are too many other good choices in New Haven. I have tried the Pantry four times, and I?m giving up on it. If you like coffee with breakfast, I recommend going elsewhere. The coffee is a very weak brew of a light roast; the end result is closer to tea than coffee. The breakfast entrees I tried were mostly bland matter. The hollandaise sauce is brightly colored and tastes a bit like a pre-packaged product, and the avocado in the California Benedict was bruised and disintegrated on contact. The potatoes were over-salted and under-seasoned. Eggs and pancakes are standard fare ? on the oily side. On a high note, the fruit is usually good, but you can save time and money by stopping at a market for good fruit (and pick up some decent coffee while you?re at it!) The actual service is fine, but if the host is going to be gruff, the food needs to be spectacular. It?s not even close. Keep going down the street for a better breakfast and a more cordial atmosphere. Pros: Fruit Cons: 1) Bland, soggy food, 2) weak coffee, 3) unfriendly host more