I went here with my husband and friends on a weekday. Now, I'm an American, but my parents are from the USSR. I can understand Russian. The staff didn't know that, however. And as we waited for our food to arrive, two of them stood in the corner, SMOKING and talking in Russian about ""how best to rip off these stupid Americans"". Well, that they did, or at the very least tried to. When our food arrived (40 minutes later despite the fact that the place was nearly empty), it consisted of appetizers of questionable freshness and an ALREADY OPENED bottle of champagne. When we asked why the waiter didn't open it in front of us, he attempted to apologize in broken English and explain that he had made a mistake. He did not even offer to open another bottle, though! We had to ask for it, which they grumbled about in Russian (with nice smiles, assuming the ""stupid Americans"" only spoke English). Wait, it gets better. When the main course arrived, my Kiev-style cutlet (or whatever it was called) was COLD INSIDE. They obviously served us left-overs from last night's dinner, which they OBVIOUSLY microwaved. They did replace the food when I complained, but it took another 40 minutes or so. Oh, but it gets better! When the bill arrived, we discovered that we had been charged for two appetizers and one extra bottle of champagne (which of course, we did not order). By then positively not caring how many friends we made in that place, we complained. It took another HOUR to settle this matter. By the time we finally left the place we felt like we had just awakened from a particularly horrid nightmare. I'm just glad no one got sick from the so-called food. I don't know if this sort of rubbish flies in Moscow, but they better get it through their heads that it does not fly here, especially in NY. This place isn't just the worst Russian restaurant, it's the worst restaurant I've ever been to in my life (and I've even been to some in Russia proper!). It shouldn't be allowed to exist.
Pros: You want exotic? This sure is... In a bad way...
Cons: Food, service, EVERYTHING
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