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Review content:
This is the worst restaurant experience I have ever had in NYC. We enjoy fine dining and french cuisine and decided on a Valentine's dinner at Artisanal. We usually do Union Squire Cafe or similar places, but this year decided to do something different. We arrived at the restaurant and were seated in area which was overcrowded, to say the least, two sets of two rows of small round bistro tables were diagonally set along the restaurant, my elbows were touching those next to us and more tables just anywhere they could they fit them. It was already crowded and chaotic and they kept rearranging the tables as we sit, lifting them up and above everyone's heads (some serious lack of planning in terms of seating arrangements here). We were seated and it was 30 minutes or more before anyone came. 20 minutes later the waiter came and asked us again about our wine choices which he claimed he simply forgot. Then it was another 30 minutes for the wine to come. So, an hour on into our Valentines dinner we were sitting on an empty table with water only, no bread, hor douves or anything else. After more than an hour an half I had to motion the waiter and asked him if we are going to get anything we ordered, or at least some bread to go with our (near empty) water glasses. I had to really make the point to him. He was disappearing about 10-15 minutes at a time and more and nobody was getting anything. Then the wait station machines went down , which they covered with napkins and put a signs ""do not touch"". So we sat and waited, and waited, and waited. About two hours later we finally got wine and some bread which we had to remind everyone for. Finally, hor douves arrived cold and nothing memorable in terms of taste. Also, I ordered the pate with cornichons, one of which looked like it had been bitten off. Disgusting! Maybe it was just broken, but at a restaurant, let's at least try for a little something in terms of presentation. Our experience was now getting more than ridiculous. Dinner arrived with no appropriate cutlery and so we eventually had to start and a steak knife was delivered 10 minutes later. Again, at the end we had to ask for more water as there is nobody really attending to the tables. Wait staff was simply walking around completely out of it. The food was average and for the price we paid poor quality. Finally, the much waited dessert 'fondue for two' came which had 3 bits of an strawberry, not even a whole one, somewhat strange that for the price of 59 per couple they could not include a whole strawberry! Everyone around us experienced the same wait time and a family and a couple simply left before their meals arrive. I will never again go there, nor will recommend this place to others and will make sure that all NYC friends and their friends are fully aware of this experience. For a place that charges $150 and more for dinner for two this is simply unacceptable on any night. The level of service was never we had ever experience in any place on earth.
Pros: None to be found
Cons: service, wait staff, everything
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