Nostalgia Kosher — Restaurant in Lakewood Township

I had lunch today with a friend at Nostalgia because it was highly recommended. We entered the restaurant, which was mostly empty, and the staff looked at us quickly and resumed its conversation. After waiting and not being asked what we would like, we started walking in to the seating area and found our own seats. No one came over to us for a long time, and when they finally did, we requested several basic things we wanted to order which we were told they did not have. (I ordered a substitute potato side dish which was tasteless and inedible.) We eventually ordered the pastrami sandwich to share which was advertised as "STUFFED with 10-12 ounces of House smoked Roumanian pastrami with choice of bread". It came served on a plate with a tiny spoonful of coleslaw. There could not be more than maybe 4 ounces of cold dried shreds of pastrami on what looked and tasted like white bread instead of the rye bread we requested. No one came over to see if everything was OK, nor did they bother to come over to clear the table or ask if we needed anything else. When we got up to leave, we walked to the register to pay. There was an 18% service charge tacked on to the bill that had never been mentioned anywhere! It cost almost $40 for a pathetic sandwich. To say that we were disappointed is a gross understatement. Between the inhospitable atmosphere, poor service, and awful food, I cannot understand how they are...

EDITED TO RESPOND TO THE OWNER BELOW: I didn’t say anything about the wait being too long. I wrote about your rudeness.

Absolutely mortified by the service we just experienced at this place. This is my first time ordering from Nostalgia and I went off the good reviews. I made an online order at 12:30pm with a pick-up time of 3pm. This is for my kosher-observant mother who is coming in from out of town. My boyfriend was kind enough to pick up the order for me while I'm at work. When he got there, the man behind the counter said they didn't have his order and refused to look for the ticket. He told my boyfriend to call me rather than look for it himself. He called and I provided the ticket number and all the information. The guy then found the ticket and made the order. Another gentleman came out and apologized to my boyfriend for the oversight, but this other guy continued to be unabashedly rude. He tried to charge my boyfriend for the order which I had already paid for and argued with him when my boyfriend told him to check the ticket again. When he looked, he said "it's paid for, just take it." He then had the nerve to FOLLOW my boyfriend out of the restaurant! Absolutely INSANE behavior! To the other gentleman working at the restaurant who was kind and hospitable, this guy is hurting your business and shouldn't be around your customers. I will...

So we tried ordering several items which perhaps because it was the day after new years they didn't have anything in stock. Yet despite the setback we placed an order. After ordering some delicious smelling yemenite soup both I and the person I was eating with choked on the pepper and salt. (Usually not a great sign) we got a nice man who apologized for the problem I pled with him to try it himself he decided not to. Next the main part pulled beef sliders, I must say I wanted to cry and ask them to pay me for pain and suffering 💔. We sadly will not give it a second chance. I guess it's hit or miss depending on the visit date. Perhaps they are more catered to shabbos take out. The environment needs a bit of love it clearly had seen a little bit better times. Staff seemed attentive and I have no complaints. However the potential is just remarkable that some places seem to allow quality to get to this level is sad. Really it saddens me that I am even writing this because the place clearly has the mechanics to be top even if they only operate at certain times. Operating at the level I expienced at 330pm on a Tuesday is just very sad and I tell the story as I...