Aliada — Restaurant in New York

After a very poor impression on our first visit, it had been some time so we decided to give them another try. This time we invited family visiting from out of town…After we’re all seated We waited for close to 30 minutes before someone came over and asked us if we had ordered..not only hadn’t we ordered, we hadn’t even seen a menu yet. Yes they were apologetic but come on guys. At least twice during service did one of the waiters come over to see if our wine carafe was empty so he could use the wine chiller…and no, not until the last time did the waiter actually poor the wine so he could obtain said wine chiller. Stop poaching equipment off of tables. It makes your customers uncomfortable. The food was fine. No better, no worse. The chopped salad was completely undressed…no evo, no vinegar or lemon for that matter…dry. Although I thought the Taramasalata was quite good (fluffy, creamy and a little briney) the rest of the dips really lacked any personality…and since when is Tahini, just straight up Tahini from a jar, considered a dip? Apparently only at Aliada! The entrees were fine. No better, no worse. The Pastichio? Fine. The Moussaka? Fine. Not one person at the table said “this is really good” when eating their main courses… the sides dishes, which really should be reliable from a Greek kitchen were average and bland. Roasted veggies, gigande beans, lemon potatoes? All kind of ehh…These relatively flavorless lemon potatoes made me yearn for Uncle George’s lemon potatoes which were amazing..the the topper? At 9:15, we asked what they had for dessert. I thought the waiter was joking at first but nope…Q: what restaurant runs out of every single dessert they serve at 9:15 on a Friday night with a full restaurant still in service? Aliada does! I would’ve thought after all that, at the very least the waiter would’ve asked if we wanted or even offered us an after dinner drink…but nope. I paid cash…left 20% and never saw the waiter again…2 out of 5 stars for the food…There is better Greek food in Astoria and 2 out of 5 stars for the service…no one was rude but with the exception of the runners and guys refilling water glasses, service wasn’t...

The restaurant is very beautiful and great selection of food. The hostess was so considerate and asked if my brother and I wanted more space at a table. She moved us over to a bigger space and she cleaned it quickly. I also thought the food was good.

My issue was with this one waiter. I ordered the chicken souvlaki and my brother also heard me say this (chicken no pork). Once I got my meal, my meal didn’t look like chicken, and I asked another waiter if it was chicken or pork. He said it was pork. My original waiter came over and was very snippy with me saying “You said pork because I wrote it down.” Just because he wrote it down doesn’t mean I said pork. I told him that k was sure that I said chicken but he kept cutting me off saying that I ordered pork. It was very uncomfortable. I worked in the food industry for years and even if the customer did say the wrong thing, as a waiter I would apologize and address it quickly. I know I said chicken, he was very rude, and he didn’t apologize. He said that he could make the chicken souvlaki but it would take some time. However, after that interaction I didn’t want to speak to him again. When he brought over the check, he only made eye contact, spoke only to my brother, and avoided my eye contact with me. I was not rude to him and I tried to address the situation nicely, but I was met with hostility.

The other waitstaff was amazing and sweet but this one guy needs some awareness of how he is speaking...

Second time coming here and it will be the last. 1-When going out during the winter, restaurants should always make sure their customers don’t have to worry about drafts. By the time dinner was done and the bill was paid, My feet were numb… and we were seated inside. 2- be consistent with your portion sizes. The first time I visited this establishment, I did the seafood Mezede with two others. I went out with a larger group and we decided that most of us would pick this option. On my side of the table, two had the meat Mezede and two had the seafood. The portion size for the meat Mezede was extremely small! They had two croquettes, and two meatballs to start with. SIX of us were need up sharing a side of fries. My first visit here, three of us shared the same amount of fries. 3- If you take my glass, the least you can do is ask if I want another drink.Signature Drinks here are minimum $15. Not worth it. The Le Mon is pretty much a lemon drop in a small glass.

I don’t know if it was because we had a large party, but today’s experience was not it. The highlight of my time here was the dips and fresh pita, however for the price I paid to get filled on dips and carbs, not worth it. At the end of this experience I paid $125 for three pieces of calamari, NO octopus, a bland fried fish, a quarter of over cooked- under seasoned Branzino, two shrimp and lack luster fries and...