Archer & Goat — Restaurant in New York

I’m kinda bummed: My wife and I went to Archer and Goat last night for an early Friday dinner. We were pleased that there were seats at the bar, but even more pleased to be greeted right away and sat immediately in the back at a banquet table. We had no reservation and had no expectations of this respectfully. The decor was comfortable and inviting, and the music was an uptempo mix- abstaining from the neighborhood requisite to subsidize good music with volume.

Unfortunately, despite winning personalities from two of the female servers, service execution lacked- enough so for me to write this review, in hopes of saving this place from similar closing fates of Cheri, Sexy Taco, Native, and countless other “neighborhood gems” if not corrected.

We were asked about our drink order as soon as we sat down, before even able to reach for a drink menu. After explaining we would need a couple minutes, we were notified of a Watermelon Margarita drink special. My wife was in. I ordered a draft Lager from their beer list when the second waitress came by, which was exclusive to a single distributor specializing in craft. Usually, this practice of utilizing only one distributor is a red flag to me, as it shows that management would rather deal with one distributor than provide options to their consumers... or they were bought. This being said- I actually really liked the list or craft beers, albeit high margins for the neighborhood on a few options. A third, different waitress came by offering drinks, but we explained to her that we had ordered previously with another server.

We were also told of a delicious sounding Carne Asada entree special that sounded delicious, but I ended getting the duck entree while my wife ordered a small salad as an entree, wanting to help me with my entree.

After ordering and waiting 10 minutes for our drinks We started to ask each passing server about our drink order. “There’s a queue at the bar right now.” Was what we were told by each server, including the third server that we asked, bringing my wife’s salad alone to the table. Appetizer/salad before drinks hit the table? Wow- that hasn’t happened to us in a while. My wife put her salad to the side while we waited another 5-8 minutes for our drinks. We had now been in the place for 28 minutes... just getting our drinks... after my wife’s salad... that was her entree.

By the time my duck entree came out, I had only had two sips of beer. A missed opportunity on profit as we tend to drink the majority of our dinner bills, and my wife loved the margarita and would have classically drained 2-3 if given the opportunity.

The food was good! I really enjoyed the duck, and it’s preparation. My wife enjoyed the arugula salad, even after it’s long wait on the table my meal and drinks.

Originally we had planned to have dessert, but decided to leave and get drinks at Barawine across the street, as my wife and I do not have Fridays off together often, and wanted to take advantage of the beautiful, longest day of the year.

On our way out, every glass at the bar was empty and the bartender was in the corner- seeming that the decline in service was stemming from this origin.

In conclusion, all of the elements are there, outside of management and service. Appetizer-(or in this case entree) before-the-drinks-arrive is never a good look in a city with 26,000 competing restaurants. I would recommend Lido, Barawine, Sottocasa, La Diagonal Agaveria for places with similar price-points, but with incredible service...

Overall: skip this place and try several better restaurants in the area!

I wanted to change up family dinner night and this restaurant's yelp reviews seemed great. I spoke with an employee over the phone to place a sunday evening reservation and was told no sunday reservations but the time we chose wouldn't be too crowded. She then proceeded to tell me how wonderful this place is and she is looking forward to seeing me.

I arrive at 6:45pm on sunday night to a employee telling me its all day brunch menu today (which was not disclosed when I called the previous day) and they are super busy so give him a minute while we decide if brunch is okay. The place wasnt half full so I was perplexed by his statement. I later realized all the comfortable booth seats were gone and he seated us at a side table by the pole that was fairly awkward seating.

We were handed menus and water was served. The guy takes our drink orders. He comes back to tell us the masala chai was finished and coffee might be served without milk or creamer unless he can find time to run to the store. My inner instincts said get out now but I had such high hopes and decided drinks should not destroy our night. We came here for food and that's what we will get. After sitting down for 30 minutes we realized our waiter has not checked in on us or asked us for our orders. (He did not run to the store, he was clearly there working just not check in. I think he forgot about us)

While realize that a booth has opened up so we request to be moved and asked if we can finally place our orders. The new waiter starts off by saying did the previous guy explain we are out of the only 3 menu options that my family was excited to try. My luck, patience, and utter respect for this establishment ran out. My family walked out hangry.

The brunch menu is only legit 6 entrees and if half of your entrees are not available then why not explain that to walk in customers. They wasted my time and I will never return to this place. Went up the block to ChaiWali and spent $300, had better decor, better food, and better staff. Don't waste your time here!

Side note: the bathroom is really clean and has the perfect hand towels. The establishment is in the shape of an L and if you sit at the side tables mushed against the wall next to the bathroom and you are someone who is not super thin then u will feel...

This is a nice little neighborhood spot for brunch with a friend or two. The space is small and cozy but lively and airy with good lighting. The brunch time fills up quickly and they don’t seat according to seat/area preference but in a strategic pattern of filling up the back of the restaurant first and proceeding along the wall towards the front. The decor is modern and simplistic. The staff are friendly and attentive and continually checked in with us during our meal. We ordered drinks from their menu which I felt was short but fine for brunch choices. My friend ordered a Bloody Mary which was rimmed with some kind of spice and garnished with an okra tip. She enjoyed it very much. I ordered a Sunrise or Sunset named drink which arrived a little over half a small wine glass. The server assured me that was the correct serving but it just felt overly priced at $15. For an entree I ordered their chicken sliders with bacon jam. The biscuits were melt-in-your mouth good, moist and light and golden and what I like to term, “made with love”. The chicken, for me, appeared overly fried as they had a slightly burnt look but surprisingly wasn’t dry or hard. I felt it contained too much sodium, I don’t have high blood pressure or anything but it just tasted a bit salty, especially wit the bacon jam which was really good but I applied it very sparsely to my sliders. The sliced strawberries on the slider were a surprise and complimented the sliders very well. A side of pickles are always appreciated in my book lol. My friend ordered the shredded lamb hash over potatoes. Let me tell you this was delicious. It was a bit spicy for my taste but the lamb was so tender and melt-in-your-mouth good! The potatoes were perfectly cooked and seasoned and flavorful. Again, it’s spicy but if that’s your thing you’ll love it. I might go back sometime, I’ve been trying to be more adventurous in 2020 with trying new foods. I wish this new business much luck...