Bourbon Street — Restaurant in New York

Review for Bourbon Street in Bayside, New York

My recent visit to Bourbon Street in Bayside, Queens, was quite an experience. It was my first time exploring the Queens area, and I was excited to try out this restaurant with my friends who highly recommended it, particularly for its rooftop ambiance.

Ambiance and Service:

The rooftop setting lived up to the hype, offering a fantastic atmosphere for our gathering. Our waiter was attentive, friendly, and accommodating, which made us feel welcome and well cared for.

Appetizers and Drinks:

We started with two sets of wings: the spicy chili Korean and the buffalo style. While the Korean wings were flavorful and enjoyable, the buffalo wings were less spicy than I’m accustomed to, having grown up in Buffalo, NY. The drinks, unfortunately, were a letdown. They arrived watered down, and we noticed other patrons exchanging their drinks as well. My passionfruit margarita, ordered during happy hour, was not as flavorful as expected.

Main Courses:

Pizza: The Chicken Ala Vodka pizza was bland and dry, lacking flavor. I had to use leftover blue cheese from the wings to make it palatable.

Smashburger: My friend, who ordered the Smashburger for its protein content, found it bland and not very satisfying.

Barbecue Sampler Platter: This was the most disappointing dish. The pulled pork was watery and lacked quality, the macaroni and cheese was poorly textured and lukewarm, the coleslaw was bland, and the cornbread was dry and crumbly. I couldn't even try the ribs because I was so dissatisfied with the cornbread. The only somewhat redeeming item was the pork bites, which I’d rate 6/10 due to the decent seasoning.

Feeling dissatisfied, I called over a waitress who wasn’t assigned to our table because I couldn’t find our waiter. She quickly took my meal away and apologized, which I appreciated. Shortly after, the manager, Dan, approached and inquired about my dinner. Unfortunately, the conversation with him was uncomfortable. He challenged my critique of the macaroni and cheese, suggesting it improves towards the bottom, which felt intrusive and dismissive. When I mentioned the cornbread, he admitted it was overcooked but seemed more defensive than concerned about my experience.

Although he offered to replace the meal, by that point, I had lost my appetite due to the overall disappointing experience, including issues with the wings, pizza, and my margarita. I declined his offer for a replacement and requested that the meal be taken off the bill. The waitress who initially helped me returned and reiterated the offer for something else, but I decided against it, not wanting to risk further dissatisfaction or waste more money.

Overall Impression:

This place is overpriced, and the food quality does not justify the cost. We spent over $140 with tax and tip, which felt excessive given the disappointing meal. It seems you’re paying more for the ambiance and the name rather than the quality of the food. I reviewed several other negative reviews about this restaurant before writing my own, and I have to concur with the sentiment that this place is hit or miss.

Given the state of the economy and the high prices, I would only consider returning for happy hour when the prices are cheaper, and I would stick to drinks and appetizers. The meal experience was the worst I’ve had in a while, and considering this was my first time exploring Queens, it was particularly...

I’ve always been a loyal supporter of Bourbon Street, but the other night completely changed my view.

While on the dance floor with my friend, I decided to head to the bar to get some water. As we got there, we got separated. I asked the bartender for water, and while waiting, another bartender came up from behind, grabbed me, and started screaming in my face that I was being kicked out. I was completely confused: I was fully conscious, calm, and hadn’t been involved in any kind of incident.

I asked multiple times why I was being kicked out, but he refused to give any explanation and just kept yelling. I remained calm and tried to have a respectful conversation to understand what was going on, but he grabbed me again and started forcefully escorting me out, claiming I “wasn’t listening,” even though I was fully cooperating.

He then called over a bouncer to flash a light in my face, despite the fact that I wasn’t making a scene. As we walked down the stairs, I tried to call my friend who I had gotten separated from. The same bartender began pushing me and putting his hands on me repeatedly. I told him clearly to stop. He denied touching me, then continued doing it.

As a woman being harassed and touched against my will, I felt completely unsafe. It got to the point where I literally had to run away from him because he would not stop. I was not drunk, not disorderly, and not causing any problems. I just wanted to leave peacefully after being treated so aggressively and unfairly.

Keep in mind, I had tipped this bartender very generously an hour prior.

I’ve never been treated so poorly at any establishment, especially one I had supported for years and made so many great memories at. I won’t be returning to Bourbon Street after this experience. No paying customer let alone a respectful, loyal one deserves to be manhandled and shouted at...

We came in to have lunch. It appeared we arrived early enough for brunch since we were given both brunch and lunch menus. Because of that, we were given cut up bagels and mini muffins instead of the usual bread basket. We were served by Eilene, who was pleasant in the beginning, but after seeing that we weren't interested in ordering more food and drinks, became disinterested in us. We ordered from the lunch menu. I ordered the Louisiana Chicken Sandwich, which came with fries and coleslaw. It's frustrating when a menu description doesn't detail everything that comes with the menu options. The menu didn't specify that the chicken sandwich comes with coleslaw and cheese. I had to ask Eilene to have them remove the cheese from the sandwich and take away the coleslaw. I normally don't like sending back food, but had the menu specified the chicken sandwich had cheese, I would've told her not to add it. Eilene's response was a tad strange since she asked if I had told her not to add cheese, which I replied that I didn't tell her, but that the menu didn't specify that. The chicken sandwich was absolutely huge; I definitely couldn't eat it in one sitting. The only good menu item I had was the Coco Mint Spritz cocktail, which was very tasty. It was a bit odd that the cocktail was served in a wineglass. Eilene returned to ask if we wanted coffee or tea, which we decided not to have, and immediately had our check in hand and gave it to us without us asking for it. It's awkward to have a server hand over their guest's check without the guest asking for it since it indicates that the server wants the guest to leave. Due to this experience, I don't believe I'll...