Cafe Bloom — Restaurant in New York

My friend and I stopped here to grab something to eat on our way to the MET Cloisters.

I wish we didn't.

Walking in, the place was beautiful. Very picture worthy. We entered the cafe and we were able to be seated immediately. We got our menus and decided on what to eat but still wanted to ask more questions before placing our final order.

The server wasn't knowledgeable about everything on the menu. Which isn't his fault. It's whoever trained him and essentially, management's fault. We ordered 2 orders of the empanadas.

My friend got chorizo ones and I ordered a chicken and chorizo one since the order includes 2 empanadas of your choice.

Our order came after a while and my friend took one bite into her empanada only to find it cold. I didn't have any complaints of my chicken empanada. However, they gave me a cheese empanada that I did not ask for. I took it as a mistake and asked for the chorizo empanada that I ordered only to have them tell me that I cannot have it because I'd have to place another order.

I decided on not ordering again and moved onto the other thing I ordered which were the turkey sliders. The menu did state that there was caramelized onions so I was excited for the flavor.

How wrong was I.

The onions weren't caramelized. They were sloppily chopped and put inside the three Hawaiian Rolls. Between that and the mediocre coffee, my friend and I agreed to leave.

I ordered more food so my friend told them to charge her for her chorizo empanadas. They split the bill to both of our displeasures and charged me the full price for the 2 empanadas; I only had one.

My friend and I wanted to support this local cafe, they still need some training done. Please educate and train your staff properly. Also, maybe consider not charging people for food they did not eat. We mentioned it to the staff when we initially saw the charged and all we got was a dismissive turn of the head.

Happy this was my last experience here :)

UPDATE: They...

One of my favorite themed café, Rue la Rue Café, is no longer... Instead, it has reborn as Halo Bistro Café. We decided to check them out one weekend. When we stepped inside, it was almost as if we were stepping back in Rue la Rue Café, but without the glamour and memorabilia that filled the room and the walls.

The wallpaper, furniture, and other basic designs stayed input. Even the large chalkboard that still showed the enticing menu from Rue la Rue. But then again, it was a bit confusing, it looks as though they are offering those items on the board. However, when I inquired about it to our server, she said that they are only keeping the board as a decoration, and they don’t offer any of the items written on the board…

Their menu was somewhat small and limited, and a bit pricey… We went with their much cheaper option, Breakfast Sandwich and Club Sandwich. The Breakfast Sandwich was pretty good, and very satisfying. Club Sandwich was very hearty, large in portion and quite filling.

We also had a dessert to share. We ordered Crème Brûlée. It was bigger than I thought. The bowl was quite hot, but we were not warned about it, so it was a shock when I touch the bowl… They need more training periods with the servers…

Our main server, Mercedes, was nice, professional and polite. Other staffs needs more training on how to serve the table (i.e. how to refill water without spilling water all over the table, or to warn customer if a plate/bowl is really hot). The items we tried were pretty good and affordable. The lunch/dinner menu items were around $30 each, I am not sure how that will be received by the patrons in this area. I hope they will expand their menu a bit, and offer more dishes for lunch and dinner at...

Born & Raised in the area, was hoping to find a local stop to frequently go to since we tend to eat out a fair amount. When we reviewed the menu, it was a pleasant surprise that it had multiple Vegetarian/Vegan Items. Additionally, the meat dishes claimed to be leveraging premium ingredients. The menu was the last of the favorable aspects of this experience.

Order: Bloom Burger - It had bones, straight bones in the patty. It was also bone dry, so I suppose it was a theme. The fries, on the other hand, were also as equally terrible, so I respect the consistency.

Chickpea Sandwich (Vegan) - I’d say their interpretation of Vegan was very interesting. Meaning that bacon was added, which I suppose for some would be a pleasant surprise, but not for a Vegetarian and/or Vegan. When it was sent back to course correct the mistake, it was returned in a different bun (Initial Sandwich came on Multigrain, Brioche was Requested) partner checked the inside for any additions, and to our surprise, they missed a piece of bacon. So they basically changed the bun and “removed” the bacon, but not all the bacon. It wasn’t a redo but merely a lift & shift.

Conclusion I’d consider myself moderately level headed, and you’d see that from all the reviews I’ve left locally as well as throughout the city. This experience left a lingering bad taste in my mouth/stomach, because those bones didn’t go down...