Caffe Portofino — Restaurant in New York

BE WARNED I didn't dine here but I parked in front of the place for an hour. As I walked by, there were cigarettes butt in front of Caffe Portofino. And I am not talking about a few. It could have been anywhere from 50 to 100 butts. When I walked towards my car, two customers blocked my car in. I couldn't get out. I noticed a older man watching me. He walked towards my car and stated, "You took two parking space". Then he walked away. I honked my horn and watched if anyone would come to the two cars which blocked me in. After 30 minutes, the older man came back. He told me he was going to help me. He got in the car behind me and backed away. I was shocked, to see how he purposely held my car hostage. Guess this place has parking police and they decided who gets blocked in and who doesn't. I have never experienced this kind of behavior anywhere in NYC. I will never enter this establishment or park in front...

Hang on to your calculator and receipt, because Osmaily, the wait staff, will try to pull a fast one on you. It seems the scam for the unwitting is to take your card, tip herself 30% on a $7.62 bill, and not give you the receipt, figuring you won't do the math when you see the amount on your bank statement. Now, I know I'm just a poor old ex-Bronxite, but I've been around the world, and even in L.A., we try to be kind to customers (ex-bartender), so my advice to Osmaily is to cut it out and to her boss to either teach her manners, reprimand her, or fire her--peace out, as my youngest would say.

P.S. Fast fingers on rewarding themselves with a 30% tip and not telling the customers is not a good thing. Keep the money. Buy yourself a calculator or a...

Any positive review of this place is either from the owner's family or from a customer who's from the same country as the owner. You can see the clientele when you pass by the place, as well as smell the smoke. This would be a 5-star but they allow for smoking in the dining area inside & outside, which is illegal. Edit: I just downgraded my rating from a 3-star to a 1-star when I found out that they have hookah! Disgusting! How dare they sell that crap in such a nice neighborhood & they do it around food, which is highly illegal as per the health department. They could lose their license over such a...