Chocolat Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in New York

Ok, since you asked. Initially I thought I was going to have a birthday celebration of about 20 people. Maybe that was the problem. Thank you so much for accommodating me, my family and friends. Also, thank you for the extra time and DJ. I am very grateful.

Because I believe in your establishment as a black owned business, I honestly feel, that I must point out some observations for needed improvements. The owner is very knowledgeable, professional and helpful. So are the staff members, they were very accommodating, especially the host, she was wonderful.

However, the food was ok. I expected better. So many of my 40 guests thought the food could have been better prepared — meaning a bit more favorful, fresh and not rushed. Although the food menu was prefixed and clearly agreed to, at the last minute, the salmon menu had changed — no balsamic rice or asparagus, but tasteless sautéed spinach and mashed potatoes. I love good food however, the salmon was dry, not moist and tasty — perhaps overcooked, and and the spinach was tasteless. At $75 per person, the best meal was the fried chicken, Mac and cheese, also the jerked chicken. However, the salmon meal that was one of the prefixed meals that needs improvement.I would have preferred to pay for good salmon than to have a sub par appetizer, other main courses and dessert. The salad was also ok. When I took the salad home within the hour, it was soggy. I love salad. Also, I was told by two guests that one of the main courses — scrimp scampi — tasted lemony — not at all like scrimp scampi.Perhaps it needs to be taken off the menu? I think you should have new guests do a taste testing of your current food selection. Perhaps what worked before is no longer working.

Good food is worth the price. At $75 per person, something could have been better. As far as the dessert was concerned, the prefixed menu said I would get chocolate fudge cake. Instead we got a very small piece of red velvet cake?

I am sorry, but the food was more hyped than substance. I was a bit embarrassed. After all I had been bragging about how good the food was. Did the chef leave? You may have to go back to the drawing board. Offer less on the menu, and step up to tasty appetizers. Your drinks were good. The atmosphere is warm and friendly — now maybe a good time for process improvements.Despite sub par food, we really enjoyed the atmosphere and music. Thank you. I hope what I mentioned will be taken into...

Sooooo…….🧐I’m thinking of a way to begin this review. I can’t help but remember those SUCCULENT lollipop lamp chops 🤤served w/ homemade smashed potatoes (yes I said smashed) and a healthy serving of spinach. Which included minced garlic and definitely EVOO (extra virgin olive oil), or something to that effect, I didn’t taste butter. So when I tell you the presentation is VERY inviting the service is to be desired, we’ll get to that by the end of this review.😳

While the servers were all pleasant, the establishment was not busy at all for a Saturday night. I was with a bday dinner party for a special lady, who happens to know the owner/partner (who conveniently wasn’t there that evening)

So let’s talk about “MY” experience with the food service now that we’re over the food porn😉. There were a lot of different things going on in our section- which was one lil room- the tv was supposedly not working, no music and what we did hear for music was the ambiance for the main dining area. I won’t go into great detail, basically long story short our main server became overwhelmed and told one our guests he had other things going on and so on and so forth when we tried to explain we should’ve been told he could not make more than 4 separate checks I explained that should have been informed about that as the guests arrived. I would like to add maybe he may not have been trained properly or had little experience with customer service to that nature not sure but also his shirt was wrinkled for an establishment that is charging $$$$ for the food. I gave him many thanks just to boost his morale up again he over came the triumph of helping us. So KUDOS to this young man.

On the other hand everything began with some chaos and ended with a better outcome. To which I’m mentioning for reasons being “they” should have been more prepared for a small party of 15 ppl.

I know this ain’t a blog 😝 but I wanted to explain some major details that some others ppl that reviewed this establishment only let us know the service was awful. I had a similar experience and hope this mouthful helps anyone reading.

All in all, I truly enjoyed he food and hope they manager can boost their servers skills by being more attentive, respond in a professional manner and provide guests with information that isn’t going to cause a lack luster...

Visited this location years ago when I was younger with family and didn’t quite remember the experience so I decided to have a brunch date with my sister in law for “mommy time out.” Public street parking is available for out of state commuters and if parking is scarce they do have a parking garage just up the block. When we arrived we did RSVP for the dinning room and was able to get sat immediately (they offer a 15 minute grace period for late arrivals and you can call to touch base if you’re running a bit longer). The dinning rooms aroma was of chocolate scent and the vibe was very relaxing. We we’re offered glasses of water and then our waiter introduced himself. He was a very handsome Ethiopian king named Woodie ;who made sure our unlimited Bellinis’ were never unaccounted for. Brunch and Dinner are served all day which made the experience even more enjoyable as we didn’t have to stress over menu options. As a starter we had seafood croquettes and for our entrees I had the steak, eggs and potatoes with a side of their signature red velvet pancakes and my sister in law had the red snapper, rice and beans, kale and sautéed peppers. The food was absolutely amazing, flavor in every bite, and completely filling. As far as pricing it is moderate but pricing varies on your order and can get a tad bit expensive. On the website it stated that gratuity was added for tables of 4 or more but 18% gratuity was on our bill. Our check total for 2 people 7 items was $250. Unlimited Drinks are $30/person which is NOT bad at all and it was all about the experience. I would highly recommend this place as it is a black owned business, if you love soul food, and overall looking for a brunch spot where the drinks put you on your behind… this is the place for you. Small little dislikes: my water glass had orange juice residue in it (but was replaced with a clean glass, the croquettes were a tad bit dry (still delicious w/ spicy dipping sauce), restrooms weren’t as clean as I expected, and we seen one small roach crawling on the wall during the end of...