Corner Social — Restaurant in New York

I will never dine at this restaurant again. I have visited four times over the past two weeks and never had an issue until this last visit but the way the issue was handled by the manager on duty has caused me to decide to never return. I arrived with a friend at around 11pm. The restaurant closes at midnight and we were informed that we would be the last table sat for the night and we needed to order quickly. We sat down and ordered all the food we wanted including appetizers and went ahead and ordered two drinks each. Our server brought our drinks and after that we never saw her again until she brought the check. Literally NEVER saw her again the entire meal (which lasted 45 minutes) at 11:45 the waiter came to bring the check. I said “hey, I never got the shrimp I ordered. Is it coming out?” She briskly walked away. About five minutes later she came back and said the shrimp was removed from the bill and the cook sends his apologies. Now in my experience at restaurants when a restaurant makes a mistake, the manager visits the table and makes a personal apology. You simply don’t apologize through a server that’s not how it should be done. But in this case the manager did not come to the table until I asked for her even though she knew there was an issue Bc she removed the shrimp that we never got from the bill. When she did come, she was not apologetic and she justified not doing anything more than sending the apology through the server. I noted that a 20 dollar forced gratuity was on our bill. We were a party of two and were not notified that we would be forced tipped. Now generally I am an amazing tipper and I tip above and beyond when I receive attentive service. In this case the server was not attentive in any way. Never checked on us, and had she bothered I may have gotten my shrimp before the kitchen closed down. I asked for the forced tip to be removed. The manager refused. I asked for a discount in consideration for the mistake and less than stellar experience. Again she refused. I asked to speak to the owner. She said the owner wasn’t there and that the buck stopped with her. I started to raise my voice just slightly in frustration and she abruptly walked away mid sentence and never returned. Total disrespect and lack of customer service. She literally had no regard for my experience and despite having tools at her disposal “to make it right” she just didn’t even bother! I tried not to make it a race thing but in today’s racial climate it’s hard not to consider it when our white counterparts treat us so poorly. Like our business doesn’t matter. At a restaurant right in the heart of Harlem where every patron was a person of color. I was so disgusted! My friend and I talked it over and decided to pay cash for our meal and withhold the forced gratuity. The server didn’t earn it. Period. She never gave us a single thought throughout the night. The spirit of gratuities are that they are voluntary otherwise they are simply a service fee. My friend stayed behind so I could go across the street and use the atm. They treated my friend horribly while I was gone (5 minutes) and they made it seem like we were trying to dine and dash. I don’t steal and I certainly don’t dine and dash! When I returned the atmosphere was very tense. I handed over the cash for the entire bill minus the gratuity. The manager tried to lock us in by closing the door after I handed over the money. Like they were going to shake us down for the forced tip. I couldn’t believe it. And honestly I feel bad for the server because if your manager valued your service as an employee, she would have taken a discount off the bill so that the server still would have been tipped. But the manager didn’t care about anyone in the situation. Not me the customer and not the server who works in hopes of making tips. Do not eat here if you want to be treated like a valued customer. They don’t value you at all and when they make mistakes that take away from your dining experience they don’t even take accountability and make it...

So I had a meeting in the neighborhood and was looking for a spot to grab lunch & a drink. I initially sought out a few other places that were physically closer, but upon getting to them, the vibe did not seem copacetic towards outside patrons. So I ventured a little further until I came upon Corner Social. It was precisely what I was looking for.

The outside patio hardly even seemed “outside”, by pandemic standards. They did an excellent job of segregating it from the sidewalk traffic & passerby pedestrians. To the point where it almost felt like I was dining inside.

The altered entrance is a little hard to find (a bit down 126th) and because of that fact, the staff doesn’t always see incoming patrons. I had stood at the gated entrance for a short while before the hostess noticed me. But when she did, she checked my temperature (all good) and gave me hand sanitizer before entering. It wasn’t too crowded at lunchtime, so I was able to sit where I wanted.

The music was blaring, but not overpowering. In fact, it set the mood for my entire experience. My server, Joe, approached me soon enough & was very helpful about my draft beer inquiry. I live in the neighborhood, and spots that can boast such an extensive beer list around here are few and far between. If you’re a beer connoisseur, you should definitely check theirs out.

I had the “Harlem Goddess” salad, which is Mediterranean with feta cheese & lamb lollipops. I requested it without onions, but it still came out with some; it’s not an allergy for me so wasn’t that big a deal, but the chef should be weary of such exclusions for patrons who might have allergies. Nonetheless, it was a tasty and satisfying protein-rich lunch that I would order again.

Although I had initially planned to just grab a quick bite and head out, the atmosphere & great service induced me to stay on longer & drink more than I really should midday. Joe was personable & friendly, to the point where I felt like I had been coming here for years. Because of him, I will definitely be returning soon.

Bottom Line: Great beer list & atmosphere, with even better...

Five Stars for this business considering the communication to get the reservation and the dining experience. To celebrate my friends birthday we wanted a brunch party environment and we searched a few places in the city and the stipulations were all over the top and a complete turn off. We were familiar with the Corner Social having been to other restaurants in the area. We emailed the restaurant and got a response rather quickly from the manager Camille. She was an absolute pleasure to work with, she responded quickly and took care of everything via email. We reserved for 15 people and once word got out among our friends we needed to accommodate 25 people... I reached out to Camille two days before asking for a miracle and she made it work !!!!! Fast forward to Saturday at one, we all arrive and are seated at a few tables all in the same area and let the fun begin. The music was great not to loud so you could converse but loud enough to move your hips when your song came on. We all ordered either the shrimp and grits or chicken and waffles.... I didn't take any food pics too many of the same thing posted. IT WAS SOOOO GOOD....oh and the crab cakes we also got a few of those and they were great also. We all got the unlimited brunch drinks and boy oh boy...Most of us opted for the rum punch, all I know was my glass never got to empty. They made it their business to keep it full and b/c of that i cant say how much I actually drank but we had a great time. The DJ was super cool and very interactive with the crowd. They even had raffles going on and my friend actually won ! The atmosphere was great, bar seating, great food and accommodating staff. Such a large party I'm sure we were a bit much to deal with at once...a bunch of girls with a bunch of questions but she was AWESOME. Patient and took great care of us from start to finish. I would absolutely return and recommend this place to anyone. Oh and the price was very fair considering all the...