Croton Reservoir Tavern — Restaurant in New York

Horrible service. This was our third year choosing Croton Reservoir as our destination for Thanksgiving Dinner. In the past we’ve had great food and great service. We expected the same this year. Instead we got unnecessarily rushed service and a waitress that seemed more intent on closing the place down at 6pm than with actually serving us.

Our reservation was for 4:30pm. We arrived on time and for some reason were taken downstairs to their event space. We both thought it was odd because the upstairs space was practically empty at the time. But we assumed they must have a ton of reservations and just went with the flow.

There were only about 8 people total downstairs, including our party of two. Nevertheless the waitress was completely oblivious to our empty drinks or those of our neighbors. Instead of actually waiting on us her time was spent putting out the candles on every other table, removing their place holders etc. In other words, it felt like she was closing the place down around us.

When we had arrived, for instance, the waitress was hanging these large festive lights that looked like giant versions of the lights you’d put on a Christmas tree. Very cute, though she dropped one of them and it nearly landed on another customers head. This is about 4:30, by 6pm she is literally going back up to turn these lights off with the remaining two parties still sitting down here, having drinks etc.

If you’ve ever over stayed past closing time at a restaurant this is what it felt like. Everything was removed from the tables. Dozens of candles were put out. Lights are turned off. But this is 6pm in New York City! As she was turning off the Christmas lights above our heads I finally had to ask her if she wanted us to leave? She made up some excuse that she had to do all this stuff. I explained to her that it was very unwelcoming. Again this is only 6pm.

We had ordered a third meal to take home with us. At this point there are only two parties in this entire section. They bring my meal to the party sitting next to us. They look confused; I have to tell them I am guessing that’s my meal. As usual it takes the waitress who literally only has two parties of a total of 6 people to finally come back to us so I can point to the bag of food and ask her if it is mine. She doesn’t say anything. She doesn’t apologize for the mix up. She just goes and grabs it and sits it down next to me.

She did keep trying to apologize for her rude behavior but it was obviously just to placate us because she never did actually give us any decent service. She claimed the reason they brought us down here initially was because it was so packed upstairs. I corrected her and informed her that it was practically empty upstairs when we were brought down here.

The food was decent but not nearly as good as in past years. Each course was rushed out regardless of whether we had finished the current course. My wife was still working on her salad and the main course is just forced on us.

It was a very disappointing night for many reasons. The service was awful and nearly non existent. The food was mediocre at best. Most of the evening we sat with empty water and...

I recently visited Croton Reservoir Tavern in Manhattan with two friends and had a pleasant experience. I appreciated that the place was located on the first floor, making it easily accessible. The atmosphere was quiet and comfortable, despite TVs displaying sports programs (they were on mute) and quiet background music. The sparsely populated venue allowed us to converse easily without having to raise our voices. The staff were nice, polite, and friendly, contributing to the overall positive experience. The food menu wasn’t extensive, but it was adequate for a bar. The drink menu, on the other hand, was impressively long, featuring pages of various beverages. I particularly liked how the drinks were categorized by country, such as Japan, and separated into types like beer, gin, vodka, etc. Drinks were available both by the glass and by the bottle, which provided flexibility depending on your preference. The sizes of the glasses were standard. The prices were a bit on the high side, but that’s expected in Manhattan. My only gripe was with the high chairs and tables, which were uncomfortable for a shorter person like me. It would be great if they could add a few lower tables and chairs for more inclusivity. Overall, I enjoyed my visit and would recommend Croton as a great spot to gather with friends or colleagues for a drink...

We visited for Thanksgiving dinner this year and were sadly disappointed with the quality and presentation. We went last year as well and it was fine--so I'm not sure what happened this year. Most of the food was either room temperature or cold, indicating it had been prepared prior to the meal service and reheated. This is not the quality you expect for Thanksgiving dinner and one that costs $50 per person. The salad and sides were low quality. A mouthful of cold mashed potatoes just causes one to lose their appetite.

The service was good, although we did let our server know about these issues and not much was done to address it. The manager comped our drinks but overall I feel like I didn't get the value and won't be returning for Thanksgiving or any other meal for...