Cull & Pistol — Restaurant in New York

-A Labor Day Family Visit and Happy Hour That Turned Into Sad Hour-

My family from out of town surprised me and husband today by coming to Chelsea Market. They found a place for happy Hour Oysters. We love oysters and together with family meant an amazing experience. We live in Brooklyn so we had to travel a little bit to get in but that’s ok they are relatives we don’t see often and as we like to say we show up for family. So they started the celebration by getting a table for us all and even made mention to the host that there would be more people joining. They were 3 and me and my partner makes 2 more. So it would have been 5 people total. We arrived. We let the hostess know we were meeting family to join them for happy hour. Little did we know that we were going to be in for a treat.

We arrive and we join our family. There were only 1 more seat available for us to sit so we kindly asked that once another seat was available could we take a seat from a neighboring area. The waiter tells us no. Even though there’s space and no one is being disruptive-yet they refused to be accommodating. The hostess comes over and says that there are reservations for their happy hour as if the neighboring empty seats were taken. I have lived in NYC for years and never knew a restaurant having reservations for Happy Hour. However, I don’t typically get put into situations like this so maybe I’m wrong. Or perhaps this is the vibe of Chelsea Market? It seems to be touristy and I did feel a sense of being forced out as opposed to being welcomed in.

I don’t wish to get anyone fired but at least prepare your staff with actual knowledge and reasoning for making up excuses to not be accommodating to paying customers. All we needed was 1 more seat. My family and I were prepared to stay and eat and drink and happily tip for great service. However, the only resolve they offered was to seat us at a table where we would have to pay full price instead of half price on oysters. In a situation like this as a business owner I would have been accommodating to a family especially since 3 of them were already deep into their meals eating and drinking (they bought a full bottle of wine in Manhattan!-at Chelsea Market- that’s not cheap) between the 3 of them. Why not accommodate 2 more people in the space for happy hour? After this we explained to the manager and no accommodation was made. At that point we decided that we would pay and leave. We didn’t feel welcomed at this point. We waited for the bill but never got it so we put cash on the table and left. The manager then runs out accusing us of not paying. I didn’t want to write a bad review of this venue but the accusation of making us feel as if we would not pay them was the last straw. Genuine and kind service...

Remove the price, this place gets a 5, with their super high prices it gets a 3.5 Been here a couple of times and its a good place for lunch. Located inside the market next to the google elevators, this restaurant is pretty much on point. We have made reservations for 10+ people during lunch and they wait for us with the table ready. Service is excellent and very attentive (it has to be, things here are not cheap).

So here is what we ordered and tried. 1.-Pistols on Horseback: very good Chesapeake fried oysters topped with aged ham, onions and oil. The first time where better and bigger than the second time. Both times they were good.. 2.-Tomato Braised Baby Octopus: skip it. nothing fancy here. the octopus was a bit hard but then again is octopus and flavor was just ok. nothing fancy or wow. 3.-Lobster Pho: yes i know, who comes here to get Pho, i should know better. Well i was not hungry enough but it was cold that day and needed some liquid lobster in me. The pho is just blah. they do have a large portion of lobster in it. NOT authentic at all but close to it. The noodles are supposed to be vermicelli, but these were yellow noodles. 4.-Swordfish Sandwich: this sandwich is good but its just a sandwich. Skip it. 5.-Lobster Roll- Connecticut style: this is a must get, you get so much lobster here that you will not want to eat it again in a month. It comes with fries that are super thin and delicious. This is what they are known for and it shows. 6.-Clambake Lunch for Two: its a lobster pot. two can eat and fill their stomachs up but the broth lacks in flavor. usually you want to suck up all that juice with bread or sip it with your spoon but this one is not that kind of broth. 7.- We had tons of side oysters, clams and even uni. Prices are high but we are at a "fancy" area so i guess its expected. See the uploaded pics.

Their best thing is service, they are on top and do not overwhelm you with great service and smile. They sure know how its supposed to be. Im always broke and i cant make it here on my own all the time but if they had a broke person's menu aka Restaurant week menu" i would definitely...

My husband and I come to NYC almost every year from Florida, and after having fond memories from this place the first time around with their oyster happy hour we wanted to go back for sure. So we went here today, put our names in at exactly 5:11 pm after walking 22 minutes from flat iron area, and we still haven't heard from them at currently 7:25 pm (over 2 hours later).

Terrible customer service and poor communication/listening skills with no empathy whatsoever. I spoke with a lady that first told me a 35-40 minute wait, then a guy cut in mid-conversation and told me a different time between 15-20 minutes and he said he'll try to get us in early as the happy hours ends very soon at 6 pm. I said, "awesome, thank you for doing that." However, none of the projected promises were delivered. In fact, when I checked in at about 20 minute mark to see where we stand in line the lady that first helped us is still projecting a 30 minute wait, was very rude reiterating that they have a "wait list" from which I told her "I understand that but we were promised a 15-20 minute wait by the other guy." And to be honest we were fine waiting 30-40 minutes, but even that didnt happen.

And she proceeded to ask if I wanted to be taken off the wait list twice if it passes 6 pm. I said no both times, and we still haven't heard from them. Probably because she took us off the wait list without my permission lol. Not worth the wait, time, or money. There are other great oyster bars in Manhattan that I would rather give my business to whether its during happy hour or not. Would rather pay for a great customer service outside of happy hour.

I genuinely never rate negatively on google, but this is such an insulting experience that I would give it 0 stars if I could. Never again cull & pistol! Hope you guys improve your service, because even if your food is outstanding other places in Manhattan are just as stellar with a great customer...