Elite Williamsburg — Restaurant in New York

We had a reservation for 8pm. When we arrived, the waiter said that our table wasn’t going to ready for another 25 minutes. What is the point of a reservation!? Especially when they have a big neon sign that says “hope you made a reservation”. The hostess was trying to be apologetic but honestly, who cares. The table should have been ready.

Next, when they sat us, we sat for 15-20 before the waiter, Angel, came over and even greeted us. One of his coworkers said that he was sitting chatting with another table. So rude and unprofessional. When he finally came over to take our order, my friend and I wanted bao buns and of course they were out of them. He went through the menu and told us all the dishes he was out of. How do you have a restaurant out of them ingredients for you dishes? Also, we tried to order vodka lemonades….sold out. I’m so confused how you’re out of things on a busy Saturday night.

When the drinks came, they were so weak. The birthday girl had to ask for more alcohol in her drink because it was so bad. My friend and I were drinking margaritas which were just raspberry juice.

After the drinks came, we had to wait an hour for our food. We timed it because we knew this place was a joke. We even asked the ppl next to us how long it takes.

The food final came and my mashed potatoes were so cold. I had to send them back. My dish came out on a literally record player, which I knew, but he couldn’t even get it to work fully. The arepitas were actually decent. The potatoes were subpar even when they brought them back. It tasted like frozen mashed potatoes heated up. My friend food had a piece of grilled chicken breast with some rice and beans. If this is a Latinx inspired dish, why would that type of chicken of chicken be acceptable. The fried rice wasn’t even fried. It was just white rice with some meat on time. There was no sauce. A friend had to request some. The birthday girl didn’t want hers because it was not good. The waiter said that he will take it back and make her a pasta dish and take care of it. She didn’t even want that.

By this time we are fed up. My two friends go and talk to the manager, Eddie. The manager came down and spoke to the birthday girl and she was just not having it. To try and “make up for the night” they did a birthday song and sparklers. They clearly didn’t read the room because we all were looking at each other like “what are they doing??” It was truly a slap in the face.

When the bill came, this all where all hell breaks loose. The bill had the birthday girls dish on it when she didn’t want it. Angel tried to say that the pasta was the replacement. No one wanted the pasta, sir. That was HIS offer. So we requested it be taken off. My friend wanted to double check about gratuity because on their website it says it is included in the check but on our it wasn’t. It was a clarification question. The waiter starts getting SOOO RUDE about it and said they were trying to help by not including gratuity. I told him don’t add it, we will handle it on our own individual bills. When he brings it back, it has the gratuity. We started to explain that that wasn’t want we wanted. My friend went to talk to the manager, again, and he came back to explain the check. We explained that we didn’t want the gratuity added. We just had a clarifying question. He tried to pin my friend and I against one another. He said what I was saying was not what my friend was saying. He wasn’t there and when two people are telling him what my friend said, it’s not us, it’s you and your establishment. The waiter was lying to his face about what happened. He asked if we agreed to gratuity and we said no. He would not remove it. At the end, my friend paid it because she was coerced into it, not because she agreed to wanted to pay it. We told them we would do it individually but they took advantage of the situation because we had a clarifying question.

Today, they tried to make it “right” by offering 2 of our friends a full meal (apps, meal, and desert) with 2 drinks. What about the other 6 of us?...

DO NOT BOOK A RESERVATION HERE. My friend had a birthday reservation for 8pm on a recent Saturday night. She had made the reservation for 8 people 2 months prior. When we arrived promptly at 8 pm, we were told it would be a 15-minute wait. We were seated in the area downstairs, which was more like a lounge than a restaurant. We waited another 15 minutes for the waiter to come around. We actually had to ask the busboy who our waiter was, and he pointed to a man (who turned out to be our waiter) sitting down with another party. When we went to order drinks, we were told they did not have many items for basic drinks (they couldn't make a vodka lemonade, for example), which seemed odd. When the drinks did eventually come, the mixed drinks tasted like straight juice.

We eventually ordered, and it took us over an hour and 10 minutes to get our food. It came out in several rounds, which was awkward especially after we had been waiting for so long. Some of the food items came out cold and had to be sent back. At this point, we tried to talk to the waiter to see what he could do for us. He said he would "take care of us," took the birthday girl's dinner away (as it was her food that was cold), and brought back a pasta dish, which was very salty. When we got our check, we noticed the only thing comped from the bill was a $7 mashed potatoes plate. It was confusing that only $7 was removed from the bill. When our waiter said he would 'take care of us,' and brought a new dinner for the birthday girl, we assumed that meal would be free. Instead, they sent over a birthday sparkler and shot. The birthday gimmicks would have been more welcome if it was not past 10 pm and we weren't starving.

The strangest part was when we confirmed with the waiter that gratuity was included (we wanted to make sure that we didn't negatively hurt the waiter, as it is usually not the fault of the waitstaff), he said it was REMOVED but because we wanted it to be added, he would add it. Elite thought the way to "take care of us" was to remove the TIP from their STAFF MEMBERS! The bill came back at least $60 MORE than it was originally. We tried to talk to the manager, and his explanation for the poor service of the night was that "there are a lot of birthdays."

The birthday girl recently heard from the restaurant. They offered to give her and another member of the party a free meal. However, it was not just the two of them that were negatively impacted by the service. The birthday girl suggested some sort of compensation for the party, which was immediately refused by the restaurant. I hope that Elite takes this as a learning opportunity, and in can offer their future patrons a better experience. For the moment, I would absolutely NOT recommend coming to this restaurant...

I will not patronize this establishment again! Food was mediocre and service was terrible. How does this place have this many good reviews after going through this experience! Crazy!

This place has become an establishment for young people in their 20's. The music was all over the place with the mixes, drinks were okay but the food and service was a miss.

The music was very loud to the point where you can't really hear the people at your table speaking. Even the waiter had trouble hearing.

Drinks: froze, mango and passion fruit margarita were okay.

Appetizer: sweet chili wings was tasty. Guacamole tasted like guac you purchase from the store in the packet, this was not freshly made guac.

Main: steak was seasoned enough. Garlic mashed potato tasted stale and asparagus was not fresh, some of them were withered.

Others at the table, had to send their food back because their meals were undercooked. The pasta, undercooked. The shrimp was undercooked and unseasoned. Peruvian chicken, no flavor and tough.

Two at the table ordered lamb chops, the waiter comes back to say the kitchen dropped one of the lamb chops meal and said "they didn't want to serve it like that" (how could serving it after falling even be an option) my friend ordered something else but then canceled it all together after seeing what happened to the other lamb meal (see below).

The second lamb chops order came out and it was missing the chops (see picture of what came out) with two large portions of mashed potatoes. They actually expected to charge $50 for a meal that was practically missing items. Insane!

We were there celebrating a birthday, we brought in our cupcakes. The birthday girl got two sparkles in the cupcakes the waiter brought over. He then walks away and comes back with the bubble machine after the sparkles were out. There was no happy birthday sign, no HB music and no singing from the staff. We sat there and saw other tables get the full happy birthday fun and our table did not!!

After approaching the manager, the excuse was "we try to be consistent with our service". Huh?! He then says you have to get the watermelon to receive the birthday fun. Sir, I sat at your space long enough, all those who received the birthday fun DID NOT have a watermelon.

For the price they charge, they need to do better!!

They did however credit us for all the undercooked food, missing lamb chops and birthday mishap. Half the table left hungry, paying for overpriced cocktails, mediocre food, poor service, and a staff that should not be working an establishment.

Elite you need...