Féile — Restaurant in New York

I’ll preface my thoughts & experience by saying that I truly do not enjoy leaving a poor or negative review without an absolutely justified reason (you’re welcome to browse my past reviews if you don’t believe me); but after our experience, I felt it would be helpful to share our experience with other guests who intend on visiting this bar.

For context, I took my out of town friends from Seattle who were visiting me in NYC to this bar to watch the season opening NFL game of the Seahawks versus the Broncos. We had read online that the bar was a very Hawks friendly bar (which it was; there were lovely blue & green lights and balloons adorned throughout their establishment) and we were excited to watch the game there together!

Our experience up until halftime of the game was fantastic until the primary bartender (a shorter gentleman with a crew cut haircut, tattoos on his arms, and a self proclaimed NY Giants fan) switched his demeanor from being enthusiastic to entirely passive aggressive & borderline antagonistic. Until that point, we had been enjoying our drinks & food at the bartop; but once we asked this individual for water (after actively being ignored for the entire third quarter), this person responded back indignantly saying “you’re going to yell at me over some water?” For reference, I personally was sober for this sporting event and was drinking only ginger ale (and I have the receipts to prove it) so there is no rhyme or reason I’d badger or yell at a hardworking individual over something as trivial as water. My friends bought cocktails and food that day but I personally was not drinking alcohol and would never in my right mind “yell” at someone just for water.

This same individual for reference, was also eating fries off the plates of the birthday girls to our right, forcing games of balloon volleyball with other guests who were simply trying to enjoy the game, & scratching their scalp incessantly and then using the same hand (without washing) to shake the hands of unknowing guests who were leaving despite glaring hygienic concerns. This same individual decided quite abruptly that we were to be the targets of their ire.

When we asked to close out our tab, we left a 15% gratuity on our tab (again, we literally have the receipts to prove it) and this individual made a big show of scoffing at our receipts and whispering in a not so subtle fashion to the other taller bartender (military haircut & arm tattoos) about their supposed discontent with us. This other bartender (in perhaps a misguided show of solidarity) aggressively tossed our water cups in the drain without so much as a word to us so in order to encourage us to leave the establishment post haste.

I truly do not know what compelled this individual to behave in the unprofessional manner that we experienced that day, but I would highly recommend this individual to conduct some soul searching, therapy, & perhaps a different line of work if their thin skin & fragile ego is that threatened over a few glasses of water.

I wouldn’t recommend this bar for anyone intent on having a good time here unless these specific individuals just happen to have...

Randomly stumbled upon this place via a Google search of "restaurants need Herald Square."

And what an absolute gem of place this is. It is a decent size with great food.

The service is the only thing keeping this from a 5 star review. But I am pretty sure our waitress' shift ended during our meal because after a while she was nowhere to be found and then another waitress ended up clearing our food and giving us the check. Though it took literally like 45 mins after we finished eating to get the check.

So I presume the service would have been better if we had one server the whole time but I don't know that for sure. Even when our waitress was still there it wasn't GREAT. She wasn't super attentive and my glass of water sat empty on the table for a while before I could flag someone down for a refill.

But the server was still friendly and when we asked for her suggestion of which "bar snack" to get prior to our main course, she was knowledgeable and helpful with what to choose.

There's really very few restaurants in general near Penn Station and certainly few good ones. So I will definitely return here because generally speaking I did enjoy it and I often find myself needing to find somewhere to eat before or after a game at MSG. But based on the service I had, I likely would not go here BEFORE a game because I fear I would not get into the game on time. But definitely a good spot for afterwards.

In other good news, they take reservations via Open Table with no minimum amount of people and stick to them. Though I went on a non busy night and there were not many reservations, when I got there, they took me to a table that had a "reserved" sign on it which they of course removed upon seating me.

It's not easy to find casual places that accept online reservations for only two people, but this place does which is a huge plus. Especially given the location near very busy Penn Station.

It is priced pretty fairly for a NYC restaurant in a prime location. Their prices are no secret though. The menu on their website...

4.5* if it were possible to give but rounded up to 5* because it's better than a 4*. This rating is for a casual Irish pub and based on comparisons to other pubs foods, drinks and decor. With a clean and what seemed new interior, this bar is a dark atmosphere which sets a nice mood. Dark wood walls, chairs and tables all in good shape. Prices are fair to good for Manhattan. Location is convenient to Penn Station and local subways. Wine pours seem to become more generous as you run your tab up. Draft beer is cold and the lines must be cleaned regularly as all drafts tasted spot on. Service is excellent. Wait staff is attentive as well as the manager also who seems to actually help out unlike many other managers I've seen in other places. Bathrooms were on the cleaner side. The men's room is oddly situated as urinals are perpendicular to the entrance with no walls. It's almost impossible to not see d*k, which for some may be more of a reason to use the facilities. The restroom has an air dryer for hands only, which personally I hate and would prefer to leave with wet hands. I cannot speak for the women's room. The menu is a good size of both draft beers, cans/bottles and wines. As we didn't order liquor, I'd imagine they had the common brands. The menu consists of mainly starters, sandwiches and burgers/pizza with not many choices. From what we had, the quesadillas were pretty good, the wings were excellent and the blue cheese burger was potentially good, but the chef missed the mark on the cook, as it was ordered medium and came out past well done. Which is unfortunately the only photo I took of the night/food. If it was cooked better, I think pairing it with a side of wing sauce would be a nice touch. Fries were average in flavor, a good sized portion served with not enough ketchup. This establishment also has outdoor dining, but we did...