FRANK OTTOMANELLI’s Long Island City — Restaurant in New York

I’ve never heard of this place before visiting Hunter Point South Park two days ago. I was hungry and decided to grab a bite to eat. I noticed that the line was long which was a pretty good indication that I hit the jackpot with this place.

I perused the menu and decided to keep it simple and stick with the hot honey chicken tenders and an order of Belgian fries with a lemonade to wash it all down.

It was a long wait time for me to receive my order on Sunday because it was super busy. I noticed lots of people who ordered after me receiving their orders and I wasn’t the only customer who also had this same issue. Orders should be fulfilled in the order in which they are received depending on what is ordered.

However, this wasn’t going to deter me from trying this food. My order was finally ready and my insides were jumping for joy. One bite into the first hot honey tender almost took me out and then I understood why the wait for the food is a little longer. It is because of the quality of the chicken tender and it was piping hot and quite delicious.

Let’s talk about the Belgian fries which I’ve never had before, oh my gooodness they were so amazing! The lemonade was excellent. On a scale of 1-10, I would give them a 10. I enjoyed the food so much that I came back the following day to order the same exact meal. That’s how good the food is. Great job Frank...

Mixed Experience: Good food and drink but Poor Service Today

I’ve been to this place a few times before, and I’ve always had a pleasant experience. The staff used to be friendly, and I’ve enjoyed both their burger, alcoholic and non-alcoholic beverages. On previous visits, the service was great, and I looked forward to coming back.

However, my visit today was quite disappointing. I ordered my usual coffee, which was good, but when my girlfriend asked for a cold coffee with oat milk (which was clearly listed on their menu), she was informed they didn’t have it. While it’s understandable that places can run out of stock, the response from the staff was disheartening. Instead of apologizing or explaining the situation, they simply said, "I don't have it." When I asked whether they ever had the protein drink also listed on the menu, the response was, "I don't know why it's there. We never had it."

It's okay if items aren’t available, but a more polite and professional response would have been appreciated. A simple acknowledgment, an apology, or even a suggestion for alternatives could have made the experience much better. Sadly, this lack of courtesy overshadowed what could have been an enjoyable visit.

I hope the management addresses the staff's approach to customer service, as this is not the experience I’m used to...

Given its proximity to my apartment building, I wish this place did a better job. I've only eaten here three times in the year I've lived on the waterfront, and it's consistently delivered below-average experiences.

I'll start with the easiest thing a restaurant can make: a simple milkshake. It's not hard, and yet what I received twice could only be called a milksoup. Half-melted or overly-mixed, who knows, but definitely overpriced at $8 for drinking what seemed like a melted Frosty that took 20 minutes to DoorDash from a Wendy's. It was so bad that if Daniel Day-Lewis came screaming into my face "I drink your milkshake", I'd stop him to preserve his dignity.

Burgers are a sloppy mess and the fries weren't crispy any of the times I tried them.

Frank, I know you're pouring a lot of money into trying to make this place great. You've upgraded your outdoor furniture, helped renovate the public bathrooms behind it, and brought in a lot of live music/DJs (some of which are tolerable); first and foremost, this is a restaurant, not a club. Please crack down on your food staff and the quality of what you're selling people here. No amount of booze or music will get people to forgive or forget terrible...