Gardenia Terrace — Restaurant in New York

I recently visited this restaurant and overall had a mixed experience. Food & Drinks: The food was good – tasty, decent portions, maybe a little overpriced but nothing outrageous. The shisha was excellent and definitely the highlight of the night. Atmosphere: The vibes, music, and overall atmosphere were great, and honestly the main reason I’d come back. Service: This is where things really need improvement. Our server rarely checked on the table, so we often had to flag down bussers just to get her attention. I wanted a refill for a long time, and since we were never given water to start with, I ended up sitting there without anything to drink for a while. When we finished eating, no one cleared the plates even though we were still staying for another 40–60 minutes with our drinks and hookah. Sitting with dirty plates in front of us wasn’t pleasant, so eventually we bussed the table ourselves. I know servers usually dislike when patrons do that, but we didn’t have a choice. To be clear, I’m not trying to be a Karen—every time our server did come over, we were kind, thankful, and appreciative. The Big Issue – Tipping: Let me be absolutely clear: this has nothing to do with tipping culture. I always tip, and I fully intended to leave 20% here. What I cannot stand is being manipulated and deceived. The way this place handles tips is not just shady, it feels borderline fraudulent. They automatically add a 20% gratuity without telling you, hidden in tiny print on the itemized bill that’s almost impossible to see in the dark. Then, when they bring the card slip, there’s a brand-new tip line with a “tip guide” that calculates percentages on top of the 20% they already took. Nowhere on that slip does it state gratuity has already been included. That means the “suggested tips” are completely bogus and inflated, and in that dim atmosphere, most people would unknowingly double tip. That’s not an accident—that’s a system designed to trick and exploit customers. It’s manipulative, deceitful, and honestly disgusting. Restaurants that pull this stunt aren’t being clever, they’re being con artists. Bottom Line: Great vibes, good food, amazing shisha – but the service was sloppy, and the tipping system is outright dishonest. I’d only return for the atmosphere, and I’d warn anyone thinking of going: watch your bill closely, because this place is actively trying...

This place has something for everyone. If you want to come here to relax, have drinks, lunch, dinner, study or have hookah you can find it all. The menu is Mediterranean with shwarma options, mezze platters for bread and dips, lamb sliders and meatballs, fresh healthy greek and organic veggie salads, large platters for sharing like meat and rice dishes, salmon, or wraps with chicken lamb minced meat with fries and salad. I love their falafel and shawarma plates the most, all the food is well seasoned with big portions and fresh ingredients, they don’t skimp on flavor and food came out really fast. I love their margherita flatbread pizza and the arugula salad(gardenia) with toasted walnuts. The gardenia sampler with babaganoush and olive dips were fresh and tasty with toasted pita. The sangria and vodka cocktails are really nice here, they dont skimp on alcohol. For hookah theres about 10 flavors with fresh fruit head for $50 or just a regular flavor for $35, they refill the coal frequently and the place has proper ventilation. The european staff is really nice and friendly, they pack whatever you want to go and they know the menu really well, they really like their jobs and customers.What holds me back from giving 5 stars was we were the only customers there at noon when they first opened the place and they didnt want to combine tables by the back booth because they felt the place would be crowded with bigger groups meanwhile we literally were the only 3 there. Nonetheless they gave us that corner booth but it felt complicated for no reason. I also was almost denied entry because i forgot my photo ID at home meanwhile my other two guests had theirs. I understand the reason they check but what if i wasnt drinking alcohol or smoking? It was nice that they let me use my vaccine card to show my DOB but this policy should be up on their website or google listing so I would of...

My partner and our 2 male friends and I had been walking around the neighborhood searching for a nice hookah bar to sit at for a few hours, wanting to experience the hookah bar scene in New York. After walking almost 25 minutes just to get to this place (after liking what it looked like online), we arrived inside only to be treated VERY strangely. I was well dressed, being the only woman in the group, with the rest of my group dressed somewhat more casually. The woman who greeted us did not look pleased to have us there and proceeded to comment on the knee-length jogging shorts of one of my friends, mentioning that if he did not have a change of shorts that he could not come in. It seemed as though she was looking for an excuse not to let us in, simply because we were not from the neighborhood or because my friends were black. NOWHERE online did it say that there was a dress code for the place nor even a price label, and people around us were not wearing very fancy clothing either. The woman was not outrightly rude but her response as we walked in was so shocking that I did not feel inclined to argue with her. We promptly left, with the woman and another waitress giving us snide looks. I had been excited to experience a part of my culture in the city (being from the Middle East, where hookah ACTUALLY originated from and was NOT made for white people to slap a sticker on it and label it “high class”) but was turned down because the appearance of my friend’s clothing was not “hip” or “classy” or “white” enough for this woman. The experience was, to say the least, despicable. I will NOT be bringing any of my friends here again, whether they are white, black, brown or yellow... VERY disappointed with the place and the way we...