Grey Lady — Restaurant in New York

NEVER BOOK AN EVENT HERE! The manager ROGER is UNFRIENDLY, CONDESCENDING and UNWILLING to help no matter how much money you spend!

I recent had my engagement party here 11/12/16. I dealt with two different event coordinators two months prior to the event. I was offered an inconvenience gift of two sparkling wines plus dessert for having to move my party from a private room to the front room area of the location. Which I later asked for, didn't receive and was also told they were offered to everyone, so much for an inconvenience gift!

As I live out of the country I flew in 2 days before the event to see the space better (than my first initial walk in) and get an idea of how to decorate my area. Upon arrival the event coordinator DJ introduced me to Roger the manager and immediately he gave off a vibe of him being better than me, unfriendly and unhappy to work with us. I never once saw him smile!

I asked where my 33 guests would be sitting he stated it's standing area only but they can sit on stools by the bar and a very very small seating area in the corner. (This was never explained to me prior to booking). When I asked for another employee to bring Roger over so I can work out a different seating arrangement he apparently was too BUSY to talk to me. As I walked out I saw an employee from the location being handcuffed by undercover police outside.

I reached out to the coordinator who then promised two tables of additional seating, however, the day of the party the event coordinators were no where to be found and of course I only got one table of seating even though we were promised two!

Now for the food! Yes it was delicious how ever, I paid for platters of food, per person for the bar, crab claws and shrimp cocktail totaling over 3k!!!! When the claws and shrimp cocktail ran out Roger told me that was the allotted amount for 33 people. It looked as though one person gets one of each, how could that suffice? And also again another item that was not explained to me clearly.

He kept saying as per contract he can't do anything else and brought the contract to me in front of all my guests! I had to ask to go to a private area to discuss the matter. I'm asking where are the crab cakes and meatball platter I signed the contract for and what else can he do for me. He said nothing. At this point I'm fed up with his demeanor and attitude, the tight space my guests were supposed to gather in and I BROKE DOWN IN TEARS AT MY OWN ENGAGEMENT PARTY! In my GOWN I'm standing there CRYING and he's just looking at me. Says nothing. I had to ask for napkins to wipe my face!

I STRONGLY DO NOT RECOMMEND this place to anyone for an event. Grey Lady needs to GET RID OF ROGER! For the amount of money I paid I should've at the VERY LEAST had a FRIENDLY MANAGER...

HORRIBLE EXPERIENCE, DO NOT HOST HERE!!!

From rude managers, a strange man outside the bathroom harassing people for tips, racist staff... heres the full breakdown.

What was meant to be a special night ended up being distressing for both us and our guests, largely due to how we were treated by your staff.

To start, Ethan’s (a manager?) behavior towards us was shockingly rude. He was dismissive and unaccommodating from the outset, which set a negative tone over the entire evening. One incident that stood out was when one of our friends, assuming he could use Apple Pay, didn’t immediately take out his card. As he was doing so, Ethan yelled at him, saying something like, “I don’t have all night.” This was not only embarrassing for us as hosts but also upsetting for our guests.

When we spoke on the phone, we were assured that we could have the space for the entire night, with outside guests being allowed into our space after 12:30 AM, which would have been totally fine with us. However, we were shocked when, at 12:30 AM, we were abruptly kicked out. To make things worse, we weren’t allowed to control the music as promised even though both private rooms were empty, which disrupted the party we had carefully planned.

The way our guests were treated throughout the night was nothing short of appalling. Domingo, who was stationed in the main bathroom, was incredibly rude and unprofessional. He repeatedly yelled at our guests, aggressively demanded tips, and displayed an attitude that made everyone, especially the women, extremely uncomfortable. It’s absolutely unacceptable for a strange man to be standing outside the bathroom door, harassing guests. I could not even use the bathroom because of how uncomfortable i was that he was standing right outside. My friends were truly freaking out.

To add to this, when we were moved to the main room, the staff continued to harass our group. They repeatedly told us to leave and even pointed flashlights at us. This behavior made us feel singled out, and some of our guests felt that this treatment was racially motivated, which is deeply troubling. I am not surprised by the other reviews on here saying they are racist...

To top everything off, I had let our event manager know this right after the party and it has now been 2 months and i have not heard back about a resolution.

Never returning here again. Stay...

I am reluctant to leave bad reviews in general. I sat on this for a few days before deciding to leave it. But it is required in this instance, I believe. My wife, sister and I came here Sunday evening. It was about 45 minutes to close. There was a reservation mix up with a speak easy nearby, which was entirely our fault. But we decided to make the best of it and come here, as it looked cute from the street as we had walked by. Perhaps it was the fact that we were coming in for drinks so close to closing, but the waitress was exceptionally rude to our party through the entire experience. A gentleman who I believed to be the the manager or owner, but I could be wrong, seemed to notice the treatment and disregarded it. Beyond that, the place was visibly dirty throughout. To the point that my wife and sister were uncomfortable. Additionally, they charged a ‘COVID Recovery Tax’ on the bill. I feel this is unethical. If you need more money, then increase your prices and be upfront. That’s business. But charging a tax on everyone that they did not agree to pay is underhanded.

In summary, a message to the owner: I have been involved in business for many years. Everyone has a bad day and makes mistakes. But for it to be this bad, it is entrenched behavior. You are losing business. Hire people who will treat your patrons with respect and hospitality. Let go those who don’t. Increase your prices a dollar a drink and stop discreetly taking money that is not yours. If you make these changes, your business might recover from the damage that’s presently...