Isla & Co. - Midtown — Restaurant in New York

Adjusting my original review down from 2 to 1 star in response to the restaurant’s below reply asking me to email to discuss the expressed issues in detail. I did so, as requested, and yet 3 weeks later… still haven’t received a response from them. Shady and dishonest across the board. Don’t bother replying if it’s just for show - disrespectful and deceptive, just like the junk fees they added to our bill.

Original review: Came here for brunch with a group of friends around 11am on a Sunday.

Restaurant was busy, but food was largely average (have been here for dinner before and it was good, but the brunch was underwhelming) and multiple items on the menu were unavailable because they had run out of ingredients (including the steak and eggs, the breakfast burrito, and the sauce for the kimchi omelet) which was disappointing since nearly our entire party was asked to change our order after putting it in.

Service was also spotty with limited interaction with service staff (they added an auto gratuity at the end, so this might be why they didn’t seem to make much of an effort - never stopped by to top up our waters or ask if we’d like another round of coffees, never to check back in on whether people needed ketchup, etc.), and we were left waiting for our check for so long at the end of the meal that we felt obligated/expected to use the QR code on the table.

Unfortunately, what we didn’t know when opting to do this is they charge a 3% credit card surcharge PLUS an extra $0.99 per person at the table to pay the bill this way. Even worse, there was zero notification of either of these things throughout the payment process - we only found out once receipts were emailed to us and we asked why they showed a sales tax rate that was well above the NYS and NYC rate. It’s unacceptable to practically force customers to use a QR code to pay and then charge them extra for doing so - especially when no mention/transparency around the added junk fees is provided and our server was nowhere to be found.

For our group - they charged us an extra $5.94 to pay (platform fees) along with auto gratuity for poor service (20%) AND a 3% credit card swipe fee per transaction that was incorrectly described as “tax” on our receipts.

Overall, poor service and shady practice with the payment platform. Shame because we’ve been before and thought of this spot as a good place to entertain friends from out of town. After today’s experience, we might just have to...

I cannot, in any state of mind, imagine how this place has as high of a rating as it does.

First of all, not even a “hi how are you” from the hostess. It’s understandable if you don’t want to be there on a Saturday morning, but we were friendly in our greeting, why not a little effort back?

Second - worst Bloody Mary I’ve ever had. No flavor, everything tasted watered down, and just fell completely flat.

Third is the worst ! We ordered the mushroom toast, pulled pork hash, and a side of bacon which I clarified was for us to share. Everything came out cold, the pork being the warmest of the 3. The bacon?? TWO TINY COLD PIECES FOR $4. I live in NYC so I’m not comparing a suburban experience to this one. There are many places within walking distance that will give you like 5-6 pieces for $4.

My mushroom toast, immediately on first bite knew something was wrong. The busser wasn’t responsible for this obviously, but he didn’t know what to do and it took the waiter far too long to even come over and check on us.

I asked if I read the menu wrong and if the dish was meant to be cold, to which I received a “well the egg is cooked and the mushrooms are sautéed so..no.” Okay great…

They took the dish back, I asked them to cancel the bacon entirely because of price, and I was shocked at how fast they brought a new mushroom toast out. It only felt like it made sense if you considered it was probably an order for another table that had just been ready to go.

Once the new food was delivered, we were never checked on again. No apologies, no offers to comp anything (2 pieces of free bacon would’ve been nice lmao), and just had some random other waiter point to the QR code for us to pay on our phones.

Once we started the digital payment, guess what… 20% gratuity automatically applied. AUTO GRATUITY FOR A PARTY OF 2?? So we had to pay a $14 tip and an additional digital service fee for this extremely underwhelming and wildly disappointing experience.

Urrrrrr joking me…..

I worked in restaurants and hospitality for years and I fully subscribe to kindness, patience, and appreciation for the staff - but this put even me over the edge.

So, if youre visiting nearby or have friends visiting from out of town - avoid this place. Overpriced, poorly executed, and the reviews have to be fake lol...

I got to enjoy Isla’s indoor dining space at Hotel Hendricks, located at 25 W 38th Street this past week, and no lie - this food was some of the best I have had in my life - and that is saying a lot because I’ve eaten some delicious food. I was also fond of the interior. Isla manages to straddle the line between romance and chill ambiance making it a winner for all special occasions. The seating was airy enough to feel like you could have a one-on-one but close enough to enjoy the social nature of nightlife in NYC once again.

The 1/2 Beau Soliel OYSTERS + Trout Roe + Cucumber Shallot Mignonette were unbelievably fresh and simple - not dragged down with too many heavy sauces or heavy oils dressing. I was able to appreciate the tenderness of the oyster.

Not pictured was the Ahi Tuna Tartare + Calabrian Chiles + Avocado Yuzu Puree + Squid Ink Croquant (the croquant was the perfect vessel for the tartare with enough stability to support the heftiness of the tuna but enough give to provide a satisfying snap when you bit into it.)

My favorite dish of the night (to my surprise) was the Roasted Salmon served with Grilled Escarole, Lemon, and Ikura. The fish was absolutely tender and had an umami quality that just hit every mark in terms of salt, fat, and flavor.

The star of the show was the 14oz NY Strip Steak with Grilled Rapini and Coriander Peppercorn Jus - visually stunning as you can see in the photo. It had just the right amount of bite and tenderness, the grilled rapini was gorgeous and very meaty.

Lastly, I must share that the Medjool Date Cake with crème Fraiche, English toffee, and dulce de leche is the dessert you must-have if you only have one during your visit. It is decadent and plays with textures like crunch, springy cake, and melted cream. BUT- If you can have them all (have them all)! There is no way to order the...