Kashkaval Garden — Restaurant in New York

I honestly have no idea how this place has good reviews. We were a party of 4 looking for an easy lunch spot. I’ll start with the food- we ordered the dip platter and the hummus is probably the worst I’ve ever had in my life. We asked for some olive oil to add some flavor since it was a dry blob and our server brought us vegetable oil. The pita bread was dried up reheated grocery store pita pockets. Then, we asked for salt and she brought us a salt shaker that was covered in a brown sticky tar type liquid.. I ordered the same order as someone else in our party which was a salad with a protein and instead of apologizing for forgetting to put the order in, the server blamed it on the kitchen forgetting and said she would prioritize it as the next order. I kept watching other patrons in the restaurant get their orders and by the time my table finished their meal- she said that they were plating my food, 10 minutes later, still nothing - I told her it was a bit late and maybe it’s better if they cancel it. A typical server would have said something like, we’ll take it off the bill but still bring your food so you have something to eat and instead she said ok we will cancel it with an attitude and walked away. Then, as for the service - it was pretty evident our server was new and continued her attitude throughout our meal- but we didn’t really bite much on it initially. She also had no idea what was on the menu and she didn’t even know if they had Tito’s behind the bar, she kept going back to check and coming back 5 mins later. When she brought the bill, she ended up charging us for drinks that we ordered but the restaurant they didn’t end up having and when we asked her why it was on the bill- she said that she didn’t know how to take it off the bill. A bit strange that we had to call that out, otherwise- she just wanted to charge us? I guess hoping we didn’t notice. It took another 15 minutes to get it resolved. We were getting a bit impatient by that point as we had a train to catch, and our waitress and another waiter just kept rolling their eyes and telling us to wait and then asked if we were threatening them. I’ve truly never experienced such horrible service anywhere in my life- and being a former server myself, I’m appalled. This place needs to get rid of their entire waitstaff. They were extremely...

If you're in the area, YOU SHOULD DINE HERE!

I love writing great reviews, and this is a fun one.😁👍

1 - The staff was excellent with compensating our party of 4 + 2 kids.

2 - The food was outstanding!

2a - If you're a fan of octopus, get the skewer. I love octopus and almost order it wherever it's served, and this place, hands down, blows all the other places away with texture and taste! The marinade was so unique, I'm begging for the secret! We also had Lamb Kofta, and those were so meaty and flavorful. layers of flavor that wouldn't stop. More, please!

2b - The flatbread was almost like a healthy and tasty dessert. I would suggest ordering extra to bring back to your room/rental for a midnight snack or breakfast. (We did!)

2c - The tapas and dips were incredible. We had the hummus, which was amazing. My favorites were the spinach and olive tapenade versions, but they were all super tasty lick the plate good.

2d - The small cups in my pictures are for the fondue to dip. In my honest opinion, fondue is not my favorite thing, however, this was awesome! There are several flavors of dips, and all are fun to try. If you get the fondue, be sure to ask for the dipping side. You'll wonder why other places that serve fondue don't offer the dipping option. true story.

2e - Those stuffed peppers (peppadews) were another game changer. I beg for the recipe... please! The creaminess of the cheese offset the bite of the tangy spice that just made for amazing delicious treats.

3 - In summary, we ordered a lot of food, and I can't remember everything, however, everything was well worth the price and experience.

I promise, Kashkaval Garden, the next time this southern GA boy (and gal) returns to NYC, WE WILL...

For the appetizer, we had the bell peppers stuffed with cream cheese and the puff pastry rolls filled with feta and spinach. The former could have been bought at the local supermarket for 2-3 dollars and would have been a better deal. The bell peppers were filled with the house's usual cream cheese, nothing special. However, eleven dollars is way too much for it, even the presentation was very sad. The puff pastry rolls were also very disappointing. More puff pastry than spinach or even cheese, of which there was virtually no taste. The puff pastry overwhelmed the entire dish, being much too thick. The tzatziki was also more than a disappointment, and I am firmly convinced that anyone who manages to stir quark with cucumber, a little bit of dill, and spices can do a better job. It was relatively tasteless, and the cucumbers were much too large. For the main course, we had skewers, once the chicken skewers and once the ham skewers with asparagus. The chicken skewers were immediately sent back as they were much too dry and barely edible because they were just too tough. The ham and asparagus skewers were not convincing either. The ham was much too thick and also extremely tough. Not to mention the sides. The bulgur was unseasoned and tasted like nothing. The vegetables were practically raw and absolutely bland. The service was okay, friendly, but not really attentive, and when we sent back half of the main course, saying it was simply inedible and the chicken was too tough, he just briefly apologized with a sorry, and that was it. Our feedback was not taken seriously at all. All in all, we have no idea how this restaurant...