Korali Estiatorio — Restaurant in New York

I honestly was so excited to go to this restaurant. Such great reviews, such positive compliments from my friends! So come Saturday evening, we saw the place was packed, but they said they could squeeze the two of us in - my boyfriend and I.

It started off poorly immediately - the waiter continually forgot to take our food order, forgot to bring our bread out, he also forgot our wine repeatedly, and even put in our appetizers wrong. I understand when you're slammed you can make mistakes, but we didn't even get an apology.

I ordered lamb for my main course. This is a Greek restaurant, after all. This should be the star of the show. However, lamb needs to be cooked just right - it can get really dry if cooked too long. I had high expectations and was faced with utter disappointment when I received a lamb so overcooked that I had to send it back. Again, no apologies from the waiter. The lamb comes back to me, this time RAW. I start to cut into every piece to see that each is inedible. I send it back. My boyfriend had finished his meal at this point and my patience was wearing thin and we were tempted to leave. However, I stayed optimistic - third time's a charm.

They overcooked it AGAIN. And not only that, they had taken my pieces (which I had hacked into) and stuck them under the broil. They didn't even bother to make it from the start. I barely could eat any of it. Again, no apologies from the waiter. At this point I was fuming - not to mention that I was taking my boyfriend out for dinner so the bill was coming to me. I barely give the waiter any tip (I felt guilty leaving 0% but in retrospect, I should have).

On our way out, the manager stopped us, clearly aware that our experience was sub-par. I tell him yes, we had a rough dinner and we were thoroughly disappointed. I explain to him in detail what had happened.

However- to my utter shock- he turns to my BOYFRIEND and apologizes to HIM and shakes HIS hand, introducing himself by first name and tells him the next meal is on the house. Did I mention that I had paid the bill? That I had complained to the manager? And I was treated at that moment as I was invisible. I really wish I had said something but I was so shocked and blown away by this blatant display of sexism that I could just stand there - jaw on the floor.

Bad food, bad service is deserving of a low grade, but being treated as second class to my boyfriend fully deserves zero stars. Unfortunately, Google doesn't allow that so the best I can do is warn others and let the manager know that he needs to fully educate himself on how women should be treated in the...

What a wonderful surprise, truly authentic Greek cuisine. Best I’ve had anywhere in NYC. Keep up the great food. Thank you

We’ve been back 4 more times and they yet to disappoint. It really is outstanding with attentive service and excellent management

Now that we’ve become regulars we’re even more warmly greeted by the management and staff, especially when they hear us speak a word or 2 in Greek. They also know how often I travel there. We’ve probably had every appetizer on the menu and each one is unique and brings out the traditional flavors of Greece. The fresh fish, lamb chops, lamb shoulder and Moussaka remind me of being in a Greek taverna. Everything really is classic. They’re doing a great job. Karasto!

We decided tonight was the perfect time to go back to Korali, 1.) because we enjoy the food; 2.) because the weather was so nice we could sit by the doors & 3.) because I’ve recently read some reviews that were so disappointing that we had to see if there was a change in the food or service.

Well let me say we weren’t disappointed at all, we brought friends with us who’d never been there before and they loved it. Everything was outstanding. For appetizers we had the halumi, a plate of the sagunaki, octopus and chips. The entrees were a mixed seafood dish, lamb shoulder and a traditional mousaka. Each dish was perfectly prepared, served at the right temperature etc. All of us left totally satisfied and looking forward to our next visit to, “a...

First time coming here. Heard a lot of good things about it.

I started with a cocktail ‘Aphrodite,’ and got a fried calamari. The cocktail was nice. It’s very floral, I tasted roses and lavender, even though the menu only mentioned lavender. The drink was not only delicious, it was also very pretty. It was in light pink color and on top there was a dried fig sliced in half. The fried calamari was also very nice. The batter was light and crispy. The calamari itself was very tender and lightly sweet. The tomato sauce was alright.

I also ordered a Rib Eye Steak Prime cooked medium rare, however, it was cooked medium well when it was served. It was tender, but I didn’t like it. I had to sent it back. They gave me another one, and this time they got it right. It was cooked nicely, but there were too many fatty bits. I swore I heard the owner said to take it off my check when he brought me the second plate, but it was still on it regardless. It was fine.

The service was very nice. I saw many regulars, and they were very friendly with their servers. Few of them hugged. That was nice. I just hope the quality of the food was more consistent, well...