La Cabaña Peruana — Restaurant in New York

We visited this restaurant as a group of 12. We explained to a waitress that we were a group of 12, and she told us to wait until the middle section was free. Although the place was packed, we took it as a good sign and we decided to wait for a table. After a while, another waitress approached us and asked what we were waiting for. We explained we were waiting for a table, without hesitation she told us it was ready and immediately turned around to lead us to the table. However, the table was clearly not large enough for our group. We mentioned this to her, she simply said “oh” and walked away, leaving us standing there.

We had to ask another staff member if it was ok to add more chairs, he agreed and helped us accommodate everyone. Unfortunately, the service continued to decline from there. No menus or utensils were provided, we had to get the menus ourselves and request utensils only after the food arrived.

It took quite a while for someone to take our order, and when they did the waitress had to switch out because she was repeatedly called to the register to handle phone orders. Eventually, the same young lady from earlier returned to take our order. The food took over an hour to arrive, and when it did, it was just okay. We had requested a side of tostones multiple times, but they never came. At one point, another waitress stopped by to check on us, we again asked for the tostones, along with hot sauce and salt. She completely ignored the request and went to another table without returning.

We ultimately canceled the tostones, and were charged for an extra fried rice we did not order. Additionally, an 18% gratuity fee was automatically added to our bill, which was over $200. While we typically have no problem tipping and believe in compensating good service, in this case the staff did not earn that level of gratuity.

The restaurant itself has the potential to accommodate as many people, but they are clearly understaffed or in need of better training. The waitstaff seemed overwhelmed, and while that’s understandable, it should not come at the expense of the customer’s experience. If the restaurant is going to automatically include an 18% gratuity, they need to ensure the service provided reflects...

Please know that I don't want to hurt this business...I loathe negative rants on Yelp! I hope locals and beachgoers will continue to support this small business.

I escaped the heat of the City to hang out at the beach during the late afternoon. I packed a good book and called La Cabaña Peruana for a takeout order of chicken, rice, beans, and a salad. After 3 unsuccessful attempts to place a phone order, I decided to stop in. I'd dined in the restaurant last summer and enjoyed a really good meal. Perhaps it was because a Federal Holiday (Juneteenth ) and the restaurant wasn't sufficiently staffed or because the sole employee at the front of the house needs more direction and/or training, I don't know. I won't give a tiresome account of what was wrong with my order, except to mention the cashier/server/busser/order taker explained the mistake with my meal as "they are confused in the kitchen". That person didn't offer a smile, apology, or remedy for the issue with my meal. During the half hour wait for the food, 2 groups walked out. One was seated and the other waited at the door for 5 or so minutes without being acknowledged. 9 people in total. Tables were left dirty. Takeout customers complained amongst themselves. That said, I will go back for another chance at a good meal. I'm looking forward to writing an updated review!

From one restaurant owner to another...you have a good product . PLEASE support your staff. Your menu is good, budget friendly, simplistic and easy to execute. Consider this, the money that was lost in one half an hour would have paid for an additional staff for at least 8 hours. Best wishes for a more...

I just ordered from this location and picked up a half chicken with yellow rice and beans and a side order of plantains. During the order I asked for 2 of the red sauces and later I asked if I could try the green sauce. These sauces come in small packages (see pic), so it is usually just enough to cover a 1/4 meal let alone the half chicken order. It was not until I received my order and checked the bag that I discovered that my request for 2 red sauces and 1 green was not fulfilled. I was I informed that I could not have 2 of the red sauces. In fact, I was told by the guy in the front that I had to ask the woman in the back if I could have another as I originally requested. She said sure and then said "$1.00." REALLY?! You are going to charge a local resident who decided to patron your restaurant tonight an extra $1 for a small package of sauce. Now this is of course insulting considering that I not only paid for my meal but I always give a standard tip because I know that our small businesses need to be supported. The guy later said that he would cancel out the tip, which by the way I never asked nor did I tell him to do that as my tip was not based upon the need to gain favors. In sum, the food is really good but they definitely lost me as a customer. I NEVER have this type of issue with several of my favorite restaurants that I frequent and I did find his presumed "kind gesture" to return my tip insulting because he totally missed the point. Oh I failed to mention that during my wait, I witnessed another customer ask for more green sauce, which I received 2 without any request for extra...