Lighthouse Rooftop — Restaurant in New York

I’ve always enjoyed my time at Lighthouse Rooftop, great ambiance, especially with live entertainment. But this past Sunday was a completely different experience, and I left feeling disrespected and disappointed. From the moment we sat down, we were surrounded by gnats. The waitress brought lemons for our sparkling water, and from there we were swatting bugs constantly. Still, we tried to overlook it because we hadn’t been out together in over a year and a half and just wanted to enjoy ourselves. What really stood out, though, was how we were treated compared to other tables. Nearby guests had attentive service with dirty plates cleared regularly, tables wiped down. Meanwhile, our plates sat untouched and piled up. Once we noticed, we waited another 10 minutes before finally flagging down one of the many servers or bussers standing around the bar. When I asked to speak with a manager, things got even worse. A young woman who clearly is inexperienced rolled her eyes when told to come over, stopped by the bar, then the hostess stand, and only came to our table after being reminded again. When she finally approached, she said, “You asked for a manager?” in a tone that was anything but professional. Having worked in five star customer service for years, I was stunned. No empathy, no accountability, just a cold offer of a discount. But we weren’t asking for a discount. We wanted to be heard, acknowledged, and treated with basic respect. What happened next made things even worse. After our conversation, the “manager” walked over to our waitress and began talking about our complaint directly in front of our table. The two of them went back and forth, debating whether what we said was even true, which was completely unprofessional and unacceptable. I got up and let them know that I saw and heard everything. The “manager” responded by saying, “This is what I’m supposed to do if someone complains about a table.” I understand addressing an issue with staff, but not right in front of the guest. That’s just common sense. When I told her I didn’t appreciate her attitude, she replied, “I don’t have an attitude. I’m doing my job.” Again, not the response of someone who understands hospitality or how to deescalate a situation. To top it off, she sent over a bartender, laughing, holding a fly swatter, who said, “Someone told me you called for an exterminator.” It felt like a joke to them. When I asked if she was the highest level manager, she said yes. That’s honestly the most disappointing part. From how she acted, it felt like someone in the owner’s family just playing manager, with no idea how to run a business or handle a customer issue seriously. I’ve loved this place in the past, but after this experience, I won’t be returning. It’s clear that customer concerns are not taken...

A few friends and I went here for brunch on a busy weekend. We were seated on the 2nd level by a hostess that did not seem excited to be there. They had a live DJ and the music was so loud on the first floor, we thought it was a good sign to be seated on the 2nd level since it was a bit quieter and we did not have to yell to speak to each other.

We were seated for 20 minutes and didn't have anyone serving us nor a few of the surrounding tables because there was confusion between servers and they seemed to disagree. Things happen, but they should not let customers see the disagreements nor leave us in the crosshairs.

When were were able to finally order our food and the bottomless drink special, we oddly got our food first. We did not get our first drink until at least 30 minutes and only after going down with other customers on our level to the 1st level bar area to find any server since we could no longer find any servers on the 2nd level at all. We noticed many of the tables on the 1st level also had empty espresso and mimosa glasses. Soon as we got our first drink, we ordered a second round since we did not know when we would get another. We waited another 20 minutes to get our second drink only after having to ask our server what the hold up was again. From then on, our server Mia was really nice and tried to do the best she could. If it was not for her, I don't believe this restaurant would have deserved more than 1 star. I am not sure how the food came out within a decent time and the drinks seem to trickle if their selling point is a $20 and $15 bottomless brunch.

In terms of food, the chicken and waffles was the only dish we enjoyed. The chicken was crispy and the pineapple compote had a good balance of sweetness and tartness. I appreciated that they removed the bone. However, the hangover birria was more soup along with the odd ratio of 2 small tostatadas. The steak we ordered medium rare was served well done. The chicken sausages were dry and the fingerling potatoes were not crispy.

The place itself is nice with 2 levels, large floor to ceiling windows, and a large outdoor rooftop terrace. They had 2 dancers in samba costumes along with 2 drummers for entertainment. The drummers should have used quieter drumsticks and it only seemed to be a distraction to the unrest and lack of drinks on the tables. Unfortunately, they've been open for a few months now and seem to be figuring out how to operate a restaurant or intentionally failing at their...

This is my first 1-star review on here but this place earned it. I usually use Google Maps as a place to give restaurants and the people who make them happen their flowers for all the hard work they do for the community but as they say, feedback is also a gift. Because I want to see people win, I choose to do so.

This was hands down one of the worst dining experiences of my life. From the moment I checked in with the impolite doorman downstairs the establishment tried giving me a hard time for wearing a hat, sweats, hoodie and athletic wear. The doorman pointed to the sign to make sure I understood I was breaking every dress code rule. Automatically any place that enforces dress code that hard is worried about the wrong clientele and likely not for me. I got upstairs and saw others also in joggers so what was the point?

There’s also no view for this rooftop from what I can see. What’s the point? Yet another red flag I ignored. Then the hostess tried making me wait until my friend arrived as if the place was overbooked although it was actually mostly empty. Also overheard the her lying at the front desk to someone who was trying to make a reservation that there wasn’t any space available - another flat out lie. The manager had the audacity to later tell me they were “programmed” to give the responses.

Then it took 10 minutes for a server to even come up and bring me a water. The menus were dirty, hard to react and clearly hadn’t been cleaned. Ended up ordering a milk punch cocktail that tasted like actual vomit in a glass.

The popcorn shrimp were bland at best The other cocktail I ordered was also not good but at least it was strong. My sushi special was well portioned but poor quality. The prices did not warrant the food or experience overall. Bathroom hand dryers were out of order.

Lastly they added auto-gratuity of 18% on top of a 3% credit card surcharge which I’ve never seen in my life, especially for a party of 2. Let me decide how much to pay you at least for your piss poor service. If I wasn’t in a rush to get out after waiting so long for the service, I would have refused.

Talked to the manager to give feedback at the end of the meal. She was at least nice and did the right thing by comping a round of drinks but ultimately that didn’t make up for the painful overall experience we just had. 1/10 on a scale if...