LOFT by Hot Potato — Restaurant in New York

Service was absolutely god awful. We ordered a banquet for an event we had at the restaurant, we had at least 4 servers circling our table. Not only were they not capable of getting rid of empty plates from the table, but it’s a fairly common sense thing to know that you should be taking the dirty utensils along with the dirty plates when you’re changing them. The drink pitchers were not refilled, were absolutely disgusting in color, and spilled as soon as there was any attempt to pour them into a cup. By the time they were serving desert onto the table, there was still chicken and fries on the table. It doesn’t take a genius to understand you should clear the table before bringing dessert. The pickled tomatoes, cucumbers and peppers were foul, not only in smell but visibly looked days old. For 130$ a person m. There was quite literally nothing on the table. For 20+ people there were (all shared amongst everyone at the table)

For the appetizers: maybe 3 Caesar salads scattered around the table and 3 absolutely tasteless radish, fried onion and cow tongue salads. The disgusting pickled vegetables, holodets served in literal take out containers, a few plates of pashtet, sheika, and gefilte fish.

For the entrees (once again for 20+ people) there were 2 platters of potatoes and mushrooms, 2 platters of salmon and rice 2 platters of chicken and French fries also virtually tasteless, and a spinach pastry. The potatoes and mushrooms never got to the middle half of the table due to how the waiters were serving the food. The chicken reeked of garlic and STILL had zero taste. The salmon and rice was the only serving grace from that entire table. And dessert was 3 plates of some god awful apple cinnamon strudel that was impossible to break into, was drenched in cinnamon, with ice cream, and 3 plates of fruits which included a few pieces of watermelon, a branch of grapes (almost entirely unwashed) a quarter of a pineapple and one other fruit that I didn’t look at. They served tea and coffee without enough cups and the female waitress gave a nasty attitude when she was told she’d need to bring more. Prior to leaving (AN HOUR AND A HALF PRIOR TO LEAVING) the staff was asked to prepare a take home plate of potatoes and mushrooms for a child at home, Lo and behold after already settling the bill the food had never even been started, we ended up waiting for more than 25 minutes to have that measly plate brought to us so we could leave.

For over 130$ per person this was the biggest disaster of a banquet dinner I’ve ever had the misfortune of being invited to. EVERY SINGLE PERSON AT THAT TABLE AGREED ON THAT SENTIMENT. This place is a waste of money and service was horrendous, save yourself the time and money and go elsewhere. Over...

We had a 15 people Surprise Party for my better half's 50th Birthday and loved every minute of it! The ordering and coordination of the banquet was effortless. The catering was phenomenal! You get the same quality banquet menu, variety, portion sizes and gourmet taste as you would have gotten in another more upscale joint, at a fraction of the cost! When we needed the inconspicuous ambiance, to surprise the "birthday boy", everyone, starting with the restaurant staff and including all guests at other tables were very accommodating and agreed to close the curtains and sit quietly with the lights-off for few minutes until we brought the guilty party inside, then, everyone screamed "Surprise!" Since the place has an incredibly misleading shabby appearance from outside, it worked in our favor, as the person who we tried to surprise did not even realized it was a "restaurant" until we walked in! Inside however, the hall is very modern, stylish, cheerful yet very cozy! It was a Sunday evening, but the restaurant was packed! The only minor negative nuance, that I had noticed was that the courses were brought out with very long intervals and considering it was a Sunday evening and many people could not stay too late we had to skip the last round of hot entries and request the desert instead. Whatever was not served came home with us and we will probably enjoy it for the rest of the week, but I wish all hot entries were served simultaneously or with shorter intervals so that guests could plan their stomach space and time a little better. But since everyone was stuffed by that time anyway, it did not matter that much. On another positive note though, Hot Potato House does not play loud music and guests can actually hear each other talk and say toasts! So, yes, I was kind of skeptical at fist given it's "off-the-beaten-path" location and fast food exterior appearance but I would give this place five and a half stars if it was available! Highly recommend, especially for...

On the evening of December 8th, 2024, my family and friends met at “Hot Potato” for our own personal cause. My favorite meaty dish, was taretare (herring I never like) — they cooked that very fish with the taste, thus I didn’t feel any naste. Also, I liked fried potatoes with mushrooms very much, it is my favorite meal, of course; as well as the pierogies were good (served the baked only, fried are only sold in Samarkand Bazaar supermarket). In addition, their rice was classy and not ordinary. During our visit, there was the warm atmosphere with the music, and some little child sang karaoke, and it made me smile and clap for a while. But, the servants must be friendlier, that’s as usual. Our company, naturally, understood, that it’s very hard job. Do be. There is a restroom in the restaurant, and then we had it used. The drinks, that were served to us, were the compote (home-style fruit-bowled drink, like a juice), alcohol, and soda. The staff allowed us to take the remaining food for home. It took us some time to find a parking outside, and there was across the street for my car for free — without a...