Lure Fishbar — Restaurant in New York

UPDATE: The director of operations for the ownership group behind the restaurant reached out to try to make things right...but then he never returned my friend's phone call. Cool.

Skip this place.

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To boil a looong story down to something much shorter: At the very start of our meal, our waiter accidentally toppled several full drink glasses on two of my friends (we were a party of four), and one of my friends was drenched from her hair to her feet. That’s not an exaggeration, literally from her hair to her toes. Broken glass was everywhere. We didn’t yell, scream, make a scene for what was a clear accident. The waiter said the GM would be over “right away” and repeated we’d have “bunch” of food and drinks on the house. Additionally, our waiter promised us additional dishes for our friends’ troubles. We were assured several times by the wait staff we’d be taken care of. Their words.

First things first: The staff didn’t clean up all the broken glass, so we ended up picking up several pieces around us. These weren’t tiny shards, either. What would have happened if we — or someone else — stepped on them?

Second, nothing was comped off our bill. The bill was $400. Nothing was comped at all. Not the drinks, not the apps, not the main dishes. As for the “bunch” of free food we were promised for our troubles? We were each given one half of a deviled egg. That’s all. I’m serious. The waiter told us about at least one other dish that was supposed to come out, but it never came. He offered dessert at the end of the meal, but we declined.

I approached the waiter after he dropped the check — approached him away from our table and other tables, so as not to embarrass him — to ask what was up. I didn’t raise my voice and wasn’t aggressive. Why was nothing comped, like he promised? He came back with a new check, and one entree was taken off the bill. Told us he couldn’t comp anything else with the manager around. Like, what??

Oh that’s right, the GM. We didn’t see the GM until probably around an hour at minimum after the mess, and when he approached he said he heard there was a “little spill.” How incredibly obnoxious. There was nothing little about it, our friend was still soaking wet.

Thing is, he was visiting other tables around us post-mess, but not once did he come to us until our waiter asked if we had spoken with him. Our waiter apologized twice for the GM’s absence. Eventually, the GM came over and said he’d comp my friend’s dry cleaning. Cool, bare minimum. Solid. She’s going to see if the dress can be saved, but we’re not sure.

I mean, it’s not necessarily about getting the compensation we were told MULTIPLE TIMES we’d be getting. This was supposed to be a nice night out at an upscale restaurant, a treat for people like us, and I guess because we didn’t appear like their usual affluent clientele, they just didn’t want to treat us with any dignity. This wasn’t like it was just a bit of water on a pant leg. This was a really, really bad spill. Gotta say, the treatment hurt. Like, genuinely made us feel bad.
 How the staff can feel their response to this incredible mess was sufficient is just beyond me. 
I emailed the GM. He offered a generic apology and said they “dropped the ball.” But didn’t really address all that much from my original message. Do you know how frustrating that is? How small it makes you feel?

Why didn’t the GM bring us the check? Why didn’t the GM make sure things were taken care of? Why didn’t the waiter advocate for us instead of dropping off a full-priced check, after promising several times we’d be “taken care of”? I want to know if this is Lure’s protocol: When waiters mess up/spill/etc. on patrons, are patrons' meal compensated in a meaningful way immediately? Or do patrons also have to approach their waiters — politely — to ask what’s up with the bill? Is it always on the patron to take the initiative for the staff’s mistake?

Food was good, sure. But service? Well, I guess if you look like you’re a rich person, you’ll be fine. The rest of us, it’s best to...

There are a handful of restaurants that make me feel what "More Than A Woman (SG's Paradise Edit)" makes me feel: Somber, inspired, reflective, and appreciative. Lure Fishbar is one of these restaurants......... sorry I'm just in the coffee shop vibing so hard to this song rn ahahaha it has me floatin.

Upon entering through the steps below the Prada store, it took me a bit longer than I'd like to admit to realize that the inside was shaped after the cabin of a boat. Like halfway through dinner I realized and almost shared my revelation with the table, but was like nah everyone else forsure realized that RIGHT when they walked in ahahaha.

We had a sushi heavy meal that consisted of Spicy Tuna Crispy Rice, Shrimp Tempura appetizer, Lure House Roll, Tuna Hell Fire Roll, Yellow Tail Jalapeno roll, Lobster Tempura Roll, and a few others but the red wine was taking the wheel at that point.

The all stars for me were the Lure House Roll and the Tuna Hell Fire Roll. The Hell Fire Roll came with this Kimchi sauce on the side that was unlike anything I've ever had in the best way possible. It's these kind of creative risks in the food realm that keep me inspired and keep my faith in humanity alive. Some of the best sushi I've had in the city. That shrimp tempura app was actually CRACKIN too that's a must get.

After we finished our meal, we began to take interest in a table over my right shoulder which had to be an early-stage date for this cute couple. Bro got the glass Voss water, that’s how you KNOW.

However, this girl would NOT get off her phone. She took a call at the table, was pounding that Iphone screen with her thumbs, and at one point even got up and stepped outside for like 10 minutes, but wasn't even on a call, was still just texting.

Meanwhile, bro was just sitting alone DESTROYING those deviled eggs and martini while checking the weather app ahaha. Poor guy. We as a table were like nah this is actually insane, he needs to get a box for those deviled eggs and dip out. Maybe it was a real emergency for her, but if it was she should have apologized and left? It turned out to be like a 20 minute ordeal where she was outside or just on her phone and then we were like we gotta go it's gettin late. Wild.

Anyways, all this to say there is some fantastic people watching here on top of high quality food and an elite ambiance. Lure is a unique and special place, and has kept its soul and character despite being so popular for 20 years and counting. Everyone who likes seafood should experience this place at least once.

THANK YOU LURE!

IG...

After closing a big sale at work, I surprised my partner with a reservation at Lure Fishbar. This soho spot has become our go-to over the years for celebrating special career milestones and successes. We arrived 30 minutes before our scheduled reservation knowing it was unlikely they'd be able to seat us, but somehow they made it happen!

We were quickly greeted by our server, Jose, who took our drink order. After receiving our drinks and looking over the menu to make sure our favorite items were still on the menu, we ordered: A half dozen oysters, the spicy crispy rice, the hamachi ponzu crispy rice, the Shazam roll and the whole stuffed lobster. The whole stuffed lobster was the only item we had never tried before, so we knew we were in for a treat.

All of the food came out well prepared and well-paced. We love the consistency of the oysters, crispy rices and rolls. However, once the whole stuff lobster came out, we were disappointed to see it was overcooked. Normally we wouldn't say anything, as we're pretty laidback when it comes to food orders, but it was so overcooked that we couldn't get it out of the shell. We felt horrible, but knew we needed to let Jose know given the price point of the item. After informing him, he promptly asked if we wanted a new one or wanted to switch to another item. We ordered a new one and also ordered another Shazam roll while we waited. During that time, the manager, Orin (spelling?) came up to us to check in and assure us the lobster was being made with special care. Totally unnecessary, but we appreciated it and believe this level of hospitality is what sets Lure Fishbar out amongst the rest!

We understand that not every order can be absolutely perfect (we're all human!), but that service can be - Lure Fishbar is an excellent example of a spot that knows what they are doing. When the newly cooked lobster came out, it was truly cooked to perfection and we couldn't have been happier. We really appreciate the kitchen for putting in the extra work for us.

They also went above and beyond and surprised us with a special dessert to celebrate my sweetheart's work win! We are so grateful to Lure Fishbar, specifically Jose, Orin and the kitchen staff, for making our experience wonderful. We can't wait to...