Milk & Roses — Restaurant in New York

One of the Worst Dining Experiences I’ve Had – False Advertising and Disorganized Staff

If you’re looking for authentic Italian food, Milk and Roses is not the place. This restaurant is nothing more than smoke and mirrors with fancy-sounding menu items that have nothing to do with what actually ends up on your plate. I ordered what was described as a Panini with tuna. What I got was canned tuna salad with olives (which were not listed on the menu) slapped between two DRY burger buns and topped with arugula, How is that a Panini? It wasn’t grilled or pressed like actual Panini supposed to be Another person in my party ordered what was described as a pasta dish with Branzino. Instead, they got chopped-up pieces of what was clearly frozen fish tossed into a flavorless, greasy pasta. Branzino is supposed to be served as a delicate fillet—not mangled like leftovers in a cheap pasta dish. The restaurant manager claimed That this food is Italian and the restaurant is Italian and clearly I don’t know what Italian food looks like... I Go to plenty of Italian restaurants I’m surrounded by Italian Friends and family I’ve been to Italy the only Italian thing about it is the menu food names. An actual Italian walking in here would probably have a heart attack. There wasn’t a single authentic Italian dish. They even had Shakshuka on the menu—first of all, that’s Mediterranean, not Italian, and second, how do you mess up Shakshuka? They somehow did. It was literally canned tomatoes with two sad eggs cracked on top. As a Mediterranean woman, I was genuinely offended.

The service was just as disappointing. The staff was disorganized and clearly untrained. Our waiter didn’t seem to know how to handle basic service issues, and gave us attitude and when we complained, the manager—a Russian woman with a thick accent—tried to gaslight us by insisting that “this is how Italians do it.” Sorry, but how would she know? I asked her if she ever been to Italy she said no … She said the chef was Italian straight of the boat from Italy and he knows what he’s doing yet I peeked into the kitchen and the chef was clearly Mexican. Maybe she thinks whoever speaks Spanish is Italian? So who exactly is deciding what Italian cuisine is supposed to be? To top it all off, we sent back the food untouched, and for 20 minutes our waiter walked around the restaurant with the plates in hand, unsure what to do with them. And then they had the nerve to demand we pay for those cold, manhandled dishes. Truly appalling. Save your time, money, and taste buds. Milk and Roses is an overpriced, pretentious place that doesn’t even get the...

Horrible experience!! Latino community please read this…… it was my first night out after a long surgery recovery. We went there for dinner ( party of 3) and the server told us to seat any where we liked. So we used the table on the back room we’re a party of 2(polish couple) was dinning as well. We order appetizers and main course after eating our appetizer and soon after receiving our main course the server went to our table and asked us to move to a different table because they had a large group of people coming into the restaurant. She said To us I already prepared a table for you “ please bring your plates to the table I’ll bring the water” I felt so humilde because the server never asked the other table to move! It looks like the group of people were just a walking however, My 3yrs old,husband and myself deserve the same level of service as anybody else. Or why she didn’t asked the large group to wait until we finish our meal. The only reason why I stayed there was because my son was so hungry and he didn’t want to leave until he finished his meal (Cornish hen we shared the plate because Of my bariatric surgery) I saw the couple who were on the same room with us comfortable finishing their dining experience (no rush/never were asked to moved) they weren’t part of the large group. while part of the group was standing there waiting. So why our table where the only one required to moved ?? It was quite interesting ……..2 sodas were taken off the bill as an apology I declined a glass of house wine because all I wanted was to leave the place as soon as my soon finished his meal.

Now all makes sense Milk & Roses owner that’s why there is such of poor service there!

First of all, I went there to have a great time expecting to pay the entire check. You claiming that my son was not eating any couses🤦🏻‍♀️ I’m bariatric person my son and I share cornish hean. How can you be sure the he was not eating! On top declining the house glass of wine means that I was not even taking advantage of the situation I DID NOT want anything for free! All I wanted was to leave the place after such of humiliation. Polish couple was not part of the group because they told us how uncomfortable they felt went it got so crowded at the back room. Server offer us to take off the bill two ginger ale. Again I didn’t want anything for free! Hopefully you take seriously customers reviews and address those issues if you want to have you please keep running. By they way it was almost empty...

Take a seat—I’ve just poured myself a cup of coffee to properly articulate my bizarre Valentine’s Day experience. If management decides to read no further than the first paragraph, I’ll start with this: It took TWENTY-FIVE MINUTES to get water and a drink menu. (I would’ve left, but I had already paid—more on that later.) Also, where WAS management? I saw two terrified servers and a useless busser in Nikes, who would glance around at empty glasses and plates and then vanish into another room… to look at more empty glasses?

Now, the Karens of the world have made constructive criticism harder with their entitled behavior, but I was raised differently—my mom is Judy, not Karen. So here’s my attempt at polite, professional feedback. (I’ve listed it for efficiency, since I already wasted enough time waiting for water.)

I Venmoed a stranger $230, plus $163 for drinks, tax, and tip. The separation felt questionable. Paying nearly $400 for mediocre food and laughable service felt absurd. For $400, I could’ve dined at a Michelin-rated restaurant and had a far superior experience.

Table layout was bizarre. Shared tables, others awkwardly facing the front door—it felt chaotic.

Lighting was a mess. Other tables were turning off lights and pulling candles from empty tables just to create some ambiance. It’s Valentine’s Day. Come on.

Soda and beer cans on tables. Amateur hour.

Menus marked with pens. It’s a pre-fixe menu with two options—you can remember the choices?

25 minutes for water and menus. Drinks arriving after appetizers. With two seatings and a set menu, this wasn’t a busy-night issue—it was inexperience. Give everyone water at once, check on food for all tables at once, and consolidate your tasks. Everyone was on a similar timeline—efficiency is key.

I felt taken advantage of with the payment structure, and the website/Instagram do not reflect the actual experience. After glancing at other tables, I overheard jokes and "good luck" muttered when ordering another round—I started going directly to the bar.

Paying $400 for okay food and terrible service isn’t acceptable. I’m happy to pay a premium, but there’s a right and wrong way to run a restaurant. I hope I’ve raised these concerns politely because I believe feedback is important. Milk & Roses has the pieces, but it could benefit greatly from new management, FOH, and BOH staff.

There are a million places in Greenpoint—go anywhere else, especially on...