Mimi's Restaurant and Piano Bar — Restaurant in New York

I am from an Italian family and was so excited to feel at home in Mimi’s atmosphere. The most homey part was the abrasive treatment from the staff- singularly the redheaded bartender. She reminded me of my childhood with her screaming- just like the Italian women in my family. Home sweet home.

We got there excited to hear live music with our friends. The piano player invited us to sit at the piano bar. We quickly realized we’d have to give our orders at the main bar which we were happy to do. My husband ordered two espresso martinis at the main bar with the iconic redheaded bartender (mentioned earlier). She immediately began yelling at him then walked away only to come back and yell at him more- with rude gestures. We gathered that she wanted him to order at the main bar and was angry we were seated at the piano bar. I couldn’t understand why this was a problem because my husband was ordering at the main bar.

I joined him and we walked to the other side of the bar that she’d gestured to. Her power of confusion was incredible! We couldn’t understand why she was in histrionics because she wouldn’t finish her sentences or explanations. Instead she would yell and put her head in her hands. She also made a gesture of crazy fingers toward us at other customers.

She put two martini glasses on napkins and pushed them toward us. The liquid inside was clear and sparkling. Not an espresso martini, but she refused to say anything to us, instead she wouldn’t acknowledge me trying to ask if she was okay. I also wanted to ask if these were our drinks and if we could take them to the piano bar. My husband and I are seasoned bartenders and understand the stress. After a few minutes of her ignoring our questions, we just took the drinks assuming she’d thought my husband had ordered regular martinis instead of espresso martinis. We were happy with either. My girlfriend and I sipped them and realized it was just club soda. But decided God didn’t want us to have alcohol- so we kept singing to the music with our fancy club sodas.

Then… all hell broke loose. The redheaded older bartender started to scream across the restaurant at my husband “SIR I AM CHILLING THE GLASSES! DOES THAT LOOK LIKE AN ESPRESSO MARTINI SIR!!” I literally felt right at home as if it was my mother yelling at me at Nonna’s Sunday dinner. She thought we were stunad so I talked to her and brought the cups back. She was a bit nicer to me and then made the most watery espresso martinis but I got very drunk anyway. No complaints. She also uttered an iconic “SIR- WATCH THIS”. She poured the drinks into the “chilled cups” and looked my husband in the eyes. “NOW THATS THE COLOR OF AN ESPRESSO MARTINI”.

We decided to stay for dinner and dessert and...

Racist. They wouldn’t wait on us.

This is my second time experiencing racism at this restaurant. After reading the reviews, I see I'm not the only one. I live in the neighborhood and used to eat here regularly.

I notice when I go with my Hispanic friends, they treat us with disgust and disrespect. The first time I encountered this, they didn't want to seat my friend. When they realized she was with me, they allowed her to sit at the table but were dismissive from that moment on.

I had to ask for menus and water several times. They finally brought them over 30 minutes after seating us. Our food took over an hour to arrive at our table.

Their actions or inaction rather, led to only one conclusion. They were refusing to serve us based on our race/ethnicity.

When I see other reviews, other customers were treated in a similar way. They didn't tell them to leave with words, but they communicated this by not waiting on them. They wanted them to leave. They wanted us to leave.

The second incident, the bar tender asked us to leave. I nodded yes and she asked if I understood English. She then proceeded to say, "you clearly don't speak English." I was in shock! Once she realized I speak English, she tried to back pedal. I've uploaded the videos for reference.

Throughout my time at the restaurant, I was subjected to discriminatory treatment based on my race/ethnicity. From dismissive behavior to outright prejudice, it was clear that I was not welcome or valued as a customer solely because of my race/ethnicity.

Experiencing racism in any setting is hurtful and unjustifiable, but encountering it in a place meant for hospitality is especially disheartening.

I urge Mimi's Restaurant and Piano Bar to take proactive steps to address racism within their staff and customer base.

Discrimination has no place in any establishment, and it's imperative that action is taken to ensure that all patrons are treated with dignity and respect.

Not only is this treatment unprofessional, it is against the law to discriminate against race and ethnicity.

I cannot in good conscience recommend Mimi's Restaurant and Piano Bar until meaningful efforts are made to confront and eliminate racism within their premises. It's my hope that this review serves as a catalyst for...

Please, DO NOT EVER even let the thought cross your mind to walk through the door of Mimi's.

First, we entered, received the menu and began looking for things to try, maybe a nice bottle of wine, etc. Well, the wine menu was not at all up to par, especially for Piano Bar?? It didn’t make sense, but we overlooked this item and moved on to appetizers and entrees.

1. Bread came to the table, cold and undercooked, (noted)

2. Minestrone soup brought to the table, tasted actually canned with a little extra jazz in it to cover up the can taste - (Strike 1)

3. My wife ordered a very basic meal, Rigatoni with garlic and oil - easy 1-2-3. When this plate was delivered to the table the pasta was undercooked, cold and tasted like wallpaper paste. She did not eat anything as you could not even stomach it. - (Strike 2)

4. I wanted to try something a bit more difficult to prepare, but still easy, Veal, Eggplant with Fresh Mozzarella, herbs, etc. When this was delivered to the table, I knew I was in for the adventure. The chicken that the chef tried to pass as Veal was burnt so bad there nothing left but bread crumbs and some sort of mystery meat. There was NO eggplant or maybe another vegetable to pass it off. The cheese tasted fake. I have no other word to describe it. The side of spaghetti was cold, sauce was tasteless. - I simply stopped eating as I was in fear of getting drastically ill (Strike three)

5. We immediately requested the bill and upon reaching the table the kind waiter asked if we wanted to wrap it up. I was cordial and simply stated, "No Thank You the food was horrible" He responded with nothing and gave us the bill and walked away. No offer to further discuss what we were unhappy with and maybe the chef could prepare something different, etc. - Just pure unprofessionalism in the food industry

6. We didn't want to make it a big deal as there were other patrons in the restaurant and paid over $75.00 for this horrible experience - if we could provide zero stars this place deserves it and should be immediately inspected by the Health Department

In conclusion: STAY AWAY - Keep walking down second, I would not even allow our dog to eat in this restaurant.

Uggh...while writing this review the smell of that place and horrid food just...