Native Harlem — Restaurant in New York

I must say this is the first time in my life I ever walked out of a restaurant. This is sad too because it has such great potential. The place is beautiful, however, what's a beautiful restaurant with bad service. Please brace yourself for this review. I brought my fiance here for Father's Day due to the said live entertainment. So, here's my experience.

The place seemed closed,however, you can enter through the Magic Johnson movie theater and enter through the second floor. Once you get to the second floor, I was informed by the security that they have a strict dress code, okay, not a problem. I had on my Ugg fuzzy slippers as I had an incident that caused me to not be able to put on shoes, I couldn't walk a week prior. So, I am just blessed and grateful that I can walk. Then, he requests my ID and my partners as well. We go in as they put up a sign that says no Apple or Google pay. Okay!!! Had to go to the car and get the physical card.

We get seated right away, with a beautiful smile from the hosts. As we enter, it's loud but entertaining as a drummer is there playing African beats as the DJ is playing his own music. They were not in tune. It's a little confusing but entertaining nonetheless. Waitress comes very polite and kind and takes our order. We order drinks and appetizers. She gives us a chance to look over the menu and we order our meal. My fiance ordered the salmon dish, and I ordered the NY steak dish. Simple orders, I would think for a restaurant. We waited an hour and 30 minutes for the food to come. When it finally comes, they messed up on my order, the steak. I requested it to be well done with white rice. Rather, I received medium rare steak with mashed potatoes and spinach. So, I send the food back and explain the error with the meal to the waitress. I waited 20 minutes then the waitress comes back to me and says there's an issue, they gave me the wrong plate and the kitchen said they are not making any more steak and she asks me if there's something else that would be quicker I want to order instead. I asked for the manager and said, "Where's the plate you took from me? Can't you just recook the steak?" The waitress repeated to me and said,"It wasn't your food. They gave me the wrong plate." Wait, what!!! Did you give my plate to another customer? Did you give me someone else's touched meal? Now, I must say I am livid. The manager came after 15 minutes of waiting for her as my fiance went and got her. She came and looked at me, so I asked. Did your waitress fill you in, and she says, "They were supposed to recook your steak," "Right, I said, and she walked away. I sat there for 3 minutes wondering what the resolution was and that I waited all day to eat. I honestly walked out. This was the worst experience ever in a restaurant. That completely ruined the whole...

If I could give this place zero stars, I’d give it negative brunch points.

Let me paint you a picture: It’s noon. A party of five rolls in for what we hope will be a festive, soul-satisfying brunch. Two of us only have an hour—but that’s okay, it’s brunch, not a five-course tasting menu, right? Wrong. So wrong.

We order apps, entrees, and food to go. No fancy drinks, just bottled water. We’re told—surprise!—that most of the brunch menu is unavailable. No oxtails. No chicken and waffles. No reason to still be sitting there. But we’re hopeful. We reorder. I settle for the basics: pancakes, eggs, bacon. How hard could that be?

An entire hour goes by. Not a crumb on the table. Meanwhile, other diners who came after us are feasting like kings. Our table? Staring into the void. We finally ask what’s up and are told: “We don’t have staff. Dinner crew has to come in and help.” Which is like ordering an Uber and being told your driver is flying in from a different time zone.

Eventually—long after the two guests with actual lives leave—I receive my meal. And friends, it was a crime against breakfast.

The pancakes? Not hot. Not fluffy. Just… cornbread hockey pucks. Thick enough to stop a bullet, bland enough to cure salt cravings. The butter tab didn’t melt—it just sat there, looking as confused as I was. The eggs were sad, lukewarm, unseasoned crumbles of yellow disappointment.

I asked for salt and pepper. The manager’s response? “For what?” Ma’am. For food. For seasoning. For pretending this isn’t the most disappointing $20 stack of regret I’ve ever encountered.

I asked a waiter, too. He returned with hot sauce and a language barrier. We thanked him for his effort, but my eggs still needed CPR.

By the time our entrees arrived, the appetizers came out too—because apparently, it’s all just one sad, cold medley of “meh” in that kitchen. The wings were okay-ish. The mac and cheese needed the aforementioned salt and pepper the manager thought was an abstract concept.

This restaurant also has a strict seating time policy. Cute, considering it took them TWO HOURS to bring out what a gas station could microwave in five minutes.

Final verdict: McDonald’s pancakes would have bodied this place. Don’t walk—RUN from this brunch. If you like your food hot, your eggs seasoned, and your staff not confused by condiments—this ain’t it.

Never again. Not...

Went to Native yesterday for my wedding anniversary dinner. I was surprised that our ids and my bag were checked before we entered.

We didn't have a reservation but were seated promptly.

The decor and vibe were chic. The hostesses jackets and the serving staff's belt have this really cool print that mimic one of the walls. At one point three dancers came out and took stage and danced to Afro beats.

Things to know: They have a bathroom attendant in the ladies room, they add a 20% gratuity to your bill automatically and they have someone going around taking pictures and they are $25 in a frame.

Food: Yummy! I would describe as West African with some Caribbean options.

I got the jollof rice with beef and a side of plantain. My husband got the salmon. Both dishes were delicious and well portioned. I would have liked to have tried dessert, but our server never gave us the option.

Service: Needs improvement. Before we got our bill I said to my husband, I bet this is the type of place to include tip. I find many "nice" Black and Brown establishments don't trust their customers to tip well. And when there is an auto tip, sometimes service can suffer as a result.

Our server didn't come to check on us once our meal was delivered. I had to flag her down to get more of cole slaw that came with my meal. It got delivered after 10min and then I could finish my meal. We waited some more and then she cleared our plates and let us sit. She went to the table next to us to settle their bill, but didn't pop over to offer dessert or anything else. Then after we made eye contact with her after waiting with a clear table for another 10 minutes she asked if we wanted anything else. We said no and got the check. We had somewhere else to be and couldn't afford to wait what might have been another 10 min.

She came over to the table with the bill and then you pay right then, if you are using card. The machine shows tip options as +3 +5 +7, which was odd to me and before my husband hit anything, i said look to see if gratuity was included...it was...20%.

So go for the vibe, decor, and food. But be wary of service and plan to spend a good amount of time waiting. I love that we weren't rushed out of the place, but not enough attention was paid to us to match...