Orange Grill — Restaurant in New York

I wanted to share a disrespectful and disgusting experience we received on Sunday from Orange Grill. It was my mother's 80th birthday and I wanted to make a surprise party and gather together our family and her friends. I have chosen Orange Grill specifically because of the music and service they offer (not even mentioning that we drove an hour just to have a good time at Orange Grill). Unfortunately, the restaurant was booked for Saturday, so I was offered to book a table on Sunday. I have been on the phone with the place for a week going back and forth from them forcing me to get a banket for 9 adults (3 of whom were elderly women) and 2 kids. Plus they wanted to charge $65 per kid for a banquet menu (my daughter does not eat anything in the restaurants despite chicken fingers). At the end they agreed that we just order from the menu and buy alcohol from them (we did not want to bring our own alcohol from the first place). Sunday. We came to the restaurant. It was dark and not comfortable (like in a tomb) inside and we were the only table in the whole place with a quiet music playing on the background. Nobody greeted our guests who came a bit earlier as it was a surprise party. As well as nobody showed them the table. The manager was sitting behind the bar without moving at all. His face showed us that the restaurant was making us a favor for having us. Back to the music. At first we thought that the musicians would come later to play the music so we can celebrate the Jubilee. But nothing was going on. My husband decided to check with the manager about the program/music. The manager's response to my husband was - you did not order the banquet, that was why we did not invite the musicians. So we asked if any other music can be turned on so we can dance and have a good time. They said ok, we will put something more entertaining. But the music was still the same. We even asked if we can turn on music from our phone. But they declined. I decided to talk to the manager to whom I was talking 4 times during the week. On my question why he did not notify me that if there is no banquet, there is no entertainment/music/dj, the manager responded: "Я вам ничего не должен. (I do not owe you anything)." And again repeated that if you ordered a banquet than we might invite the entertainment/dj. My next request was - Can I talk to the owner. The manager declined my request - "нет, я не буду вас связывать, он уже дома (no, you cannot contact the owner, he is at home and cannot be bothered.") And the way he talked to me was like he was doing us favor by having us in the restaurant. He kept sitting at the same stool without even getting up to have a respectful conversation. No apologies were offered. No steps were taken to somehow resolve the issue. We ended up just walking out of the restaurant feeling not welcomed at the place at all. Yet again the manager did not do anything to somehow stop us. Frankly speaking, we think he was happy that we left. The only person who apologized to us was a waiter. We were really thankful to him. We do understand that miscommunications happen. But the whole situation could have been hold with more respect.

I also wanted to say a huge THANK YOU to Chinar On The Island for a welcoming, warm and home like environment! The food was absolutely delicious! The employees were respectful and absolutely friendly! Huge THANK YOU to the manager for finding us a table and welcoming us! He was so nice! And the MUSIC! It was absolutely AMAZING!!! Thanks to them my mother had a...

Recently, after several recommendations from my friends, I called the Orange Grill to make a birthday reservation for a party of 20 for Saturday, March 10. Michael, the manager told me that the restaurant is booked and offered to come celebrate my birthday on Sunday, March 11. I had reservations about it since all my guests and I would have to work the day after. However, Michael, the manager, has convinced me by saying we can start our party as early as 3 pm while having all the perks we would have if we were celebrating on a Saturday (banquet discounts, outstanding menu, etc) and that their live band will start entertainment that early too. My guests and I arrived at 4 pm. The band did not arrive until 6:30. By that time, despite me asking the servers and Michael to slow down on bringing all our food, the food was quickly served and the last dish was served at 6 pm. I spoke with Michael explaining that it was way too fast and the portions were way too small. The guests were still hungry and we did not even start dancing yet. Michael's solution was to pay for additional food. I have gone to many different venues and after paying a banquet prices, I never had the need to order more food, nor guests were still hungry. While I was still trying to sort out the shortage of food, the music started. After a few songs, the musicians stopped signing and turned their computer on. Nobody was dancing. Isn't the indication that your music is not engaging for the public in attendance? We really would not stress over the computer but the choice of music undeniably needed change. So we asked to change it to songs that are popular these days. The answer was - you have to pay per song you want. Really? It was still before 8 pm and a song lasts 3-4 minutes. How much money should we have spent to have a good time at a full service restaurant?? Michael treated us as "picky customers." I promise you, we are not. My guests were all my friends. Together, we go to different places, small and large, with and without music and we NEVER had any shortage of food or complained about music. Great food, a lot of food, awesome music (meaning music that makes you want to dance and have a great time) are the basic expectations of any Russian restaurant.. and so far, all of them delivered!

After the party, I felt bad and took my friends to another place to eat.

A tactful, caring and wise manager would make sure he satisfies a party of 20 by offering options so the word of mouth brings more business. My friends came from all 5 boroughs of NY and all are successful people that dine out often. Michael offered no solution but to pay more, for food and music. I am sure he would handle the situation very differently if he owned the place and it was the success of his business that was at stake.

Beware booking your parties at the Orange Grill, at least on Sundays. You may be shortchanged just like we were.... and bring extra money to go another place to eat afterwards.

I am exploring the option of reaching out to BBB or other companies that perform independent under cover checks. Two girls got sick after eating their fish. It is possible that on Sundays they serve left overs from Saturdays? Who knows. It is too bad that along with money spent, there was a birthday moment that was ruined. You can't have that back.

P.S. Special thank you for the service provided by Aleksey and Bek. Excellent job on their part...

This is a beautiful restaurant off the beaten path in an area you wouldn't expect! we walked in and were immediately greeted by our host, who seated us immediately. I called for reservations, but, I honestly didn't need to, it was an early dinner. This place had a very classy " nouveau riche" atmosphere, and all the staff was very helpful, very accommodating. The iPad menus were refreshing and fun, with a very select number of items for each course.

I ordered the Chilean Sea Bass, Giza sushi and Mango cheesecake for dessert.

Chilean Sea Bass - Cooked to perfection! Lightly crunchy, delicately seasoned, soft, succulent texture inside. The seasoning didn't take away from the exceptional buttery taste of the seabass itself. Paired with the most delicious vegetables consisting of peppers and squash grilled and marinated with... I'm guessing soy, teriyaki and an Asian wine to perfection. This was an exceptional dish!

Ginza Sushi - The presentation was very elegant, served on a piece of black slate, arranged in a straight line with the pieces of sushi turned diagonally, which exposed all the ingredients in this Ginza roll perfectly! Absolutely delicious with an delightful hint of heat, I was surprised!

Mango Cheesecake - A very fresh, very light yogurt type texture with an enticing amount of mango flavor. It was a refreshing alterative to the traditional cheesecake usually served in most restaurants! it was a great dessert to top off such a delicious meal!

I honestly can't wait to go back and try the banquet selection they have on the menu with friends when the opportunity comes around. There was a party next to us who were getting what looked like delicious courses continuously served to them... I was envious!

This place was very delightful and the food was amazing. It goes without saying, they will be seeing me there...