Panino Rustico Staten Island — Restaurant in New York

Please read !!!!!! I’ve been ordering from panino for over a year and never had a problem. I decided to order from uber eats or I think DoorDash and the food came at a decent time but that wasn’t the problem. The issue I had was the driver who delivered my food from panino. I left on the app to leave the food at the door because I have dogs who go crazy as a dog owner you understand and the driver calls me and tells me the food is here and tells me to come and get it . I explained to him that if he can leave it by the stairs and about my dog situation. He proceeds to then ask me if I tipped on the app or do I have cash? I explained to him that I don’t tip until after I receive my food which is an option if I prefer to do that . He tries to tell me that it’s too late for me to do that if I can give him the cash and I said no I didn’t have cash on me I was going to do it on the app . So then he asks me how much was I going to tip and was very rude to me in the tone of his voice and he made me feel very pressured to tip him at the moment HE wanted and how much it was so that possibly he can criticize it . I explained to him that it shouldn’t matter what I tip it’s the point of even tipping and I told him I’m gonna call your manager about it and all he said to me was “if you didn’t have money for a tip you could’ve just said so … have a happy new year “ with a sarcastic attitude. I understand that people need to make money around the holidays but TIPPING IS AN OPTION NOT A REQUIREMENT! I shouldn’t have felt pressured about tipping you at the moment you wanted because you didn’t see it on the app . I lived 5-10 minutes away by drive it’s not necessary to always tip . If I lived far away I would completely understand but like I told the owner of the place I always tip no matter what but this one time after that conversation I wasn’t doing it . I explained to the owner he’s hired/getting paid to do deliveries why do I need to feel pressured to tip if he’s getting paid to do this work anyways . Not everyone has cash to tip or maybe some people can only afford the dinner they ordered. But that wasn’t the case for me and I’m very disappointed I got treated like this . I hope this driver gets fired or at least gets in trouble for the way he speaks to someone . If he needs money so badly he should work...

This is a completely honest review for a place that I do like, and are familiar with from the Brooklyn location years ago.

Now first, the food is good. Most likely you’re going to be getting a panini obviously and you will find that are are on the higher end all between $8-$11. The thing that bothers me is that they don’t come with a side, or any type of small add on at least. Now if you want to order a separate side, salad or appetizer they are going to run you at least 5-6 bucks, add a drink and you’re pushing 20 or more.

The last thing I got is pictured below, P35 priced at 10.99. As you can see or most people would notice that is store bought microwaveable bacon, atop basic sliced turkey and some avocado. Now I would say this takes tops $3 or $4 to make being generous. So at this 11 dollar price I would expect some real bacon? Never had breakfast here but is this what comes with eggs? I hope not. I would be more comfortable paying that price if I got maybe a small side salad or just something maybe a dipping cup comes with it. With the ingredients being used it makes it nothing special, most deli’s now have these paninis for half the price, or most pizza places as well.

Now another thing, also popular on this island is this place is cash only. So if you miss the little hand written post it on the door you will be caught off guard. But they do have an atm inside which in my opinion makes it look like a nightclub set up, kind of ruins the look. Now I spent 40 dollars last time here for 3 paninis and had to use the ATM to take out money. I would guess at least every person walking in here spends at minimum $5 for just a drink, anyone buying food is $10 or more. So is it that hard to accept cards? It’s 2018 and it’s enough with the hiding money and wanting to be cash only. It’s an inconvenience to your customer and is obviously fishy.

So I will give 3 stars for the inconveniences listed above, but food and service is good. Never delivered so can’t say about that. The place is cute and decent location but at this point it’s another over priced nothing special Staten Island hyped up place that will eventually wear out as many places do out here, unless you keep up with trends and make yourself different from the rest. I can change rating if some stuff is addressed, especially the cash...

Where to start, I went to Panino Rustico for the first time to have a good time and eat lunch on my day off. All started ok, until I found a big long blonde hair in my mouth, almost at the end of eating my sandwich. I asked the waitress if the people in the kitchen wear hats, she said no, then I told her the reason is because I found a hair in my sandwich, basically in my mouth! she found it a little bit funny and said sorry about that, then the girl who brought me the check just dropped it on my table, which I found very rude by the way. They didn't want to charge me for the sandwich and I went to the manager and told her I want to pay for the sandwich, all I wanted was an honest apology but yeah, never got it. I paid what I had to pay and left. Will never go back to this place nor recommend...