Rafaelis Palace — Restaurant in New York

I went to Rafaelis Palace today for lunch with 7 other women -- all members of our Fitness Family (workout class). Everything about the restaurant was great. We were the only ones there (earliest lunch seating), so we got the undivided attention of our waitress, Julie, and Chef Rafaeli himself. Both were very warm and welcoming, giving us advice on what and how much to order. We ordered 5 appetizers (Salads) to share, and most of us ordered kebabs for our entrees. The salads were all tasty, with wonderful ingredients and dressings. The home-made humus was so good, we had to order another one. We also had one samsa each at the strong recommendation of Chef Rafaeli. He was right -- we just had to taste it. Of course, we had to order the two types of bread -- lipeshka and noni toki, both tasty and had wonderful textures. Of the kebabs, the favorite was the lamb. That was wonderfully seasoned and done perfectly. The salmon and chicken were good too -- no raves though. All in all, the experience was wonderful -- the company, the food and the service all...

The first time walking into Rafaelis Palace for dinner was amazing. The food is amazing, very tasty, well seasoned, fresh and overall very good quality. The menu has a great choice of Fish, Soups, and Meats. We ordered Roasted Eggplant Tahini, Fresh Vegetable Salad, Korean Carrot Salad, Homemade Ikra and Hummus. I'll tell you this way, I have never eaten better salads in my life, and I have eaten at many different restaurants. As well as appetizers, strongly recommend homemade Samsa and Fried Pelemeni, the Salmon kebab was just so juicy. My friend ordered Fried Branzino and was so impressed with the crunch and flavor. My other friend ordered a Lamb Kebab and a 12oz Ribeye Steak. The food is a 10 out of 10 and the environment is great. While eating dinner, the Chef came out and asked us how everything was going, if the food was well, and if we were having a great time. The answer to all those are, yes 100% everything was well, everything was delicious and I would be coming back with even...

UNBELIEVABLE!!! SHAME ON THE CHEF!!! I DON’T KNOW WHO MADE HIM A CHEF!!! I came to this restaurant for the first time because, I heard a lot of good things about the restaurant on Facebook. Rafaeli can only talk, he can’t do anything else. The chicken smells, the soup tastes like plain water and raw vegetables. I went thinking I would enjoy but I didn’t enjoy, I came home and felt so nauseous, UNBELIEVABLE! I’ve been to so many restaurants but never tasted anything like that in my life. If you can’t cook why would you open a restaurant!! CRAZYYY!!! Never will I be going back to this restaurant. For this unbelievable food I paid so much money not only that they charged 18% service charge and asked for a separate tip, FOR WHAT??? PLEASE SAVE YOUR MONEY ITS NOT WORTH IT, ITS ALL A SHOW, DON’T BELIEVE WHAT YOU SEE...