Rintintin — Restaurant in New York

We’ve visited Ritintin several times and always loved the food and the friendly servers. Unfortunately, our most recent visit was disappointing — not because of the food or the staff, but because of the female manager’s attitude.

There were three of us, and we asked to sit outside. One small table was available, and when we asked if we could sit there, the manager asked if we’d be fine using just that one small table. We said yes, since that was the only table she offered us at the moment.

We ordered three drinks and four dishes. The first two dishes came out, and while we were eating, the table next to us became empty. When the remaining dishes arrived, our table had no space left, so our server placed them temporarily on the empty table beside us.

We politely asked if we could use that empty table just to hold the food, and our server said she would check with the manager. The manager refused. Later, a second server came to check on us and kindly said she would ask again — but the manager still said no. Then, a third server, seeing that our dishes were sitting on the empty table getting cold, also tried to help by asking again. Yet the manager refused once more, even though, by that time, there were four or five empty outdoor tables available.

Instead of helping, the manager came out, placed a “Reserved” sign on the empty table right next to us, and walked away without saying anything.

A few minutes later, the third server returned and asked if we were okay. We explained that if the table was truly reserved, we’d just like to know what time the reservation was so we could finish before then. She said she’d ask — but again, the manager said no and finally came to our table herself, visibly frustrated, asking, “What’s the problem?”

I calmly explained that our food didn’t fit on the table, and we simply wanted to know whether the next table was actually reserved. The manager sarcastically said “Soon” twice, then told us to clear some plates to make room. A moment later, as if realizing how unreasonable that sounded, she sighed, pushed the tables together herself, and said something like, “You agreed to use one table,” in a tone that made us feel as if we were being difficult customers.

What made it worse was seeing her inside the restaurant pointing toward our table and talking to a server, shaking her head as if we were the problem. She and another staff member kept glancing at us throughout the meal, making us very uncomfortable.

To be clear, we were never being unreasonable. We agreed to use one small table when all others were occupied. Once the next table became available and our food arrived, we politely asked to use the extra space — at a time when multiple outdoor tables were empty. Any professional manager could have handled this with empathy and common sense.

The food was excellent as always, and all three servers were kind, patient, and professional — they truly did their best to help us, and we appreciated that. But the manager’s behavior completely ruined what should have been another wonderful experience.

I brought a friend visiting from Korea — her first time in New York — and I was excited to take her to one of my favorite spots. It’s such a shame that this visit left us both disappointed because of one...

I live local, have worked in the restaurant industry, and both my parents were GMs in the city so let's baseline there. This place is a decent neighborhood spot for the most part. Drinks aren't special but a few of the bartenders are lovely and do well with the basics. Same regarding the food (some things are great, any of the things that are fried are sometimes cooked at the wrong temp and end up just being greasy). The interior is the same, it's pretty nice. This review should be a solid 4.5 but the service drags everything down. Unfortunately there is one woman behind the bar on the weekend nights who is ATROCIOUS. I have no idea how this lady works the weekend shifts. If this was a one-off I wouldn't say anything, but this bartender is a repeat offender; She's rude, makes mediocre drinks, is stingy with the ice, ignores you when you order, God forbid you ask for a glass of water with your drinks. She also adds things to the bill that were never ordered (has happened several times. not sure is she does this bc ppl get pretty drunk but some of us aren't wasted and we can read the bill). Not sure how this type of person got the weekend shift. One person ruining a decent operation isn't worth it. Decent personable bartenders (esp on the weekend) add to the vibe. I understand all too well that some bridge-and-tunnel ppl get rude , wasted and annoying, and ok thats when a bartenders annoyance and rudeness is justified, but this lady is just rude for no reason. She makes bad drinks too. There are other solid bartenders during the week, in the day and even on the weekends. GM or owner should correct this. It shouldn't...

I have been here a couple of times and the drinks and food are good, and the staff is friendly. However, when I recently visited I wanted to make an order at the bar, because we weren't getting served at our table for the last 45 minutes. Which I don't particularly mind, because it was a busy Saturday night. But wanting to make sure to be able to order a drink during the last call I walked up to the bar.

That's when a guy (who later happened to be the general manager) came up to me and my girlfriend in a very aggressive manner, telling us we weren't allowed to stand at the bar, because we were supposedly blocking the path (which wasn't the case, we were mindful of the waiters walking past). I tried to explain to him that I understand but also I was already in the process of making an order with the bartender and that we would return to our table quickly afterwards. He then instructed the bartender to not serve us anymore, to close our bill and to let security kick us out of the place. To me this was unlike anything I've experienced in any bar in New York. This general manager was really escalating the situation for no particular reason and interestingly the waiting staff was apologizing for his behaviour too.

I am writing this review in the hopes that the people from Rintintin realize that this is not okay, and that it could hurt their business, which would be very sad. Hopefully you'll do better. For now I won't be returning anytime soon to a place I used to...