Rumours Bar & Grille — Restaurant in New York

Russian Tea Room is one of the most iconic restaurant in NYC. I have always been curious about them, but didn't really have had the chance to visit. I decided to take an advantage during the Winter Restaurant Week NYC, and try their Russian cuisine.

I might say the rating would be between 3 and 4 stars, but since we got such an amazing deal out of the Restaurant Week pricing, I will give it 4 starts.

As we walked through the antique revolving doors under the red awnings, we were in awe of the beautiful décor. I have only seen the inside on photos, but it was as stunning as I expected it to be, or more. It was all gold, red, and green. Everywhere I looked, it was like looking at art. The inside was quite large, and I believe for this reason, they had a work staff station in the mid way of the floor, so that they don't have to constantly walking back and forth from the very front of the floor to the very back. This made the service faster and more efficient. Very clever.

Food portion was small, other than the Chicken, which was expected. None of them were amazing or best thing I ever tasted, but it was from "ok" or up to "pretty good."

The wait staff were efficient, but not too friendly. The other staff (the ones who take away the plates, refill your water, give you extra bread, etc.) were nice and polite, they did great job keeping the table clean and made sure we were well taken care of.

Overall, we did enjoy the experience very much, especially the atmosphere. At such iconic restaurant, I think everything is there to take in the beauty, history, décor, and ambiance more than the actual food itself. Being in that space alone was stunning experience. It is not a place to go get an amazing food, but more for amazing experience in that space. Read my full review of this restaurant and food on my food blog,...

The business practice here is truly SHADY. The food was fine, the service was fine, but they're pricing is... dishonest, at best. You may notice the first bill you receive has a much lower dollar-amount than the ensuing bill (to sign and add gratuity). So, as an example, the first bill may say $95, but the next one will say $100 after you give them your card, with no reason or explanation for the increase. When you track down your waiter to ask, they claim this is for "credit card processing fees", but nowhere on the menu or initial receipt do they indicate a difference for "cash/credit pricing". Gas stations do this all the time, but THEY TELL YOU BEFOREHAND. Given they're a business in NYC, which has more laws than people, I'd assume this might be a practice they'd want to halt ASAP.

What's equally shady is they also increase the 'recommend gratuity' on the bottom of the receipt after they silently increase the billing amount. Apparently they're happy to ask for more gratuity on a portion of the bill that's not even theirs?

All you have to do is make it clear on the menu that there is a lower "cash price", and there is a higher "card price". Most reasonable people know why this offer exists, credit card companies don't give you all these "benefits" for free. But you don't hide it till after somebody has committed to a ordering and consuming a meal....

I’m highly upset with my recent visit to this bar. I’m a customer that has been going there for a while now and always left happy with the experience, last night changed all of that for me. My friends and I experienced the worst service ever from the waitress Bregee, she got my friend’s order wrong and then on top of that when shots were ordered she mixed up the drinks (different liquors); then she had the AUDACITY when we paid her to get TIPPED. As well as the bartender’s NASTY and RUDE behavior. The bartender also came to our table asking us if we had a problem with the service. When we gave our HONEST answer and said we’re not happy with the service and the reason why, we got told to “take care of our waitress, then to take our things and leave”. I’ve never in my life got such poor treatment and service from an establishment let alone KICKED OUT. The bar has good music, good food and it’s overall a good place, but the two employees made it a horrible experience and I’LL NEVER RETURN HERE AGAIN. This place deserve absolutely no stars. If you go to this bar after seeing this review be aware for a blonde server named Bregee and a bartender in his forties with red hair and a heavy accent (I never got his name, this is the only way I can...