Serafina Broadway 55th (Midtown) — Restaurant in New York

Consider ordering online for pickup Food was good and tasty (when properly served), service staff nice, overall service questionable- basically 3strikes - your’re out My party had a similar / shared perception another recent review/er posted , “felt like a fast food restaurant in disguise“ We felt it was more like the hotel across the way , a place trying to give off vibes of high-end/quality surroundings/service/ atmosphere and missing the mark Strike one - beer served in a cracked glass Strike two - added grilled salmon to a salad was raw Strike three - amount of time for food to be served from time of order or correction/ replacement, each took some time or “just one more minute” we had higher expectations and prior to dinner considered eating breakfast the following morning. After this dinner experience , for a ny Restaurant , disappointed and will go else where for breakfast

25June2024Update Contacted restaurant on May 30th looking to speak to Kate ( who requested I email her direct , where I did hollar back at her , fyi either her reply never came or ended up in my spam/junk folder). Kate not available spoke with “manager” Hans He answered asked if I could call back later as he couldn’t take a message. Since he identified himself as a manager, reiterate the issues mentioned in the initial review ( strikes 1-3). Adding one more additional observation adding to the already questionable service -my party sat at the bar, during our dinner one of the staff sat 1-2 stools away towards the bar end from us eating her employee meal, swarmed by a multitude of male coworkers , like bees to nectar. After mentioning that and before he hung up on us , his last words were “this is too much” So in the spirit of Han’s words , my rating of 3 stars, as “this is too much” had been downgraded to a 2 , as the phone call experience was...

The food was good but that was literally the only decent thing about my experience. The waitress was not friendly right off the bat when my girlfriend and I were nothing but nice to her. We watched other tables get bread (seemed to be complimentary) and we did not. Out waitress never once asked if we wanted anything to drink other than the water that was already on our table (why? — if she had asked, she would have increased the check total, therefore increasing her tip). Our food came and my girlfriend’s meal was not correct, which is no big deal — it happens, but no one ever apologized to us once. After the waitress was informed the food was wrong it probably took 20 minutes for my girlfriend’s correct order to come out. Still no apology. We saw multiple other tables get offered fresh grated cheese for their dishes which we were not, and in the time it took us to eat our food the waitress did not come by once to ask how our food was. I work in food service, so I am generally very difficult to upset. This, however, was unacceptable. It was not at all busy so there is really no excuse for the lack of service we received. The thing that upset me most though, was that we watched our waitress provide great service to other tables; offering them all the things we never got. I’m not sure if it’s because we are young or because we are visibly queer, but the way this waitress treated us was absolutely horrible. I expect way more from a place that comes off as a fine dining restaurant, let alone in New York City. I am honestly shocked that this happened, as I have never been treated this badly at a restaurant. I discourage anyone who is young or visibly queer from going to Serafina Broadway, at least as long as the unpleasant woman that was our waitress...

The food was pretty good, but one of the worst service we’ve experienced. Truly disappointing considering we were visiting from Tokyo for our Christmas night dinner. First of all the host didn’t even check our reservation for Opentable, which we could get penalize for no-show. It also took about 15 minutes for the waiter to come to the table. He didn’t even greet us and just asked what we wanted. I asked the waiter to make sure to check us in for Opentable, but he never informed us whether he did it or not. That being said he did answer our questions precisely. Just lacked friendliness and greetings throughout the course of the dinner. Also, I find not acceptable when the bus boy took the tea bag out of the cup and left it out on the table. It made no sense and I took a picture of it to share for the review. Lastly, what pushed us over the edge was that the waiter didn’t say anything as he handed out the payment. He left the credit card scanner without saying anything and didn’t come by to collect and express any appreciation. As we exited the restaurant, we gave him a last chance to greet us, but just straight up ignored us. What a surprise. During college, I worked at Benihana, but I believe this is a management issue with lack of training for its staff. I recommend them to at least teach their employees to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” on Christmas night.

I can’t even give this place an one star. The level of service is worse than Olive Garden. At least we wouldn’t be paying $30 per plate at Olive Garden. I do regret tipping 20%, but didn’t want to stoop down to their level. Merry Christmas and hope you provide better...