Spicy Moon East Village — Restaurant in New York

I’d like to begin by saying that the small amount of food that I tasted at Spicy Moon was enjoyable.

I lament not being able to say the same about their customer service.

From the moment that I appeared on time for my 6PM reservation, it seemed that the staff at Spicy Moon were unencumbered by the standards of courtesy that were once basic expectations in the hospitality industry. I asked if my party of two might be sat at one of the several empty two-tops along the eastern wall of the restaurant featuring bench seating as opposed to the cramped two-seater ensconced between the cash register and kitchen entrance at the rear of the dining area. Though there were literally no other guests seated in the bench area, my request was declined as, according to the staff person, that area is reserved for “larger parties”.

Imagine my dismay as I witnessed mere minutes after my arrival, not one, not two, but no less than four parties of two (most without reservations) who were offered seats at the very two-tops that I had just been told were reserved for groups of more than two.

Unfortunately, my co-diner and I arrived at different times, and I informed the staff that they were running behind. (There are two Spicy Moons in Lower Manhattan in similar sounding neighborhoods, and my friend had gone to the other one initially.) I do appreciate that the attendant sat me though the entirety of my party had not yet arrived. However, I was rather dismayed when – just as we were ordering – the staff person told us that we’d have to leave within a half hour because they had “a lot of groups coming in tonight”. Having dined across the five boroughs for the best part of two decades, I am accustomed to the idea that seats at à la mode restaurants are often time limited. But there is a way to convey this message without making a guest feel that their presence is a burden. This is why subtly of expression is so crucial for those working in customer-facing roles.

The quality of the food might have compensated for the terseness of the staff, but, at that point, I was in no mood to find out. There has been a blossoming of interesting, purely vegetarian eateries across the city in recent years. The next time I seek to challenge my stubborn fondness for meat, I’ll opt for an establishment where the modes of civility of yore haven’t been sacrificed at the altar of...

neat spot in east village for vegan chinese food! it features a small, compact interior with dim pink lights and a cute and hip vibe. i made a reservation for a weekday dinner with my partner and it was a little crowded and loud given the small space.

we got 4 small plates and 1 noodle dish, which was a good amount for us, as we left full and satisfied. (** = highly recommend):

**dan dan noodles with beyond meat: the taste is a bit unique/different from traditional dan dan noodles (likely because they don’t use peanuts), but the dish was really pleasant! noodles had a creamy and soft texture, though overall flavors were more mild, less bold than expected.

**steamed eggplant with pepper sauce: one of my favorite dishes; the eggplant is cooked perfectly— soft yet with a nice crunch before melting into your mouth. it’s a cold dish with distinct szechuan spices and flavor.

general tso’s mushroom: personally not my favorite dish; i felt there wasn’t much flavor beyond the sauce though it had a nice and crispy fried texture.

char siu bun: this dish was just okay, the flavors were a bit bland and not really giving. the texture of the bun itself wasn’t as soft as i would’ve preferred.

scallion pancake: pancakes were crispy and flavorful and the side dip offered a sweet kick to the otherwise savory dish.

some of the dishes were definitely quite pricey/overpriced for the size, but i felt that the final price was overall pretty reasonable. all in all, i’d recommend the spot for the good ambience and vegan take on many classic szechuan /...

Honestly such a mixed review of Spicy Moon. We arrived for our booking and the staff were so lovely, we were seated at the bar while our table was freed up.

We ordered 2 meals and an appetiser.

The appetiser was brought out and we were not given any chopsticks or plates. We were fine, so we just ate it off the sharing plate with our hands (it was hand rolls).

Then one of our mains arrived. We were sharing so we waited, and we also had 1 set of chopsticks now that came with the bowl. We tasted it and it was nice!

We waited until we could flag down the server, who asked us if we wanted the bill. We explained that we hadn't been served the rest of our meals yet. She went to get the second meal and came back saying it was on the way.

The second meal came out and we ate. By this point the first was cold and actually quite unpleasant. The second meal was just a bad order - I think any decent server probably should have told us that ordering the salt n pepper veggies with the rice was not the right mix. Further, the kitchen had run out of the type of rice we'd asked for so we ended up with wild rice, which was fine - but the meal was just really not good. We were served the food again without plates, so we had to ask.

We then waited for 40 minutes for someone to come by, clear our plates, or check in on us. We'd waved several times at staff who were very busy running food to the balcony and then going back to the kitchen.

Not a great experience and unfortunately are...