The Flame Diner — Restaurant in New York

UPDATE: About 2 minutes after posting initial review, I decided to increase rating to 3 stars. Why? Customer service. When the cashier asked “Was everything good?” my non-committal shrug made her inquire further: “Was something wrong with your food?” I admitted to expecting more. But it was the genuine concern she showed once I hinted to not having a good dining experience. So yeah, my revised rating, ⭐️⭐️ because the French toast was too expensive & an additional ⭐️ for customer service/concern.

PREVIOUS RATING: Two stars. For the TWO pieces of French toast. I think there should’ve been 3 minimum or 4 to give great value. Maybe I’m being unreasonable, maybe I shouldn’t be surprised because it’s a corner diner in Midtown Manhattan, maybe it’s just that I still feel $10.30 (tax included)—or actually $12.30 (factoring in gratuity)—is still a bit much for just TWO slices of basic French toast. And there really wasn’t anything special about it taste wise. While the price did give me sticker shock, if the French toast had tasted like it was flown in from France, I would’ve went up to 3 stars. But alas, a little too expensive for my hemoglobin. Other info: Very busy location. At 9 am on a Friday morning there was a sizable amount of people inside. If you’re concerned about masking, you may want to get order to go. My server wore a mask, but I took a cursory look around and out of 20 patrons, only one was wearing a mask. I took my mask off for two seconds to eat my two slices of French toast and then put it right back on. Really don’t see myself coming back unless I’m in a mood to spend money frivolously. The liver & onions did pique my curiosity, but alas, no one makes liver better than my Uncle Calvin (and I don’t think he’ll charge me as much as Flame...

L experience Flame Our visit was marred by service that can only be described as lousy and a serious disregard for our specific food allergy instructions, culminating in an experience that was both frustrating and concerning.

From the outset, the service was lackluster. Our server seemed disinterested in our needs and inattentive. However, the most distressing issue arose when our food was served. Despite clearly communicating our food allergy concerns and receiving assurance that our instructions would be followed, the dish presented to us blatantly ignored these crucial guidelines. This oversight not only demonstrated a lack of care and attention but also posed a significant health risk.

To add insult to injury, when we pointed out this grave mistake, the response was far from apologetic. Moreover, we were astonished to find that we were charged for the dish that not only could we not consume but also endangered our health. This shows a lack of responsibility and customer service that I find unacceptable.

It is disheartening to have to write this review, as I believe every patron deserves to feel safe and respected when dining out. Addressing food allergies is a basic requirement of restaurant service, not an optional courtesy. I sincerely hope that [Restaurant Name] takes this feedback seriously and implements necessary changes to ensure this does not happen to...

Usual diner food which is fine with me, but they have joined a growing list of restaurants that do not show their appreciation for the customer's patronage; instead they take advantage of the customer by adding an additional fee when paying with a credit card. They claim that this is done to recoup the fee that they are charged by the credit card companies. This is total nonscence; the fees that they pay to the credit card companies is an operational expense which is no different than any other expense in running a business such as rent, electric, salaries and so forth; these expenses are already built into the price of the meal. By charging this additional fee is their way of squeezing more money out of the customer instead of showing their appreciation for customer loyalty especially in this post pandemic era. In addition, this restaurant charged a 4% fee; I have my doubts that they are charged that amount by the credit card companies. Visa and Mastercard charge businesses based upon the volume of charges; restaurants have a large volume of charges. It would be my guess that they are paying in the vicinity of 3%. If they raised the price of the meal by 4% and didn't charge that additional fee, that would not bother me and, in that case, there would be no reason for me to write this review. I just do not like to be obviously taken...