The Ten Bells Brooklyn — Restaurant in New York

Main points:

Servers were confused Portions are microscopic Oysters had shells bits in them

Main takeaway:

Maybe this is a good place to impress someone, since the ambience is nice, but if you actually enjoy food and connecting with others, don’t come here. It’s not worth your business or memories as of my last visit.

However, I hope that if you visit, that you’ll have a better time than me ♥️

Details:

There was one particular server that was an exception to one of my main points. He was charming, did his job well, and generally was great. He had an orange beanie on and a beard, and I deeply regret not tipping him directly with cash or asking for his name.

The other servers weren’t like him. It’s ok not to smile/be super happy, but please greet me and direct me to where I can sit. Additionally, I’m concerned about how servers switched their serving tables often and also, don’t write down orders. That’s just a recipe for mistakes. They seemed confused or, to be more cynical, standoffish. Like they didn’t want my business there.

We went for happy hour, I would suggest to not let the $1 oysters entice you. They were very small, which is fine but just be aware of that, and more importantly, had shell bits in them. I don’t care how affordable food can be, it should never have shells or other scraps, especially in an establishment that charges $28 for a cheese plate.

And focusing on that, the portion of that cheese plate was comical. It was tiny, with the smallest possible spread of honey. About the size of a grape. For $28, especially given the types of generic cheeses on that plate and the fact that this is a tapas bar, I expected something much more shareable.

The plate also came with some bread, and we tried a carafe of wine as well. The only comment I have with the wine is, why did they serve it in a beaker? It doesn’t match the aesthetic of the place at all. That’s just me being nitpicky though. We laughed about it ✨

In the end, since the meal was so light and we already spent nearly $100 with tip, we had some fries nearby to fill us up and went on our merry way.

Since this is a place I don’t ever see myself coming back to or recommending to anyone I know, I have to give it a single star.

However, again I hope that if you try this place, that you’ll have a better...

I've been here a few times before for happy hours and light bites and drinks with friends and it's a beautiful space but I will not be returning because of how I was treated with my friend the other day.

Our server effectively called us broke. We came in just for a happy hour drink on a Tuesday evening. It was pretty slow. Our server was initially very nice and friendly, but you could tell he was quickly getting annoyed at the pace of business, which I can empathize with as I've been in his position but it is nobody's fault it is a slow day. Which made it even a bit more hostile to be given an attitude about only ordering a drink each because it is not like we were holding a table that was going to be needed for another party, in addition to some people really just only want one drink and do not want to be pushed to drink more. We were not checked up on a single time after the fact which was fine since we weren't in need of anything but was noted.

The issue came when the bill was presented. Granted, I don't want to put my business on here but since this is how I was treated I have to.My friend and I are both budgeting right now. There's a looming recession and just some things are rough right now so it is looking like using cash for the tip and putting the bill on a prepaid visa gift card to go out with the girls. I know that this can be annoying. I have worked in retail and restaurants before anything that slows you down can be frustrating. But before I could even ask my friend if I should just do it or what not the server, seeing cash in my hand and a prepaid card in my friends hand says "it's literally just $24". First of all, crazy to talk like that before the receipt is even signed with a tip. When we put it on the card, he was angrily swiping it then threw it back at us on the table. It is just disrespectful considering how nobody has any money nowadays how about having some perspective that these girls are probably broke until payday on friday and out of many bars in Bushwick chose to come here for their allowable disposable income pittance just to be called broke by a server... who is probably two more weeks like yesterday's from being in my position anyway. nasty work not...

I tried to contact the restaurant about an unauthorized tip on my card and they don't care so I'll have to be the person that writes a bad review. On September 30th, I went to ten bells with my friend. We split the bill, she left her tip on her card while I left cash. However, both of our cards were charged for the tip. So I ended up leaving a double tip. On October 1st, I contacted the restaurant with receipts and asked to be reimbursed for my tip. They didnt respond, so on October 14th I followed up. They responded on the 16th asking for more time. I didnt hear anything back, so I followed up again on October 25th. I haven't heard anything since. I have worked in restaurants for the past 12 years - an unauthorized tip is a very serious professional offense and looks horrendous on the business, so anytime such thing has happened in any of the restaurants I have worked in, it is handled immediately, often with a bonus of a free entree or the check being taken care of entirely. I really don't like being the person leaving a bad review with screenshots, unfortunately that's the only way to get a business's attention. I would like this matter to be...