Whitmans — Restaurant in New York

I only give this restaurant 1 star because the food is decent, but the experience was completely ruined by the most service we received by our server, Jane.... Has your server ever told you "to grab your things and get"...

My friends and I (table of 4) got there around 6:45pm we ordered some starters and sides for the table and everyone ordered an entree. While we waited for our order we sat with empty water glasses and didn't even receive our drinks until the food came out.

Normally when you order salads and burgers the meal is coursed out so that you can enjoy your starters before your entree gets cold.(they are called starters for a reason). That was not the case all the food was dropped at the same time which explains why we were starving at our table waiting for the salads to come out. We probably waited about a half hour before our food hit the table.

Our table are fairly quickly and Jane cleared some of the empty plates on the table. Then at no later than 7:45pm while my friend is STILL eating her entree Jane walks up with her iPad and asks us if we need anything else and we say no (again friend still eating) then puts the iPad in front of my friend trying to get us to pay while we are still dining. We have all worked in the industry and know that you don't interrupt a table that is still eating their entree and put an iPad in front of their face to pay. We ask for a printed check so she could at least finish her meal.

After Jane drops the check we figure out how we are splitting the check and write down the last 4 digits of the cards that are being used and the amount that will be assigned to each card. At this point we are annoyed because of Jane's rudeness. She comes back over to take our cards and my friend shows her where the amounts are written for her but she still hovers over the table and keeps interrupting us asking how much to add to each card- I don't see how she didn't understand the simply divide of the check or the fool proof amounts written on the back.

Seeing that my friend is annoyed Jane asked, "What's your frustration " and my friend explains that it's not great service to put an iPad in front of someone's face while they are eating, etc. Jane apologized and brought us some water ( which was great because our glasses once again were empty).

Not a moment too soon at about 7:55pm(maybe). Jane comes back to the table and tells us that, since she has already asked us if we need anything else and we don't then could we "Grab our things and GET" (words from her mouth) because they have reservations and as she was saying it she gestures with her thumbs for us to leave.

We were all shocked that we were literally told "to get" by this server! It was not like we were holding the table for 2+ hours. We had only been at the table for maybe 1hr and 15min and our food didn't come out until perhaps 7:15 giving us 30 min to eat and 15 min for Jane to harass our table about paying and "getting".

Dan (who says he is the manager) comes over to see if we needed anything and we start to tell him what our server had said and our poor experience throughout the night. While we are speaking Jane comes over to hover and begins to argue with us in front of her manager over what she had said. It was horrendous!

I live in the neighborhood and have brought my friends to whitmans many times and do not think the food is good enough for such an awful experience from a ditzy server...

Damn. I had the Juicy Lucy there on a Friday night, and damn, it feels good to be a diner!

Let's talk burger for a moment. This burger isn't actually that large, unfortunately. I really need to eat two of them to be full. That said, it is one of the most mind-blowingly delicious burgers I've had in my life.

The cheese surprise inside the patty isn't overwhelming or scalding hot, worked really well with the patty, which was marinated at just the right level of salty, and grilled to a really nice crunch on the outside. The lettuce and tomato and bun tasted fresh and everything just worked really well together. Hot damn.

On a side note, their cheese steak was also wonderful -- not too greasy, meat that tasted great, a little heavy on the cheese, but it still tasted great -- and the fries were nice and crispy as well.

Service was pretty fast, the ambiance is nice and cozy, area isn't too large, very comfortable and casual kinda atmosphere.

Will ABSOLUTELY be back for more burger sometime.

Came back for more Juicy Lucy and to try the PB&B.

The Juicy Lucy actually wasn't as incredible this time as I last remembered it. Perhaps just on an off day, but the patty wasn't executed as well as previous, and the flavors didn't seem to mix as well.

Tried the PB&B, which I liked. I'm not the biggest fan of peanut butter, but it worked pretty well with the bacon (albeit makes you thirsty). Wouldn't count on getting the PB&B again over the Juicy Lucy, but was worth a try for sure.

Friends got the fried kale, which was delicious. Not too salty, and they simply crumble in your mouth with a...

I’ve had my last Whitman’s burger. The burgers and cheesesteaks are decent enough with a wide variety of designer burgers and plenty of options for personalization. The service is the real downer here. The staff is nice enough, but I am always rushed out when I don’t order another beer even when the entire restaurant is empty and it is well before closing. Last week we were constantly asked every few minutes if we wanted another beer. I finally just asked for the check thinking that would satisfy our pushy server. Five minutes after the check was laid down our server interrupts our conversation to process the credit card transaction at the table. We were in-and-out in under 30 minutes. (I could go on a diatribe on how the Toast systems and other mobile POS systems are myopic and detrimental to customer experience, but this is not the venue.) In the past at Whitman’s we’ve taken the check up to the counter when we are ready to leave, not be pushed to pay when it is convenient...