Zaytinya — Restaurant in New York

Updated review (May 26) Changing my rating to 4 stars

I have been back three times since my first visit. All for dinner and drinks. And my experiences during dinner hours were so much better, from service to the vibe. I tried most items on the menu and they all very good - the least like items are the grill eggplant on flat bread. Mostly because I am not a carb- eater :)

Everything taste great and I ordered the brussel sprouts every time I was here.

Wine by the glass was good though I think for what it is, a bit pricey. If you have three wine drinkers, just get a bottle.

++++++++++

TL;DR food was quite good but the service left a lot to desire, especially considering that it is adjacent to a 5 stars luxury hotel.

I have been to quite a few others restaurants owned by chef José Andrés', all of which were quite enjoyable. Except for Zaytinya.

I came here to catch up with a dear friend after a month long trip oversea/cross country trip. Both of us love Mediterranean/Middle Eastern food so we were quite excited about it.

Starting with the positive. The dinning room was exceptionally bright and airy (for NYC standard), lively while at 70% capacity without overwhelmingly noise. Ocean blue and linen white are the theme of decoration here, reminding me of Greece.

My friend was running late so I was directed to the bar while waiting. The host wasn't warm but agreeable. But service started to go bad from this point on.

Issue #1, the bar tender ignored me for a good 5 mins (the bar was 1/3 full, 5 persons in total including me) until I finally got eye contact with him. I asked for a glass of sparkling water as my friend would be arriving soon. He seemed pretty disappointed I didn't order food or drink (merely uttered, 'oh' and shrug).

After my friend arrived, we were promptly led to our table. The pillowy pita bread was served. 15 mins later, after my friend already chewed down one of them, the olive oil arrived. Where was it in the first place?! (issue #2)

Everything on the menu looked great.

Between the 2 of us, we split two veggie, one seafood and one meat mezze. All four were quite tasty and in appetizer size.

The crispy brussels affelia was some of the best I have had. The garlic yogurt was the magic sauce! I could lick the dish clean if no one was watching :)

The lamb baharat was another highlight. I usually don't like kebab because they tend to be overly well done and dried. Not the one served here. It was grilled perfectly juicy tender, contrasting well with the juicy sweet charred tomatoes and nutty/creamy tahini sauce. The tabbloeh on the side was a refreshing pallet cleanser in between bites.

Issue #3. Upon the lamb and the tomatoes were gone, a waitress promptly took the plate and walked away before me and my friend got the chance to ask, even though there was half of the tabbouleh and pile of tahini sauce left on it (issue #3). Shrug.

Observation/Issue #4, the table next to us dropped a leather jacket on the floor when the waitress was here to take the plate. She didn't say anything or pick up the jacket for the customer. We told the guy next table after she left.

The octopus santorini was lovely - tender grilled octopus tentacle chunk dotted over a subtly sweet yellow split pea puree, though it was pretty small. The baba ghannouge was ok and we didn't even finish.

There it was, a $100 brunch with out alcohol, served along lukewarm service.

I do really want to like this place and the food was good. Bonus point, it is only a few blocks from my office - I could see myself swing by for a glass of wine or light dinner regularly.

I hope my experiences today was just an one-off, unlucky encounter :/

PS. there is only one unisex restroom at the restaurant. But you can go up to 2nd floor of the hotel where there is more proper restroom space and mirror; unisex. I appreciate the very courteous staff at the Ritz...

[TLDR: I was physically pushed by one of the hosts, and the servers were extremely rude and condescending.] If I could rate less than one star, I would. I come from a background in the service industry, and I dine with the utmost respect and empathy for restaurant staff. I have never left a dining experience feeling actually offended about the way I was treated as a guest until I attended Zaytinya. I’ve also never felt compelled to leave a negative review for any establishment until my experience at Zaytinya.

Not more than 5 minutes after arriving was I physically PUSHED out of the way by one of the hosts. I am very mindful of where I stand in a restaurant entryway, and I did my best to place myself somewhere that wouldn’t disrupt the service happening around me. I was so shocked that someone actually felt that they had a right to put their hands on me at all, let alone in an aggressive manner. They also only verbally communicated to me once by saying, “Excuse me, behind!” … (who says “behind” to a guest?) as they were pushing me - my point is that I didn’t even know I was in their way until I was being pushed aside. I totally understand that it can be infuriating when guests are causing an obstruction - I’ve been there. But never in my life would I consider pushing someone out of my way be an acceptable action or solution, regardless of the context.

I also found the servers to be incredibly condescending and unhelpful. At first, it seemed like they were sincerely irritated that the our party was not helping to make space for new dishes to be placed on the table. As a guest, I was trying to stay out of the way and let the servers do their jobs. After witnessing the perceived irritation, I tried to help by making space for dishes to be placed as new courses were served. At one point when I was doing this, my server actually just stopped trying to place the dish and walked away while glaring at me. I felt so bad for getting in the way (once again) that I turned to them and said, “I’m sorry, I’m just trying to help.” At which point they literally just ignored me, continued to glare, set down the dish and walked away. I know this isn’t a huge deal in the grand scheme of things, but what this interaction leaves me wondering is why the staff thinks it’s acceptable to be condescending and rude to someone who is clearly trying to be helpful and enjoy their dining experience. Why did I feel like a nuisance simply for existing inside of this restaurant? It really doesn’t hurt to try at least a little bit to act like the people you’re serving are welcome in your space.

Great service leaves a guest feeling delighted and excited about their experience, and I would expect to feel this way after attending an establishment of this caliber. Instead, days later, I am left feeling genuinely surprised that this place doesn’t have more reviews about how terrible their staff is. I feel bad for the people who work here, as I can only imagine how awful the culture is if I felt this way after only 2 hours in...

Zaytinya surged past my normal expectations of upscale hotel restaurants. I usually associate places like this with business meetings rather than a memorable dining experience, but Zaytinya checked all the boxes of a great dining experience worth the prices on the menu (which are not unreasonable by any standard). I'd heard about it through a local influencer chef who said it was worth a visit, so I did. Immediately the environment felt open, clean, and well thought out. The general manager was running the host stand, was welcoming and professional, and set the tone for the rest of the staff. Everyone was doing a great job despite what you could tell were still growing pains that go with a brand new place (we were there opening week). Menu items that were hard to pronounce, a lack of context from other diners from only being open a few nights, and all other new restaurant issues aside, the staff handled it like champs. A special acknowledgement for letting me try one of the vermouths (a cumin seasoned one which I didn't like but could understand the appeal), as well as providing high quality fresh veggies instead of the amazing bread for my gluten free partner.

The tables, lighting, decor, bar, all felt right. Conversation drifted from time to time to noticeable touches around us like the pillows on the dining benches that provided subtle separation between the diners. Plating, napkins, and cutlery were even obviously thought about. Nice touches.

Now for the part that really matters - the food. It was good. Very good. Not the most amazing meal I've ever had, and isn't Michelin star level, but it's enough to get on the guide, and it probably should. The octopus was great, but mostly due to the seasoning, sauce and garnish, as I have experienced better cooked texture and quality at many established greek spots in Queens. Overall though, the dish was notable and would definitely get again.

The star of the show was the Bantijian Bil Laban. Do not hesitate to get this if you enjoy eggplant. I would come back to the restaurant just for that. Thankfully the Shish Taouk was almost as good. Both portion sizes for the money seemed to be a great value too.

The Hommus (which is how they spell it) was fantastic, and decently priced considering how many options for great hummus there are in NY. Get it with the lamb if you're not vegetarian. I never thought they go together but the really REALLY do.

All of the food was very enjoyable, interesting enough to converse about, and left me wanting more. I do genuinely look forward to coming here again to try the rest...