Laffa Bar and Grill - Kosher Restaurant — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

My friend and I decided to stop at Laffa on our way home. As we browsed the menu, an elder heavy set man (possibly the owner) stood in front of the counter to take our order. He quickly became annoyed and impatient in taking our order and that we had questions about what is included with the shawarma sandwich. Nonetheless, we confirmed that we would be dining-in and placed our order. We were then directed to sit down and wait. A few moments later, the same man came to our table, and said something along the lines of "if you'd like to dine-in, there is a mandatory fee of 18% of the order".. I was on the phone while he was speaking and my friend does not speak fluent English so I requested the man to give me a second so I could speak with him, he ignored me and once again said "dine in you have to pay 18%", and took the empty plates/knives away from our tables and walked back to the counter. I excused myself from my phone call and approached him, asking him what he meant by 18%, he replied "it is a mandatory gratuity", to which I replied and asked him if he knew the meaning of gratuity, he replied with "tip". I advised him that a tip is given voluntarily; beyond obligation. He then said "that may be the case at the place you're from, but not here". I advised him that in the state of New York, and it's labor laws, that is incorrect. He still refused to let us dine-in without paying an 18% fee, which was not mentioned while placing our order and advising him that we were planning to stay and eat. Getting frustrated, we walked out the door and waited in the cold for our food. The issue I have is not with the tip, had we eaten our meal inside, we would have had absolutely no issue in giving a tip to the business, as we have several times before in other establishments. The issue I have is with the owner, who appeared to be obnoxious in his replies and remarks, and continued to provide false laws that do not exist. It's unfortunate because the food was decent, however the service was one of the worst we've experienced. I'm a business owner myself and I find it disappointing that this owner acted in the way he did. Will not be dining from here again and will look into identifying labor law violation at...

A few sides to a coin when trying to find a good place to eat; service is an important. Arrived at 8:05 was asked to sit at the table in the back; place was a quarter filled. By 8:25 no one had approach the table for water or appetizer. 8:30 went up up to the front ask why we weren’t helped

Food was okay, menu items were misleading. Garlic fries are regular furies with wet minced garlic on top Spicy fries are the same set of fries with seasoned dust.

Steak overly seasoned; condiments were overwhelming. Steak was cooked great, flavor was not great

Upon asking for the check, which took another while, since no one came when we finished after asking for water; the man behind the desk wanted a review, while the other man stood there asking how the food was…

same guy sat there watching us wait for David hamelech to roll on in,

after making errors on the check he asked to keep the fake because it’s god for business; yet they knew the experience was not a good one, hence keeping it honest.

Service should be re evaluates and considered for a greater experience. Being here for over an hr and half for a simple dinner was not cordial of our time.

Would love to see a friendlier atmosphere and more attentive to boost this rating as it...

I had a funeral lunch at Laffa yesterday. they were able to accommodate the large reservation on short notice. Which I greatly appreciated. I made the reservation Friday afternoon after they were already closed for Shabbos but they had no issue accommodating us. There were some delays in getting the orders out and some errors but it’s understandable as it was a large party and other parties arrived after. They also have a small staff and I believe only 1 chef. Although there were some issues the staff did their best to rectify and were very friendly and helpful. Most importantly the food was delicious! Some of my party ordered the burger and the chicken salad and said they were amazing and “worth the wait”. The kibbeh was so good we ordered extra to go. I enjoyed the hummus and the lamb kebab was tender and delectable. Thank you for making a difficult day easier. I will...