Leo's Tavern — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

I've been to Leo's a bunch of times for dinner meetings/debriefings/gatherings, so have yet to pay for anything. Given my good luck in picking delicious entrees here, however, I think Leo's is definitely worth a visit, regardless of who's picking up the tab!

Last night, we split the mozzarella sticks, and the boneless buffalo "wings." Unlike the fried tenders/nuggets most other places dish out, Leo's serves grilled strips of juicy chicken with an impressive buffalo sauce and literally a BOWL of chunky bleu cheese. For entrees, we ordered a veggie quesadilla, grilled chicken sandwich, Thai chicken salad, classic burger, and the lamb shank. Everyone was pleased with their choices, and I had so much of my lamb left over, I ended up with a generous lunch portion for the next day! Their New York Cheesecake (sourced from nearby Junior's Bakery was deliciously dense and flavorful, with a mild-tasting crust.

My only gripe with this place are the inconsistencies in menu item prices. For example, they offer a huge portion of succulent braised lamb over rice & veggies for $16 (enough to eat twice), yet they charge $10.50 for very typical looking/tasting mozzarella sticks and $11 for potato skins. Spend your coin on the entrees, salads, or burgers - all but one are priced under $20. Beer list is OK with about 10 choices total, but 3-5 of them (Bud Light, Coors Light, etc.) don't really count...

Given the impeccable service, warm, "lived-in" atmosphere (well, they HAVE been around since 1942), and tasty menu options, Leo's is still a solid pick for lunch or dinner. Bonus points for the festive Christmas decorations and subtle background...

The first time coming here was yesterday. At first, I was torn of ordering for the main course either the New England lobster roll or the sirloin steak sandwich because I read the New England lobster roll description on the online menu in advance that it contains mayo which I don't like. I was unsure if I could get one with just garlic or butter and celery so I made up my mind to order the steak sandwich because it was composed of cheese and fried onions which I like. I enjoyed my meal with a table of three; my brother and an acquaintance I get along with who I haven't seen in almost 2 years. I think what our server could have done better was check up on us more to make sure we had the right entrees. I ordered the sirloin steak sandwich with fries and my brother ordered a steak. The server made the minor mistake of giving me my brothers dinner and my brother my entree where he and I had to switch platters. It wasn't too crowded when we were dining. I would have to come here again not only to give the servers a second chance to be more accommodating and come around every 10 minutes, but there was a football game on at the bar area and it was somewhat loud. Unfortunately, in a scenario like that is beyond the staff's control when something exciting or disappointing happens when a sport is played with fans booing or cheering loudly. It was just very awkward to dine in peace with the noise of the fans...

Leo's Midway is located right in the busy streets of Garden City. It is extra busy there during the summer, especially on Fridays. They offer outdoor seating and since every Friday is a block party, they even have tables extended onto the streets. The space indoors isn't huge and they have booths and tables to cater to different sized parties. Oddly enough, the wait for outdoor seating was longer than sitting indoors. I guess everyone wanted to enjoy the summer weather. My friends and I (party of 5) only had to wait about 25 min for indoor seating compared to the 2 hours for outdoors. Service felt pretty slow the entire time. Our waiter was nice but it did take a while for our food and drinks to come out. Portions were decently sized; definitely had some leftovers after. They did not skimp out on the fries for sure. They were nicely fried and salty enough. I got their Garden City Burger and it was decent. Felt like the patty didn't have much flavor, but all the rest of the toppings together gave it more flavor. Others got the Steak Sandwich, California chicken Sandwich, and French Onion Dip. The steak didn't have much flavor either; I feel like they don't marinate their meats enough. I didn't try the chicken sandwich or french onion dip, so I can't speak much on that. Overall, the food and drinks were kind of expensive for...