Sparrow Kitchen & Cocktails — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

An experience that went from BAD TO WORSE!! Made these reservations in advance (3weeks) for my birthday dinner with the family. I made them over the phone because wanted to confirm there was a kids menu. I got a call from the restaurant at 4:45pm on the day of my reservation which was at 7pm. The hostess called to 'inform" me the restaurant was OVERBROOKED for the night and that they were going to put us on the sidewalk which is basically on the main road, but they have heaters. I was appalled and told her that was absolutely unacceptable as i confirmed the reservation the day before and made them well in advance and there was no way i was sitting on the street with my kids on my birthday. She just continued to tell me they were overbooked (i should've taken the hint and just canceled then). She continued to try and get me to agree to sitting outside or cancel. Getting a table for 6 at 7pm on a Saturday night is not exactly something you can do last minute. I was at this point extremely angry and asked her how them being overbooked is my issue?? And how is this going to affect me?? She asked if i wanted to speak to a manager and i told her YES!! After being on hold for about 10 min no manager bothered to speak to me, she came on the phone said that they're all in a meeting but want me to tell you that we will have your table inside ready. Sorry for the confusion that was "my bad". Got to the restaurant on time. It was busy. We waited about 5 min for the table not too bad. The server was MIA FOR MOST OF OUT MEAL. Never Bothered to ask if things were ok until the end when they wanted us to leave, i was constantly flagging people down to remove empty drink glasses and plates. rounds of drinks came 25-30min after ordering and having to tell the manager that we're waiting over 20 min for drinks. The ice was melted and drinks waterd down. The apps were okish. Butrata, crudo and pizzette. The entrees was gross!!! Flavorless and saltless. To make it worse she brought us 4 inch bread plates to eat our pork chops and pastas!!! We asked for dinner plastes and she told us NONE WERE CLEAN/WASHED!!!The hospitality at this place was non existing. I wasn't going to complain but at this point it was so HORRENDOUS that i had to tell the manager our entire experience. He continued to tell me they are overbooked every weekend since they opened due to a scheduling issue (excuses and didn't really seem bothered) he comp'd the second round of dinks(3in total). I didn't complain to get "free" anything but to let him know how bad things were. We will NEVER go back! Not sure what's worse the "we don't give a S**t attitude" or the food. The only upside was the decor, it was beautiful. They completely destroyed my bday dinner. Didn't even put a candle in the dessert after everything which my children were so excited about after seeing other tables celebrate. They just want table turn over so they can make more $$$, client experience is least of their concern. Hoping for thier sake they last because they did spend money on the inside but people are only awed in the beginning when restaurants first open, poorly cooked food and lack of service always catches up! So extremely...

Dined here as a party of 6 on a recent Sunday evening. Arrived to jack hammers fixing the street outside the front of the restaurant on Franklin Avenue and, rather than seating us more towards the back, we were seated towards the noise (it was not at all busy). The construction was obviously not their fault, but the food wasn’t any better. Our server was nice and very attentive. We asked to order appetizers while we decided on main course and were told that the kitchen wants the appetizers and entrees ordered at the same time. Ok. Drinks were $18, very overpriced, and have had better.

We ordered a pizzette and the short rib crostini appetizers. Nothing special, both were basic and bland. For entrees we had the Cacio E Pepe which was flavorless and watery, Rigatoni Limone (one subbed chicken, one shrimp) both bland, no lemon flavor to speak of. Both pasta dishes sitting in water on the bottom. I had the Pappardelle Bolognese. Again, the meat was bland, no flavor. I didn’t notice any mascarpone on top, maybe it melted? And no surprise, watery on the bottom. My son had chicken parm. Cutlet swimming in thin watery sauce, minimal cheese. ‘Modern Italian’ so no pasta with the chicken parm? Idk. My husband had the pork chop with Gorgonzola mashed and apples that were not marinated nor spicy. The Potatoes had no Gorgonzola flavor and pork chop was terribly under seasoned. Dessert. Olive oil cake was awful no ‘seasonal fruit’ toppings or limoncello flavor in sight. Gelato cookie sandwich…store bought cookies, no ganache. The whole dinner was like a bait-and-switch. Menu Descriptions VERY different from what was served. Not even a basket of rolls or bread with 4 pasta dishes. And no offering of fresh pepper or grated cheese…we had to ask. Our bill was $450 not including tip. Fortunately, I had a $150 gift certificate which was the sole reason for our visit. We will not be back. Don’t waste your hard earned money. I have never left a poor review for any restaurant, but what they charge for such subpar and poorly prepared food just really irritated me. Was it edible? Yeah, but is that really how you want someone to describe your food? Just ‘edible’? If you want Italian and still have the ability to taste, go to la Nonna Bella or Vincent’s. Or come to my house....

I brought a friend to celebrate her birthday at Sparrow, and we were left disappointed by both the service and the environment.

After being seated, we waited a significant amount of time before our server returned to take our food order. To our surprise, the table next to us—who arrived after we did—was attended to first, which felt dismissive. Following that, we waited over 50 minutes without receiving any food or even a courtesy check-in. It wasn't until we made direct eye contact with our server that she finally came over to apologize for the delay. Shortly after, someone who appeared to be the manager informed us that our pizzette had been dropped on the floor. Oddly, he asked if we still wanted it. By this point, an hour had passed without anyone refilling our water, let alone checking in on us, or offering an explanation as to why our food was delayed.

In addition to the poor service, the ambiance was not what we expected. The music was extremely loud for a dining environment, and we later noticed a DJ set up in the dining area. This setup made the atmosphere feel more like a club than a restaurant. My friend and I could barely hear each other across the table. If live music is part of the experience, it would make more sense to position the DJ closer to the bar area rather than near diners trying to enjoy a meal.

Even the restrooms reflected a lack of attention to detail. The stall doors didn’t lock properly, and the toilet paper holders weren’t secured, causing the rolls to spill out during use—something that happened to both my friend and me. It's a basic expectation that restroom supplies are properly installed and maintained.

While we appreciated that the restaurant comped two drinks and the pizzette that was dropped, the overall experience was so disappointing and disorganized that I don’t see...