The Pantry — Restaurant in Town of Hempstead

To be fair I had high expectations because I have heard great things but this is my honest review. Horrible service. Okayish food with great drinks. Great drinks you can find anywhere in RVC so I wouldn’t waste my time coming here. Please read the rest for more details.

We joined the the waitlist at 11am and checked into the restaurant at 11:30am and at the time we were 5th in line but confirmed that we could wait in the car we would receive a text message. At 12:15 we were 1st in line and decided to come in and wait since we would be next. We checked in with the front host for the 2nd time and she asked if we could wait in the outside lobby it would take 10-15 more minutes although we were first in line. We then went to the (freezing) outside lobby and were patiently waiting as we saw people come and go. After about 30 minutes it’s is now 12:50 and we go and ask to see what the hold up is and the excuse is that we didn’t have reservation so its going to be a while. Please keep in mind that we joined the waitlist at 11am, arrived at 11:30, checked in 3 times and were #1 on the list since 12:15pm. We still continue to patiently wait. At 1:15 I now cannot wait any longer I haven’t eaten all day, I go and ask what is going on and I over hear another employee tell the front host that she hasn’t to make sure she selects arrived when the person comes in. The front host comes back to me and tells me it’s because I don’t have a reservation. At this point I am frustrated with reason. We have waited for 2 hours. They said they were sorry for the wait. We finally sit down at 1:20 and I honestly didn’t even want to be there any more. The table she brought us to still had the Check from the people before. She didn’t even wipe it down just took the check and placed our menus down. Our server Reyna was great and recommended her favorites to us but unfortunately due to everything else we just weren’t in the mood anymore. We place our order around 1:30pm and the food was there by 11:45pm and we left before 2pm. The drinks were really good but the cups were still dirty from before. I order the Carne Asada Bowl ($25)it was a 5/10 I understand it had onions in it but I wasn’t expecting onions in each bite. My husband order the El Diablito ($25) and he gave it 4/10. It lacked flavor and seasoning, he only ate it because he was hungry. We quickly wrapped it up and ordered the check. The restaurant didn’t offer anything for our horrible experience. All we received was a “I’m sorry for your wait”. I literally saw people go in, eat and leave while I was sitting in the waiting room. Unacceptable and highly disappointed....

Good food...Bad service

This was our first time at the establishment. When we walked in, we were surprised. It’s beautifully decorated and the tables are spaced well, so you wont feel crowded during a pandemic.

Our waitress was Teshara, we were seated immediately (10:15am) and water was brought out and they took our drink orders ($55 pitcher of mimosa). Menu looked great, and we had very high hopes.

Coffee was smooth and delicious. And our food orders were placed (10: 25am). Two people: Two egg omelets and a side of meat.

About 10:45am, we noticed that one table, that was seated after us l, had gotten their food. Ok, seemed a bit odd, but we didn’t stress it. Then in happened again, at around 11am, two other tables that were seated after us had gotten their food. At 11:10am we contemplated just paying for our drinks and leaving. By this time, 5 other tables that had come in after us had gotten their food. Yes, we counted.

Throughout this entire time, Teshara hadn’t been to the table to check on us once. Even if we had gotten our food, she wasn’t aware if we needed anything, or if our food came out.

It wasn’t until my boyfriend asked a different waitress to please have our waitress come see us, did she finally stop by. My boyfriend kindly expressed that we hadn’t received our food yet. She said: “Oh, let me check - I put your order in a while ago”. This was stated at 11:19am. Then, she came back and said “It will be out shortly, I told them to rush it”. She gave no further explanation or sufficient apology to explain the delay. At this point, another table seated after us had gotten their food.

Our food finally came at 11:24am.

She came by at the end of our meal and said, “My Manager put in a discount for you”. Please note, the manager never came by to apologize for the delay or explain why 6 other orders of different sizes had been served before us even though they arrived after us.

You’d be surprised how far good customer service could redeem a bad situation. All we expected was a simple explanation, sufficient apology and appreciation for our patience.

We weren’t heartless so we still left a sufficient tip of $16, but she honestly didn’t deserve it.

The food is worth trying again, but I hope it’s a...

I was really disappointed with my experience at The Pantry RVC. My lunch with friends started off as a normal dining experience — we looked at the menu, ordered, and enjoyed some conversation. That changed quickly when a busser ruined the entire experience.

It began with him walking up to my friend and saying, “Are you cosplaying as a pineapple?” (my friend had his hair tied in a Hawaiian-style leaf tie). We were shocked by the inappropriate remark but decided to brush it off. Soon after, he started taking away another friend’s utensils and water before our food had even arrived. When we asked politely for replacements, he returned only with utensils. After we reminded him again, he finally brought water, but with a snarky, “Is there anything else I can get you?” He then crouched down into our personal space and repeated “Are you sure?” several times, which was uncomfortable and unprofessional.

The behavior didn’t stop there. Each time he circled back to our table, he made more unnecessary remarks, including “I really can’t unsee that” toward my friend (the "pineapple"), and later asking “Oh, where did my best friend go?” when my friend (the "pineapple") stepped away to speak with the manager.

To make matters worse, our server disappeared after taking our order. She didn’t bring our food, check in once it arrived, or ask if we needed anything else. The lack of attentiveness made the entire experience feel even more frustrating.

I will give credit to the manager, Dan, who came over, apologized, gave us a 20% discount, and even offered to serve us himself next time. Because of his professionalism, this review is two stars instead of one. Still, after being disparaged and disrespected by the staff, I can’t say we’ll return with confidence.

On the positive side, the food itself was decent — the Jamaican tacos were the highlight of my meal. However, the birria tacos were a disappointment, especially since they didn’t come with consommé. If not for the horrific service, this could easily have been a...