Toast Coffee + Kitchen — Restaurant in Town of Islip

I have been hoping for a high quality, comfortable breakfast and lunch spot in downtown Bay Shore for years (the Forum diner falls way short, and I love diners), so I was excited when I learned that Toast was coming to town. In the last week I had lunch and breakfast there and in each case I would describe the experience as a let down.

For the most part the quality of the food was very good, though my girlfriend really didn't like the french toast special she had this morning. Luckily the portions are generous so I gave her half of my pancakes. The two dishes I had were delicious but for us that is only a fraction of what needs to be delivered for the dining experience to be nice. I have had disappointing meals with great service and I will be eager to go back to give them another shot, but if the service falls short, I'm less likely to return.

On my first visit, I was by myself and there were only a few other patrons in the restaurant, still, we all had to make an effort to get service as most of the staff were occupied in conversation with each other, or friends or otherwise occupied. It didn't convey a feeling of the customer comes first. This morning the staff was just overwhelmed by a near full restaurant. We had to ask for a few things twice, our server disappeared right after serving my tea which was not properly hot and I eventually had to flag someone down to ask for cream again by which time, my tea was merely warm. I would be willing to overlook a couple of mistakes if I felt that there was a real professional commitment to putting the customer first, but I just didn't get that feeling. It doesn't help that while a few of the staff were wearing Toast t-shirts, most were just dressed "however" and at times it was difficult to tell who was staff and who wasn't as I was trying to flag someone down.

The restaurant was mostly full and we were seated at a high top table by the bar/counter. Immediately we both felt overwhelmed by the loudness of the crowd and the music. We love music including rock, but it was just too hard and loud for anything but evening revelry and certainly not appropriate for breakfast or lunch in this open and acoustically unpleasant space. The diners had to compete with the music and the crowd to be heard at their tables and it's just not a comfortable setting. Maybe some sound absorbing materials would calm it down a bit, but I am not likely to return based solely on how unpleasant it was on the ears to be there. We both let out a sigh of relief when exiting the restaurant and our ears could once again relax. In fact, after our breakfast we stopped at the gas station to fill the tank and my girlfriend commented that the music playing in the gas station was a much better choice. Funny and true.

If I were to go again, I would try sitting in the alcove on the landing away from the main dining area and I would try to get a seat where I wouldn't be able to see the Bermuda Triangle of restaurant spaces which was a cringe-a-thon/ disaster waiting to happen scene. This is the hallway and stairs where two separate dining areas meet which happens to be the ingress and egress for the two dining areas, the kitchen, the restrooms, the bar/counter area (coming out blind to the kitchen by the way and vice versa) and did I mention the server POS terminals and what I think was a busing station are there as well. Luckily while we were there, only a few collisions occurred, but I'd be willing to bet that there is more drama there on a regular basis.

If management reads this, I hope you consider some changes to make the dining experience more comfortable and enjoyable. I'm also hopeful that Toast will prove to be a long term, quality mainstay for the area, bucking the bad luck this location seems to have had in the past. If not, no worries, we can always meet at the gas station for a few egg sandwiches and some nice music and leave with full stomachs and...

We went to Toast in a Tuesday around noon. Both metered parking lots were full. We happened to go as they were setting up for an outdoor concert in an open gazebo area across the street ( and diagonal) from Toast. We did finally get a spot about a block and a half away. We were sat right away. I would say the dining room was almost full. We were just two people but were sat at a table for large parties and were told if necessary they would sit another couple on the far end of the table. Which eventually did happen. There are also some tables outside. They adverise that they are pet friendly in that area. Our waitress came over fairly quickly and took our drink order ( 2 ice waters, i know , dull) while we looked over their fairly large menu. My son oredered a short stack of sweet potato honey butter pancakes and asked for real maple syrup which they give you for a $2.00 upcharge. And he also ordered a side of french fries. I ordered the grilled cheese trio with french fries and a pickle. The food was brought out fairly quickly and I have to say they were hearty portions. My son loved his pancakes with the honey butter and I really enjoyed the grilled cheese. Nice thick bread, grilled to perfection with three different cheeses( american, cheddar and swiss) and a couple of slices of tomato , a full pickle, not one of those half jobbies you get elsewhere, and a large portion of french fries which reminded me of Checkers French Fries. Very tasty meal. Our waitress was attentive, the food was very good, the noise level was low- key and it was easy to talk across the table. We will be...

My server was Dana M. We came here for a nice sit down brunch. My sister was visiting from out of town and I thought this would be a great experience being how it was both our first time here. The food was delicious, hands down. The atmosphere was lively. We were greeted with a smile upon arrival, so I figured this would be a friendly place. Dana M, the server asked us what beverages we would like and took those orders. She then came back to place food orders. She definitely seemed as if she didn’t want to be at work this particular day. Most servers are friendly, smile and just have a positive vibe to themselves. Not Dana! She moped around and then disappeared. Our food arrived and Dana was nowhere to be found. We had to wait over 5 minutes for silverware. She claimed that the front didn’t have any ready but, with her attitude I found that to be her way of covering up her already shady ways. Dana had to be flagged down for everything from napkins, more drinks and never asked how our food was. A server that cares would check on you at least 2-3 times just to make sure you’re ok. Dana was ready to take plates as soon as we were finished eating and had no problem placing the check on the table almost immediately. Once payment was taken she never thanked us for dining at Toast or for the tip. I actually gave her too much as the suggested tip was $7 and I left her $10. With service like her’s she deserved $0. She should be retrained for customer service because her attitude and body language sucked really bad. Although the food was great, the service made me...