Cinnabar — Restaurant in Town of Oyster Bay

We saw this place a lot on social media and it looked really nice so we decided to come in on a Saturday night called ahead for a table for 2.

The aesthetic of the place is very nice whoever designed it gets a 10/10.

We ordered two glasses of wine, two soups, dim sum, the mains were mala chicken and the tomahawk steak with Jasmine rice.

Not sure if it was an off night or something going on in the air, but…

We ordered the two soups only got one had to ask for the other… The soup was very good though ….

We ordered dim sum they gave us some lollipop shrimp thing that we didn’t order, so we asked for what we did order (they did let us keep it though, which was nice to try something we wouldn’t have ordered).

Then they served us our entrées (before giving us the dim sum that we originally ordered) and they forgot to give us one of the sides of rice so we had to ask for that…

The tomahawk steak was overcooked and tough, but a good portion…

The chicken was odd because there’s no sauce that goes with it. Not sure if that’s just how that dish is, but it was basically battered chicken as if you were gonna put sauce on it, but it was just dry chili peppers and dry chicken with no flavor in the batter definitely wouldn’t order that again….

Halfway through our entree they finally brought the dim sum that we originally ordered, but as it was coming to the table this tall lamp that is on the table (which is a small table because it’s only for two people) fell over and hit the wine glass…

The wine glass shattered on the table and then I felt uncomfortable eating my food because I felt like glass got in it. When glass shatters, it really goes everywhere. so I took it home to see if I could see any glass but I didn’t want to take chances so I threw it out.

The staff was very polite and nice and offered a new glass of wine, and when the bill came around, I noticed they didn’t charge us for the appetizer or the bowl of rice they forgot to give us, so that was a nice thing to do given the experience.

I think they should revamp the entrées a little bit. We were really excited, but we’re a little disappointed with how the service went, but maybe it was an off night.. not sure if I would...

A Night at Cinnnabar: Not Your Average Dining Experience

If you're ever in the mood for a dining adventure where expectations are flipped like a well-done pancake, look no further than Cinnnabar. Our experience started with a tantalizing 15-minute tease as we waited eagerly for our reservation, only to be led to our very own bird cage—stylish, yes, but wobbly and sticky like a toddler’s high chair after spaghetti night.

Our waitress was a true sommelier of unforgettable descriptions, persuading my wife that her cocktail aspiration should taste “like a BBQ in her mouth” due to its smokiness. A bold choice in beverage flavor, indeed. This fiery start was promptly forgotten, though, as our waitress seemed to hit a mysterious reset button, asking us our drink order as if we were caught in a bizarre culinary Groundhog Day.

Pushing forward, we ventured into the realm of food. In an unexpected twist of brutal honesty, our waitress advised against our top dinner picks, with the confidence of someone who truly believed in culinary disappointment. We decided to brave the appetizers despite her cautionary tales, only to be blindsided by the arrival of our entrees a mere 7 minutes later. It seems at Cinnnabar, time bends and dishes teleport.

Asking about our still-missing drinks and appetizers, we were met with an offer to "take this back for you" from another server who clearly believed in the magic of reverse service. At this juncture, my wife and I decided that the highlight of our evening would be recounting this tale at our actual favorite dining spot, Salumi, where we promptly retreated.

Cinnnabar is perfect for those who enjoy a touch of irony with their meals and prefer their dining experiences to be as unpredictable as a plot twist in a telenovela. If nothing else, it serves as a reminder that sometimes, the best part of going out is coming back to...

Nice add to the area. This spot feels like a Manhattan hot spot with the look, music and atmosphere they give off. Much more packed out then I expected as it is newly opened. Seemed to have a lot of good looking people from outside areas. I asked the waitress about this and she said a lot of social influencers were invited and come regularly now. Smart idea and the busy room was proof. The food: We ordered a mix off the menu to try different things. Most were solid choices like the beef and broccoli, spring rolls, wontons, and soup. I was a little surprised that the menu had more traditional Asian basics then you might expect from a modern trendy vibe that they are giving off. One thing that was noticeable a bad choice for them as a display for food was their sushi rolls presentation. They serve the rolls on this 4”x4”x8” white rectangle block. So these rolls are already stacked on a 4” step. When you are grabbing rolls on this 4” block, there is no give or catch, so anything that moves can fall on the dirty table. Chopsticks tend to bump into other rolls as you are grabbing your food and it’s silly for a roll to accidentally fall on the table since they are on the edge. We fixed this by putting it over a plate from another dish that we ordered. BTW, sure enough, one roll piece did fall on the dish as we ate it. Just a tip in case you don’t want to lose a piece yourself lol. The fried rice was decent but was brown and moist and sticky, which was almost more a Mexican rice and not a true fried rice. Little things like not getting us water for awhile, not giving utensils for children and seeming to be mixed up when they brought food out to table shows they are still a little green with their system. All in all we liked Cinnabar (weird name for an Asian fusion) and would try them once again.

I would...