Josie's Restaurant (CLOSED)

I'm sorry but for basic food that you can find & make at home, the prices are too high, service is POOR and it's just a waste of a good idea! Passsssssss

This was a truly mediocre place after all these years. We haven't been to Josies in decades, even though we live in the neighborhood. So tonight we thought we should try it again, despite the reviews about the poor service. Well they were right. One of the busmen had a little public fit about something that looked to be a complaint to and about the manager, and then to make maters worse the food wasn't worth the effort. First, the bread service was about as tasty as a chip from Trader Joes. The crab cakes were full of cartilage, and when the two manager/host types came over, they brought yet another plate of basically icky crab cakettes. Then the roast chicken arrived, not horrible, a little dry, too much ginger but otherwise filled a need. The staff was basically clueless, I'm sure due to not knowing any better. The bad music was coming from tinny speakers just a hair to loud, the accoustics were no help, and the windows were all wide open for a warm muggy evening. Duh...

I can't believe how awful the service was at Josie's! Everything was slow and all the requests were met by confused looks from the wait staff. This is not the usual Josie's experience. Reconsider before going on an off peak hour! I was at Josie's on Saturday, May 21, after a graduation ceremony in the Bronx. I arrived with my party (8 of us total) around 4 p.m. The restaurant was empty. And yet the service was abysmal. It took the waitress about a half hour to bring our drinks (after I got up to make sure she was bringing them out before our apps). Needless to say, the apps arrived as we were toasting. At one point, we were the only table in the restaurant. This didn't help. The busboy and server looked at me when I asked for a pitcher of ice water for the table (we had been sitting outside at graduation). My father had to get up and track down the server to ask for more bread, after he asked at the table.

Having always loved their UWS sister restaurant, I really really wanted to like Josie's on 3rd Avenue but after trying it 3 times, I just can't go back. While the food is very good, since the service is so slow, you're so hungry and pissed off, you can't really enjoy it. The servers are rude and there's something about the acoustics in that space that make it always seem deafeningly loud even when it's not that crowded. I'm sorry to say, stay away.

Food was good and healthily prepared, however, the food prep was extremely slow. Waited about 45 minutes on a lunch hour for food to be served. Burger was raw when it was supposed to be medium rare and chef had an attitude when he brought it back. Will not go back on a lunch hour.

I was very impressed by the extensive and veg-friendly menu. My meal was delicious--butternut squash soup, pasta, and a triple-berry pie--and the staff was extremely attentive and professional.

Food is so good and on the healthy side. A+