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The food here is not good!

My friend and I were looking for a brunch in the East Village where you could sit outside. The waitress forgot about us and only after we asked how much longer the wait was realized we had waited 30+ minutes for eggs. She did comp our mimosas, however. We waited another 15-20 minutes for our meals, which were not worth waiting for AT all. The poached eggs were hard and everything tasted like it was from a can. The menu looks great but don't let it deceive you.

My wife and I were searching for a new place for fish ‘n chips and a friend of mine recommended this place. Very quickly it became apparent he has never had real (or even good) fish ‘n chips. First off, the word chips means CHIPS, not day old tasting, rock hard french fries. England would be disappointed. I would have preferred McD’s fries. As far as the fish, it was like having the deep fryers tipped into my mouth it was so full of grease. The flavor was mediocre at best if you can get past the grease. The tarter sauce was exactly that, tarter sauce, nothing special at all. I, unlike my friend, am telling you, if you are going for the fish ‘n chips, don’t expect the real deal and don’t expect quality food. Maybe I got the wrong line cook that night, because I can’t imagine on his/her worst night, a chef could put out that food. I can not speak about the rest of the menu, even if the staff could themselves. Although they have good attitudes, they don’t seem to know the basics of the menu they are serving. It could be a good place for a pint or your choice of drink, but I even thought about that when on a Saturday night at prime time dinner and evening crowds, the place was quite empty. They will never see another one of our dollars. There are just too many other options in Manhattan.

Maybe it's not straight from the cart in Finsbury Park, but the food here is decent enough and fills in the niche between straight run-of-the-mill pub grub and a fancy dinner, and there's plenty of seating and hard-to-find beers on tap. We had the stilton fritters, which were completely delicious as expected, and split nachos to start (just terrible). The fish and chips were great, perfectly crispy without too much breading, and my boyfriend got the spinach and feta ravioli, which was pretty standard, but that's what you get for ordering Italian food anywhere but an Italian restaurant. If you're looking for a quick bite that's not just chicken fingers at a corner pub, there are tons of options here.

I've titled my review "British-ish" cos I was under the impression that this was a British restaurant. The lovely red phone booths outside are great, as is the decor within. They serve fish & chips and shepherd's pie, but that's about as British as it gets. I've only ordered their fish and chips once. This is because the fish was very, VERY greasy! A wee bit...who am I kiddin'...much too oily for my taste...and I love greasy, fried foods! But this was a bit much. During a return visit, my hubby had the steak frites au poivre. PERFECTION! Maaan, I don't know what they put in that peppercorn sauce, but it made the meal! However, one day when we returned for some more of that delicious steak, we were told that it's only served after four pm...even thought on the menu, it clearly states that this meal is offered on the "lunch" menu. Who eats lunch after frickin' FOUR PM!? Lunch after 4...is that a pseudo-British thang? Anywho, we haven't been back. Only because when we're out there, it's usually before four. Now, if someone behind the scenes wises up and decides to serve the steak a l'il earlier, say noon or 1-ish, we'll prolly go out there every weekend just for that. Anywho, the few times we've been there, the service has been good no complaints there. The only downgrade is that you have to wait till 4 if ya want some good steak! :(

I had so much hope in Telephone Bar & Grill. The place is super cute, and a lot roomier than I expected. The food, though, left a lot to be desired (to say the least). I went about a month ago for the first time, and ordered the fish & chips I had been reading so much about on menupages. Needless to say, I wasn't too impressed. The cod was greasier than I anticipated, and the fries could've been crisper and tastier in my opinion. Last night, I decided to try something different and ordered the rotisserie chicken with challah & granny smith apple stuffing. I was excited to try it since it sounded so tasty, but I was not impressed at all. The chicken was bland and the stuffing was not good by any means (it was more mushy than anything). I was so frustrated. So, in conclusion, I don't think I'll be giving Telephone Bar & Grill another try anytime soon. It's cute and original, but not enough to spend that amount of money for lackluster food. Maybe it'll improve in a few years? Who knows. I'll let you know what I think down the road if it does.

Noisy, sportsy, college-y place. But the chicken pot pie is to die for. Except then you couldn't eat it: big chunks of chicken white meat in a savory light sauce, nicely softened veggies, all crowned with a lid of puff pastry like the dome of St Paul's Cathedral. I can never finish it and it's just as good the next day. Fish and chips also superb. And they have Strongbow hard cider on tap. Steak sandwiches used to be good,but now they gunk them up and I have to ask specially to get them just plain. Burgers also superior. I take everybody here.