I had a reservation for 8:45 PM at Essex NYC and was told to wait 10 minutes, which would have been fine if it was handled professionally. Unfortunately, it wasn’t.
After waiting, we checked in again and were told the kitchen was backed up, yet we watched other guests who arrived after us get seated first. The host was not apologetic, did not check in on us, and made no effort to update us. We had to repeatedly approach her just to get information.
Reservations should mean something, and communication and basic courtesy go a long way. Very disappointing service and poor handling of the situation.