Cleopatra's Needle

Never again! I have never written a food review before, but I have to share what has just happened at Cleopatra's Needle to warn unsuspecting potential patrons.



I moved around the corner about 6 months ago and was curious to try it, so I went in with my visiting mum and a friend of hers this evening.

When the time came to order, I made sure to specify I wanted the moussaka with meat. After the server brought our food and we started digging in, I quickly realized that the horribly over-cooked piece on my plate was the vegetarian version of it (with mushrooms and cabbage, which are not in the meat version, and no meat). I decided to stick with it, but I called our server to let him know of the situation and to ask him to charge me for the vegetarian moussaka only (about $3 cheaper).



Once I had finished my plate, he came back and told me that the chef had stated that today the meat moussaka had mushrooms in it and that the meat was under, which was complete bull. I can tell when I eat meat or not, and there was not a speck of it in the piece I got.



The rest of our meal was mediocre (chicken marsala was completely dry, the vegetables were straight from the freezer as was the cheesecake, which was as compact as a brick. And since when does béchamel sauce have tomato in it?!).



They still charged me for the meat moussaka, at which point I just paid for it and barely left a tip. Looking around, we eventually realized that there were way many more people drinking at the bar than eating at the tables, and now we know why.



The jazz was OK, but that's beside the point. The food was a total disaster, the service non-existent and the attitude when confronted with their mistake despicable. There are enough very good restaurants on the UWS to be able to say to Cleopatra's Needle: Never again.