Brasserie Americana

My Wife and I, plus our friends, have been coming to this excellent restaurant in «The Inn at Great Neck» for many years on Saturday night and ordering mostly from the price fixed $ 40 menu which includes unlimited wine ($ 52 for the Filet Mignon). The food, across the board, is top notch and the Saturday deal is the best value on Long Island. With low decorative lighting and a quiet atmosphere, you can have your 4 course meal spread over an entire evening of private conversations. The staff couldn’t be more accommodating, and it’s like private dining with personal service all the way. The Ahi Tuna appetizer or Mussels are delicious, the Caesar Salad is properly chilled and dressed, and the onion soup is served in a traditional crock, topped with the right gently browned cheese and has a wonderful deep onion flavor that can only come from the best preparation and care. The Filet Mignon is very tender and properly aged, and a full portion at that… with an optional light mushroom gravy that’s a great addition. The Grilled Salmon comes with an excellent Dill Sauce is cooked just right, prepared to taste. Veggies and potatoes or rice vary by the dish, like homemade chopped spinach, grilled asparagus, roasted potatoes, I’m sure you get it. Coffee, Tea and Dessert are included; Crepes, Berries and other choices each evening. Even if you come when they don’t have the price fixed option, the food and value are where you’d expect them to be in a really nice place with great food.

The ambiance was only fair, primarily because the place was almost empty. Which is really puzzling because the food is fantastic! The tuna appetizer was incredible! The fixed price meal was reasonably priced and really, really good. The beer was good and served at perfect temperature. The desert was also very good. Admittedly, I am from out of town, so I don’t know this area well, but this has to be one of the best restaurants in the town.

Impressed… Seriously impressed. From the moment we were greeted at the entrance I knew (really, i did) that this place was going to be a winner.
We were escorted to our table by an gentle with a warm smiles and a wonderful «good evening.» I was surprised though that there was only one other family there. Later Mo explained to me that this restaurant (located inside a hotel) was primarily a weekday place and the evening only starts at the bar before and after the parties at the hotel. None the less… lets get down to the food and beverages.
We did the price fixe dinner that included four courses AND wine & Coffee… At $ 40.00 a head you could not do any better anywhere!
After Gloria came over and explained the price fixe option we immediately dove in and ordered (we actually had a head start since we checked all this out on open table.) There is a corresponding picture to each item i mention here. I am going to make this simple:
Appitizers:
— Shrimp Cocktail — Three large shrimp well cooked as to texture and ‘snap’ with a good amount of tasty cocktail sauce
— Ahi Tuna Taco — Two large tortilla chips (providing a good crunch to sit underneath the perfectly seared tuna, and avocado
Soup:
— Onion soup — very fast (without a lot of beef broth taste). Lots of well cooked onions and some seriously good cheese on top of a very crunchy that point.
Dinner:
— boeuf bourguignon — This was a delightful twist on the classic french recipe… The pieces of meet were more bit sized and I did not get a over abundance of wine in the cause, BUT… This was delicious. It was served with a scoop of a creamy mashed-​potatoes on top which was perfect. Both my wife and I finished the plate and both felt that we ate something really good.
It was nice that since it’s a four course meal they don’t give you an excessive amount of food. Each portion was perfect and totally satisfying
Dessert — Crapes with Ice Cream — This was the perfect way to end this meal… Soft crepes with a rich chocolate ice-​cream.
So… I give this restaurant a five star based on the following items
Greeting
Ambience
Very attentive service
Excellent food
Plenty of excellent food
Attention to service
There is no where I know that you can get a meal like this in a location like this and walk away for the price they charge.
I am definitely looking forward to my next visit (will be this month) to try some other items on the menu.

Hands down best long islander in the city. To die for. The first time the first bite of your first long islander here hits your tongue you will realize that you have never really even had a proper long islander in your life. For me… the experience was almost religious.

Food and staff were amazing! ! breakfast or dinner food is great… staff is amazing restaurant is nice n clean a must if your staying in the hotel upstairs! !

The food is excellent, the service excellent, the ambiance excellent! I People should be flocking here

We went there for their Thanksgiving Buffet this afternoon. It was a strange set-​up with the food (buffet) set up in the lobby. People were walking all around it, and getting very close to it. Folks were checking in and out of the hotel within a couple of feet of the buffet, and so it was a very weird way to present a buffet.
It was $ 42.95 a person, and they were advertising it as «A Feast for the Family».
My dad and friend ordered Diet Cokes, and instead of a normal glass, they were brought as bar «drinks» — as in on-​the-​rocks glasses. For $ 2.50 for a soda, one would expect a normal size glass. We were not in a bar, we were in a restaurant for a FAMILY DINNER.
Food was decent, and it was as advertised. Carving station had very good turkey, decent prime rib and decent (although slightly overcooked) leg of lamb. Accompaniments were decent as well. They would have received 3 stars for food.
Dessert was disappointing — a few sad pies, some «home-​made» (NOT) cookies and some sort of overly sweet, sugary-​caramel drenched cheesecake. Fruit was barely edible. (Come on now, a plain NY style cheesecake would have been lovely.) The only saving grace was a chocolate fountain that made the fruit somewhat palatable.
Now I would have walked away with a better taste in my mouth had we not been charged a SERVICE CHARGE OF 19% for our party of 4. This was not stated anywhere ahead of time, and it was simply added to our bill without mention.
Now don’t get me wrong about tipping. It was Thanksgiving. Service was good (even if a little over-​the-​top with «concern»), but to stick a 19% service charge onto a small party’s check is unheard of. Normally restaurants do this for larger parties of 8 or more, but it is ALWAYS stated on the menu or website.
I would have easily tipped about 20−25% — for the good service and because it was a holiday, but this definitely made me re-​think our entire visit.
(I did leave an additional tip beside the forced 19%, because I will not punish the waitstaff for the restaurant’s bad business practices. However, it is unlikely that we will ever return for this reason.)
***UPDATE*** As of 12÷1÷13, I have gone back and forth with SEVERAL emails from someone at the restaurant. He is STILL arguing that by stating in the ad that the price of $ 42.95 is «plus tax and gratuity», gives them the right to automatically ADD 19% without letting you know in advance, or even saying something when the bill was presented. I actually had to ask the host if the «Service Charge» (as printed on the bill) was the tip! The fact that this restaurant has been arguing about this issue has added insult to injury. My review, based on the correspondence directly from the restaurant, is now reduced to 1 star. It is absurd that the restaurant doesn’t understand the difference between telling people gratuity is not included and adding 19% to every bill based on «law of averages».