Lenox Saphire

Lenox Saphire is that one friend you sometimes miss but who quickly gets on your nerve when you see him/​her…
The food is really good*. I crave their Dibi Lamb more often than I would like to admit.
*BUT…
It is really a hit or miss! They really lack consistency. One dish can be so different from the last time you ordered, and make you wonder if they fired their Chef.
AND…
The service sucks! Big time. You will wait forever and be greeted with attitude most of the time (that’s if they even notice you)
Sigh

grabbed takeout from here last night. my family attended a wake nearby and wanted to have dinner as well as breakfast in case the blizzard materialized. chicken and waffles for dinner and shrimp and grits for the next day. unfortunately the chicken was over — fried and not too well seasoned while the waffles were bland and doughy and didn’t have any syrup. FORTUNATELY the shrimp and grits were outstanding. I didn’t have mine until 5 pm the day after and somehow the shrimp emerged from the convection toaster oven crispy and flavorful. the grits are creamy and thick with more of a corn flavor than I’m accustomed to but very very tasty. I also appreciated that my phoned in order was waiting and perfectly packed when we arrived. will definitely come back to explore the menu.

The food here was so delicious! I had the Theibu Djen, which I’d never had before, but it was so good — I’m a huge fan. The service was also very attentive — I was worried with the negative reviews on here but I’m happy to report that service was great. Definitely will be back for the Senegalese food.

Went to this place to kill time before checking into our air bnb down the street. We had already rated breakfast after we got off the plane but wanted to relax and enjoy a couple mimosas while we waited. There was a big sign in front that advertised bottomless mimosas for $ 29 and the waitress immediately asks if that’s what we wanted after we ordered mimosas. We declined because we didn’t know how long we would be waiting to check in. She returned with the mimosas and asked if we wanted food. I mentioned something about not ordering food for right now because we just wanted to hang out for a bit. She returned about ten minutes later and asked again, this time with an attitude. I said that we had already eaten and we’re just hanging out. She then mumbled something about how they don’t usually serve alcohol this early so this would probably be our last one. She then took the menus and walked away. Another lady, who was behind he counter, laughed and asked our server what happened and she explained that we weren’t ordering so she wasn’t serving us any longer. I seriously could not believe this. If they didn’t serve alcohol at 9am, then why did you serve us and WHY is there a big sign out in front advertising, of all things, unlimited mimosas?!
I have never been somewhere that would turn down business like that just because we didn’t order anything to eat. Here we were, on vacation, with money to spend and they essentially kicked us out. For what?
So, for anyone in the neighborhood who just wants to drop in for a drink, don’t waste your time. Apparently that’s not an option. For anyone in the neighborhood who wants to drop in this place for food even, don’t expect to be treated like a real person. Unbelievable.

I had the Thiebu Djen fish which arrived fairly quickly. The presentation was excellent, the food well seasoned but nothing to rave about. There was plenty of fish and I couldn’t finish the rice which was slightly overcooked. I would return to try another dish and their pastries looked delicious. The service was ok, again nothing great. It was bright and cheerful and I felt at ease.

Of course Red Rooster and Sylvia’s were both overwhelmingly packed today but we got lucky and met someone who suggested Saphire instead. Fair competition even though it isn’t as famous. Loved the cute and comfy atmosphere. Service was a little slow but our waitress was very kind and the food is most definitely worth it. The chef clearly cooks with love. Cajun catfish, buttery grits, garlicky heaping side of spinach. Soul satisfying. Try it out. And for a refreshing, special cocktail, get la fera.

Excellent pastries, their croissants are among the best I had in NYC. However, the table service is horrible and you can wait for over 30 minutes for a simple coffee. The best strategy is to order at the counter and enjoy your dessert at home! Avoid eating in at all costs!

I ordered a cup of coffee and they only gave me ½ a cup when I asked for more they said it was 3.00 more.
Never will I eat hear again.

Great food! Relaxed and friendly environment! Great service! I love this place! Oh yeah… amazing pastries, too!

This is one place that is very nice to go, to have just a drink and hang out or to have lunch. Their portions are very well served (you can easily share with someone else or take leftovers home) on the lunch menu and the price is very good.
Their happy hour is very good, and the deserts are just from Heaven. They also sell baguettes.
Its just a place that I like going to have a nice time with friends or a date.

DONT BOTHER.
Second visit… No service, background atmosphere of staff in fighting, general incompetence, cold good, unseasoned underwhelming food.
They do not know what they are doing and what they should be doing.

Been here once before on a weekend and really enjoyed myself. I ordered a croque madame which was delish! This visit was a couple of months ago and the only thing bad I can remember is their happy hour being lackluster as far as the options available. This may have changed by now. I live in the neighborhood so often on my way to work I see people eating breakfast outside I always walk pass and say aww that’s cute I want to sit outside and have a cute lil danish or some sh*t… Anyways I was finally able to do that on Tuesday I had egg whites with turkey sausage and a little bowl of fruit… the sausage was kind of dry but I didn’t complain because honestly I would have rather been eating pancakes with bacon, eggs and cheese but since it was a Tuesday and I was being «good» on my so call diet I just chocked it up to craving grease and said to my self this is how healthy people eat… *insert tear* :-(I enjoyed the atmosphere I really like the diversity of patrons and I will be back again.

Went there once, willnever return. It was Saturday brunch and the place was relatively empty, yet we waited over 30 minutes for our food which came out WRONG (steak ordered medium came out well done and crispy, eggs ordered fried medium came out scrambled) or not at all (side of Turkey sausage never arrived but appeared on the check).
Don’t waste your time.

Lenox Saphire is letting the devil use it, and I rebuke in the name of Jesus.
Literally, get thee behind me, Lenox Saphire.
LS is essentially the cousin of Patisserie des Ambassades (same menu/​owner), which is why I don’t understand how they could be getting everything so WRONG. Like, how is it possible to consistently provide the worst service EVER? I’ve been here in all of its several iterations – when it was a buffet, when it tried to be a nightclub, and on several occasions in its current state. Each time, I knew the experience would be better than the last, and instead, it was worse. On the third-​to-​last visit, we waited well over two hours for our food. Second-​to-​last visit, an hour, with the waitstaff often forgetting about us, and unremarkable $ 7 bite-​sized serving of tiramisu. On the last visit, my food simply never came, and the waitress’s bad attitude never left.
I don’t wish this place ill, but I’m truly confused by its ability to remain in business. They can no longer have anything that looks like my money.

From the ice cubes tasting like the frizzer, to the warm outside and ice cold inside of the fish tho solace was a DISASTER.
The service was polite but Terrible, she just didn’t know what she was doing.
Not trying this again.

Lenox Saphire is a great bakery marred by dismal service.
In the restaurant you can wait 30 minutes for service and then, once, another 20 minutes for food, a simple lunch, before leaving without food.
The baked goods are first class but don’t choose from the glass cabinets without checking the blackboard on the wall where, in the fine print at the bottom, they explain a $ 10 minimum on debit cards. This is not mentioned when you order a coffee and pastry to eat in. On presenting my card for the check I was told I had the option of buying more food or going to the bank. Surprising how quickly they decided to take my card when I walked out without paying but I then endured 3 minutes of being told I was a bad person.
If their commision was as high as 10% they stood to loose 20 cents. Instead they lost a customer who will spread his bad experience.
Despite the service to date I have eaten there at least once a week, usually bringing guests. I’ll be going to Lenox Coffee for coffee and pastries now and one of the ample choice of good restaurants with good service for food.
Lenox Saphire #FAIL

Food was pretty good though not really my speed.
Iced Coffee was not great.
Had a peach dessert that was very good.
Would probably only go back for dessert

My girlfriend and I went to check this spot out on a Saturday evening. It’s a nice little spot — bigger than most places in «new» Harlem. One side is a bakery area (the desserts looked absolutely delicious), the other side is a bar/​restaurant. The restaurants features quite a bit of open space, two flat screen TVs (the NCAA Finals were on so I was glad for the TV’s), and lots of exposed brick (which I love).They have happy hour on Saturdays until 7 so we ordered a couple of drinks and settled in for the evening.
The menu has quite a few interesting options and a lot of Senegalese dishes — if you’re a lamb lover you’re in the right place. We weren’t in the mood for trying something new so we kept it simple. My girlfriend ordered the Seafood Gumbo and Grilled Chicken Cesar Salad and I had the popcorn shrimp, buffalo wings and side salad. Everything was good, however, I asked the bus boy if I could have blue cheese and tartar sauce for my wings and shrimp and he responded that they were out, however, when I asked my waiter he brought them right over. Not sure what that was all about nor do I understand why the condiments weren’t brought out along with the food but whatever.
Around 10:00 a DJ set up and started playing some really good old school music which we loved. Around that time as well customers started to set up for what looked like a private party in the back restaurant area.
Overall we had a pleasant evening and I would definitely like to go back to try one of the Senegalese entrees.

Went on a Friday night to grab a friendly dinner. My dining companions had thé mac n cheese with Bbq wings, a hamburger of sorts, thé lamb sandwich, thé ambassador drink, and prosseco while I had thé yassa poisson and water. We arrived here after attending a cocktail hour (well cocktail hourS).
The mac n cheese was cheese and hot with good flavor, albeit a bit greasy. The lamb sandwich had tender meat but it didnt look that much différent than a bodega steak and cheese. My company said it was good but she was drunk, so it may be a biased opinion. The burger was run of thé mill and thé général opinion was that thé menu was too variéd to properly exécuté every dish with précision.
I had thé yassa poisson which was Nice. A crispy, flavorful section of a whole Fish, with Sweet caramelized onions and white Rice. I enjoyed this dish but it was not remarkable. Biggest letdown was thé portion of fish, which had a décent amount of meat on one side but thé other was mostly skin and bones so I had to fill up on thé Rice.
I had water to sober up but my dining company reports all of thé drinks were standard Fare. Their prosseco has a fruity and flowery head so if you are looking for a dry option try their pinot grigio.
We were too full to try dessert but in all honesty, I think their bakery pastries and breads are thé main reason this place has so many repeat customers. I plan to return to explore this side of thé business.

Grr, I just typed a long review that didn’t save… sigh
Okay, enough venting.
I came here with a few friends and was starving! I was the only one who actually got a meal. It consisted of chicken and onions over rice. But talk about ONION overload– it was overwhelming after a point. This was a traditional dish (I forget the name of it now-​whomp) and it was actually pretty tasty. They also give you a lot of food.
My friends got dessert and we all got beer. I believe the cheesecake was a hit. Beware their beer menu didn’t really line up with what they had. And our waitress wasn’t sure about what desserts were available either, she made my friend get up from the table to go take a look with her inside (strange but we didn’t really mind).
The set up is pretty cool. One side looks like a cute café (small tables, register, pastry/​dessert display). The other side looks like a chic bar/​lounge (full bar/​tvs). Then they have the outside tables where we sat. It was pretty crowded so I guess they are doing something right.
Our waitress was nice but a little flighty.
I’d go back though I wasn’t in love!