Tosca Cafe

First of all, I waited 15 minutes for a waitress to take my order. My wife had to call a waitress so we could taste something. We felt like guinea pigs cause they were training a waitress with Us.

We are beer conoisseurs, and they brought warm beer, in a NYC summer. The food was good 2.5/5...The coffee tasted like nescafe....

I will never go back there

Posted 07/25/09

Recently there for a party! Large buffet so had an opportunity to try a lot of their food. Meatballs, Flank Steak, Rollantine, various seafood dishes, grilled veggies, breakfast buffet, ziti, tons of food! Everything tased good to great, steak very tasty and tender, meatballs real homemade appeal but and big but, EVERYTHING WAS COOL OR COLD!!!! Made our table od guest a little nervous and we chose to eat salads and cold nmenu items. We of course said nothing to our hosts, but sure they noticed! I found the staff to be on top of everything...clearing tables, offering help (small children with me) and very personable...BUT the people that were in supervisory positions were openly rude and dismissive to the staff! UNCALLED for!!! The best part of the experience was the staff! All in all would entertain going back if in the area as food was good...but temperature was a real concern!

Pros: staff, steak and the 'Look" and "Ambiance"

Cons: location and supervisory staff

Posted 01/27/09

I recently came to Tosca's with my fiance for a late supper. I usually come during normal dinner hours, but this day I was forced to work late. When we arrived, the restaurant was not busy at all, which came as a surprise to me. Upon being seated however, It became crystal clear that I was not in Kansas anymore. One of the tables next to me was being quite rowdy and obnoxious. They even directed profanities at the busboy as he attempted to clear the table. I even heard them joking about how they were going to, "stiff the waiter," who in my opinion gave them impecable service despite their childish, and utterly low class behavior. Behind me, in the corner was another couple. The man was litterally laying down on the bench. What kind of classless people do you allow in this place. To top it all off, there was some kind of fight where a man was injured. As a result, the lights from the police cruiser constantly flashed in my face as I tried to enjoy my overpriced dinner. I have been a loyal Tosca's customer for years, and sadly, over the last couple, the quality has diminished along with the clientele. It is no wonder the staff seems defeated and unhappy. I would be too, if I had to depend on these vulgar, poor excuses for decent humanity that you call customers in order to make a living. As long as you continue to allow these people to take advantage of your establishment, and treat your staff with no respect, the quality of your restaurant will continue to diminish, no matter how many new add-ons you plan. Remember, they can just as easily infect your newest venture, as they have your previous. In the interim, I hope you take measures to improve upon what little dignity Tosca's has left, because I can undoubtedly say that I am one regular who will never be back, and if your business continues along this "anything/anyone goes" path, I am sure I will not be the only one.

Pros: My poor server who was forced to also negotiate with savages

Cons: The late night clientele

Posted 09/15/08

I visited Tosca's last week with my husband and his father. I ordered the porterhouse, and to be quite honest, it was the best I'd ever had. The presentation was nice. and the taste was even more better!!! Everything was perfect. The waiter was not only friendly but funny too. I just had a good time and can't wait to come back. DONT EVER TAKE THAT STEAK OFF THE MENU!!!

Pros: The Steak and the staff

Cons: None this time

Posted 08/15/08

I came into Tosca's on a Friday night. The wait was not long. I was greeted by a very friendly hostess who seated me in the dining room. The waiter, a dark skinned male with spiky hair immediately greeted me, and pointed out the specials. After ordering, it seemed like forever before any food came along. The waiter however, was very conversational, and made the time pass more quickly. Once the food did come, it was delicious. It was served hot and fresh. My waiter checked back several times, and even spend a moment joking with my husband about the yankees. The price was a bit steep, but what the experience lacked in timliness and costliness, the service more than made up for. I would definitely come again!!!

Pros: The service!!! look for my waiter...

Cons: food takes FOREVER!!!

Posted 08/14/08

In an effort to show off a Bronx eatery, I decided to take family that was visiting from out of town to Tosca. Beyond our initial sticker price shock, we settled in for an evening of good food, family and laughter. Unfortunately for all of our efforts to do so, our experience was overshadowed by our very aloof waiter, Roberto. We spent the night trying to figure out why we were getting such indifferent and altogether lousy service from him. Truth is we were so bothered by his inattentiveness that we started to wonder if it had anything to do with that fact that we spoke Spanish fluently and he didn't. Despite our jesters to get his attention, Roberto continuously ignored and walked past us. He never brought our table water -- we had to ask the bus boys to bring it to us. In fact, we were forced to rely on the bus boys for many of the services that Roberto should have provided. Actually, the only way to get to Roberto was through a bus boy intermediary. As we placed our food order, Roberto was really distressed and impatient -- poorly describing the dishes we had questions about. His responses were curt and unhelpful. When our meal finally arrived, Roberto was nowhere to be found. The only time he was present was when he brought us our check. He hovered over us then. While we often leave 20+% tip whenever we eat out, leaving Roberto the 15% tip we did was like getting robbed since we never received adequate service from him. Given the lackluster wait service we got (and others have commented on), Tosca should really re-evaluate its hiring practices. Having limited interpersonal and customer skills should not be the criteria for hiring wait staff.

Pros: Good food, great environment

Cons: Indifferent and inattentive waiter; parking

Posted 07/25/08

The outdoor patio is a plus! it's got a nice happening bar with good music. portions are too small for the prices. great for a first date. pizza was decent.

Pros: great outdoor patio!

Cons: downtown prices, small portions

Posted 06/09/08

The outdoor patio is a plus! it's got a nice happening bar with good music. portions are too small for the prices. great for a first date. pizza was decent.

Pros: great outdoor dining

Cons: downtown prices, small portions

Posted 06/09/08

The waitstaff suks badly..i dont know who that manager is but she needs to take charge! The hostess' are very friendly, but the waitstaff is indeed stuck up nd take a while to serve you. If you dont speak spanish..GOOD LUCK. Overall the food is pretty good, but the management..needs to be improved!!!!! Bye

Pros: good food

Cons: management

Posted 03/06/08

Someone suggested that my colleagues and I have dinner here on a recent business trip. We sat for 20 minutes before being approached for our drink order or even water! Once we placed our drink order it took another 20 minutes to get our drinks- after having to ask someone to remind our waiter! When my water was served I noticed my glass was severely cracked from the lip straight down. Also, when we ordered my colleague stated several times that he cannot have dairy due to allergies. When our food came the waiter even joked, 'Here is your dish with extra mik' as a joke. We both looked at the dish and asked that he make sure it had no dairy as it looked like it was cream based. The waiter left and returned with news that it indeed had dairy. Unbelievable!!! An extremely irresponsible and possibly critical mistake on his part. He did not even offer to comp his dish or offer a dessert after the mix up. Not to mention that my other colleague and I had finished our meals by the time a new 'non-dairy' dish arrived for our other colleague.

The food is not gourmet by any definition but pretty tasty. They have a wide variety of meals and specials to order from. A good selection of drinks and desserts too. The atmosphere is very chill with a lounge feeling and good music. The diners appeared to be out in their casual, going out clothes- not dressy at all. For three of us with drinks, appetizers and a meal it came to $135. Overall, for a Zagat rated restaurant I was NOT impressed at all. The food- mediocre, the atmosphere- nice and loungy, and their service- unbelievably poor.

Pros: Food and menu variey. Good atmosphere.

Cons: Unattentive service. Poor attention to detail.

Posted 10/23/07

I been to this place a few times, and the truth is you can't find a better place in the Bx to hangout in, have a drink and a bite. The food is mediocre, the atmosphere is great and the service is worse than the one you get at the DMV. When you finish your appetizers they always make you wait till your main course comes out(which takes 4ever, even if your the only table there)for the food runner to clean up. Good service is when they take your first course after you finish & set you up with silver for your next course. It never fails that i have to ask for a fork or knife etc. The management itself is inexperienced so you can't blame the wait staff when their boss'es don't seem to care about whats going on in the dining room. Me & my husband will continue to go back, because there isn't a place in the Bx that offers you what Toscas has, & that is a place with nice looks,Great lounge and late nite-dining. They need to invest money on hiring real professional managers who can handle the pressure of customer service, instead of hiding from the customers and deduct items off the check for compensation when they complain.

Pros: Ambience

Cons: Poor restaurant skills from the staff

Posted 08/21/07

Tosca's service has seriously gone down in the past few years!! As they've expanded theve gotten bigger with lousy service...
After getting to the restauarant we stood for quite a long time before the hostess actually acknowledged our presence.I actually had to go into the restaurant to grab her
to get her to seat us.After finally being seated we waited and waited to be greeted by a waitress..After she finally took our orders she had to return to the table a few times to confirm our orders (probably forgot them after walking away)
We receieved our fodd after the tables that were seated after us received theirs.
As a total we felt very neglected, mistreated, and ignored.
This restaurant has good decor but stuck up terrible waitresses, and management.
I would not recommend Toscas unless you opt for Take out!!

Pros: take out

Cons: This restaurant has good decor but stuck up terrible waitresses, and management.

Posted 07/04/07

have been to this restaurant multiple times. the food is great which is why I return..the service however is the worst in the city!!!
I will never return as a result..My most recent trip was motivated by a visit from out of town family. We waited after being seated a total of 16 minutes before
ever being acknowledged by waitstaff..we sent 3 or 4 bussers to the back to retrieve our negligent waiter only to have him come out and greet
(with his back to us) another table of ladies that were seated a few minutes after our table..After taking our order he returned a total of 2 times (1 of which to collect the bill).
The only reason we ended up getting water, condiments etc.. is my sisters ability to communicate with the bussers (IN SPANISH)
Toscas is highly overrated and overpriced...
Avoid it like the plague!!!

Pros: open late

Cons: overpriced terrible service

Posted 07/04/07

I love the food at Tosca's but have had problems with the management a few times. Once, a party decided to sit at the table next to us although the entire restaurant was empty.... and I mean empty. They proceeded to smoke despite the no smoking laws. My daughter got up to complain and the hostess said it is up to the management's discretion! Not true! We ended up leaving in the middle of our dinner because everyone at the table was smoking like chimneys. Another time I ordered what was called sliced sirloin sandwich. It came and appeared to be sausage parmesan, clearly not what I ordered- it was not on the right bread, had added things not in that sandwich. She returned with the same sandwich on a different plate with all the sides missing and said it was the right thing, that it was like a philly cheesesteak... totally not what I ordered and not worth the price I was paying for sirloin... it was some kind of processed meat that was disgusting.
If you go for dinner, the entrees are delicious... the bus people who fill your water and serve you bread are delightful, but the waitstaff is surly. Be warned and go with that expectation in mind.....

Pros: great food if you get what you ordered

Cons: Terrible parking and bad service

Posted 04/21/07

I have been to this restaurant many times and considered it pretty good. However, I left my cell phone one day on the table and call back inmediately and asked if they had it. They said that they had it. I went back the next day to get it but they lost my cell phone. First, the manager said that he would split the bill with me to replace my cell phone but after dragging it for a month, he didn't do anything. I called and asked if he is going to pay me back. He was extremely rude and said that it is not his responsability and hang up on me. The incompetence of some people. I would have gone back and continue to be a customer but with this management..why give them the money

Pros: good food, reasonable price

Cons: bad management, irresponsibility

Posted 07/09/03

This restaurant has the tastiest food I have had in a long time, the steaks are unbelievable. indoor and outdoor seating. the staff are all very nice.

Pros: tasty food, inexpensive, valet parking

Cons: crowded, no table cloths

Posted 06/01/03

Known for their delicious coal brick pizzas, I was suprised by how good the pasta dishes were. I had a lobster and calamari ravioli in a vodka sauce, followed by a chocolate moouse cake that was excellent. The service is warm and friendly, and the waitresses are very cute also. If you are unsure of what to order, ask one of them... they have been on target each time so far! Avoide Saturday nights and come Sundays instead if you don't want to shout over the noise and feel crowded.

Pros: Excellent Pizza, Great Pasta, Friendly Service

Cons: Crowded on Saturday

Posted 01/06/03

Tosca is one of the best Italian restaurants I have been to in the entire NYC! First of all, this is no pizzeria, although they do have pizza on the menu its not a pizzeria. Everything from appetizers to dessert have been nothing short of superb. My favorite dish is the Nero Langostino Linguini. If you have a big appetite order an appetizer, otherwise skip the appetizer and wait for dinner, the portions are not small at all but not too much. You will also recognize the that the decor and set up of the place has a very "Manhattan upscale look". By this I mean there are French doors along the front of the place, done with beautiful woodwork. The decor inside is unique and very tastefull, and mellow. Well, I really don't know what else to say, but just GO.

Pros: Excellent Food, Reasonable prices, Fresh cooked food

Posted 08/18/02