Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Nick, sorry man, but yea, Heartland Brewery is just ok. Still want to try HB...!

@Lvn4life I was so disheartened by the burger switch that the picture I took of the autopsy was not really in focus.

I forgot to ask.

Did you really pay $9 for what's basically chips & dip? Even if it was the best "made from scratch" chips & dip I ever had, I would never pay that much for it.

$12 for that tiny looking quesadilla?!

I envy New Yorkers for living in a food mecca, but I don't envy the prices. Most Mexican themed placed where I live, serve warm fresh chips & salsa for free. If you want something else, like the guacamoli mixed with fresh Pico De Gallo in the pic, it might cost you $1.50 at most.

If Lucy's had a publicist to send you lots of press releases, i'm sure they've seen this review and it's made the rounds there. My prediction: by tomorrow morning, if not today, you'll have an email in which they'll blame it on a new line cook or chef or short staffed kitchen. I'm a publicist myself (albeit not for food) and i can't even think of another way to explain away such a terrible experience.

They'll then invite you back to try the food again, and it will be somewhat better, perhaps even remarkably so. but i think the former.

In any case, i agree with the other posters who've said that reviews of really terrible places like this are a service to the reader, and to the restaurant itself, just like when a diner sends back food that has been improperly prepared. They can't fix it if they don't know there's a problem.

Am I the only one for whom this review actually makes me want to go there, if just for knowing what a meal that was so bad that SE had to write about it is like?

I might add another indicator of potentially bad food: If you walk in off a busy street at 6pm on Saturday night and the place is dead, the food's probably not very good.

Also, I'll put in my vote for good reviews. As others have said, we have a limited number of meals to eat before we die. SE's opinion of food is one I trust, and if they can help me avoid bad food, so much the better.

Sounds like they need a new chef also! Sometimes one element can go wrong in a meal but the whole thing??? You are right SE, I would NEVER go back!

Don' forget to leave your email address for the health and economic security of your server

@Carey Jones,

I was really pleased to read this review yesterday just before heading one block from my office to try this place for the first time. It is true that good places to eat around here are limited to Mooncake Foods, my favorite Halal truck, and the French Macaron Cafe, so I truly had high hopes for Lucy's. THANK YOU FOR THE WAKEUP CALL that was this review, but especially, thanks for the heads up about the ambience!

I felt like I was in a cross between the bar at the Cancun airport, and a hooters. CREEPY. However, I ordered the Baja sliders, and those tiny little burgers, covered in mystery sauce they may have been, were COOKED TO PERFECTION. None of the other sliders in the neighborhood come close to the medium-rare perfection of these tasty little treats. I chased them down with the most delicious Michelada I've had in months (I was able to substitute the recommended Corona Light for a Negra Modelo, thank goodness).

Despite being scantily clad on the rainy day that it was, the servers were very friendly. I think it's terrible that they have to wear those outfits, really.

@megperks - REAL Mexican food goldmine on East 116th Street, try Taqueria El Paso, among others.

I work in this area and so sad that we have hardly any good lunch options. Mooncake is the only place I can bring a friend to so far

I'd love to see Lucy's Cantina Royale's response to this.

"If a restaurant is at 34th and 8th, the food's probably not very good."

This made me LOL. 34th street is the worst street in all Manhattan.

@Carey Jones: "We wanted our lunch back" I Love it!! You could not have said it any better!! An opportunity wasted...we only get to eat lunch 7 times a week! The photos are gorgeous though. Great writing!