Ravel Rooftop

East Coasters, Do you remember that MONSOON that they called a rainstorm over the weekend? Yeah. I went out in that rain. It was crazy. My friend Jen was celebrating her birthday and wanted to invite all of her closest friends out for dinner and dancing at the Ravel Rooftop Lounge (AKA Penthouse 808) in Long Island City Queens.
When i was getting ready, I noted the dreary conditions outside. It was a mere drizzle when i made the decision to straighten my hair. This was the same day I nursed a sweet hangover from the YELP event…clearly, my brain is not up to par when a few libations are introduced to my bloodstream.

My friend Danielle, AKA Bunz, came over to do my and Patty’s Make-up.

Pretty sexy, eh?

The lovely Patty.
When we were ready to go, I grabbed the sorriest excuse of an umbrella to keep in my purse in case it rained… AS we went outside the wind mocked my umbrella and broke it almost immediately. My hair that I worked so hard to straighten (lies. Danielle did my hair) was now wet. And frizzy.
We hailed a cab and made it to the rooftop semi-dry. And snapped some sexy pics in the ladies room…

Cuz we’re classy that way! Dude, who the hell am i with this DIVA Pose? Shaking my Head.

The restaurant was gorgeous. The skies were a little dark but the view of manhattan on the rooftop was sexy and inviting. When I was seated at the booth I noted the booths were a little cramped with tables that didnt really fit the seating area. Almost like they were jammed in there. I went to slide into my booth and literally couldnt. The fabric of the booth (suede) made for a nearly impossible journey with my cotton pants. The wait staff ignored me. I decided to pull the table out so i could comfortably walk to my seat.

That got their attention.

I might have made a snarky comment when the guy told me not to touch the table… but what kind of restaurant doesnt assist their patrons in getting to their seats?? Fail. Mo: 1, Rooftop: 0

We were seated and all the pretty ladies started to arrive.

Our menu arrived. $35 for 4 courses. Not Too shabby. However, $12 for a 6 ounce beverage FILLED with ice. Fail. Mo: 2, Rooftop: 0.

The appetizer came out Family Style. Korean sticky wings, shrimp spring rolls, chicken satay, vegetable dumplings and garlic fries. The wings were by far my favorite. The shrimp spring rolls were tasty too. The peanut sauce for the satay was not great and kind of ruined my love for these babies.

I also got a salad to start. Standard salad. Nothing to write home about.

Bunz and I had a hard time deciding what we wanted for dinner and opted to share two entres. I chose the roasted salmon with bok choy and ginger fried rice.

Bunz chose the sesame marinated skirt steak with wasabi mashed potatoes and roasted veggies.

I have to say that these two entrees were wonderful. As full as I was I ate quite a bit of it and had no complaints (miracle!) Win. Mo: 2, Rooftop: 1

As we were eating the rain really started to come down, complete with lightning and thunder. It was very apocolyptic being on a rooftop with a retractable glass roof above our heads… And just then, it started to rain on us. Not a lot. But enough for us to say “hmm, i do beleive i am being rained on”. Mo: 3, Rooftop: 1

With a quick word with the manager we were moved a dryer table with better chairs… Mo: 3, Rooftop: 2

And then they brought out the cake. Which was yummy. I really thought this was the conclusion of my meal…

until more dessert came out. Good Grief! Vanilla ice cream with chocolate banana spring rolls.

This, ladies and gentleman, was quite a meal… i was STUFFED!

we made our way to the bar to relax after dinner. Rooftop turns into a lounge after dinner service. With a loud boom we all stop and suddenly hear the sound of pouring water… as a part of the roof at the bar caves to the rain and literally POURS inside the bar.

We all applaud. Ceiling Fail.

Mo: 4, Rooftop: 2

The lounge scene was a little on the sad side. I was really looking forward to having a night of good ol dancing fun but the DJ, who must have had ADD would play an awesome song, let us get excited about it, and 5 seconds later change the song…. How can you dance to something if you dont even get a chance to hear the song?? DJ Fail. Mo: 5, Rooftop: 2

The scene was also full of very robust women who were wearing mini skirts and cut off tops… Im no skinny girl but I was a little uncomfortable with these scantilly clad ladies jiggling all over the place. Big is beautiful… when its tasteful.

Also, there was an abundance of men here! like seriously, 4: 1 ratio of men to women… but, they were creepers. And really really short. We left around 12 AM while it was still a monsoon outside…

I had a great time celebrating with my friend Jen on her birthday but the venue left a little more to be desired. This is not a location I would visit again.

About these ads