Calli
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Vibe-wise, Drai’s has a dark, swanky jazz club atmosphere with amazing live music—definitely a strong point. The food was also excellent: the caviar pasta was unreal, the Caesar salad and shrimp were solid, and the cookies with chocolate sauce were a cute, crowd-pleasing dessert.
But the service? Pretty disappointing, especially given the prices. We had an 8:30 reservation, were seated right away, and the place was nearly empty—but no one came to take our order for over 30 minutes. We tried to order Veuve for a birthday celebration (it was on the menu), but they were out. Ended up getting two bottles of Dom, and still had to flag down our waiter for refills. Nothing comped, no extras—despite dropping serious money for a party of three.
Also felt scammed when the second bottle of water clearly came from the tap, even though they charged $10 like it was Evian.
We checked out the lounge downstairs before midnight—totally dead. Maybe it’ll pick up with time, but for now, it’s skippable.
Overall: Great food, fun vibe for a birthday, but the service and value don’t justify a return. In a city like NYC, there are too many other places doing it better.