La Tombola

I came here today to show my support to this new restaurant and trust me this place doesn't disappoint. If everything on the menu is as delicious as the Shrimp and Grits I ordered, then this place is going to do fantastic. The restaurant itself is absolutely beautiful and clean. The staff is friendly and they have great 80s music playing in the background. I will definitely be back after Memorial Day when they open up the rooftop.

La Tombola is a huge restaurant in a gorgeous, two story structure that's been on the Coney Island Boardwalk for close to a 100 years. The building has had many incarnations -from restaurant to candy factory to roller rink - and now it's a superb Italian eatery. There are varied happy hour specials during the week, DJs on Fridays, and a lovely rooftop lounge that overlooks the ocean. The menu has something for everyone, from fresh clams to fried calamari, from chicken parm sliders to hot wings, brick oven pizzas, and the best spaghetti and meatballs this Italian girl has ever had. Except for my sister's of course! The staff is young, personable and hard working ! Ask for Delyn and Kaylin, my personal favorites. A special thank you to Felipe Muniz, who turned me on to this fantastic spot! Buon appetito!

Let me start by saying I love that the Childs Building and that it was restored and I liked going to Kitchen21 (despite slow service and spotty open hours). Even had my 40th up on their roof. Epic. Was optimistic about this new menu and Owners. Lots of options - went with safe ones: fried chicken sliders, Margherita, fish tacos and of course spaghetti and meatballs for our little dude. I think the spaghetti and meatballs was the best of the dishes ;)

Discovered this restaurant while walking on the boardwalk. Very spacious. Love the restoration. Ordered the fish tacos which were bland. Needs seasonings to make it taste like authentic tacos. The sliders were delicious though. Will try this place again to see how other food items taste.

Came here for my birthday, got the fish tacos which are 3 and don't have any sides but we were given free fries which was very nice. The tacos were good though. My dad got the steak and fries and really enjoyed it. The rooftop is only open on the weekends and only serves drinks, so I was a little disappointed that they didn't have regular dining on the rooftop. This place has a pretty nice menu so I'd come back but want to check out the roof on the weekends. I'd recommend coming here for a quick bite and drinks (my drink pictured is the frose)

I really wanted to love this place. It has so much potential. I give it 2 stars for the ambiance alone. When you come in, expect to wait about 15 minutes for a waitress to greet you and put in your order. Expect to wait another half hour for your drinks to get to you. Happened to me each time I’ve been here, and no they were not busy. The drinks are not good (sorry) The Froze is a legit Icey in a fancy cup. The cocktails (good luck with that) The food is hit or miss. I and my party tried most of this menu on the occasions we’ve given this place a shot. The only menu items that are acceptable are the pizza and the sliders. The fried chicken wings are super mini wings that look and feel boiled with no seasoning. The shrimp and grits had raw peppers and raw onions. That should say enough.

Loved the architecture and ambience! It felt like we were in a Disney themed coney island park mixed with a sports bar. The food was tasty but can be hit or miss. Our steak and fries was very tasty, but the fries are soggy...be prepared! And The service needs some improvement. The waitress was really nice but it took a while for her to come over and serve us after sitting down for almost 30 minutes. They also have a rooftop that has a bar. There's no food/table service there but you can grab a drink and enjoy looking over the beach. Overall, good spot for drinks but maybe have dinner before you come.

First time at this restaurant and overall we enjoyed the food, drinks and space. There are a few details missed and which need to be handled to make the experience more enjoyable. The 3 star review is due to the issues we noticed and not for the food and drinks. Food and drinks are 5 stars. The indoor space is grand, beautiful and clean. The staff is helpful and polite. Our waitress checked on us throughout our meal. However, there was a young waiter wearing his pants half way down to his butt despite wearing a belt. Very inappropriate and should NOT be acceptable by management. Your customers don't want to see this. Also, the managers and staff need a more polish look to match the space. The rooftop was nice with views of the beach and great drinks. However, the ambience leaves you craving more of the space. There was no music playing despite there being speakers. Adding good lively music would attract more people and thus more spending. We were surprised to find the women's restroom dirty and things not working properly in the main space of the restaurant. One of the bathroom door lock was broken with 2 of the soap dispensers and 3 automatic faucets not working. The men's restroom was also dirty from what my friend stated. Attention to detail goes a long way and keep happy returning customers. Parking is also very hard to get and having free parking would be great.

The food is a complete disaster. Where should I begin. Calamari breading was falling of the moment you tried to grab it fork it. Wings Buffalo flavor were just that . Sauces on the outside zero flavor on inside . Dry rub wings had zero run , zero flavor and barely anything to eat of them. The poor excuse for a seafood tower that come in a box . For 45$ was not worth it . The only Good thing was the aperol spritz . Service was very mediocre as well. Forgot utensils after they took them away. Busier asked twice if he could take away our calamari that was t even started on . Never CKMING BACK AGAIN

Came here on Saturday around noon and it was pretty empty. Friendly staff and bartender. PLENTY of seating so I imagine this place must get pretty busy. Wheelchair accessible with an elevator. A bunch of screens so a great place to watch the game. The main level of the restaurant has a nice view of the inside of the amphitheater next door. The rooftop has live music on Friday nights and you can also catch the fireworks at 9:30 for a vibe. We ordered the frozen mango rum drink but it felt more like a slushie than anything & could not taste the liquor at all. Also got a side of fries which hit the spot but kinda tasted like they were frozen beforehand. So wouldn't recommend the fries if you're picky about fries. Large sandwich selection on the menu as well.

So I don't understand this- Gargulios owns this and it's a fiasco. Also a dump. This was the landmark beautiful Child's restaurant from the late 20'- 50's which just can't seem to make it as anything else. I don't know which is actually worse - La Tombola or it's predecessor Kitchen 21. It looks dirty and depressing as soon as you walk in. Not a good sign off the bat. A decent amount of wait staff walking around but it looks like nobody knows what they are doing. The menu is varied enough. The pizza we shared was not good. Tastes like bowling ally pizza. My Greek salad was actually decent - good feta cheese and calamata olives just way drowned in dressing My friends had the $26 lobster roll which was minuscule. Should have been $20. And lastly the restroom was disgusting. The doors were broken so you couldnt lock it and no hooks for your bag. I have a suspicion it won't last after beach season is over.

I really really HATE giving bad reviews but this one as well deserved. To start, the food was absolutely awful. Fish tacos: Each taco was a medium sized flour tortilla with damp shredded lettuce in it and literally what looked like 1/4 of a frozen fish stick. The width of it was about the same size & length of an index finger of an average sized woman. Each taco had only ONE of these. I ended up taking the fish from the other two tacos & putting it in one taco and it was still barely a taco at all. zuppa di cozze: Aka mussels in white wine sauce. This was absolutely and utterly inedibly disgusting. The mussels themselves were ok in the sense that they weren't rubbery or fishy, but in my life I've never tasted a zuppa di cozze broth this horrific. It had a sour taste that was equivalent to vomit. I think what happened was that they made it and had an "uh oh" moment realizing they didn't add the white wine and then just poured some cheap supermarket cooking wine on top as an after thought. I wholeheartedly cannot explain how horrible the taste was. On top of that, there were barely any mussels and mostly empty shells which didn't matter anyway because I ended up not eating the whole dish anyway. Classic Burger: This was ok but nothing special. Wanted mashed potatoes on the side but they had barely any of the menu items available and went with a side salad instead. The salad was bagged wilted iceberg lettuce that was drowned in really gross bottled Italian dressing. Cheese pizza: This was the only good thing of the meal. The tomato sauce was tangy in the good way and the crust was absolutely perfect ! No complaints for the pizza at all. The server was also just ok. I asked if they had iced tea and after he said he would need to go to the front to check, I said "No that's ok, I'll just take a sprite." When the drinks came I was given an iced tea. I would've preferred the sprite because I don't like Lipton or brisk canned iced tea as they burn my throat and have an artificial taste, and to my dismay is was what tasted like brisk from the can. I also ordered an Italian sandwich to go and was informed they were out of the ham that goes on it. I said I'd take it anyway and if they could just double up on one of the other meats that went on it. When I got home and opened it I had to laugh because the sandwich was basically empty. There was nothing doubled up, and to make it worse, there was no prosciutto on it either. I almost couldn't be upset because it should've been no surprise with how horrible the rest of the food was today. I'm giving 1/2 a star for atmosphere because this place is gorgeous and the rooftop is beautiful, and 1/2 a star because the staff was incredibly friendly. Overall, I would give this place literally one more chance and see what it's like to go later in the evening for bar service and to see if the kitchen actually puts effort into what they're doing during busier hours.

La Tombola is nothing out of the ordinary, but I have to add a star for the fantastic rooftop that allows a view of the seafront, which is perfect if you're sipping a cool drink on a hot day. I was there for food, however. The burger which comes with fries felt a little underwhelming because the buns weren't quite as soft as I like them. And, it was a bit dry. However, the meat was cooked to be medium, just as was ordered. The fish tacos were a bit bland, but the condiments certainly helped.

Omg! Goodbye Kitchen 21! Hello La Tambola! Just opened a few weeks ago. So happy to have this place up and running. Lucy our Server, Hayden and Heidi the Manager were Amazing! Will be back soon. Truly love the disco fries the mussels and the calamari!!! Can't wait to be back

Came here with my cousin for a drink on a Saturday night. It's a really nice venue and extremely bright. We were surprised how empty it was when we got there, the upstairs was closed and there were only a couple of people at the bar. We weren't going to stay but as we were turning around to leave an employee said "have a seat, there are seats right there", we thought there are empty seats everywhere! We had one drink at the bar and left. The drinks were good, it was just a quiet/kind of boring vibe inside. Maybe it was the time, I'm sure it'll be packed before or after a concert at the Ford amphitheater.

Think twice about visiting La Tombola Restaurant if you're looking for some flavorful bomb food. The ambience, and customer service make up the dining experience. The waiters are nothing short of nice but that doesn't make up for the actual food. If you're looking to have a drink and enjoy the scenery maybe this place is for you but definitely lower expectations on the entrees. The appetizer we ordered: Calamari (crisped but lacked flavor but wasn't bad) 7/10 The entrees: Dry rub wings (Heavily salted on the outside, and juicy) 7/10 Seafood pot ("Cajun" flavored...literally tasted like they dumped old bay on it...no butter OR juiciness - no sauce, no flavor on corn, potato and the sausage was DRY, mussels & clams tasted boiled and lacked flavor) 4.5/10 NO FLAVOR 3 stars because the food was mediocre AND overpriced Takeaways: drinks are strong and makes for a better food experience

Was there on a Friday night and the service was absolutely atrocious. Let me be clear, I'm mostly blaming management here. There seemed to be one waitress for all 12 tables downstairs. That's poor planning and even worse management. A little blame goes towards the waitress. I understand she's busy but we asked her for 5 things throughout our time there (nothing additional; just missing portions of our meals or utensils) and she only returned with 1 request, at the end of the meal. (why would we need a cracker AFTER we've had our meals packed up??) No apology or even a "Hey, I'm the only one working, sorry about all the delays". Food took forever to come out and it really wasn't much to write home about. It was decent enough but almost didn't seem worth it for the wait we had and the prices. By no means expensive but I expected better. I can see this place being an ok time on less busy days or when they actually staff correctly but this was a terrible experience and probably not one I'll actively attempt to repeat again.

It can be a great place for cocktails but the bar bites need a little help. I ordered the fish tacos. While the fish was ok. The tacos were stale and chewy. And made it unpleasant to eat. The place is huge and looks great.. I'd go back and try the bar.

This place is amazing! The server was super attentive and the restaurant is also very gorgeous and spacious. We ordered the ahi tuna tower and fish toco, and both are very yummy and fresh. There are lots of seafood options on the menu. It is a little pricey but we understand that there is also nothing like this one in the entire Coney Island. The rooftop bar also has a beautiful view. My friend and I had a specular time here and will definitely come back more often during the summer.

So good. The food is fantastic - especially the rice balls and sliders! Really great beer selection (draft had the classics like bud, but also a few coney island beers and lots of local craft beers - so basically, beers that everyone like), the cocktails are great and the service was fantastic when I went. But I really love the building. It's such a unique and interesting space. The ceilings are huge and all of the landmarked features are still there. I feel transported back in time. So glad they opened up - this is now my favorite restaurant in Coney Island

Went to check this place out on a weekday afternoon with my 5yr old so it wasn't busy. The building is really nice and nostalgic but with a sports bar feel since there are TVs stationed all around. Food took a little long to come out considering we only ordered kids Mac and cheese, soda, and calamari. Food was meh. My 5yr old even gave me his opinion during the meal. "Food takes too long" and "why is it so small?". The kids portion of pasta was about a small palmful and came with half of a sliced orange and two cut up strawberries. Aged for kids 10 and under. Can't imagine a 10 yr old being full off of that. Btw The bathroom stalls don't have locks. And they have a rooftop which the hostess said we can take out order the food and go there to eat. But when we asked our waitress she said we needed permission from the manager. We left and saw many people up there. Kind of a disappointment

I really wanted to love this place. The ambience is almost cool - it doesn't quite reach a cohesive "nostalgia with an update" vibe. But the food is TERRIBLE. The chicken wings were unforgivably dry and the fish and chips (which is a $19 entree) was bland. Of the four frozen cocktails on the menu, one wasn't available - the two we did try were overly sweet. Also, cloth napkins but the condiments come in little plastic cups instead of proper dinnerware?? Lastly - please train the staff. They are sweet and could be good at their jobs, but they need guidance and proper management. Overall, a disappointing experience.

Great food!! Tried the cheese board, Greek salad, the chicken sliders and rice balls and everything was delicious. The drinks are not overpriced and staff is very friendly- Eddie the bartender does a great job! Atmosphere is also nice, a big industrial-looking space with a modern touch. Such a great addition to the neighborhood and my new go to!

Loved the architecture and ambience! It felt like we were in a Disney themed coney island park mixed with a sports bar. The food was tasty but can be hit or miss. Our steak and fries was very tasty, but the fries are soggy...be prepared! And The service needs some improvement. The waitress was really nice but it took a while for her to come over and serve us after sitting down for almost 30 minutes. They also have a rooftop that has a bar. There's no food/table service there but you can grab a drink and enjoy looking over the beach. Overall, good spot for drinks but maybe have dinner before you come.

Went back again! The wings are good and drinks are good. Up stairs should have a bar, great view maybe at night have it open.

FOOD OVERPRICED, MANAGEMENT CURSING AT EMPLOYEES AND RUDE TO CUSTOMERS STAY AWAY!! Place is a complete joke, I'm sure somewhere in the reviews someone has said that they wish they can give 0 stars, well I wish I could as well. This place is horrific, if you want to wait a long time to get your food only for it to be cold and no one to come to your table for a long time have at it. Mangers there completely useless and very very VERY RUDE to their staff and customers. I've never been in a restaurant where the Manger would curse out another staff member in front of customers especially saying the f word many times that is so unprofessional and this man should of been fired for that. By no circumstances does a manger have a right to curse at another staff member or customer!! How is this place still open is beyond me. They are way too over priced and the food honestly sucks there's only very few things that I tried that were good and that was calamari and the rice balls.

I really wanted to like this place but the service was not worth the $$ we spent . From the moment we sat down to the time we received our drinks was 1 hour . Our waitress was lovely and hard working but obviously never worked at a restaurant before . It took 2 hours for our charcuterie board came . Last time I checked cutting up cheese / salami does not take that long . At the end , they charged us $17.50 for bringing in a birthday cake !! Never ever heard of this before . As a local I wanted a place to support during covid but unfortunately this will be my first / last time a this place . I rather spend this kind of money at a place where service is good

This place is a lot to be desired. Excellent location and beautiful restaurant. Thats it. Food was terrible. Garbage. Not real restaurant. Food is not cooked by a chef, rather this is like going to a boardwalk food cart and sottong on a nice restaurant to eat. The food was terrible. Poorly executed, no flavor, frozen, not fresh. Was really bad. Would never go back, would not recommend. Beer was also not at correct temperature, wasnt cold enough. Nice bc of its location but we were not satisfied and was waste of money.

TERRIBLE SERVICE, AND MANAGEMENT DOESN'T CARE. Went around 5:00 and the restaurant wasn't too busy, only about half the tables had people. There was a small private party towards the front of the bar area. We waited forever for the waitress to appear, and then ordered our drinks and my daughter's kids pizza. It took about a half an hour to get a glass of wine and my daughter's pizza took over 45 minutes. Other customers were seated after us and received their food, including steaks before we got ours. The waitress said the guy who makes the pizza wasn't there (I guess he took a very long break since we saw pizzas on other tabes when we arrived). We expressed that she should have told us and we would of just ordered something else. She said it should be out soon. Of course, I ask for a manager, and the waitress disappears again. One of the nice ladies sitting next to us told me that they were regulars and were agonizing over the terrible service that my family received. They directed me to the man at the table next to us since he was a manager/owner. I complained about the wait time for the food and his response was that I should have said something sooner. He stood up and then saw the waitress coming with our pizza, and said well "here comes your pizza, we are still working some things out". Never said we are sorry or how can we make this right. How's that for hospitality? The chicken parm hero was ok. The bread was great but the chicken was dry. The pizza was very cheesy and saucy, which is good if that's how you like it. And of course, we asked for no parmesan since my daughter doesn't like it, and it had parmesan. Was not about to send it back, so we could drag out this bad dinner even longer. She ate 2 of the small slices and we took the rest home. Overall, worst dining experience in a long time. Won't be back and would recommend anyone else waste their time and money there. And of course, when we asked for the check, there were no adjustments for waiting close to an hour for a lousy kids pizza.

Zeros on food. Rice balls were gummy and the calamari were fishy, I almost glad that after 2 hours of waiting our dinner order wasn't even submitted by our waitress. Total failure! Embarrassed that our party was ruined by their amateur management, NEVER AGAIN

I know you have herd it before. If I could give this place zero stars I would. Well in this case I would give this place a negative 5 star review. Went for a family gathering and from the moment we sat down it was a complete disaster and disappointment. Ordered for the table and half the food came drinks were weak and to top it off after 2+ hrs of waiting for our food we discovered the dinner order was never put in. Will not be returning or recommending this place to anyone. Should have ordered pizza and stayed home

Yesterday my husband and I went to La Tombola with our 9 month old and had a wonderful experience. We shared a pizza, wings and fried chicken sliders and everything was delicious. I have an allergy and shared that with our waitress. Her and the Chef read through all the ingredients in everything that I was going to eat to assure me I was ok. Having an allergy it can be scary eating at a new place but they put me fully at ease. I highly recommend checking out La Tombola!!

I had a date night here before attending the Freestyle Concert Labor Day weekend. It was a fairly busy Saturday and they were clearly short staffed and poorly managed. We were seated and it took a long time to be greeted by any server. When we called a manager over to let them know he signaled for a server to take care of our table. It was clear she did not want to serve us and her first words to us were "What would you like to eat?" We put in our order and the entree came out with the appetizer at the same time. Rather than send it back we kept the food and ate it when we were ready. Overall it was a disappointing experience except the food was decent. Would not reccomend.

This is quite literally expensive boardwalk food, the only points it gets is from the bar and beautiful building.

Second time coming here. First time food and atmosphere were great but the service was less than par. Coming 4 months later thought it could have only gotten better, but I was extremely wrong. I waited 18 mins before I even got water and had to practically tackle the waitress just to order a drink. I ordered a Frose and a Charcuterie board (which the waitress had no clue what it was) to start. 15 minutes later she returned to say they only had mango and another flavor frozen drink and that what frose was after I explained it wasn't she said I guess we don't have it then. A few minutes later she returned to tell me they also did not have the stuff to make a Charcuterie board. After ordering other apps she eventually brought them out but of course with no plates. The rest of lunch continued in this matter and ill just say this will be the last time I come here.

We had cocktails on the rooftop and dinner in the dining room and it was delightful. Shrimp and grits and fried chicken sliders were both great, and it was a really different vibe than the other spots on the boardwalk.

This was one of the best restaurant experiences of my life, and I go out to eat often. My father and I went to lunch here, ordered mussels, clams (both steamed and raw, an option I rarely see on a menu), the steamed shrimp, and several mojitos. It was the absolute freshest, tastiest seafood I have ever had and the mojitos were refreshing and delicious on this almost 100 degree day. Our server Jamie was an absolute sweetheart and never left us wanting for food, drink, napkins, anything. Completely friendly, polite, and accommodating, as was the bartender. The food was so fresh and delicious that we ordered the fish tacos, Greek salad, and more mussels to go, which again were nothing but amazing. I highly recommend this place if you are looking for some fresh, quality seafood and refreshing cocktails. I was even informed that this restaurant will stay open after the summer (most boardwalk restaurants are only seasonal) and I am so glad! Thank you to all the staff at La Tombola. Amazing experience! Highly recommend and will be back!

This could be a great place...right on the boardwalk in Coney Island, spacious..too bad it was a major fail for a larger celebration. If it wants to succeed they need to plan better. Hire more experienced staff to get orders in, cooked and served. We were there with a 10 person party and unfortunately our order never made it to the kitchen! We were served drinks (my Mermaid Ave arrived plain the first time and with an orange slice and cherry the next...ordered a beer and waited for soo long we cancelled that, and then it arrived 30 minutes later..what's up with that??) and some appetizers but were still waiting for dinner 2 hours later. We cancelled the food order..they did comp us with desserts..but we all left hungry! Bussers were great, keeping the table clean... Better get ready for the summer!!! Hire more staff and get your kitchen in order!

The service was horrible - just downright bad...water, drinks, just to order the food took forever - won't be back

I wanted to love this place, it's so gorgeous & in such a great location. From the moment we entered the hostess was rude- didn't greet us and immediately said we weren't allowed to take pictures. Other people were taking pictures after us though right infront of her ( in the bumper car) and it was allowed ? I've never heard of such a thing especially in a historic building with photo ops & Coney Island memorabilia. Our waitress wasn't familiar with the menu at all and was not attentive. We ordered 3 apps, the shrimp was very fishy, mozzarella sticks were very cold, and rice balls weren't very good. Chicken parm sliders were tasteless. Very small flat pieces of flavorless chicken & very little sauce. They didn't ask how to prepare La Tombola burger and it came out well done & was very dry. Desserts were mediocre. Best thing was my frose all though it wasn't served very frozen- it was half melted upon arrival, the taste was good. Table next to us also sent cold appetizers back. Hostess didn't say anything on departure either. Wasn't crowded at all as it was a weekday. Really disappointing experience and we made a 2 hour trip each way just to try this.

I was so disappointed with the slow service and awful food. We arrived at 5 pm and did not get out of there until 7 pm. The waitress kept blaming the groups but there were only 2 tables of 10 and one came in after us. A table of 2 and another of 4 came after us and were served before us. When we were finally served the bread on the sliders were stale and the meat consisted of burnt pork ends. Because we were served so late we missed the first 2 innings of the cyclone game. Also, a processing fee was on the receipt and we were not told about it. We will never return. We can,t believe the restaurant belongs to garguilo.