The Grande Lux Cafe.

My wife and I were heading off to dine a few nights ago. We chose a place and were set to go. We then passed by the Grand Lux Cafe and made an abrupt change after seeing the decor of the place.

It was a funny thing, my wife said two things about the restaurant. As we walked in the door she first said the place has a "grand" Vegas look to it. This eatery is huge, has an upscale look with ceilings near twenty foot high and columns inside. The place has a Mediterranean look with a middle eastern flare too.

The second thing she noted after looking a bit more closely at the place is that the decor also had a Cheesecake Factory feel to it. A bit later we did see the Cheesecake factory product on the menu. We dined that night and after returning home I looked the place up on the Internet to get information I needed to request it be added to the Epinions database. I was amazed when I read the first sentence of their site titled

Our Story

Pure Inspiration.
The idea for Grand Lux Cafe came to life when The Venetian Resort, Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas asked David Overton, Founder of The Cheesecake Factory Restaurants, to create an upscale casual restaurant concept for their property.

Excited by the proposal and the opulent "Venetian" theme, Mr. Overton traveled to Europe to study Italian trattorias, French bistros, and the grand cafes and pastry shops of Vienna. This culinary tour through Europe, focused on food, architecture, décor and design, provided the inspiration for what the restaurant was destined to become.

Blending the grandeur and luxury of European cafes with the sensibilities and spirit of an all-American restaurant, "Grand Lux Cafe" was born.

My wife hit it right on the nose about the Cheesecake Factory and the Vegas feel. This upscale restaurant with moderate pricing is in New York, Houston, Dallas, Los Vegas and Los Angeles with another set to open in Florida. A full dinner without drinks would be in the $20-$40 price point as I see it and paid for it. If just having a sandwich, pizza or burger you can drop that price considerably.

Atmosphere

...and so we walked into this grand looking property. It was magnificent looking from the outside where it stands on the northwest corner point looking like the cornerstone of Long Island's huge Roosevelt Field Shopping Mall. Unfortunately as the doors opened I was greeted with overwhelming ...noise. The acoustics were terrible, the sites admirable. My eyes went right into the bar beyond the front entrance area. It is elegant, sophisticated and not overly opulent. The decor is very pleasing to the eye and I was drawn to the room that housed the bar. It also had some tables. It is a large room and, even though the restaurant was not yet packed, the crowd of people ages 21-35 filled the bar. I noticed that even though the place is upscale and elegant the cliental were very relaxed and having a good time. Most any neater dress would fit in the bar scene, from comfortable chic to jackets.

Also interesting was a dessert bar in the large lobby area that advertises it is open after three every day with special menus that offer a three course desserts. A glass counter displayed the fine looking offerings. We had one of their desserts during dinner in the main dining room. It was absolutely heavenly. More later.

The huge one-room dining hall was a balanced array of stylish booths throughout the open area. The booths were comfortable and they also provided a bit of privacy from nearby neighbors. Different from the Cheesecake Factory near us that crowds people elbow to elbow at some of their tables. Unfortunately this room was also "clangy". The noise of the plates just bounced off the walls and ceilings mixing with the piped in music to create more noise. Even so, the crowds kept coming and by the time we left at an early 7:30P.M. there were hoards of people waiting in the lobby and bar. It seems to be a very popular place.

The Menu

Be prepared to take a bit of time going through the many offerings listed on the menu. It starts with their house specials of drinks. We tried a couple of them, one with success and the other not. I'll explain that in a bit too.

There are well over a hundred items that can be chosen from the combined appetizer, salads, pizza, burgers and sandwiches, Lunch Specials, pasta and noodles, and from the oven and broiler, from the pan and grill and even offering breakfast on Saturdays and Sundays.

Th appetizers were international with selections like Double Stuffed Potato Spring Roll, Vietnamese Chicken Summer Rolls, Buffalo Chicken Rolls, Crispy Flautas, Tempura Rock Shrimp, Duck Potsticks, Asian Nachos, Crispy Ahi Sushi Roll, Seared Rare Ahi, (Excellent) and Edamame. They also had a huge "Grand Appetizer Platter that featured many of the items mentioned at $25.95. It actually looked like a good deal for a group to share. I saw one go by but still couldn't convince my wife we should share it.

After listening to a few specials of the day we ordered from the Pan and Grill section of the menu. My wife went for the Indochine Shrimp and Chicken $18.95 and I had the Cajun Shrimp and Chicken Jambalaya $16.95.

Our Experience

I mentioned the noise and the otherwise elegant atmosphere. The waitstaff was especially polite, concerned attentive, well dressed and young. They seemed to have had some good training because everything on first meet was quite upbeat with our waitress expressing our need to know that all our desires would be looked after. We were first greeted by a fellow who asked if we wanted to order drinks.

I ordered the house special

The Grand Lux Margarita
Hornitos Tequila, Cointreau and Grand Marnier Hand Shaken with
Fresh Lime Juice. It was excellent even at $10.

My wife had a Texas Tea
The Long Island Classic with Spurs! Ha, it was a joke. It tasted like a sweetened lemonade, she sent it back...but wait...and wait again. When she told the gal it wasn't good the waitress said OK, I'll get a manager. Now I'm happy the management is concerned and wants to know about a poorly mixed drink but now we had to have to wait for a manager to take care of the situation it got worse and even more absurd. The manager never showed up! I called over our gal after seven minutes of waiting and asked, "What's up?" She said the manager must have been busy because she told him/her about the drink. I asked that she bring out another choice for my wife right away. She agreed and took my wifes order of a

Cadillac Margarita
Cuervo Gold Tequila, Fresh Lime and a Float of Grand Marnier.
Served on the Rocks or Blended

My Margarita was good so she felt safe. No luck though. After having to wait another five-ten minutes, this tasted like an overly sweetened sour mix...and where was that floater of Grand Marnier? Nothing could be seen. It was a perfectly clear looking drink. Why? The concerned waitress took that one away too and brought up a draught beer for my wife. I'm just happy we didn't have to wait for the manager again. My wife and I thought it interesting that our waitress said, "Maybe it was the bar tender that night because she also received a complaint from another table earlier." The beer was just fine and I finally could start drinking my own drink after waiting a total of fifteen minutes to toast each other.

The food was served moments after my wifes draught hit the table. So much for a leisurely drink before dinner. I wasn't halfway through my drink and three times I was asked if I would like another drink. I like attentiveness but this was overkill.

Our dinners were fairly well presented except for white rice on the plate holding a mold shape that looked much like a full measuring cup portion and shape. Both our dishes had that same shape rice. My Jumbalaya was excellent in taste. The shrimp were perfectly cooked and full of flavour. My wife enjoyed her Indochine Shrimp and chicken that had a light taste of curry. Sometimes places bury the taste of the food under that condiment. She was very pleased. We then thought about sharing a dessert. Though they have many offerings including Cheesecake Factory Cheesecake we went for the combination

Créme Brulee Duo
Delectably Smooth and Silky. One Classic Vanilla and the other
Deep Chocolate. Finished with a Crunchy Sugary Top

Oh My!!! We were in heaven. I won't be exaggerating saying it was the best combo dessert I HAVE EVER HAD! The chocolate was creamy, full of rich flavour and as good as any chocolate taste I have ever had. The regular Créme Brulee was also quite creamy, maybe just a touch soft as compared to the chocolate and the crisp topping was perfectly done. This alone was worth a visit to The Lux Grand. Their coffee was good and rich similar to Starbucks richer blends.

Last Thoughts

The place is a good value in a magnificent setting. It's quite chic looking with a younger crowd though I did see a couple of family types at our early sitting and even some older folk like me. Though my drink was excellent, I had their ten dollar special Margarita, my wife was offered two different but equally poorly made drinks. The worse part was having to wait for a manager to address the situation and never shows while my wife and I are looking to enjoy a few minutes over drinks before dinner was to be served.

Both our entrees were very good and the dessert was heavenly. The service did disappear at times and at other times were overly quick in trying to take my unfinished drink away from the table. I went and put it to the inside of the table so they weren't receiving a "message" to take it away. Still one of the staff reached over me to grab my still unfinished drink. What's with these guys?

I wish the drinks were better. Maybe it was just the tender that night. I don't know. The food was terrific but the insane thought that I waited with a drink in my hand ready to start it but had to wait for a manager to address the situation with my wife's drink infuriated me.

I would like to give this place four stars, it even has five star potential. Maybe they will get consistent bar tending and have the managers truly get involved and not have us waiting for no reason at all.

Though I give this restaurant three stars I believe it is well worth a try. I may give it another chance too.




Other choices and places to go for the holidays and all are within ten minutes of the Grand Lux Cafe

Legal Seafood Boy was I surprised! Five star.

California Pizza Kitchen

The Palm Court Restaurant at the Carltun Perhaps Long Island best restaurant.
The Milleridge Inn, Built in 1672 and It's Still one of the Holiday's Finest Place to Dine

EAB PLAZA at Christmas Time Just seven minutes from the Grand Lux Cafe. It has Long Island's Christmas Tree that rivals NYC's
Freeport's Nautical Mile A fine destination with many restaurant choices at any time of year!!

Two of Freeports best choices in dining.
Rachel's Waterside Grill
Pier 95 A very fine Portuguese-Mediterranean Restaurant on the Hudson Canal just minutes from the Nautical Mile


The Garden City Hotel Long Island's Finest Property


Long Island an overview with many destinations and restaurants.




Recommended: Yes