The Phunky Elephant - Staten Island

I recently attended an annual Girls Brunch Christmas party at this restaurant. Ethan did a fantastic job making all the arrangements. The food was incredibly tasty and the sangria was outstanding - not too sweet and perfectly strong. On top of that, the price was fantastic! We had a spacious table in the back that was all set for us when we arrived. The staff was very accommodating. Overall, I was extremely pleased with my experience.

I used to frequent this restaurant often with my group of high school friends, who have remained close for over 20 years. We used to enjoy great meals here, including brunches and drag bingos. However, with COVID restrictions in place, this restaurant made some disappointing changes. The hostess was cold and rude when we arrived, insisting we wait for our temperatures to be taken. Our waiter broke glasses twice, spilling their contents all over our children and their electronics. He then blamed an 18-month-old child in our group for his mistake. Another waitress made rude comments, implying that our children shouldn't have been walking around the empty restaurant. Our kids were also told they had to order from a set menu, and were locked outside in the courtyard dining area because of poor air quality. Overall, our experience was a disappointment and we will not be returning. It's no surprise that the restaurant may be closing down.

Not sure what has happened with this place but for the second time in a row, my order was delayed and the staff was rude. I don't understand. This has been one of my go to resturants for years. I placed order at 7:04. I arrived for pick up at 7:40, woman says with attitude, I told you, 45 minutes and keep in mind the order was placed at 7:04. She went to speak with someone else, came back and said you need wait another 10 minutes. I asked her did I have a choice? Now it was time to pay, had to ask for all of my change, as they decided to keep the coin portion ot it. If looks could kill when I asked, I wouldnt be writing this. Oh and another 10 minutes after the whole payment issue, that's when my food came out. 8:12 was when I actually got my take out order. That's it local, long time customer lost. PS over 1 hour for a take out order. Stay away from here if you want to eat on time. Will never again tell anyone to go here.

Unless you have a reservation, you will be turned away. Which is fine... however there is no option to book one online. I looked to make one yesterday and I was redirected to the Yelp page. Was gonna go here for brunch today and was instantly turned away.. despite the fact that I came at opening, no one was there and it was only going to be two of us. I was a little sad since this place is supposed to be great.

It 's possible that I caught them on a bad day but the avocado spread on the BLT looked a couple days old. No avocado should be that dark. On top of that, the French Rustica bread was extremely difficult to chew. Everyone else I was with had a great meal and a great experience so I don 't doubt that this place has solid food, but if this is what is considered okay to serve, I have an issue with it. I scraped the avocado spread off because it was so unappealing but then the bread still had some on so I ended up reconstructing my sandwich using the bottom part of the bread with all the ingredients in between. The fries were also just subpar. I don 't know... would I come back? I don 't know...