Modern Malt (Syracuse, NY)

Modern Malt (Syracuse, NY)

While visiting Syracuse last month, I had the opportunity to try the Modern Malt in Armory Square. It’s one of Heather’s favorite restaurants in Syracuse. The Modern Malt is not quite a standard New Jersey diner but more of an upscale, foodie diner.   It’s hard to believe visiting the Modern Malt (Syracuse) was just about a month ago now!

Modern Malt (Syracuse) Atmosphere: A

The Modern Malt is an upscale, modern diner. There are plenty of booths, tables, and even a few high tables. The color theme of the restaurant is bright orange (to match my jacket), so everything pops.

When we walked into the Modern Malt, there was plenty of seating.  I liked the theme and modern touch.  I liked the overall atmosphere of upscale, bright and contemporary.  About 15 minutes after we were seated a local show was let out so it became much more crowded.

Modern Malt (Syracuse) Service: F

The Modern Malt had the most awkward and worst service I’ve had in a while.  If a restaurant is busy or all-around slow, it doesn’t reduce the rating or bother me. Obviously, if it’s crowded, the food isn’t given as quickly.  However, two larger parties seated much later than us received their orders before we did.

It also took 40 minutes (yes 40) for a milkshake. The waiter said at least 4-5 times the milkshake was next and 4-5 times we saw batches of other milkshakes brought out first.  If he had said “there is a long milkshake line,” I wouldn’t have cared…but don’t lie or continue to forget.

Modern Malt (Syracuse) Coffee: B

The coffee at the Modern Malt was good. The server did bring me 5-10 Splenda and sugar packets per 8 ounces of coffee.  At the end of the meal, I had at least 30 extra Splenda packets and 20 sugar packets. Who doesn’t need that many Splenda packets per coffee?

The coffee was refilled a few times. It was a local brew from the coffee shop down the road. I liked the slightly bitter taste.  It wasn’t remarkably good or bad, and I still drank it.

**So sorry, I forgot to take a photo of the 10,000 sugar and Splenda packets I accumulated.  😉

Modern Malt (Syracuse) Food: C

The Modern Malt menu is much smaller than most restaurants, but they do have a lot of local and fresh foods. The Modern Malt menu reminds me more of a café versus a diner.

I ordered their house special of the day: grilled eggplant salad with chicken.   The house special of the Modern Malt had mixed greens, goat cheese, grilled eggplant, grapes and I added chicken. It was good, but it was small. I was hungry afterward, but it was enough food for the time being.  One thing that bothers me is restaurants don’t include bread with their salads.  I don’t know why it’s not an ordinary thing!  I think I recently mentioned this at the Brooklawn diner too!  For me, I need bread, meat, and cheese in a salad.

The food took over 70 minutes to receive which was disappointing since several tables were served and left before we received the food.

Modern Malt (Syracuse) Cost:$$

For my salad and coffee, the cost was 18. It was expensive for the amount of food you received. The quality was good, but I would have preferred more food.

Overall thoughts/Would I come back to the Modern Malt (Syracuse)?

Food-wise, it was good food but tiny portions. The service at the Modern Malt was slow, so I probably won’t be back.  It could have been one unusual experience, but there are restaurants in the Syracuse area I prefer much more.

Summary of the Modern Malt (Syracuse):
Atmosphere: A
Service: F
Coffee: B
Food: B
Cost: $10-20
Modern Malt (Syracuse) Overall: D

You can see all of the diner reviews here. 

Question for you: What is the slowest service you have received?