Nueva York Bistro & Steakhouse — Restaurant in Brownsville

You’re going to wonder why I gave this restaurant a high star rating when you start reading my review; you’ll understand why by the end.

I made a reservation over the phone for a party of 7, and as we were walking in, I received a phone call from the restaurant telling me they needed to cancel the reservation because they had two Christmas parties/posadas booked and happening as we spoke. I made the young lady on the phone aware that I was there, walking in, and asked why she’d accepted the reservation. We drove 40 mins to eat at this restaurant. While I was on the phone, there was a gentleman at the entrance who greeted us—the manager, I assume—, and he told us he’d go check on the reservation details. Meanwhile, the lady on phone put me on hold and booked it to hide inside when she saw us walk into the front patio area. While waiting for her to come back on the line, I started googling other dinner spots near us. It was a Friday night, mind you, and everything was booked. The lady came back on the line and told me once again she was sorry but there was nothing she could do. And then she proceeded to tell me to hold and hung up on me. I googled to see if there were any restaurants we could walk to from that point. About 2 mins later, the young man who’d greeted us at the door made his way back to us. He said he had a table ready in the private dining room. We had the room to ourselves and the bathroom was right across our table. He gave us the best table in the house. Needless to say he saved the night. He didn’t know we had out of town guests we were entertaining or how long of a drive it’d been to get there. And did I mention the limited parking in downtown Brownsville?

Once we were seated, we enjoyed live entertainment, our food was really well presented/plated and delicious. Our server was attentive, courteous and friendly, and she made us feel comfortable and welcome. The establishment is quaint, charming, and clean.

In spite of the initial hiccup (caused by unknowledgeable staff in charge of reservations) that the evening started with and frankly almost made me give Nueva York bistro and steakhouse a bad star rating, I would return to this restaurant again. Next time, however, I’ll make sure to confirm that they’re not going to try to cancel my reservation as I’m walking...

I have not had the pleasure of going yet, but I'm sure I'm going to make it very special for myself when I end up paying them a visit. I feel great to have witnessed the construction and reforming of this business. I can't wait to visit and try their delicacies.

I'm sorry, but I said that 👆 up there just yesterday and rated you 5 stars without even knowing for a fact, and today I woke reading a disappointing story from my friend who decided to celebrate her anniversary at NYBS just yesterday. I feel a bit responsible for her and her husband's experience. I went on talking wonders about your place and sent them pictures of the new restaurant in town. Today I saw pictures of their $170 plates, and her description of the quality of food was unexpected from my end. I gave a good rating to this restaurant thinking the people would care to provide good quality of food to match their price. I'm sorry they left regretting their visit. I really wish new entrepreneurs who came downtown to open businesses, especially in the food industry, would offer what they'd love to be presented with on a special date, anniversary or simple event in an excellent manner. Just by seeing those plain but burnt marshmallows and sliced "steak" if not fajita...I don't think I can keep yesterday's rating. I kept talking wonders about your business and the possibilities of it being great. We grew up with Mexican traditional meats cooked inside our kitchen, out on the grill, cooked in a pozo, etc. Whatever you want to call us or our upbringing, your opinion is respected but mine is valid too. I speak for my friend. We know what's good. You are not going to fool us here. Our pallete and our taste buds know best. I'm sure she won't be going back. The drinks did look good though...but there's plenty of bars downtown already. Please work on providing the best quality to...

The atmosphere at the restaurant was nice, but unfortunately, the food and service were very disappointing. We waited a long time for our meals, and when they arrived, things only got worse.

We ordered Mexican guacamole, which was supposed to include tomato, onion, and chile, but all it had was tomato. My wife ordered the “Mar y Tierra,” which is a filet mignon (medium well) and shrimp, with a Caesar salad and macaroni and cheese. We didn’t even receive the salads until after the steaks were brought out, and her steak was way undercooked—closer to rare than medium well.

I ordered a 12oz ribeye, medium, with a Caesar salad and loaded mashed potatoes. My steak came out rare, and they even left the little red tag marking it rare. My wife sent her steak back to be remade, but instead of fixing it, they simply burnt the outside while leaving it raw on the inside.

To top it off, there were only two other tables occupied in the restaurant, and they had two waiters working, so we couldn’t understand why things were so poorly handled.

My wife and I will not be...