Beso Taco Bar — Restaurant in City of Newburgh

Came here with some friends to give it a try because it came up in one of our Facebook Reels. I was disappointed in our experience and not sure if I will ever return.

It was a VERY hot and humid day out so walking in the first thing we noticed was the A/C which was a relief. Sat down basically in the center of the restaurant which was a nice spot in my opinion. I would say within 15 minutes of getting there and finally cooling off, the table to our right requested the zipped window thing to be opened. Why on earth would you ask for a window to be opened on the most humid day of summer? Almost immediately the cool air was sucked out and when I say everyone, I mean EVERYONE in the restaurant was fanning themselves with their menus within 5 minutes. It became so uncomfortable that if we hadn’t already ordered I would have left. At one point, one of my friends asked our server if we can close the window and the response was “Sorry they just asked for it to be open”. She even explained how uncomfortable and hot it is and our server’s response was a shrug and the same thing.

I want to say that 2-3 more tables were sat while we waited for our food and they all felt the same way. Hot and uncomfortable. A second family sat near the windows and seemed to think that opening their window as well would help and it made it 10x worse. The humidity was taking over, the heat was unbearable and I was sweating through my clothes. Everyone, INCLUDING both families who opened the sweat inducing windows, were fanning themselves with menus. Why wouldnt anyone advise these customers that the air conditioner was on and opening the window would make it hotter? You preferred making an entire restaurant uncomfortable because 2 of your tables don’t know how air conditioning works? A table was sat by the open window and asked if they could be moved because of how hot it was and was told no. The two women who originally asked for the window to be open… began fanning themselves because they were hot. It was a joke honestly.

If it hadn’t been such an uncomfortable room to be in, we would have stayed longer. We even discussed the fact that we would have ordered more drinks and food but it was so uncomfortable to sit there. We were having our monthly get together which usually involves a few hours of talking and drinks and even ordering another appetizer before we go but we could not wait to get out of there. Of course, finding our server to get the check took ages as it did any time we needed anything.

It’s a shame that the service sucked so bad because the food itself was good and I would have gone back.

A few more notable things: the tables are very small considering they serve your food family style for tacos and the sides in a million separate plates. we tried combining plates as best we could just to make the space better but they sat 5 of us at a 4 top since one friend is in a wheelchair… I guess they didn’t think we needed table space for her? I don’t know, it was too tight for comfort. the $1 happy hour tacos and the $5-6 normal price tacos are the exact same size. they are so small that we could not even offer a bite to our partners to try because you would essentially be eating the entire taco. I have seen street tacos, but these were barely 3 inches in diameter. You cannot make any changes to happy hour tacos at all so hopefully you have no food allergies otherwise you’re paying full price pookie the drinks are incredibly high priced for the small amount you receive. I got an agua fresca and it was a 2 sip beverage and almost $6. it’s also $5 for a soda!!!

In general, the place is cute and the food is good but it’s not...

So firstly, service was awesome. It was slow, so expected, though there are places that drop the ball despite that. So huge thanks to Kerry, who also forewarned me about the small taco size, as well as informing me of the salsas with the chips, and telling me what each of my tacos were. Friendly and smiley and also topped my water off rather promptly.

Next up, chips...so those things are pretty big! Had to break em apart to dip, but its like 2.5 chips in one. Think the chips are bigger than the tacos 🤣 I do see the whole cat bowl aspect, but personally I rather like the sauce dishes. The parchment paper on the plates was weird though. I liked all 3 salsas, the Diablo is a bit hard to finish though. The Morito? Had a nice bit of heat to it as well. If spice isn't your thing, the Salsa Verde is your go to.

Then we've got tacos!! I do agree they could've used a pinch or so of salt, I think that would've really taken them up a notch. Personally I would've preferred a little more crisp to the tortillas, like the birria is almost. But I did the veggie one, little salt definitely would've helped bring out the sweet potato and poblano but wasn't bad. This was just a hair better than the shrimp taco imo, as the shrimp were barely noticeable. The avocado came through more than the shrimp. I think a couple larger shrimp would probably do better than the few tiny ones. The Lamb one wasn't bad, but the lamb itself seemed a bit dry. The roasted chicken was yummy, though again, pinch of salt would've done well. First time having a Birria taco, was pretty good and that dip helped elevate it. Liked the lightly crisp tortilla! The duck was my 2nd fave of the 7, though, a bit of an oversight throughout the entire prep/cooking process as I had a long point bone in the meat, and while a quick replacement was issued(It should've been removed from the bill imo but), with the size of the bone, I don't get how it was missed. Al Pastor was my favorite, little zing of the jalapeño and the sweetness of the Pineapple with the tender chicken 🤤😍 I love how the best taco is also the cheapest.

Dessert- Don't get me wrong, it looks GORGEOUS! The cake itself tastes great, however, the artificial sprinkles detract from it imo. Also that's way too much whip cream. A small dollop would've sufficed instead of a mound of it. Again, its pretty, the cake itself is amazing, I think it'd still look good with the caramel, small dollop of whip cream and mint leaf.

Overall a pretty good experience Also never been to Hudson Taco, so, do with that info...

UPDATED REVIEW: We went back for lunch and had the most amazing experience. Windows are open to the river views, service was attentive. Food had great flavor and presentation. We got a pitcher of Mezcal and it was strong and delicious. Changed to five stars on everything! Thank you Beso for allowing me a second chance. Highly recommend.

INITIAL REVIEW: On Saturday night I called in advance to reserve a table for two. I was told they only take reservations for ten or more but they had a table for two open right now. They asked for my name and I told them I’d be right over. I arrived and they told me there is no table for you and we do not have your name on the wait list. I showed the call on my phone with the time to the woman at the podium and still they wouldn’t seat us. One hour wait and we go to the bottom of the list. The lady at the podium suggested we check the bar for seats but unfortunately that was full. There was an open table for two tucked away on the far side of the bar completely empty. I kid you not. I had been looking forward to trying this place out and now, I will never go back. I felt like it was a manipulative move to get me there to wait on line. No thank you. UPDATE: The Management Company has reached out to me, apologized, invited me back and offered to...