5 Burro Cafe — Restaurant in New York

So I was mixed about coming to this place. I must admit the reviews were a little detouring, but we said let's try it out anyways.

We came on a Thursday night. The inside was super crowded, and everyone was bumping into each other's chairs. Thus, we opted to sit outside.

The hostess came and she was very dry. We didn't get a "hello" or a "welcome to xyz.." All she said was "inside or out?" in a very dry tone. We said out as we already decided before she came to us. She sat us outside in a nice corner. Placed the menus on the table and walked away.

A nicer older gentleman came greeted us, poured us water, and walked away to take someone's order. We were confused, but we later found out he wasn't our waiter. Our actual waiter came out and he also came out very dry like he didn't even want to be there. We gave him our drink order and he walked away without even asking if we wanted appetizers. We found it weird, but I guess it was how they operated.

Nonetheless, we got the coconut margarita and mango margarita. They were ok. The waiter came back with chips and salsa with our drinks.

For apps, we order chips and guac and the chorizo dish. The guac wasn't anything to rave about. The chorizo dish was pretty good.

The service was pretty slow, but then again it seemed no one wanted to work there except the older gentleman. That guy was running around and trying to attend to everyone. You could see the sweat.

For entrée, we order the steak nachos and a quesadilla. I was extremely excited about the nachos. The flavors were good, but I felt something was missing and still haven't been able to put my finger on it. The quesadilla - well it was a quesadilla.

Our waiter came back after a long while and asked if everything was ok. Just to put a timeline, we got our 1st drinks, apps, and entrée and not once were we asked if we wanted another drink.

As the night was coming to an end, the waiter seemed happier and at this point, he started giving recommendations and being more sociable. He recommends the half/half margarita (half strawberry/half regular). This margarita I can say was a margarita. The first one tasted like a flavored slushy compared to this one.

After, we finished the 2nd drink the waiter came quickly to see if we wanted another. We sure did! We got our 3rd drink, but it also seemed like they were closing up and we felt almost like we had to go. So we asked for to-go cups. The waiter said he can't give us to-go cups because those were only for take-out orders and if we wanted the cups we had to order something to go but the kitchen was closing. This made absolutely no sense. So you can give us to-go containers for our food, but not the drinks?

So we had full margaritas and felt pressured to leave. Therefore, we felt that we just wasted money on something that we couldn't even enjoy.

Overall, it felt like a higher-end fast food joint. Almost like a dive bar mixed with a chipotle, but with a turn-and-burn feel. Get as many people in and out as quickly as possible without them feeling welcomed.

If I had to rate this place it would be the following...

Service 2.5/5 Food 3.5/5 Drinks...

This place has really gone downhill. My fiancé and I came in and asked the host if it was okay to grab a drink outside. She checked with a server, who said it was fine as long as we ordered an appetizer with our drinks — which we were happy to do. We ordered the passion fruit frozen margaritas, but whatever we were served did not taste like passion fruit at all. I brought the drinks inside to mention the issue to the server, but he insisted that’s how they were supposed to taste. He didn’t offer to replace them or suggest an alternative. Instead, he brought out a bottle of cheap passion fruit liqueur to “prove” the flavor, which didn’t help at all. We also ordered guacamole and chips. The guacamole came out — but no chips. Yes, we were given complimentary chips when we arrived, but we specifically ordered guac with chips because we wanted more chips to enjoy it properly. When I went inside to mention it, a support staff member started yelling at me, asking if I wanted a small or large order of chips. I was confused, since I thought chips were included with the guac. When I brought it up with our server, he said the complimentary chips were the chips for the guac. I had to explain that the complimentary chips are usually just a welcome snack — not part of a paid appetizer. Still, nothing was done to fix the situation. I asked for the check and decided to leave. As I’m trying to rush and finish my app and drink, I overheard our server gossiping with a coworker about my complaint — completely unprofessional behavior. I’ve given this place a few chances, but it's clear they don’t care about hospitality or basic customer service. I understand it was the end of the night, but if staff don’t want to serve guests properly, the restaurant shouldn’t keep seating people. Very disappointing experience. You should learn a thing or 2 about your next door neighbor Reef even when they’re in the weeds they still CARE about providing the best memorable experience to their guests. Time to clean the house up and replace with new people who actually care about customer servicing and this is coming from someone who works in...

This staple in Forest Hills is one of my favorites for over 7 years. Its a small, narrow restaurant with funky, simple décor. The wait is normally over 45min even on weekdays. The bar is normally packed - even on weekdays. In other words, expect to wait. I normally grab a drink at the bar while I wait for my table. My favorite is the original frozen margarita with salt on the rim. That drink is always served in a small mason jar. Other drinks are served differently. I am not a fan of the flavored drinks as the concentrated liquid transforms the drink into something my palate doesn't approve - too bitter.

The food is average - It's my favorite b/c of the margarita. I've ordered the quesadilla, tacos, steak, special of the day, etc. They don't necessarily put their own special twist on it hence why I call it average. I do love their chips and salsa, which is complimentary even at the bar, because the salsa comes with heat.

The service is okay. Some days the servers are on their game and other days you have to wave them over. This happens on both busy and slow days, so I don't get it. One thing for sure is that the staff is polite.

I understand the concept, if it's not broken, don't fix it. However, I do wish they incorporated more options to their menu... maybe different house-made salsas for the chips or tacos... possibly expanding their location since the wait can get out of hand ... and most importantly, keep the music on - right now there's a jukebox which the patrons must pay to hear their favorite tunes, otherwise no music will play for an extended period of time.

Overall, it's a quaint restaurant with yummy margaritas. Average food. Average service. Fortunately, the average-ness won't stop me from returning - see you...