BOKAGUÁ — Restaurant in New York

Dear Bokaguá Management Team,

I am leaving this review in response to my partner's review, seeing that one cannot reply to someone else's review. I'd like to clarify a few things that were mentioned in your response.

1. Your staff was very friendly and attentive throughout the evening. Please take the feedback to understand that we felt like they froze up in the moment of the vomit incident. This is neither good nor bad but human. Again, the gentleman who we believed to be the busser was probably the most attentive in this situation. Everyone else again seemed to be in shock and unable to completely take control of what happened in their place of business.

2. I'd like to highlight that the cleanup of the vomit was done with Windex and paper towels. In addition to this, no gloves were used to clean the area, and food was still being served in the area. All of which, to my knowledge, would be considered a health violation. Now, if we want to go off of the assumption that this young lady was sick, then you could put the rest of your customers at risk if she did have a virus with this not being properly cleaned. I am sure you did the best you could with what you had on hand, and again, please use this as a way to better the business going forward.

3. I am unsure who we are defining as a child. The table where this young lady came from appeared to be full of other young women in their early twenties (maybe 20 to 21). I would say their drinks of choice (unless these were non-alcoholic) would indicate these were not children. I understand you need to protect your business, but there is no need to lie about this here. This young lady appeared to be overly intoxicated as she stumbled to the restroom. Could it have been from something she consumed while there? Who knows? Either way, we'd like to cut it if drinks were being served to a minor (if you'd still like to categorize her as a child) or if something she consumed from your establishment made her ill. Either way, it is not a good reflection on your management team.

4. Please do not take the time here to attempt to defame my character. The fact is the young lady had left your establishment before I approached their table. The young lady who became sick had to be carried out by some of her friends. Not one time did the other party come over to my partner and me to check in to make things right. I am sure you can understand after having the back of my entire coat vomited on and the coat of my partner, I was very upset. When I approached the table again, I saw that the young lady had left your business. Also, a member of their party confirmed this. I asked the table I saw her come from about dry cleaning, NOT about purchasing a new coat. My coat is still whole, and that is not an issue. At no time did I yell or make a huge scene of this. A gentleman who I did not know was with the party (I thought the two tables behind us were two different parties) approached me, trying to diffuse the situation. He mentioned the young lady who became ill. They did not know that well, and hopefully, an apology would be good. Honestly, there seemed to be no effort in trying to make this right, so I walked away and paid our bill. We left your business with no issues, just as we came in.

I hope you can take this time to be accountable and honest about the situation. Please take this input as feedback on how you can improve what seems to already be a nice space. Enjoy the rest of...

To start, the hostess was kind enough to accommodate us at the bar despite not having a reservation, which we appreciated. The restaurant itself is beautifully designed, and the food and drinks were excellent. However, our experience took a very unfortunate turn.

A nearby customer, who appears to be in her early or late 20's, became ill and vomited on both my partner and our belongings. The lady in particular was stumbling to make her way to the bathroom. We immediately informed the bartender and a busser, and while we were still in shock trying to clean our items, two more employees approached us to ask what had happened. The main staff member who consistently checked in and assisted us was the busser, who provided paper towels. One of the bartenders did offer an apology, acknowledging that this was an unforeseen incident. However, what truly disappointed us was the lack of professionalism and attentiveness afterward.

Our experience at this restaurant was deeply disappointing. After a distressing incident, we were shockingly offered shots on the house—an inappropriate response given the circumstances. Despite the situation, we still paid full price for our meal and left feeling disgusted, not just by the incident itself but by the way it was handled.

The responsible party never apologized, and the restaurant staff made no attempt to mediate or offer any meaningful acknowledgment beyond a simple apology. While I understand that the restaurant is not liable for guests’ personal belongings, some level of accommodation—such as a discount on our bill would have sufficed.

On behalf of another guest, my partner calmly approached the table of women acquainted with the lady who vomited, hoping for some accountability or assistance. Unfortunately, none was given, aside from a respectful gentleman who apologized on their behalf. We chose to settle our bill and leave with grace, despite the lack of responsibility taken. (The lady who initially fell ill, was not present in the conversation, and prior to the interaction was carried out of the establishment by two other women.)

Had this been an accident involving a child, we would have responded with empathy and understanding. However, the complete disregard for basic decency in this situation was unacceptable.

This experience has left such a negative impression that we will not be returning. I hope this feedback encourages a review of how such incidents are handled...

I really wanted to love this place and support a Dominican-owned restaurant, especially for my mother’s birthday. We arrived about 15 minutes early for our reservation with a party of five, and right away, the experience started off on the wrong foot. The restaurant is very small and fully booked, which we understand, but there was nowhere for us to wait. My daughter sat at the bar (not ordering or anything), and instead of politely asking us to move because she’s underage, the owner said, “She can’t sit at my bar” — not what she said, but how she said it. The tone was rude and dismissive, she didn't even try to bewelcoming or accommodating.

I explained that we were early and had nowhere to stand, and instead of offering a kind or understanding response, she snapped, “Well, this is the size of my restaurant.” No warmth, no hospitality, no “Thanks for your patience” or “We’ll seat you as soon as we can.” Just straight attitude — like she didn’t care for our business at all. My family and I were dressed nicely for a Sunday afternoon, but we clearly didn’t fit the aesthetic she wanted. And honestly, it's disappointing that it really be your own people treating you like that.

Now onto the food — very mid and overpriced:

Croquetas and shrimp dumplings: decent, but tiny portions.

I had the red snapper with coconut rice. The fish was flavorful, but the rice was bland.

My husband and mom had the lobster fried rice. It had plenty of lobster.

My kids had the Korean wings — $17 for four tiny wing pieces (not even full wings). They left hungry.

We had a bottle of wine, and bottled PANNA water, no cocktails or other drinks, and the bill came to $344 with gratuity included. I wouldn’t have minded the price if the service and experience matched — but it didn’t.

Oh, and let me not forget… we mentioned it was my mom’s birthday, and the waiters & servers came out with what was literally the wackest “Happy Birthday” I’ve ever experienced.

Safe to say we won’t be back. Just a disappointing experience all around — and a reminder that not all...