Carla — Restaurant in New York

Whether hidden or not, this place is an absolute gem. The whole place is a vibe with the ambiance. Seems like a quaint location, so if possible, make a res unless you don’t mind sitting at the bar.

We started with the guac because of course. It was well made and balanced. Those chips had the right amount of salt and were wildly crisp. Kids asked for a whole other order! For drinks, we went with an old fashioned that was a palate pleaser, but the adult capri sum was too fun! It reminded me of a nice rum lunch, but had a strobing ice cube that instantly brought a smile to my face. The kids’ lemonades also had a similar ice cube and tasted like fresh squeezed lemonade, which was fantastic. Ended with some rosé that never disappoints.

For entrees, kids went with the usual chicken tendies and a burger. Both tasted fine and the chicken tenders were quite crispy and had the right flavor. We also had the Mexican surf and turf burrito. The burrito leaked a bit, but surprisingly didn’t ruin the tortilla or anything else on the plate. The meat had the right flavor and spice, while the salad had an acidic, but refreshing dressing. That Mexican shrimp and scallop cocktail though! My goodness was that heaven served in a chip. I am overly picky when it comes to Mexican shrimp cocktail and this exceeded any and all expectations. Filled to the brim with protein and the flavor was fresh, acidic, and delightful.

Great place to slip in for some guac and drinks or a full meal of your heart desires. But seriously, opt for the meal and fun drinks. They also have a cat robot that’s uber cute bringing your food out. Absolutely loved seeing this thing maneuver...

After seeing the great reviews, I really wanted to love this spot. I came here on a date and the service was so disappointing it managed to dampen the energy of the date despite our best efforts of not letting it affect us. The food was mediocre at best, but the drinks were fabulous. The restaurant has a great vibe and music with plenty of delicious sounding vegan options.

There’s clearly no communication between the staff and a lack of attentiveness, considering the restaurant was fairly empty. We arrived maybe 5 minutes after our reservation and waited about 5 minutes before anyone acknowledged us at the bar to be seated. Then, it was another 5 awkward minutes until we were seated. No one brought water or took our drinks/apps order for at least 15 minutes, and a server profusely apologized when she realized we weren’t being taken care of. Bad sign. We asked for a status on our appetizer 15 minutes after our drinks got to us and the kitchen brought out the app twice. We still didn’t get water until halfway through the meal when I requested it and the third server this time was shocked we didn’t have any. The chef brought us our food and apologized for how long it took (maybe an hour and 15 mins later). They flit away so fast before you can ask them for anything.

And for some reason, their patio door is wide open on a cold December day?? So it’s cold af and I’m obviously uncomfortable with a puffer jacket on during dinner. I kept requesting for it to be closed, and eventually asked to be moved because it kept getting reopened. Someone...

I hate leaving bad reviews but in this case I felt compelled after paying almost $100 for a party of two and experiencing the most subpar culinary experience in my life thus far.

Disclaimer, I have no issues with the service or overall dining atmosphere. I just feel mislead by the high rating reviews on this page and felt the need to provide an unbiased perspective that I did not see in the reviews. (Which apparently can be explained by the restaurant offering a free margarita in exchange for a review)

Thus, I would like to state that it was truly the terrible taste of the food that drove me to the review section. Obviously not all of the food was bad- the guacamole and fries were good and probably the best items on the menu. (but this feels like a pretty low bar for any restaurant)

However, anything that requires a component of the dish to be fried I would not recommend. (for example, dishes like fish and shrimp tacos or sandwiches which require battered products to be deep fried in oil). The fish tacos looked extremely disappointing, were hard to chew, and were presented in a deep brown color (likely from reusing the oil over and over). They were also not fresh at all, and had a very strong aftertaste. Similarly can be said for the fried shrimp texture.

Ultimately, I hope the restaurant sees this review and uses better ingredients and oil quality- but please beware if you are considering dining here as there are so many better alternatives down the street...