Casa Azul — Restaurant in New York

As an avid explorer of new dining experiences, stumbling upon this restaurant was a delightful surprise. The place exuded a fantastic ambiance, and for the quality of the offerings, the prices were more than reasonable. We were warmly greeted upon arrival and promptly seated. The entire staff was exceptionally friendly and helpful, with Liz, our server, standing out as a true gem. She provided us with a thorough explanation of the menu, and all her recommendations were spot-on.

To kick off our culinary journey, we each started with a refreshing drink that left us more than satisfied. The appetizers we ordered, including the Tamal special of the day at $7 and the Flautas at $14, were incredibly tasty. The restaurant's interior had a modern touch and was impressively clean and inviting.

The main course was nothing short of a gastronomic delight; my Branzino practically melted in my mouth! I'm going to share a picture of my entrée so you can see the culinary masterpiece for yourself. I'm already looking forward to my next visit.

One notable plus was that the receipt did not include an automatic gratuity, which I appreciated. However, my one gripe was when it came time to settle the bill. The payment screen initially suggested a 20% tip, with a recommendation of 23%, which I found a...

Last night was our second time at Casa Azul but it is fast becoming one of our favorite restaurants! I have been learning more about tequila and mezcal and was searching for a restaurant with a great selection. Casa Azul not only has a great selection but amazing service, which made a world of difference. Our waitress Pamela was an incredibly knowledgable guide through the different types and flavors of mezcal. On both our visits I got a flight of mezcal and each one was unique and interesting. Though I don’t know much about mezcal, Pamela was patient with all my questions and recommended several new mezcales this trip based on what I liked last time. This will be my mezcal and tequila tasting spot for sure!

Pamela was also so kind to our slightly chaotic 1 year old and it made all the difference since we don’t often get a sitter. We saw another two families there - it’s definitely family friendly without sacrificing vibe. Our first visit was a date night without our son and it felt plenty upscale for a kid free night out.

The adult food is also excellent!! The fish tacos may be one of the best I’ve had and the barbacoa our first time was amazing. They have a kids sampler plate of chicken, rice, beans, and avocado which was so helpful...

We were so happy to see Casa Azul open up in the former Talde space and tried it out the other night. Overall, they are off to a solid start, but a few refinements will put them over the top as a good neighborhood restaurant. The space itself is great, a nice evolution from the former restaurant and a really nice place to dine. The service, however, was not great. We had a question about an ingredient in the menu and it was clear that the server had no idea and didn't express any interest in getting us the correct answer. Ended up googling the answer while at the table so we could order. They need to train their wait staff in the menu and get them enthusiastic about what they're serving. My husband got enchiladas with the abuelita sauce, which were excellent. I had a tlayuda, which was seriously underwhelming. It had nearly no flavor or creativity: just a smear of refried beans with some dry shredded cabbage and crumbled cheese. That was it. I managed to scrape the abuelita sauce off my husband's plate and drizzle it over the tlayuda and it turned out to be a very good dish. But there is just something missing in the execution if they are comfortable sending out that tlayuda without understanding that it needs something to bring it...