Chavela's — Restaurant in New York

After 9 years of going to this place rather regularly, including after moving over an hour away, I will say that I won’t be going back.

So after commuting said hour to get to this spot last night—in the freezing cold might I add—I walked in and asked for a table for 2. I wanted to order a drink and guac while I waited for my guest to arrive. The host said that I couldn’t be seated until my “entire party was there.” She said I could take a seat at the bar, which was clearly set for dinner service with plates, cutlery and glasses at each spot. Only 1 person was at the dinner bar. There were 🅿🅻🅴🅽🆃🆈 of tables available so it's not like you were pressed for that in the unpredictable event that people may come in after me.

Now tell me what on earth is the purpose of this!? You won’t seat me at the table that I’m going to eventually have my dinner at, but you’re going to seat me at the bar that is set for dinner service and then you’re going to transfer the stuff I order; dishes, cocktail, water, cutlery, ect cetera to the table when my guest arrives when you could've did all of that at the table to begin with? And then you’re going to have to bus two spots instead of one, and make me pay two bills, and take up a spot at the dinner bar instead of giving me a table that I’ll be at in the end anyways? Even if my party were to go from 2 people to 1 you’d still be sitting me at the table I’m going to wind up at because I’m not going to sit at a bar to eat dinner and you’re required to give me a table even if I’m a party of 1.

After standing there at the door like a fool for over 20 minutes playing cupid’s shuffle around an aggregation of delivery people and customers snatching their coats off the hooks behind me, my guest called and told me to leave because it’s absolutely stupid that that they were making me stand there and that the same service I’d get at the dinner table they’re having me start at the dinner bar just to have to transfer it all.

When you closed for the month of August a year or so ago I was a bit worried that you wouldn’t be coming back. Now I kind of wish you had gone out of business because it is inscrutable to understand why you would treat a customer like this or even the purpose of it. It’s extra work for servers, bussers and bartenders, extra financial tabulation and accounting on the back end, and overall just indecent to treat a customer like this.

We went down the street to another, 𝗺𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝘄𝗲𝗹𝗹-𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲𝗱 𝘀𝗽𝗼𝘁, where we spent over $200.00 on food and drinks and were treated with basic dignity and...

A TERRIBLE establishment. When we arrived they didn't seem to want to take our names down for the wait list but moving past that they never was about to skip over my party but fortunately I walked in the establishment to check on the wait at the right time to tell them I was waiting outside where I was told to wait. Had I not stepped inside they would have seated the next party bypassing me without attempting to seek us out.

The food was mediocre at best. I ordered queso fundido, chicken taco and a steak taco. Was a bit bland and flavorless although the portion size was decent I suppose is the best thing I can say about it. The guacamole and chips were the best part of the meal.

My waitress Ally, who didn't introduce herself until I asked her name, did not seem to care to give exceptional service and do anything but the bare minimum. I asked for a cup of coffee and she seriously brought me a cup of cold coffee that tasted like it had been sitting there all day. She got me another one but fast forwarding to the end of the meal I saw a baby mouse scurrying around the floor of the dining area. I chose not to freak out even though internally I was freaking out. I brought it to my waitress attention that saw it and Ally went back to her supervisor. They did absolutely nothing about it. They gave me my bill without apologizing, addressing it or taking anything off the bill. I then decided to give a tip of $2 and Ally came to table to question me as to why I gave what I gave. I explained myself and she proceeded to make excuses that there's nothing that they can do about the mouse or the bill. She then said that this is NYC and there are rats everywhere so it's to be expected. I was MORTIFIED!!! I can only imagine what is going on in the kitchen. DO NOT I REPEAT DO NOT EAT HERE. Service is terrible and it is at...

Chavela’s is hands down one of my favorite/one of the most consistent/one of the best restaurants/Mexican restaurants in NYC! Each time I visit, I am more than impressed! Nothing compares to real, genuine, authentic Mexican flavors. Chef Arturo certainly knows his roots and you taste it in the cuisine.

I’d really like to talk about their chicken mole...girl....this is THEE chicken mole to try. If you’ve never had chicken mole, do yourself a favor and start with Chavela’s. They offer the standard for what chicken mole should be! First off, there’s literally chocolate in the sauce. I’ve had it at restaurants, where they overdo it with the chocolate. There should be a hint of it. You should know it’s there, but it should never be an overbearing note of chocolate. The mole sauce at Chavela’s is to die for! It’s rich and homey, and spews Mexican flavors! I mean, every time I get it, I eat it slowly, in order to enjoy the ride that it takes me on. Aside from the mole sauce itself, the chicken is always PERFECTLY cooked! So tender and never over cooked.

I’d also like to make mention of their margaritas. There’s margaritas, then there’s real, authentic margaritas. That’s what Chavela’s offers. There are layers of flavor in their margs. They are always consistently delicious. And salt around the rim is a must! Their guacamole is house made, ALWAYS, and you taste it every time, in every bite. Nice, chunky, yet creamy, guacamole. It’s served with their house made tortillas!

Everything I’ve ordered here, has been made with love. It’s an ingredient, and I say it all the time. When there’s love in a dish, I taste it right away. Much love...