El Pote Español — Restaurant in New York

Worst experience EVER! I have been there before but we have never been treated so bad by the owner and staff. We were a group of 12 and when we made the reservation asked if we could have separate checks. Some of us never drink, others never have dessert and many of us always drink and have dessert. We were told that yes, we could have separate checks. When we arrived and were seated the owner came and told us we could not have separate accounts and we insisted that that was the first thing we asked before making the reservations. He started swearing at us and the nightmare began. The waiters were terrible and had a very rude attitude. After we ordered the owner came back and told us that why had we requested separate checks if we had all ordered the same. False! Some had the daily special, some had other dishes, some requested a large sangria, others wine or soda, etc. He even dared to say that it was our fault that he had to spare 2 waiters to our table. We were 12!!!! and it was after 2.00 pm. The sangria was the worst I had in my life and the paella was only ok. The almond cake was lemon flavored and could not taste the almond at all. They charged things we did not have and we had to dispute several of the checks. Some of us did not even had silverware and had to request it several times. The servers were awful, treated us disrespectfully and at the end complained that some left only 15% tip. We regret not leaving the restaurant when we were treated as third class citizens by the owner when requested separate checks. And to end this review I have to add that out of the 12, 4 of us got sick. I thought I was dying last night with heart palpitations and indigestion. Checking with my friends, three had the same symptoms. I had been there and feel real bad with my friends because I suggested the restaurant. La peor experiencia en un...

Key take away: Never go back, we live in the building and I adore Spanish food but I would never set my foot in there again

Let's start with the good points: seated immediately upon arrival, linen napkins, fish was not overcooked

Now we get to the bad points which unfortunately was most of the visit: Timing: Despite ordering off the lunch menu we waited 45-50min for our food, when asked they said there had been a mistake but no clarification was provided Food: Everything can be forgiven for good food but this was terrible. I grew up in Spain and this is neither Spanish nor well cooked under any definition beyond the fish not being overcooked. To start, they serve bread rolls (the cheap ones you get in any 3 dollar deli breakfast sandwich) with cold butter (for those not aware you would never encounter this in Spain, not the type of bread nor the lack of olive oil), after waiting for over 45min we finally get our main dish, fish in salsa verde (green sauce). I had asked what it was served with and told it was served with spinach, let's just say the spinach never appeared. The potatoes I had requested were over fried thin slices, something that clearly had attempted to become chips but were too thick, imagine a sometimes crunchy, sometimes soggy mess. Lets discuss the main point of the dish, fish in salsa verde, the fish was cooked, but the sauce.... someone should have translated for the cook as no where did it say thickened soup with dried parsley on top. It was a goopy yellow mess with zero flavor except salt and sprinkled with dried parsley on top

Service: Not once were we asked how the food was, not once were we informed of the delay, we literally had to wave them down for any interaction yet somehow once we asked for the bill two waiters wanted us to look at...

If you are looking for real spanish food in nyc, this is the best place by far!! I'm originally from Spain and believe me, this is the best spanish restaurant I've had so far in the US.

I've been living in nyc for over two years now, and had given up on finding a good spanish restaurant. All other places in the city I've been to are overly expensive, with small portions, and taste just good but not great. So you cannot even believe how happy I was when the other day I finally found a good spanish place I can go to whenever I miss home! Seriously, I was so happy, I had given up already on finding a good spanish restaurant here, which was surprising given how good nyc is for dinning out.

El Pote is delicious, taste really similar than what you find in Spain, and the portions are very generous, similar to how they are in Spain. Also, the price is really afordable for nyc standards, which I really appreciate as a student :).

I went the other day and tried: Paella Valenciana, Paella de Marisco, squid (calamares en su tinta), and scallops (caracoles). Everything was delicious, but the Paella Valenciana and the Squid were specially amazing! It's a must to order them at least once if you go.

I'll definitely be coming back many more times and update the review with...