El Quijote — Restaurant in New York

We were very excited to try El Quijote. First of all, the revamped interior is Fab! The room feels very moody and hip. I loved all the rich colors.

The staff at the door was incredibly accommodating and gracious.

Unfortunately, the food was very hit and miss. Even though the menu is in specific sections the food comes out completely randomly.

All the dishes except the $72 paella looked beautiful. The tuna crudo was lovely. The pan con tomato was tasty but the bread put up a fight. The chorizo, artichoke, and bean dish was very good. The salads were nice but underdressed. Patatas bravas were late to the table since we expected them with our drinks and they came out last, but enjoyable.The chicken was juicy, but really nothing made it stand out.

The croquetas were bland, the outer crumb was too hard, and dangerous because the molten filling came bursting out One nearly ruined BF's jacket. The paella was sad for the price. I think a paella should make you gasp with delight when you see it.

The $65 pitcher of sangria was delicious but had an imperceptible amount booze in it and way too much ice. Three of us shared it and no one even had a buzz. BFhad a beautiful looking non-alcoholic beverage that tasted a roses and strawberries.

The service was inconsistent. There was no shortage of staff but they need to be better trained. The tables are small so you have to bus them before you serve another course. If you see the client struggling with the heavy sangria pitcher and offer to top up the glass for her you may want to top up the rest of the glasses on the table. It seem like they were just not paying attention.

It may be a good place to just have tapas and drinks at the bar which looks...

The El Quijote has long been one of my favourite haunts, and is 10 blocks uptown from me, so I just walk there. I've probably been 50 times over the years. Everything is garlicky and green-sauce-y and some things like Chicken Francese are just excellent. In the summer season, they have marvelous Soft-Shell Crabs. I have had whole fish dishes, shrimp, the whole lobster, their excellent Fried Calamari, and their Veal Scallopine is very good too, although I think I prefer this at Italian restaurants. The service is always fine, especially when they get to know you. Adolfo, a dignified gent if ever there was one, has been there since the early 80s, and he's wonderful, as are the younger waitstaff. There's a reasonably priced lunch special, but it's over at 3 p.m., not 4 as is the usual. The restaurant dates back to 1930 and has amazing chandeliers that are so unique it is hard to describe them--the little lamps (many on each one) are like candles, and the whole room has a wonderful mellow, aged quality. You can have a drink at the bar, and also with your meal they have Spanish and some good Portuguese wines like Alborino by the glass or bottle. They usually play nice background music, sometimes it is classical guitar, sometimes seasonal, or just old standards, usually instrumental. I like it because it doesn't really remind me of the other aspects of the famous old hotel, which I have reason not to like so much (I know some of the residents, and some of them are quite crazy.) But the restaurant, although now fully owned by the Chelsea, is quite independent in its attitude, and is just a beautiful and very relaxing place, either to go with...

The food was excellent, but the attention and treatment were non-existent. As a former employee, I did not experience friendly treatment, even with my own team. This makes me doubt how they might treat customers. Initially, I thought negative comments were exaggerated, as during my time as an employee, I always tried to give my best in terms of service and charisma.

However, having a bad experience in the same restaurant where I worked, with zero attention to my guests and waiting for over 15 minutes for a seat at the bar while seeing others being served quickly, I understood that the negative reviews were right. Even when we ordered a drink, it seemed like it was served reluctantly. The drink was almost thrown when we asked the waiter to put the sauces separately for the bravas potatoes, and his response was, 'I sent the order' with an annoyed expression.

I clarify that if a customer requests sauces to be served separately, it is for a reason, such as possible allergies, which should be taken into account. I never saw the manager pass by any of the tables or the bar; I was very disappointed with the service, especially considering that the night was not completely full of customers.

I hope the service can improve overall because when going to a restaurant, one seeks not only the quality of food and drinks but also the atmosphere and the treatment by the staff. I would go back, but clearly, I would not sit at the bar, and I hope to be treated better this time. As a former employee, I do not expect mediocre service; the service should be excellent...