Móle Mexican Bar & Grill - West Village — Restaurant in New York

After a stroll at the High Line on a Saturday afternoon, my date and I went to search for food at nearby restaurants. We were waitlisted for 30 minutes, so we decided to look for another place because we were hungry and came across Móle. The reviews online were good so we decided to give it a try. We were quickly seated. There were indoor and outdoor seats available, both almost at full capacity, which is always a good sign in my book. The waiter seated us down and gave us some menus. We were surprised that they still served "brunch" at 2 pm. Their brunch hours ran from 12 - 4 pm. The waiter finally came back 10 minutes later to take our orders: Steak and Eggs and Huevos con Chorizo. He returned to give us some water and utensils. More people were seated and we waited, and waited, and waited....

We decided to ask our waiter if our food was on the way, as it has been 45 minutes since we ordered. He was very apologetic, stating that the restaurant was very busy and that he would check on our food. A moment later the bus boy returned with our meals. The diners behind us that had come at the same time had just finished their meals as our food arrived. I thanked the waiter for checking in on our food, otherwise it would have never arrived. He apologized again, saying that he has so many sections to take care of. He explained that everyone's orders came in the order that we came. I understand. I too was a waitress once. But when the table that had come at the same time as us had finished both their appetizers and main course before our meals even arrived, there is something really wrong with the picture.

Our meals arrived stone cold. They clearly had been sitting for a while before we were served. I rarely complain about my food as I am generally easily impressed and satisfied. As the saying goes, "everything tastes better when you're hungry." Right? Unfortunately, not this time. Our meals were less than decent. My steak was supposed to be medium rare, but it came with a variety of doneness ranging from medium well, well-done, and some burnt bitter crisps, and no I am not talking about char. The eggs were thankfully done right, but sadly also cold. Besides the huge portion, my date was equally unimpressed by his meal. His omelette was cold, the chorizo dry, the toasts were only toasted on one side, and almost burnt too. The only saving grace of the meals were the arugula salad and lukewarm stir-fried potatoes and bell peppers. Halfway, my date told me to stop eating the meal and wanted to just leave the rest behind. My upbringing made it hard for me to throw out food, even awful ones. I could have sent the steak back and asked for it to be redone, but I didn't want to wait another hour for my food to come as we were starving.

From that experience, I could tell that the chefs and line cooks have clearly never worked at a restaurant before, or at least a busy restaurant. The meals looked picture perfect, but the temperature tells a different story altogether. Unlike a home-cooked meal that one can take time to prepare, as there is no time limit or constraints, a restaurant prepared meal takes plenty of thought and timing. It is a type of art that requires years of practice. Preparation time between when one needs to fire the steak and potato, and the challenge to match it with the preparation time of the omelette and toasts, requires plenty of skills and coordination. A basic skill that they clearly lack.

We thanked and tipped our waiter 20% out of courtesy. Unfortunately, we would take a pass on this place the next time we are in this neighborhood....

Horrible experience. If you are black, i would definitely avoid this place. My date & I came to Móle to have a couple of drinks & small bites. We approached & greeted the “host” but immediately I felt a negative energy from him & his attitude was extremely bad. My date asked if he could use the restroom & he ignored him & told us to sit down. I repeated that he had to use the restroom & he said “Yes, just sit down.”

I sat down & he finally let him know where the restroom was. This is when I began to look for another restaurant to go to because I already felt extremely unwelcome. I never experienced this before let alone in my own city…

The host came to the table with two menus. Oh I can’t forget the mosquitos that managed to bite me in such a short time of being there. Repellent would be ideal for restaurants with outdoor dining btw. Any who, my date gets back & I bring up how uncomfortable I am & he immediately agrees because everything was so obvious. The host gets backs with this lackadaisical attitude that he’s trying not so hard to hide & asked if we are ready to order. I told him we are going to head out. He is obviously aggravated & rolls his eyes while mumbling something under his breath.

We came in very civil & polite so this was very uncalled for. It’s crazy how your skin color can make people treat you horribly. Stay away from this place...

I came here on a Saturday a few weeks back at around 5 o'clock (without thinking to make a reservation) and was very nicely accommodated by the hostess, who told me she had a reservation coming in at 7 but I could have my table until that time. Little did I know happy hour here is every day from 4-7pm, so I was actually totally ok with that. Plus I didn't have to wait, so I was grateful for the table.

I ordered the enchiladas with imported mole sauce (because of course) and I must say they were delicious. While waiting for the food to arrive, I had a couple of margaritas on the rocks, and those were very good as well. You may think "happy hour" drinks are typically weak or light on liquor, but these definitely are not. The decor is very well thought out, and the dim lights certainly add to the atmosphere of the place. The music is very much in line with what you would hear in an actual Mexican household (spoiler: it's not what you think, they have their classics but they love salsa too) and so is the wall art. If there is one drawback to this place, it's that it is a bit cramped depending on where you're sitting, but it's well worth it for the food, the drinks, and the overall atmosphere...