Oxomoco — Restaurant in New York

For a Michelin rated restaurant, I have to be honest in saying that I was underwhelmed. When dining at Michelin rated establishments I'm looking for bursts of flavor, a water glass that never gets empty & a table that is always clean. Unfortunately at Oxomoco, in some cases, this didn't prevail. We also had a slight issue with management which was appalling, so I left Oxomoco saying, I'll probably never return.

The space is absolutely beautiful, when I entered it was if I was transported to a cafe in Mexico City. I was there for brunch with some girlfriends to celebrate a bridal party and we were super excited to dine and fellowship.

As we got started, I ordered the Jamaica Agua Fresca. It was light & refreshing, not overly sweet or overpowering. However, my glass seemed to have a crack in it. When I picked it up in an attempt to drink it, a red ring was cemented on our beautiful wood table. I alerted our waitress and she immediately got me another glass, but I had to ask for the stain to be cleaned up as it was a bit of an eye sore. Nonetheless, after asking, it was handled swiftly.

We then ordered chilaquiles, a tuna tostada (not pictured) and a Caesar salad as our appetizers. The chilaquiles were phenomenal and my favorite dish of the day. I didn't eat the tostada but the girls seemed to enjoy. The Caesar salad, mixed reviews. Plating was beautiful but the dressing was almost too tangy for some.

But the tacos, were severely underwhelming. We ordered the steak, lamb & pork tacos. Unfortunately, they didn't seem to get a lick of salt in the seasoning & the grease spilled out of the steak. The lamb and pork were drastically dry and the steak was overly greasy. For a $22 price point, the size and taste, absolutely not.

Now the issue with management starts here. 4 pork tacos were ordered so that each of us could have one. The first two girls took a bite of theirs and immediately put it down saying they did not like the taste at all. Myself & my other friend took a bite of their tacos to see what they meant and we concurred. Dry and no flavor. This prompted us to have no desire to continue eating the pork taco. Now mind you, as we dined, no one stopped by our table to ask how everything was. So at the end of the meal, when our waitress finally did, we told her that we didn't enjoy the pork tacos and pointed to the two that had two bites in them and the two that remained untouched. We then asked if we could take the two untouched off of the bill. The waitress said she'll take care of it and we thought that was all.

However, the manager then came over & delivered an arrogant speech. She said the kitchen doesn't take back food so they're doing us a favor, if we didn't like the tacos, there are tacos for everyone so she's not sure what the issue was, and that we should have said something earlier rather than waiting for the end of the meal. We alerted her that no one from the staff checked on us so that we had the opportunity to tell them that we were disappointed in those tacos and when the opportunity arose, we took our chance. Also, she said that after food is sent out from the kitchen that it can't be taken back. It may not be re-served, but the options at that point are the customer eats it or it's tossed as waste, which most restaurants have a budget for. Her tone in all of this was arrogant, condescending and completely uncalled for. And our lovely bride told her such which resulted in an apology. She then came back after, apologizing again, and said there was a miscommunication regarding what she was told about the tacos. What the miscommunication was, I'm not sure, but the apology was again given.

The waitress then brought us all complimentary margaritas to seal the apology, star for customer service.

All in all it was a good dining experience because my girls & I have a good time anywhere we are. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this establishment. For high quality & fine dining experiences there are better bangs...

Went here for a birthday dinner and honestly left a bit disappointed. Here’s a quick rundown of what we ordered:

Started with the guac, naturally. Solid start. The guacamole itself was fresh and well-balanced. The smoked cherry tomatoes with queso fresco gave it a nice little twist. It was delicious—though not particularly amazing but it's not easy to elevate such a staple.

The Caesar salad was next—also a hit. I’m a Caesar fan, my wife isn’t, and we both enjoyed it. Creamy, crisp, well-dressed. Would definitely order again.

Now for the letdown. I had my heart set on the steak tacos I’d seen others post about—unfortunately, nowhere to be found on the menu.

Shrimp tacos (listed on their website's dinner menu) were my backup choice… also MIA

I went with the soft shell crab tacos instead, and I’m still thinking about how off this dish was—a week later.

Unfortunately, this was the low point of the meal for me. First, the presentation was not at all what I expected. Online, the dish looked light, crisp, and well-balanced — but what I was served looked and felt heavy. Instead of the light, tempura style batter that can be seen online, the batter was thick and overcooked, making the crab feel more dense and greasy than crispy, and there wasn’t much else on the taco to brighten it up or cut through the taste.

The biggest issue, though, was that the crab hadn’t been cleaned properly. for those that aren't familiar, the apron is the tougher flap of shell on the underside of a crab— it was still attached. If you’ve eaten soft-shell crab before, you know the whole point is that it’s been cleaned in a way that makes the shell edible. Leaving that part on made the texture tough and chewy, and I ended up having to pull it out of my mouth mid-bite. That’s not something you expect to deal with at any restaurant, let alone one with a Michelin star. Pulling a large, half-chewed chunk of shell out of my mouth mid-meal completely tanked the experience.

I was hoping for something light and satisfying but ended up picking at the crab meat inside and leaving most of it on the plate. If they revisit this dish and clean it properly, lighten the batter, and add something acidic or fresh to balance it out, it could have potential. But in its current form, I wouldn’t suggest it to anyone. I never send food back, but this is one of the few cases where I wish I had.

My wife had the chicken entrée. Big portion, thankfully—enough for me to salvage dinner with a few bites after abandoning the crab tacos. We even had leftovers to turn into tacos at home. Flavor-wise, solid, nothing to complain about. The crispy red rice it comes with was nice but nothing memorable. Smoky, flavorful, and crispy—not hard or dried out.

Dessert was the tres leches. This was a miss for me. It had a light smoky mezcal flavor and came with a pistachio “caramel,” though there wasn’t much caramel to it — more like a thick, smoky pistachio paste. The cake itself was bland without that spread. If I went back, I’d try a different dessert.

Drinks were probably the high point. I had the guava margarita, she had the frozen cucumber drink. Both were great, especially hers—really refreshing on a hot summer evening.

Ambiance and service? Good overall. The space is open and airy. It was early Sunday evening, so not too noisy. Our server was friendly and attentive. Only small hiccup: I asked whether the horchata contained almonds (allergy concern) and never got an answer.

Would I go back? Maybe—if I were already in the neighborhood. I’d be curious to try brunch or see if the menu’s any more consistent. But overall, this didn’t feel like a Michelin-level experience. Some good dishes, but the soft shell crab mishap really...

Very grateful my foodie friend brought the foodie husband and me here because I would never have found this place. Otherwise. Real hidden gem in Brooklyn!

SPRING PEA TLAYUDA - 1000/10 (With salsa verde cruda, quesillo, mint) This was just bomb! So so so freaking good! Crispy base with the spicy stuff going on top was just perfect. The whole salsa, queso, mint and pea combination was unbelievable. I really love how spicy this was. Definitely could have ordered more for the table.

GRILLED CARROT TOSTADA - Probably a 5/10 (With parsnip puree, dill, carrot-habanero salsa) This was just okay. Chunks of carrots and also shredded carrots going on. Overall a decent neutral flavor. Not something I would get on repeat.

SMOKED MANGO - 9/10 Really good. Perfect balance of sweet and smoky. And not at all spicy. Just that hint of spice but it was lovely. It was more like dried mango strips but not overly dried. Kind of like the texture of apricots.

PUNTA VERDE CAESAR - 11/10 (wood fired romaine, cotija, masa crunch) Such a beautiful take on a salad! Really really large romaine hearts that are grilled and have that perfect char. They are crispy and just slightly soft on the outside and pretty much everything you want. Really love the cotija cheese and the crunch. Asked for dressing on the side so we could add how much we wanted and didn't even need to add so much. Even the dressing on its own was good.

ARRACHERA FLANK STEAK TACOS - 9/10 (with queso asado, caramelized onions, salsa macha) Perfectly cooked pieces of steak and all the things going on. There had really good flavor and went well together. No complaints here. Only reason I gave it a 9 is because the other taco was better haha

LAMB BARBACOA TACO - 10/10 (with squash blossom, watercress, salsa pipicha) Not usually a fan of lamb but this taco was beautiful! Perfectly cooked lamb and the right amount of spicy and good amount of flavor depth is well. Such a beautiful, beautiful combination. Wish there was more than just 2 tacos on the plate!

COCKTAILS Xocotl - probably one of the best cocktails I have had! I love sweet cocktails and this hit the spot perfectly. Just tasted like a strawberry juice. I'm not usually a fan of gin and somehow this worked amazing!

Amor Ancestral - Another sweet one. I finished this and didn't even realize it was gone. So good.

Guava Margarita - nice and strong and a good one for an adventurous Margarita.

Spicy Blood Orange Paloma - pretty decent but I wouldn't order this again. It was like shaved ice dessert with alcohol. So hard to sip through the...