The Calaveras NYC — Restaurant in New York

This place is very deceiving from the outside. It looks like a tiny small space with barely any standing room. I walked towards the entrance and waited for a staff person to assist. They have outdoor seating on the sidewalk and require you to have your vaccination card to sit inside and eat. After checking our cards, we were told we could go down stairs.

Downstairs is a pretty large open space. The kitchen is down there and while being seated, you can actually see the men in the kitchen cooking which is nice. They have some pretty good seating and the space itself was really clean. Its very cozy and the lights are a little dim. Its very zen, peaceful, quiet and such a good vibe for a night with the friends or your partner.

The service was a little slow HOWEVER, they really had this ONE young lady handling all tables outside (which all were full when i came in) and the few tables with guest down stairs. Totally not fair but she killed it and did her best.

Now for the food and drinks, ughhhh AHHH-MAZING. i had a regular Margarita. It was really good. My sister and bestfriend had the Hibiscus Margarita and i wish i did. It's sweeter then the reg but sooooooooo good. Better then i expected. For appetizer we got the guac and chips. We also got the cheese fondu with chorizo. Both were incredible. I highly recommend. We ended up ordering Al Pastor tacos, steak tacos and fish. We got two of each and shared. Absolutely amazing. My sister couldnt finish, she was stuffed. I finished because it was amazing. The tacos were stuffed with meat. It was literally tortilla and meat lol.

I would highly recommend this place. I will certainly be...

What an amazing experience! It’s a lively basement level eatery with beautiful warm decor, artfully prepared dishes, picture-perfect cocktails and a homely atmosphere. The portion sizes were perfect, the flavors of the food were delicious, and the drinks were very well mixed and strong. We shared everything: guacamole (bountiful and well seasoned), shrimp appetizer (shrimp in garlic sauce with mashed potatoes - a little over cooked and dry), fish tacos (to die for), veggie tacos (delicious combo of mushrooms and pineapple), veggie quesadilla (unique flavor and presentation, large portion, delicious). We had a hibiscus margarita (very sweet), regular margarita (well done), and The Other Side (tequila/mezcal drink pictured here - not overwhelmingly spicy or smokey). The bill was $200 for 3 people with 3 appetizers, 2 mains, 1 dessert and 8 drinks total - very reasonable for the quality of the experience. I loved the service - very friendly and attentive. The 3 of us stayed about 4 hours and enjoyed every minute of unrushed conversation accompanied by delicious bites and tasty drinks. Cesar was caring for us and he was very courteous, honest and helpful. I’m adding The Calaveras to my Favorites in Google Maps and definitely coming...

The atmosphere: It’s summer, they have air conditioning but decided it wasn’t worth to cost to have it on.

The service: Their bartender was scheduled to be in at 10 but I guess they decided not to come in today. We ordered some drinks and the waiter had to call in the manager to make the drinks. Took ~30 minutes but we did get our drinks after we were done eating.

The food: Ordered the chicken and avocado arepas. I don’t know how they managed it but the avocados were the only things that had flavor. The chicken tasted like it was boiled in water and unsalted. There were peppers and onions in it and somehow neither had any flavor. Finally the corn arepas were watery and bland, no corn flavor at all. The patatas bravas were the best thing on the plate and I’m certain they were sandbagged items.

All this for the unbelievable cost of $70 for two people. Also their tip settings are 20% 25% and 30% and the waiter holds the tablet making leaving another...