Victor's Cafe Cuban Restaurant — Restaurant in New York

Disappointing experience- ruined a birthday celebration. I’ve come to this restaurant on several occasions and loved the ambiance, food and service. This time it’s clear they overbooked and didn’t know how to handle their customers in terms of getting people out of their tables to make space for the incoming customers.

When we first arrived, the entryway was flooded with people but I thought it was fine because we had a reservation. It seemed everyone had a reservation and were just sitting and waiting way past their time reserved. The person at the front said we were checked in but there is a wait and they couldn’t give us an estimate because they would be lying since they don’t really know. Apparently a lot of people were either taking their time with their meals which yes I understand, but there were people just sitting after they received their checks. Clearly a managerial issue if you can see the front is flooded with people waiting and there are just people who are done and sitting. Why not ask them to politely make space to clear the table?

I get a lot of people want to enjoy their experience without being asked to leave when they are done but then the restaurant shouldn’t overbook. People come to the restaurant in that area not just for the food but because they have Broadway shows to attend and it’s close by. Waiting like that could absolutely cause someone to cut it close or just miss the opening portion of their show.

Luckily after 40 min and still not seated, a table opened up by the bar which is unfortunate because the whole point was to experience the ambience of the restaurant and not sit by a cold door that keeps opening. Either way we sat there for fear of waiting longer and missing our show.

I have to say that I am extremely grateful for our waitress, Kate. She made the whole experience a positive honestly. If it wasn’t for her wonderful personality and service I would have been over this restaurant. We let her know the time of our show and she actually wrote that down when taking our order. And the food came in a snap. Kate was attentive, constantly filling our glasses and checking if we needed anything. Perfect service from her. The food too if course was good as I usually know it to be.

Overall, this restaurant needs a better system for reservations or tending to customers and rotating them in and out when they know it will be...

So I'm a little torn about rating this place. I really want it to be 5/5, but there are just a few things that just made me unable to reach a 5-star review. Let's see... First off, the ambiance is great. The front half of the restaurant and the bar area is a little dark (probably on purpose), the back half is bright, so depending on your mood, you can have it either way. The total dining area combined is actually quite spacious. The decor is nice and classy. The service is great, very professional and courteous. You'll also notice that a lot of the guests are Cubans, which probably tells you that their cuisine is authentic. We ordered a few things: Croquettes: a little too mushy inside but it was fried and crispy on the outside. The accompanying sauce was great though. Ceviche: this is probably my #1 disappointment of the night, for some reason it was quite bland. The ingredients were good but I think it would do much better with a little more tangy flavor and maybe some onion too Fried plantains: this is my second disappointment of the night, it wasn't as sweet as i was hoping for, and the texture was a little mealy... However I'm not sure whether this was their fault, because honestly it's hard to find a quality plantain in the US to begin with. You can only do so much if your basic ingredient is not top notch The Paella Mariscos, quite satisfying. Finally some good food. I might have had better ones in a few other places but their version certainly fits the bill, no complaints from me here. The Ripa vieja + Vaca frita duo. Great! A must have. Although i must say, i think the Vaca Frita is better than then Ripa vieja. Next time i go back, I'll only get the Vaca Frita instead. Their drinks are quality. We asked for our drinks to be less sweet and more in the dry side, and they adjusted nicely. Their prices are fair for NYC standards especially in this area.

So all in all, is this the best Cuban restaurant in the US? Probably not, but if you're in the area, certainly you should try and go there. You'll...

We decided to come here in the spur of the moment, quickly made reservations and walked over. They were organized and seated people in a timely manner. Those without a reservation they gave them realistic wait times and/or let them know what seating would be available. This is already a step up from the location we left. We had a great time here. Our waiter Diego was awesome! Diego made the dining experience that much better with such a friendly Pleasant personality. Talk about knowing good customer service! A+++ As previously mentioned this was a spur of the moment visit due to leaving from a different establishment so we made last minute reservations that were accepted and honored without issue. We arrived a few minutes early but were informed that it wasn't a problem and we would be seated soon. The restaurant may look small at first glance but it's actually pretty spacious. We were seated in the area with the skylight which was great since it was still light out. And the food!? Awesome!! Our table spread consisted of: maduros, tostones, Ropa Vieja with white rice and black beans, Arroz Con Pollo, ensalada de palmitos y mandarinas, ceviche de camarónes, and flan. Everything was delicious! The ropa vieja was flavorful and the beef wasn't so shredded it looked weird or inedible. Even the black beans were good. It wasn't just a side of black beans plopped down in a bowl. The maduros and tostones both made just right! The maduros wasn't mushy or under cooked and the tostones weren't over cooked and rock hard. The arroz con pollo had nice juicy pieces of chicken This was a plus because we were trying it out during restaurant week to see if we would want to come back in the future. We also tried cocktails and they were the white sangria, the coconaty mojito, and the Hemingway daiquiri (which isn't like a typical daiquiri). Plus we didn't at any point feel rushed which is a bonus! After a hectic frustrating day coming here was a great ending and a pleasant visit. We are definitely going to include Victor's Café in our...