Chachama Grill — Restaurant in Town of Brookhaven

What a gem of a restaurant. Wonderful food and staff

This is my second review of ChaChama grill since my last one of 9 months ago. My wife and I frequent ChaChama Grill, and in a way I am troubled in writing my review. If people read the review and start to dine here then it will become more and more difficult for my wife and me to get a table! On the other hand, the food and service is so outstanding ChaChama deserves the accolades.

We are not gourmets by any stretch of the imagination, but we appreciate good food and service. This little diamond is probably our favorite restaurant, not just in the immediate area, but into and including New York City. The food is consistently excellent to be sure. Never has it been too salty or overly spiced. Vegetables remain crisp in preparation. (their asparagus is to die for). Side dishes are an adventure in and of themselves as they are unique and fresh. We have never been disappointed in any appetizer, meal, or dessert we've ordered here.

They offer a Prixe Fixe (check the site for times of the offering) that makes the choice of dining here exceptionally reasonable. What's more, it isn't a "special menu." A surcharge may apply on some choices, but you have the choice of appetizer, meal, and dessert all from the regular menu. (Poached Pear or chocolate cake are beyond wonderful dessert choices).

Over the course of the year ChaChama offers special evenings like Latin Night (love the Paella) or Lobster Bake which we rarely miss. The special evenings are offered once every week for a "season." If you try any of these special nights I will bet that you will become a regular attendee.

Even more outstanding then the food (though that doesn't seem possible) is the staff. You could not find a friendlier, more efficient, hustling staff. They are attentive to every table as they anticipate and fill needs without having to be asked. Always smiling and proud of the service they perform and equally proud of the establishment that they work in. They make you feel catered to and as if it is only you they are serving. The hostess/manager makes everyone feel extra special as she constantly "tours" the dining area and visits each table to socialize with make sure the patrons are happy with the food and service. The chef himself comes out and checks with the patrons whenever he can get a break from the food preparation.

No matter how many times we eat here we have the above observations consistently true and we talk about the experience for days after our visit. I'm sure you will feel the same if you...

Took forever to get drinks when I asked for it. Looks are decieving. The outside looks like the place shouldn't be what it is inside. The atmosphere was nice but the food was mediocre. The fettuccine had waaay too much garlic the only things that were really good was the salmon, quail and steak but for the price everything should be amazing and it wasn't. The stuff is way overpriced I've gotten better tasting, larger portions for cheaper elsewhere. In my opinion, there's no point in returning. I fed 4 people with the price fix deal that was supposed to make everything cheaper and it still came out to $270. Honestly I think they're short staffed or my waiter sucked because he did not pay enough attention to us. We sat there for 15 minutes thirsty before we were able to get his attention to bring us drinks that took another 10 minutes to come. I expected so much after walking in, sitting down and seeing the great atmosphere but I was very disappointed. Everything on the menu needs a better description of what exactly it is. "Warm chocolate cake with a scoop of ice cream" lends itself to mean a warm slice of chocolate cake with a nice scoop of ice cream. The amount of ice cream served was equivalent to the amount of butter you put on a waffle. They didn't even mention that the chocolate cake was dark chocolate which I hate so I spit it out right away. Everything is waayy too small there's no way to get full unless you see every dish before deciding and choose the biggest one. I wish I didn't waste my money there today on Father's Day... the good just wasn't enough to outweigh the bad and the tables are too close together!!! There's no reason the woman sitting in the table next to me should have to move her drink for me to get out of my table to use the restroom when I weigh 135...I expected so much more from this place especially after reading the reviews on here. It's just crazy...I'm so so upset. Also when they realized I didn't like my appetizer, meal or dessert they didn't offer me anything free or to change what I got they just like me spend damn there $300 for food I didn't...

This isn't an easy review, only because our principal waiter seemed truly nice, funny, and attentive. But "nice" won't save them. I truly wanted this place to be amazing, but the reality is: it's a farce. A sham. A patina of something that could be, but never will be. Whoever is cooking the food, has a childish, amateur understanding of flavors and temperature...almost as if they quickly searched a youtube video on how to cook food 10 minutes earlier. They simply do not know what they are doing.

The octopus was extraordinarily rubbery and loaded with thick coating of spice, utterly ruining the dish. I ordered a medium steak and it came fully cooked/destroyed....then on the second attempt, it came back totally rare. The cook had absolutely no understanding of temperature, which reflects almost every dish that came out—a lack of understanding.

This place is trying to be something that it is not: fine dining. But there is nothing fine about it. They're better off positioning themselves as a "hole in the wall" sort of spot with authentically cooked South American foods, instead of pretending... this sort of pretending of fine food is clearly reflected in their offerings, seasonings, temperature of foods, everything.

They put themselves in a corner that ruins the experience for the customer and never meets expectations....and that's the most dangerous position an establishment can be in.

This place needs and existential revolution.

On a semi-positive note, they didn't charge us for the steak, but overcharged us and then voided an incorrect amount... just another issue pilled atop a mountain of previous issues with the experience. Not worth the $600 paid after tip. Not even close!

Value and experience didn't match cost. Huge...