Rincon Criollo New Hyde Park — Restaurant in Town of North Hempstead

Made reservations for 6:00 pm for a party of 5. Asked the staff what's the hold up, they replied with "we can't physically pick people up and remove them from the table". A simple statement of being behind schedule would have honestly been sufficient. Sat down at 6:20 and the waiter took our orders. The food was overall decent.

The main issue was service, we were missing one side and when we were able to get a waiters attention (took over ten minutes) we pointed the missing side out to him and he kept staring at the table as if he was mentally counting the sides on the table as if he thought we were lying. Instead of him leafing through his order sheets I had to verbally explain to him what each of us ordered and what sides we ordered and re explained to him what was missing. Another issue in service was that we never had any staff come over to see if we wanted any more drinks, we originally ordered a couple of iced teas. I had to flag someone down for another iced tea and at a different time someone else in my party had to flag down a waiter for a refill of theirs in which the waiter said yes and never came with it. We were approached by a staff member who asked if everything was alright. I explained to the staff member about the iced teas and the missing side, her reaction was a scoff and an explanation that not one person was our waiter, it was a family run business. In my mind that's even worse, to me that explanation tells me that multiple staff members failed to check up on us and asked if we wanted more drinks or if our order came out ok (hence the side issue). They credited the iced teas from the bill which was the right thing to do but I am not sure they understand what the issue was.

As soon as that was done I asked for containers to take out leftovers as I explained that I wanted to pack the leftovers a certain way and it would just be easier if I do it. The first staff member nodded their head and went to get the containers. Two minutes later someone else came and asked if they can take the food and pack it away I said no someone's coming with the containers. Comically, a few minutes after the second person came a third staff member came and asked me the same thing. Where were all these people for my missing side and iced teas?

With the combination of neglectful staff to the uncomfortable hard chairs to the longer than normal wait times for food to come out and reservations, it is of my opinion that it might be worth getting takeout in lieu of...

Came here for my birthday. My husband got roast pork and I got the shrimp scampi and we shared a side of tostones. I got a traditional mojito and my husband got the Guayabera pale ale. I liked my mojito but he wasn't a huge fan of the beer. My husband enjoyed the pork dish however, it was flavorful and tender. My shrimp was a bit overcooked as the shrimp were a tad chewy. The scampi sauce was good and we dipped the tostones in that sauce as the mojo was not to our liking. Very simple, mainly just oil and lemon juice. I make mine with garlic and onion, lime and lemon juice and other seasonings so to us, it was just not as robust. Not bad, just different. Our white rice and black beans were tasty just not very hot. I think that was just timing, as it came after our shrimp and pork. We got flan for dessert and it was tasty, would of liked it a little bit sweeter to balance the burnt caramel taste, which to me was a little bitter. They sang happy birthday and it was very eventful! The whole restaurant sang along and I felt very special! The staff was very very nice and helpful! They gave us small "shots" of a coffee liquor with a crema de leche (a sweet carnation milk) and a cherry. Very tasty. They wished me happy birthday no less than 5 times and one staff even came by to give me blessings, very sweet. I would return and get chicken and maduros. Thank you to the staff for a overall lovely...

On a Hot July Sunday afternoon, my friend, Joe, asked to go to Rincon Criollo. I like Cuban food so I said yes. When you drive up to this authentic restaurant, it has a classic Cuban look. Inside is very comfortable. It is not noisy. Floors are wooden and the decoration takes you back to Havana. The menu is very simple.

We had two appetizers. The Tostones with shredded flank steak was amazing and the Spanish Sausage was equally good. The flavors reflected Cuba so well.

We had the grilled chicken with onions. My friend had grilled Liver. Both were done perfectly. The rice and black beans were so good. The portions were more than you could eat.

The dessert menu was so inviting. I wanted one of everything. The caramel flan was so rich and delicious. That with an expresso and Sambucca made for an amazing end to a great meal. My friend chose the Churros with chocolate. I stole one. It was hot and fresh and beyond good. With the bill came a simple Chocolate Liquor, very classy.

This is a moderately priced place. Very reasonable for the quality and service.

The service staff was very good. The atmosphere was simple and very friendly. This is a place you want to try over and over again.

The bathrooms were clean, which always gets the 5th star.

Thanks for a great time....