CaraCara Mexican Grill — Restaurant in Town of Oyster Bay

UPDATE below review

At the suggestion of my step sons Spanish teacher (thank you Ms Whitney) we went to CaraCara for dinner, just happened to be St Patricks day. We ordered 2 appetizers, the calamari y chorizo, delish, perfectly cooked and tender, we also order the pollo tamales, I'm not a mole fan so had them remove it. I want you to know, this is no ordinary tamale, I would call it deconstructed, the corn masa was the consistency of polenta rather than the dense consistency one normally thinks of for tamles with a hint of sweetness. The chicken was marinated and cooked to perfection, shredded atop the corn masa sprinkled with cheese and fresh cilantro. I've eaten tamales from Arizona to New York and these are my absolute favorite. Chef's kiss to the creator of this menu item! For our main coarse we ordered carne tampiquena and dos carnes. My stepson had the carne tampiquena, cooked well done. The skirt steak was tender, juicy and full of flavor, additionally the portion serving of steak was more than adequate. I had the dos carnes, the short rib was full of flavor, fork tender and simply delicious. Unfortuneately my rib had a large portion of fat on the inside that was about 40% of the size of the rib, the skirt steak was medium rare and again delicious, however, with this dish I feel the portion size was a little lacking. They serve the rice and beans "family style" in what I would guess are 1 1/2 cup crocks, it was plenty for us but if the rest of my family were there, it wouldn't have been enough. I didn't have any drinks this night but the drink menu looks wonderful. Overall, I love this place and will surely be back to try other menu items and of course my new favorite.

UPDATE: I enjoyed the Pollo tamale so much I went back 2 days later and ordered one to go. While the portion size for dine-in was enough for both my step son and I, sadly the take out version did not live up to my expectations. It looked rushed in its construction, missing the cheese and barely any of that wonderful corn masa I enjoyed so...

Ate here for the very first time on a Friday night. Ample parking behind the resturant and some out front, but this was closed off for the St. Paddy's day bar crawl of the surrounding bars. The over all lighting is dimly lit. Can make it hard for the visually impaired to read the menu. The staff were great, very friendly and on top of their service without being overbearing. The food is very upscale Mexican fare. Bit more so if you are used to the regular pairing with Mexican plates from other places. The appetizers were good, bit it lacked the Tostones that you get at other places. The Quesadillas Con Queso is a hit. Had this with shrimps, it could've easily been an entree too it was so good. For the entree I had the Res A La Plancha. This was a grilled hanger steak, chihuahua cheese, rajas, salsas, jicama slaw. It was more like a Fajita. My wife had the Camarones Con Papa. This was pan seared shrimp cooked in a chipotle corn sauce, served over roasted potatoes with chorizo, garnished with cilantro. It was a be overwhelming in its presentation and had a bit to much sauce. The rest of the ingredients seemed to be piled together with the shrimps layered on top. For desert we shared the apple pie with vanilla ice cream with chocolate and caramel sauce. This was a nice touch for after the meal. The drinks are exceptional and well made. My first was the berries margaritas that had a good taste of rum. The second was a mango mojito. My server noted that it was a bit on the sweet side and he was right. Still it was enjoyable. My only take is at $14.00 a pop for drinks, their glasses could be a bit bigger. Overall this a very nice Mexican resturant. Be prepared for a more robust dinning experience with the food, than what you may be used to from some of the other similar fares in the surrounding neighborhoods. But then this is what distinguishing if you enjoy new and different dinning experiences. I would definitely dine here...

Get in. Waiter comes by after about 5 minutes or so no problem.

Order drinks, they come by within 5 minutes also, no problem.

Waiter doesn't come back for about 10-20 minutes to take orders, that's fine too. I order a ginger ale. Not ok but permissible.

Guac made tableside. Tastes good.

First round of food arrives. Not bad, no ginger ale in sight. Side of rice and beans show up. Rice is harder than rocks, almost chips one of the fillings in my tooth. Server nowhere to be found.

Flag down server, doesn't say anything. Puts up finger to signal he will be by. No issues

My steak chicken and chorizo skillet show up. Room temperature. Let the waiter know it's room temp. Got corn tortillas instead of flour tortillas.

Waiter is clearly busy. 6 staff members standing by kitchen entrance. 2 drinking coffee, 2 eating 2 being social.

Waiter brings back skillet, they just heated the dish up and the corn tortillas are gross. Ginger ale still nowhere to be found.

Signal manager. I don't want my dish. Take it back, just take it off the check. Dish can't be reheated when you've asked for your steak at a medium temp. It's extra well done now. Manager makes it right, convinces me to have the staff make a new plate. Comes out, family done eating, I'm now eating alone, food tastes good

Manager comps food. Thanks. We still tip waiter cause it's what should be done. Manager apologies. Manager does right by me from a comp and food perspective.

Walking out of restaurant with my elderly parents, wasted lady standing on bar and bar stool taking pictures. Real classy.

Summary. Thanks manager. But...