El Parral — Restaurant in Town of Oyster Bay

What a horrible experience. You would think that if the ambiance in the restaurant was absolutely horrific that they would at least try and make up for it with good reasonably priced food. Not the case. This place looks like it hasn't been painted since the 70's. It's completely dark. All the windows are covered with window shades from 1973. It's painted a putrid brown and it looks like the owners couldn't care less how this place looks. The Sangria is not bad although it was $52 for two pitchers. The food was insanely overpriced and just ok. $10 for some chips while you wait for food. $28 for a paella dish that had 2 pieces of shrimp, 2 clams and 2 scallops. $16 for a kids chicken nuggets. My bill was insane for mediocre food. I asked the waiter to take off the $10 for the chips so we could leave and not feel robbed. He took the bill came back, didn't say a word and charged us full price. On my way out I gave my kids some mints from their disgusting bowl and the bartender said out loud "watch out they probably think we are charging them for the mints". You would think that this absolute hole in the wall would at least be courteous and professional to their customers. No chance. All in all an experience I am trying to forget. Go here if you want rude and oblivious service with the ugliest ambiance you have ever seen and just ok food with an insane price tag. Don't think your kids will eat any cheaper. $16 for a plate of chicken...

Ambiance (4/5): The inside was fairly empty on a Friday night with approx 4 tables occupied. The establishment is nicely lit and has a full bar as well. Minimalistic decor. Service (5/5): I really wanted to love this spot because our server was so friendly and enthusiastic with the drink and food recommendations! He said he knew the regular patrons and we were newbies, which shows attention to his guests! The food came out decently fast. Food (4/5): The meal came with a free starter of table bread and salad! The bread was very meh but I enjoyed the salad dressing! Mariscadas al Ajillo: the seafood bits were cooked perfectly! Nothing tasted overcooked or fishy. The sauce had a good amount flavor. It was reasonably priced for the portion of seafood in the stew. The yellow rice that comes it does a good job in soaking up the sauce. My only thing was that the sauce could have used a little more flavor. Paella Valenciana Speciality: This dish was not something write home about. The rice was not throughly seasoned through and bland side—it was as if the meat and veggie toppings were thrown on top rather than cooked into the rice. The rice went well with the extra Ajillo sauce from my dish. I liked the sausage but not the chicken as much. I really wished the flavors were...

Five stars for friendly service, one star for the food. My parents have gone here many times and have raved about it. Since the closing of House of Spain in Merrick, and then the tragedy that happened at Casa Luis, I've been on a search for great Spanish food. I ordered the chicken villeroy and what I received was pretty bad. Small pieces of chicken just buried within the huge square pieces of fried bechamel. The size of these pieces is very deceiving. Not only that but the chicken I received was inedible. It was actually gray, indicating old and spoiled chicken. The texture was so off that I spit out the first bite. Nothing here impressed me at all. Unfortunately, the Spanish...