Rojo Tapas and Wine — Restaurant in Town of Red Hook

We had a strange experience here where we came in on a Friday night with a party of 4 without a reservation. There were tables clearly open, but we were told that the "kitchen wasn't ready for our party without a reservation", and were told to walk around town for 20 minutes so they could prep. But we couldn't be seated, at the open tables. It was 8pm, and the restaurant closes at 9pm. So essentially if we had waited 20 minutes, the restaurant would be closed anyways in 40 minutes. They assured us it wasn't about whether the kitchen had to close, but just that they "weren't ready". There were lots of other people in the restaurant that night already eating, it wasn't like we walked into an empty, un-prepped restaurant at opening time.

We left confused and wondering why we weren't seated - We have no issue waiting longer for our food but to not seat a party at an empty, available table that is not already reserved feels like they simply didn't want us there but were too chicken to tell us that. This is a wine and tapas bar. Surely you could seat customers and have them order wine while they wait for their food?

Rojo Tapas and Wine also didn't take our name down and write our number down or anything, so it's not like they would've even called us when their kitchen was supposedly "ready" - we were just expected to go back in exactly 20 minutes. We ended up going to another restaurant down the street. We debated calling them to tell us not to worry about prepping their kitchen, but honestly it really seemed like they didn't even want us there and they didn't even take down our name and number so what was the point?

Unfortunate because we don't live that far from this restaurant but you couldn't pay me to come back here again just to get a million awkward stares from all the patrons and the owners (not that they want us there anyways, obviously) - seems like they have enough regulars to keep themselves going so good for them, I guess.

Lastly, I hate to pull the race card but would also include here if you've made it this far in the review, I wanted to add that our entire party was not white and the whole interaction just left a very sour taste in our mouth.

To the restaurant: if you require reservations in order for your kitchen staff to properly prepare the right food, and cannot accommodate walk-ins, then you need to say so somewhere on either your site, or your Google...

Another wonderful night. I wrote a review last year praising Rojo as a "trip to Spain" with the caveat that the fresh and delightful Tapas were not 'haute cuisine'. The caveat was not meant as a 'negative' but just as a descriptive. Nevertheless, after last night I must retract that caveat. There was a bacalao tapa that you could have gotten at Daniel in NYC. The salad was divine and fresh and subtle. There was also a marinated kebob that took me back to Spain, but to a fancy Tapas bar that was known to be one of the finest in Seville. At Rojo you can have a beautiful charming evening with traditional tapas and haute tapas - but never with the haute price or attitude. It is a place perfectly designed for a relaxed well paced experience. It is also worth noting that the owner has an incredible pallet for wine and you will be pleasantly surprised if you let their wine list take you on a journey into the unfamiliar. I could not recommend this restaurant...

Been here a couple times with the gf. It's a Tivoli gem and a lovely date night spot.

Great food and tapas is always fun for getting to try and share a little taste of everything. Overall the restaurant has a real pleasant, welcoming vibe and a charming staff.

We especially love the lamb chops, artichoke stuffed mushrooms, definitely try the octopus, and the ensalada esencial. But have yet to be disappointed with any of the 10-ish dishes we've had at this spot.

Very good wine selection, too. Had an excellent reisling there the first time, and some delicious sangria paired perfectly with a late spring evening more recently.

I recommend this...