Best of Citysearch
view & uploadphotos
At a Glance
?
98% ambiance
“This was the best food and the best ambiance and experience I ever had!”
100% dessert
“was surprised by the small ice cream dessert from the restaurant to the birthday girl free of charge, but if they're going to give a nice service the one ice cream scoop on a stick didn't leave a strong enough impression.”
91% drinks
“As far as cocktails, I'd suggest sticking to the mojitos, they're the best in the city and they come in great flavors!”
89% food quality
“The restaurant is nice and the service good but there's nothing that stands out about the food.”
88% menu variety
“The food was great and the waitress was very helpful in helping us choose from their very interesting menu.”
100% overall
“restaurant/lounge. If you are looking for great food, great drinks, and accommodative staff, then this is the place for you =)”
100% return potential
“even asked the bartender why can't people just dance a bit since this place is spacious he mentioned that they don't have a liscense for it and if there's a lot of noise the neighbors would complain, that and the pretty hardwood floors they had :( I wil”
89% service
“The friendly staff at Calle ocho complimented the unique flavors of the food so well.”
73% value
“Great food great ambiance- went during restaurant week and odrered off the regular and the 30.04 menus- everything was divine- portions were just right and the seasoning and spices in each dish were unique and well prepared.”
40% wait time
“Service was a little slow and un-atttentive, but that did NOT stop us from enjoying our evening.”
Write a Tip for
Calle Ocho
From The Owner of Calle Ocho
Calle Ocho
@CalleOchoNYC
Sangria at Latin Restaurant Calle Ocho http://t.co/zyp3bPwi02
Reply
Retweet
Favorite
15 hours ago
Tips for Calle Ocho
March 21, 2009
Over-priced for Average Food. We first tried Calle Ocho during 'Restaurant Week' and weren't that impressed. The restaurant is nicely designed and spacious, but the food isn't worth the prices. I'm thinking it might be a decent place for Mojitos and appetizers during happy hour in the front lounge part.
0
Heart
December 13, 2008
The food is not very good, service - fluctuates..
went there a few years ago, and for some reason didnt really like it, dont really remember why.
there are enough places in NYC so you dont have to go back to a place you didnt like.
went there for the second time for a friends Bday dinner after another friend didnt stop praising it....
it all started with them not having the only dish i really wanted (what kind of restaurant can not offer two of their dishes on a Saturday night?)
i had to pick a steak. so did 3 other people in the party.
my steak was...odd. very chewy. had to send it back (i really dont do that usually)
20 minutes later, i still had no steak, everyone else was done.
had to cancel my order...
my girlfriend dish was like pure salt, mojitos took forever to come and a friend that asked for extra sauce got it after he was already finished.
the bread at the beginning was amazing! but that's where it ends.
my take? dont bother.
0
Heart
November 05, 2008
good but not special. I've had Calle Ocho a few times and I wasn't as impressed as my other friends. If you want to try it, save your money and try it out for dinner. The restaurant is nice and the service good but there's nothing that stands out about the food. It's overrated in my opinion.
0
Heart
August 04, 2008
service weak - food bad - go to another new uws place. waste of time and money. service is slow . restaurant week was awful and food was mediocre. frozen dinners taste better than the food here. it's loud and noisy and needs major improvement. go to new place opening on uws est branch.
0
Heart
July 29, 2008
Restaurant Week Loser. Went here last night for dinner and had the restaurant dinner menu. The empanada crust was dry and the interior salty and a ground up amalgamation of gosh only knows what. The crusted mahi-mahi mentioned elsewhere was awful. Mrs Pauls could and has done better. The service was well meaning but extremely slow. All in all I would never return to this loud, noisy over priced upper westside restaurant.
0
Heart
July 29, 2008
Mediocre at best.... Went here last night for restaurant week and was not really impressed..drinks were good but too sweet and expensive. Dinner for restuarant week- appetizer was GREAT! some sort of beef empanada. Dinner I had "plantain encrusted mahi-mahi". well, it was kida just fried fish..on top of a disgusting mix of dried out plaintains mixed with sweet onions and bacon. pretty gross. dessert was great. service was okay, nice people but i have never in my life waited so long for food. i mean, it felt like at least 40 min between appetizers and main course. i probably wouldn't go back.
0
Heart
July 25, 2008
Great Latino Food in the Upper West Side. Went here with a large group for Summer Restaurant Week. It was great! Yummy Latino food and cocktails, service was great and prompt. Not to mention the salsa and merengue music adds to the feel that you're actually in a restaurant in Latin America. Aside from the food, they provide pan de queso (cheese bread) before your first course and I have to say it was very deliciso! These pan de queso reminded me of home in Ecuador. One misconception that my friends had was that this was a full Cuban restaurant which is not. The menu items listed different dishes from several Latin american countries. Overall I would defintiely come back here with date.
0
Heart
July 24, 2008
Spice up your evening!. Ate at Calle Ocho during restaurant week and the place was packed! Service was extremely attentive and helpful. I had a lot of questions about the menu and the waitress was very helpful and patient. I ordered the restaurant week menu and had crab stuffed peppers for my app and a crispy snapper for my entree, both were delicious and the portions were extremely generous considering it was restaurant week. For dessert I had my choice of anything off the dessert menu. I choose the banana cake that was served with a sweetened coffee that was incredible. Overall, I had a wonderful time at Calle Ocho, from the mojito's, to the food, to the service, everything was right on!
0
Heart
July 23, 2008
Excellent Service. The friendly staff at Calle ocho complimented the unique flavors of the food so well. My three friends and I had a great experience there Monday night, and will definitely be going back next time we're in the city. Don't know if they have it always but their surf n turf style dish was amazing. The sorbets were really good too.
0
Heart
June 26, 2008
worst night ever!!. stopped by saturday night to wish by bartender a nice farewell. heard that he was not allowed to finish his last week. the bartender that served me was so slow and clueless of what he was doing. the bar seemed so disorganized!!! i've been coming to calle ocho for so many years, and with the experience that i had that night, i would never come back to the place!
0
Heart
Write a Tip for
Calle Ocho
People also viewed
Your Friends
Sign in with Facebook Sign in with Facebook to see what your friends are up to!
Citysearch Mobile
Get the Citysearch Mobile app so you can spend less time searching for great places, and more time enjoying them.
Best of Citysearch
Nominated for: