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At a Glance
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100% ambiance
“El Centro is how Mexican food should be, fun and cheap with strong drinks.”
92% drinks
“Its just an all around fun place to hang out with friends and have some delicious food, fantastic drinks, awesome tunes and have a wonderful time.”
79% food quality
“It's the best burrito I've had anywhere in the city!”
100% menu variety
“Staff was pretty great and the menu has plenty to choose from.”
87% overall
“This is my favorite restaurant - they have great drinks (the margaritas are awesome - my friend and I love the raspberry and guava flavors - but they also have specialty drinks and sangria.”
42% service
“Terrible service”
88% value
“With great food, reasonable prices, and attentive service, El Centro's brunch is muy bueno, just not muy Mexicano.”
22% wait time
“The service is slow and the waitstaff was incredibly rude.”
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El Centro
From The Owner of El Centro
About El Centro
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Brunch, Lunch & Dinner
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Mexican/Latin Cuisine
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Margarita Selection
El Centro has a good variety on its menu, from tacos to seafood dishes, rooted in its Mexican/Latin concept. Despite the city's steady increase in mexican restaurants, El Centro is worth a visit for their outstanding cuisine and tempting margaritas. Popular dishes amongst customers include the posole and any version of chilaquiles with meat. The menu describes chilaquiles ($11 to $14) as a casserole, which is as good an English word as any for this dish centered around day-old tortilla chips that are cooked to an appetizingly tough-and-tender texture in a sauce like El Centro's salsa roja or the mole, and topped with avocado, cheese and more. As for those margaritas, El Centro has classic and frozen at the ready, as well as a few other notable drinks on Manhattan's Mexican drink menus: sangritas, micheladas and the like. …
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Tips for El Centro
July 20, 2007
Great food, good prices. Only been once but loved it. Great tasting food - authentic and well-prepared. Dinner got a little crowded but the service was very good.
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July 14, 2007
Great food, lively place. El Centro is how Mexican food should be, fun and cheap with strong drinks. Even the long wait for a table is enjoyable if you get a mango marguerita. Service was above average and they followed instructions well.
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Heart
April 18, 2007
Terrible service. I recently went to El Centro and will not return. Having been a waitress myself in college, I'm always more than nice to servers. I ordered a shrimp quesadilla, which was a disgusting fried-type of thing that was literally dripping with oil. When our waiter finally checked on us, I very nicely mentioned that I didn't care for my food to which he replied, "Yup the quesadillas are not like usual ones here," and walked away! No asking if I wanted something else, etc. I didn't touch my plate and when I complained again the waiter got very agitated and was extremely rude and then ignored me for the rest of the night (only filling my friend's water glass when mine was empty, etc.). Finally another server cleared our table and asked if I wanted to wrap up my food, I said that I hadn't like it--and clearly ate none--and he rolled his eyes and said nothing. When we got our credit card receipt back, our server had written in the tip on my slip as one cent to make some sort of a statement--completely unacceptable!! My friend's food wasn't great either, so between that and the rudest service ever, I would definitely not recommend this place!
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March 24, 2007
decent mex, poor attitude. Despite being overlooked for seating twice, the food was decent. Hostess and management seems a bit clueless and but the wait staff was nice. The food was good, especially the Pozole, which was exceptional. We think charging for extra chips and salsa (in teeny weeny bowl) was a bit cheap, considering the entrees were not.
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Heart
March 16, 2007
My Favorite Brunch Spot in the City.
El Centro is my favorite place to visit for sunday brunch in New York city. I make a point of swinging by whenever I am in the city for work or for play. French Toast and the Eggs Benedict are my favorites. I live in Boston and cannot find a place that I enjoy more than El for brunch.
Love the fun atmosphere and the music!
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Heart
March 05, 2007
Taco Bell Quality with a Denny's Ambience.
My boyfriend and I visited El Crappo on a Sunday after reading positvie reviews on city search....boy do I wish we hadn't. It was jam packed with way too many tables for such a small place, we were forced into a small area between four older women who reaked of way too much perfume. Not only could we not move our legs, but it was unbearably hot and they were playing some tastless rap music in the background.
Being fair-minded we waited to taste the food before we judged. HORRIBLE! A tiny ramekin of guacamole as an appetizer was liquidy and tasteless. His entry resembled a large bowl of chips and cheese whiz. EVen though we dug to the bottom we could find no chicken. After feeling nauseous and eating only a few bites each we called it quits.
If I ever had food from here again i would DEFINATELY get it to go....but then again Taco Bell is better quality for 5 bucks as opposed to the 40 we spend on dinner.
Thanks El-Crapo...I don't have to tell you how we came up with this name.
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Heart
December 03, 2006
I've had better.
Although the restaurant decor makes the place look really good, it doesn't do much for the food. I've definitely have better mexican then what I had here at Brunch.
I wouldn't recommend going if you are looking for good Mexican food. The drinks are decent.
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Heart
October 28, 2006
Terrible Service. After going to literally hundreds of restaurants in NYC I can honestly say that the service at this place is the worst I have ever encountered. Waiter was exceptionally slow and when he did grace us with his presence he was downright nasty. Food was mediocre. With so many places to choose from why waste money at an establishment that clearly does not value its customers?
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Heart
October 26, 2006
Love the margaritas. I love this place - the bright and shiny decor, the food is de-lish - the tortilla chips and salsa are wonderful. The burritos are really really good, and I'm a huge fan of their chips and salsa. Quesadillas are tasty, but small (appetizer size), though their fajitas leave something to be desired.... AND their margarita happy hour is just fab - so many different fun flavors to choose from!
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Heart
October 03, 2006
Fun, quick, & easy. This place is a great quick lunch spot. A tasty margarita will make those last few post-lunch hours of work fly by. The interior is colorful and interesting. If you are in the area and want to try mexican, I would suggest Hell's Kitchen, but this place is quicker and not as costly.
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El Centro
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