Boqueria

Doesn't Recommend

RichardC1

Joined 3 years ago

Not what it used to be. Went there July 22nd. Very busy, nice crowd & atmosphere. The food however was not what I had become accustomed to at Boqueria. I had been to both the Flatiron and Soho branches at least a dozen times and had always enjoyed it there. I was told by a friend that the chef had changed, but that most of the menu stayed the same.

We ordered 7 dishes, but were disappointed with all of them. The only dish we liked was an heirloom tomato and watermelon salad, but we had to fight for the very few pieces of tomato in the dish. The dish was fresh and tasty, but was mostly composed of watermelon and salad. From there on, a bit of a disaster. The lamb cubes were under seasoned and rough. We had to return the burnt patatas bravas, which should be very easy to master. The second rendition was barely any better. The stuffed dates (filled with ham, cheese and almonds and formerly one of my favorite side dishes) were too sweet. The bacalao was runny and had a strange flavor to it (which might explain why I was later sick from what was most likely food poisoning).

While the service was polite and pleasant, it certainly felt very rushed. All of our dishes except for the bacalao were served within 10 minutes. At this point (9:30pm), there were a good number of empty tables, so I am not sure why we were being rushed.

I had many good meals at Boqueria, but I am afraid I will not return.

Doesn't Recommend

foodfinders

Joined 5 years ago

High Hopes...Sadly Disappointing. I was surprised when I entered the restaurant, from the description, I expected fairly small and cramped seating. It wasn't. The decor was clean, minimal and very comfortable. All the tables and chairs were at bar level, which I liked. Like I said high hopes. We sat down and ordered our drinks, a spicy bloody mary.

Sadly, I cannot recommend the Bloody Mary. I wondered why they accompanied the drink with an anchovy (along with an olive, cheese and pepper). Its because their version of a Bloody Mary was basically cocktail sauce on ice, I wish it had been accompanied with shrimp. Did I mention that it wasn't spicy?

We waited 40 minutes for our meal from when we ordered it. I ordered Bocata Boqueria (egg sandwich, chorizo, market vegetables). I enjoyed the side salad (market vegetables). I don't eat potatoes and the eggs were basically a scramble with chorizo. Did I mention that my eggs were cold and a little pathetic looking? they were. I felt like I was served someone's left overs after looking at my neighbor's plate, who had ordered the same dish. My companion ordered a medium burger with bacon. The burger came out rare and cold. We sent it back. Twenty minutes later, after i shared and finished my salad and the sad scrambled eggs of my dish, the replacement burger arrived. It was more well done than medium but that was better than it being raw. He said it was ok, but nothing ruins a meal than having to send something back.

What I found really disappointing was that people who came in after us received their food in a timely manner and left before I did. In addition, the person sitting next to me ordered the same dish I did and it looked much better.

We didn't try any tapas, but unfortunately I have no interest in returning to try it.

We work so hard to earn a living in such an expensive city that I would rather spend my money on a restaurant that did not disappoint.

Recommends

carpediem123

Joined 8 years ago

Great Tapas!. I may not be a foodie, but I've been to Barcelona and went to amazing tapas restaurants.

Boqueria took me back to Spain.

The croquetas were perfection.

There was a selection of 4 different types of jamon. I ordered one and it was so good. For those that have had good jamon in Spain, it's just not the same here in the states, but Boqueria's simple jamon with bread was so yummy.

The service is great. From hostess, to the bartender to our server, everyone was on top of things.

Recommends

truereview14

Joined 4 years ago

Best Tappas outside of Spain. Awesome selection of tappas, definitely try the jamon cerrano. The Sangria is great too, but be warned it's $32/pitcher which can add up quickly.

I have gone multiple times with groups of 3-6 and the longest I have ever waited in 15mins.

Great time for friends or co-workers, reasonably priced, definitely worth a trip!

Recommends

CityCritiquer

Joined 4 years ago

Good food but sketchy Israeli manager ruins authenticity. Boqueria in Flatiron is an excellent choice with two important exceptions - I'll get to them in a minute. On the positive side, the variety and quality of tapas is terrific. I'm a foodie and passionate about markets from Barcelona to Sao Paulo to Mumbai. This place knows its food. We had the Serrano, sardinas, saladas and gambas to start and the paella and fideua as mains, washed down by a couple of bottles of grenache (excellent) and tempranillo (average). Overall, this place was very good and our party of four had a great time.

Now for the issues -- more for the management than patrons, necessarily. The tapas of sardinas essentially had one sardine each for $12 each. Even by NY standards that's a rip. I discreetly mentioned to the waitress that I thought it was odd - she graciously said they would do something about it. Next, the manager Gil saunters up and loudly asks our table (me and three women) what the problem was. Firstly, rude and confrontational approach. I told him I'd come by in a few minutes and I did. I found him a bit later - checking email on a wireless Mac at a banquette, no less - and mentioned to him my irritation with the portions. He chafed and told me this wasn't Barcelona and that was the price of seafood here. And if I had an issue, I should write the chef a suggestion card!! I asked where this champ was from - Israel, apparently, where manners and restaurant management seem to have been perfected. When I asked the waitress if I could get contact details for the management, she politely declined and said ... yes, again ... I could fill out a suggestion card.

Bottom line is, the restaurant is pretty good and my review shouldn't stop you from going there. Rather, if ownership/management actually care about management of their properties, I'd suggest they find Gil a role at a falafel stand in Haifa where the portions are small and manners are smaller. This is New York, after all - we prefer our tapas joints staffed by Spanish hospitality, not Israeli pettiness.

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Vildan

Joined 4 years ago

Fancy, modern, nice, and overpriced. As a Spaniard, what can I say? (even though my English grammar su....ks)...

The design reflects what's "in" in Spain nowadays; the minimalism of the decoration reminds me a lot different places I've visited in Madrid and Barcelona (nice to hung out with friends). However, the food was of average quality (not to say poor in some dishes; lets be nice). The chorizo is the low quality-sandwich-bocadillo-after school-type(cheap, I mean), Same thing with the serrano ham and the lomo. Small portions (too small) and in general overpriced. You ask for croquettes (croquetas) and since croquetas is plural they bring you that: 2 croquetas, if croquetas could be singular they would bring 1 for the same price...

The Staff (awesome, we work in a cool place...!!) is not really knowledgeable when it comes to know about what they are selling, but hey!, they are nice...

Wines: Extremely overpriced. I must be crazy (and I am) paying what I paid for half a bottle, but eating "quality" Spanish food (not the case) can't be done with a cheap wine.

I think the Staff, the Chefs, and everyone else that works there, should take a short trip to Spain (specially the north) and take a look at the real thing, that has absolutely NOTHING to do with what Boqueria is serving. My motto is: if you can't offer good Chorizo (ham or whatever) don't offer anything.

Desserts: are ok, but please, please, please... don't ask for the "churros con chocolate". Those used-fried oil-from 3 days ago-things they call churros, are NOT churros; they are something else. I guess "churros" is not a registrated trademark in the US by the Spanish Goverment, otherwise these "phony things" would be serving time in jail already.

Maybe for the average Newyorker that hasn't visited Spain before (or maybe has...) this is a good fancy place to eat great food, wine, and to hung out with friends, but not for me. I will just keep looking for the (good) perfect Spanish restaurant in NYC; definetly not Boqueria. Enjoy.

Recommends

heenneeh

Joined 4 years ago

awesome tapas!. We've been here at least five times during the past year-- each time has been great. The tapas are amazing and the wine list is perfect for tapas.

Doesn't Recommend

ScottyLovesLamby

Joined 4 years ago

Don't believe the hype!. Food did not live up to all the reviews and recommendations from friends. Everything was over fried and under seasoned. Most of the tapas were unidentifiable flavor wise(except chorizo in everything), if it weren't for our friendly server telling us what each dish was, I wouldn't have been able to recognize what I was eating half the time. The Chef really needs to taste what they're cooking, because clearly they don't. Even with the friendly and prompt service, still a waste of $150.00.

Doesn't Recommend

youngadventuroushungry

Joined 5 years ago

AWFUL - Please don't waste the money!. The food was NOT good at ALL! Just Awful - seriously! Anyone who has had the opportunity to visit Spain and has had the chance to taste the authentic product would know better. By the way, the prices are OUT of control. Between my fiance and I we had 3 glasses of wine and a couple of Tapas - and that alone cost us $145. I don't mind spending $$$ on a good meal - BUT this was awful, so much so that it's inspired me to write my very first restaurant review. Go to Casa Mono in Gramercy Park instead... which is Exactly where went after dinner at Boqueria. It's funny, the first faces we noticed when we entered Casa Mono was a couple that we saw at Boqueria, and we gave each other a knowing smile.

Recommends

Mikelllita

Joined 5 years ago

Best Tapas. YUM! Boqueria is ab-fab for unique flavors, cheeses and interesting small dishes - the datiles con beicon and monte enebro cheese are not to be skipped. And they go down lovely with any of their three kinds of sangria! Can't wait to try the new SoHo location.