Doesn't Recommend

vien1224

Joined 5 years ago

Never Ever Agin !!!!!!!. I've lived in this neighborhood for 5 years and had never visited this place until yesterday. I went with my bf and planned to use our groupon voucher for a dinner take-out. My first impression was that this place looks like a tiny dive bar with live salsa music, and they charge $5 cover for admission.

First, since I went for a take-out, I figured I didn't have to pay for the $5 cover. Because of that, I had to place my order and wait for my food outside. Second, it took me 20 minutes just to place my order OUTDOORS, because they ran out of almost everything on the menu. They didn't even have any salad left and that was like 8pm. Third, the waitress, who has a really big gap between her front teeth, told us she couldn't place our order unless we ordered more than $30. We told her we didn’t mind to use less value of the voucher, and also it wasn’t mentioned on groupon fine print. And they ran out of the food I wanted to try as well. She refused to take our order until we had ordered over $30. Fourth, it took us 45 minutes to wait for the food OUTDOORS. Sixth, they charged me 15% tips for a take-out. Seriousely, I eat out at least 4 times a week and have been using goroupon dining out for more than a year. I’d never heard a restaurant charge 15% tips for a take-out. I had never had the horrible experience like this, we left with our food with anger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

The only good thing I can say from my experience is that the food was not bad, but not worth it with 15% take-out tips. I won’t visit this restaurant again even with 50% off deal.

If you have purchased this deal and have never been to the restaurant, here are my suggestions. First, be mental prepared that you aren't going to a restaurant, think that you're going to a very small dive bar with salsa live music. Second, if you are like me not ashamed of using your groupons out of the best value, call first and find out which day the $5 cover per person can be waived since you cannot use your groupon voucher for the cover. Third, have drinks and listen to the live bands instead of having the meal there because it's going to take you forever. Also a live band in this small place is not the best place to enjoy your meal and have a conversation with friends. Fourth, don't order a take-out because you will end up waiting for your food outside forever and still need to pay the 15% tips for no reason. Fifth, my last suggestion is, request a refund credit from Groupon.

If you are a Live Latin music lover, go to Amor Cubano which is 6 blocks away from here, on E111st St and 3rd Av. They don't charge a cover and the service is much much much better!

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txingon

Joined 4 years ago

Cool place!!!!. Love this place, is a mix of everything and I mean it. they have the best Cuban Sandwich in the area. the staff is friendly. and I love that they only serve Beer and Wine. is like being in a Tapas Bar in Spain!!!! love it!!!!

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LadyD0622

Joined 5 years ago

Great Sangrias and atmosphere. This is one hot spot you do not want to miss. The food , service is great and the SANGRIAS are off the hook. I truly enjoy Happy Hour. Music - live or Dj is great. They need to bring Camaradas to the West side of 115th Street.

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mvr02

Joined 7 years ago

A Great Experience, what Spanish Harlem is All About. My cousins have told me about this place for months. They had gone there on Thursdays to see a Puerto Rican band that plays hard-core ?jibaro? music. Well, I finally went and it was amazing! The place is owned by local Latinos that went a long way to nurture all the greatness of ?El Barrio,? a.k.a. Spanish Harlem. My boyfriend appreciated the rustic decor (exposed brick, lots of dark wood and corrugated metal), which he described as ?working class? even before learning that it was intentionally designed that way. The lively crowd reminded me of family gatherings. It took a while for the waiter to notice us once we found a corner to sit down. The place was crowded, however, even though the featured band, Tato Torres y Yerbabuena, had not even set up yet. Once we got the menu I wanted to try EVERYTHING! Seeing things like Mofongo de Chorizo ($10) or something called a Jorge Platter (churrasco and grilled chicken with cheese sauce, $13) made my discipline work overtime. We started with a pitcher of sangria that was to die for ($30, $15 during Happy Hour). We then shared an order Do?a Maria?s Alcapurrias (yuca meat-filled fritters, $9) and Spicy Calamari ($11.50). Finally the band set up and began to play. It was electrifying. The music was like a magic spell calling you to come closer and shake your bones. Just as I was about to excuse myself to ?go to the bathroom? (take a closer peak at the band), the food finally came. My boyfriend ordered a monstrosity called a Barrio Burger ($9.50 w/ cheese). This was something out of the Flintstones, it was huge! When I grabbed a bite I couldn?t believe how delicious it was. I settled with a Chicken Wrap with Avocado ($7.50) which fooled me into thinking I was behaving, although I couldn?t really forget the tasty alcapurrias. Overall, we had a great time, even with the long wait for service and cold draft from the front doors. This is definitely a new destination and I look forward to seeing what their other nights are like.

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hotdogger

Joined 8 years ago

Cool ambiance. I went because a friend goes there afterwork for the happy hour pitchers of sangria (1/2 off $30 reg.price). They have art work by local artists that changes regularly and have live music on several nights. The crowd is mixed, generally mid to late 20s and 30s but not pretentious. This place is a sign of the gentrification that is happening in Spanish Harlem, but it's still an early sign. The food is good, tried the Amarillos (maduros) that were good (they're hard to do poorly) and a platter that had food I didn't recognize but was good and the Mofongo that was good but needed a bit of salt. I also tried the hummus but didn't really enjoy it, they seem to make it w/olives, which I'm not a fan of. The sangria was indeed good. Four of us shared the appetizer type food and a pitcher of sangria, the total was a little under $90 - you do the math. I'll be back.