Paladar

08/15/2008 Posted by deborah29

This is a prejudiced establishment and people of color are not welcome there. The staff at this place were so rude and unfriendly! I went for a friends birthday on a thursday evening with about a group of 8 people, mostly hispanics and blacks, as soon as we walked in the staff gave us a look that said what are these people doing here. Even one of the patrons made a comment, "where did all these people come from". We were seated in a front area where the band usually plays (unbeknown to us). During the evening all the staff kept staring over at us, making it very clear that we were not welcome. The manager came over an hour and half later and told us we would be moved once the band came in and we asked if the band usually plays here then why were we seated here. They seated us there with the hopes that we would be leaving soon and once the band came they tried to squeeze my party of 8 into a table that seats 4! Larger tables were available but according to the manager they were all "reserved". We spent a lot of money here but obviously our money wasn't green or something, so disappointing.

Pros: Nothing nice about this place

Cons: They only wish to cater to people of a specific color, definitely not Blacks

01/14/2008 Posted by infinity2x0

I've worked in the restaurant industry before. The place is trendy, with a fairly diverse age group present. Lit for a more comfortable cozy feeling, the food is good, with a fine mixture of foods that mostly come together well. Just pay attention to the finer details. I've never been there for lunch, only for dinner and drinks. With that in mind. I'll outline the bad, which can be forgiven. While seating is fairly prompt and the staff very friendly and competent, but the atmosphere can be loud. The drink list has a good number of wines and beers, but the cocktails are a smaller section and you'll have to order cocktail drinks from the mostly full bar out of your own memory ( I know I did). Service can be slow at times, so for those whom take it upon themselves to order for the entire table, be alert you'll be asking for things fairly often. The ambiance is good for groups, though seating can be cramped at times. The Menu isn't the biggest, but its all focused really well. Now for the good, which for any restaurant, has to be the food, drinks and desserts. I've had nearly a third of the menu and am yet to be disappointed by one thing I've ordered. I will admit that the adobo chicken isn't the most spicy menu item we ordered, it did have good texture and certainly didn't taste like a hunk of wood. Ordering the right combinations of food such as the stuffed pork chop married with a spicier ceviche or main appetizer results in a good warm spicy feeling, even so far as to make the top of your head sweat. Make no mistake, the food is VERY GOOD but it isn't going to be spicy enough to remove paint. You cannot go wrong with what you order, go in with an open mind. If your wallet seems a bit on the light side that evening, don't order drinks and instead savor the food that you've ordered. Have at least 2 of the desserts, a fair number of people I've taken here have giggled happily while savoring both main courses and desserts.

Pros: the general ambiance, the food and desserts and the friendly staff.

Cons: Slightly small menu, spotty service and raised speaking levels.

12/02/2007 Posted by rolfrestaurantsux

you have to expect the annoying trendy types anywhere you go in NYC, ok the bar can be annoying with these types crowding you out. but the mojitos are awesome here. best in the city.... the food isnt authentic latin, its more like trendy time out new york version...but its good...and after some of these powerful mojitos who cares?

Pros: best mojitos anywhere

Cons: trendy annoying trust fund babies frequent here.

02/20/2007 Posted by paladarisbad

Paladar is horrible. If you're looking for a place where trendy wannabe's go to the LES, you've found your spot. If you're looking for good food, try Sombrero accross the street. Sombrero= Authentic + Wonderful fun staff Paladar = Simulacra + Obnoxious "owner".

Pros: None

Cons: Miranda

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

02/20/2007 Posted by basity

Our evening at Paladar ranks as one of my worst experiences with a restaurant in New York. For my 30th birthday, my sister made reservations two weeks in advance for a Saturday night at 9:30 p.m. for 12 people. We all arrived promptly at 9:30 p.m. and were turned by the hostess/manager. She informed us when we checked in that she had cancelled our reservation because we never returned the message she left on my sister’s cell phone a few hours earlier. The message did not state that if we failed to return the call, our reservation would be cancelled. In addition, no one informed us at the time we made the reservation that we would lose the reservation if we did not call again to confirm it. Instead of graciously admitting that there was some miscommunication and trying to accommodate our party of 12, the manager became incredibly argumentative when we asked her to fit us in. She turned all 12 of us away at around 10:00 p.m. on a snowy and cold Saturday night, and we were left wondering around the Lower East Side for an hour looking for a restaurant to accomodate 12 people--no small task on a Saturday night in the LES!

Pros: None.

Cons: Crowded, Lots of Attitude

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

11/21/2006 Posted by edex

I have eaten at Paladar quite a few times and have never been happier. The food is cooked perfectly (compliments to the chef/owner), the drinks are delicious and the service is exquisite. have you tried their desserts? They're a winning number everytime.

Pros: service and food

09/04/2006 Posted by giomama

I've been to Paladar a few times and it's a pretty mixed reaction. The first time I went was a weeknight for a beer with some friends and that was pretty cool and low key. The other times were for food service and both the service and food were mediocre. Lesson learned: stick to the bar. The last time I went, which was this weekend, was probably the wort experience by far. I guess, the place was a little understaffed, which is understandable but neither the waiter/host made any effort to make sure we were okay. They didn't get our drinks right and then tried to double charge us for them, the food, again was overpriced and unflavorable. Overall, it's an alright place but definitely not anything to really get excited over. Even for a date, this place leaves much to be desired.

Pros: It's in a cool area

Cons: It's overpriced

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

08/26/2006 Posted by silverfaze

This awesome restaurant/bar was a great find in LES. Juan is my new favorite bartender - what a sweetie! The music is a mix of Latin and Middle Eastern and their mojitos are not to be missed! Good place to sit down or dance with friends. The place gets real busy around 11:30/ midnight. If you sit at the bar, ask for some chips and salsa - you'll be pleasantly surprised by the yummy unique dips that you get in place of traditional salsa. To sum it up: Good looking people & fun, non-pretentious atmosphere with good drinks make for a great bar!

Pros: great drinks, great bartenders, great music

Cons: needs a slightly bigger area for dancing

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

08/18/2006 Posted by meltabak

I took my girlfriend here for dinner one saturday night on recommendation of friends and the only thing worse than the very young crowd that crams into the small bar space that spilled over onto our tiny table in the front of the restuarant was the greasy fried calamari and the leather like stake that i had. The only thing worse than the restaurant itself was the food!!! - not worth the trip!!!!!

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful

08/08/2006 Posted by emilie_dixon

Love, love, love it here. I went there last sat. with a few friends. It's a restaurant but it turns loungy around 11pm. The amazing dj spins an ecclectic mix of brazilian, latin music and world beats ! Nice crowd, friendly staff and tasty mojitos...

Pros: ambience, music, drinks