Paladar

09/14/09

Pa'ladrar

by boiled at Citysearch

I don't understand what Aaron Sanchez is doing trying to cook "Caribbean" food instead of focusing on his heritage and cook Mexican food. the results, the place is empty now!!!! nobody cares for bad beans. the happy hour is good though. I go back for the drinks, but don't care for the con-fusion food.

• Pros: location live in the area. Happy Hour:)
• Cons: mediocre food.

02/14/09

Food: DELICIOUS, Service: BAD

by Indyvia at Citysearch

My husband and I just returned from Paladar after a late-night Valentine's Day diner. We were seated despite not having a reservation. The Price: Affordable. The food: DELICIOUS! . The service... not so much. Two couples seated beside us were constantly catered to while we sat there, not even offered a second drink, let alone dessert - which, after waiting about 20 minutes, we decided against. Bad service on V-Day... . BIG NO-NO. We would have spent more, if they would have waited on us rather than make us wait.

• Pros: Food arrived quickly
• Cons: Waitress, nice woman but, didn't do her job at all.

11/08/08

great restaurant!

by thata at Citysearch

Well I think what this girl say is a lie, because all the staff that I saw there is hispanic, and I'm hispanic too and I was very well treated, the food is very good, the drinks too, I wil back soon, because is a great latin food restaurant. and descrimination is a crime, but the right place to say that is in a court not in a site about food.

• Pros: Everything!
• Cons: Could be open for lounch

08/15/08

Rude and prejuduced establishment that do not want business from people of color.

by deborah29 at Citysearch

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

01/14/08

Well Damn ... it is good

by infinity2x0 at Citysearch

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.

12/02/07

PALADAR IS GOOD FOR THE LES

by rolfrestaurantsux at Citysearch

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.

02/20/07

Paladarblows

by paladarisbad at Citysearch

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

02/20/07

No respect for large party reservations

by basity at Citysearch

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

11/21/06

The desserts... Ah... the desserts...

by edex at Citysearch

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

09/04/06

Overrated

by giomama at Citysearch

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