Agozar

07/16/2008 Posted by stephmiranda1

Don't be duped by the CitySearch's "Best Group Dining" Nomination because this place is capitalizing on this by screwing anyone and everyone. The "bar/lounge" is the tiny section of the place you walk into that cannot accommodate groups. If you're not sitting within 5 feet of the bar, don't expect the 1/2 off deals. They seat all groups in their "dining room," which is the extension of the lounge that can accommodate groups but not the highly lauded happy hour deals. Oh and don't expect a clear distiction or explanation of the "self-explanatory rules," when you realize you're paying full-price. Diana, the co-owner, was by far the most unprofessional, unpleasant and plain awful restaurant "professional" I've ever come across in my 24-year NYC inhabitancy. The fact that her act was so clearly rehearsed confirms my suspicions that this is indeed a calculated plan these owners have devised to mislead and EFF diners. Although the food was good, skip it and get a just as good if not better Spanish meal at Caracas or Las Ramblas.

Pros: Food is good.

Cons: ATROCIOUS service and owner.

07/09/2008 Posted by minnetonka627

I went here last night with 2 of my girlfriends. The happy hour (buy 1 get 1 tapas and drinks) is SUCH a great deal! the food was excellent. Great music, great atmosphere. We were ordering tapas all night and the food came out quickly, but the waiter was kind of slow (took awhile to take our orders, took awhile to get our check), but nothing unbearable. The sangria was good, though not the best I've had, and my friend had a margarita and said it was kind of tasteless but definetely not lacking liquor. That being said, we had a great time and I will be going back here again. I would definetely recommend going here to enjoy happy hour and catch up with friends!

Pros: Great happy hour. Good food

Cons: service is a little slow

05/30/2008 Posted by ywang86

My only advice to those going for the food with a party is that when coming here, be specific on whether you would want to take part in the happy hour special advertised. I'd reserve over the phone and NOT ONLINE because there is no space for you to specify whether you wanted to take part in the special and that they might bring you to their dining room and not bar lounge (which i thought was the same thing since there was no mention of the dining room being separate from the bar lounge) and end up charging you full price for absolutely everything. My advice to Agozar would be to be more specific that there is actually a bar lounge AND a dining room in the place!! SAY: ***Happy hour EXCLUDED in the "dining room" Finally, service was good at the bar area the first time we came and horrible when we came with the group. We waited for our food a half an hour or more (which was worth the wait given it was delicious) EACH TIME we ordered more tapas so since we ordered food more than 2 times, you can imagine how long the wait was. IF we do come back (for the food only), I would probably go with only 1 or 2 other people, not more and stay at the bar only. Drinks were pretty great too. Bartender was very nice the first time we came before this unpleasant experience. The manager was considerate enough to offer us a 25% off next time we come (that is IF we come) but i do not feel that is enough given we paid over $300 that evening and we weren't even full because although the food was good, it came in small portions (tapas). We ended up going to chinatown and got handmade dumplings at Dumpling house instead. $24 was enough to feed 8 people and we had leftovers.

Pros: great food and drinks

Cons: slow serivce, happy hour special not specified enough

05/13/2008 Posted by lizamagee

I went in for lunch today and even though there were only a few other people there it was obviously not because of the food. I had sangria and a garlic chicken breast that came with rice and beans. It was all super good. I ended the meal with flan and it was really great too. The waitress was really nice and friendly and made excellent suggestions (the idea for a cocktail with lunch and the recommendation of sangria was right on). Overall, this place should be much busier. The value is great (two drinks, a meal and dessert for 25 bucks) and the staff is too. I will definitely go again.

05/10/2008 Posted by jackyC

We had to make last minute reservations and got accomodated w/o a problem . We got to enjoy their 2 for happy hour and then had some of the best Cuban tapas around. The Churraso is highly recommended along with their delicious Cuban Cigar for desserts!! Our Pitchers of great Mojitos sealed the deal ! We will defintely being returning. Make sure to sample all the tapas . Its 2 for 1, you cant beat that !

Pros: Delicious Tapas and entrees

Cons: No Cons here

05/05/2008 Posted by daveyboy808

one of the worst dining experiences in quite a while. $50 pitcher of mojito with no alcohol, tiny portions, seriously the smallest shrimp i've ever seen for $2/ea. food, drinks, everything just took FOREVER. i swear i was thirsty and hungry the whole night. we sat down at 9:30 and didn't get our check until 1. i was trying to be cool, i mean i should have known better than to try to get spanish food south of 100th st but when they included a $15 cake charge for cutting my b-day cake, after spending $300 across 5 people, i lost it. go to son cubano, at least you get what you pay for, there.

Pros: none

Cons: slow service, food, drinks, small portions, expensive

05/01/2008 Posted by BoxerNYC

I went to have dinner with my girlfriend and from the moment we got there something seemed off. They sat us in the back room, by what should have been a locked door (since it is not the main entrance or exit and was right on top of our table). Since it was not locked, people kept entering and leaving through it creating a draft and letting the rain in. That was just the beginning. I asked for tostones in a Cuban restaurant and the waiter had no idea what I was talking about. He asked the cook and they said they don't make it. That was only slightly disappointing I still held out hope that my ropa vieja and my gf's pernil would be tasty and all would be fine. The portions were tiny, which may have been a blessing in disguise, since the food was bland. The ropa vieja was dry and the pernil wasn't properly seasoned. The food was not terrible, but I don't eat out for 'not terrible'. To add insult to injury, when the bill came there was an automatic 20% gratuity added. That put us over the edge. I was livid. We paid for our food and left. The included gratuity was omitted. Worst dining experience in quite a while.

Pros: Two for one drink specials are a good deal.

Cons: Bland food, snall portions, bad service, audacity to include 20% gratuity

04/20/2008 Posted by nikalbo

Had a group reservation last night after doing some research. The place is split into two areas - a bar area and a dining room area. The pictures on their website don't do the interior justice - it's really quite nice and pretty inside. The food was great - as one of the reviewers said order the calamari - it's good. I also recommend the fried beef dish which I have forgotten the name for. Some minor gripes: sangria was a bit off and funky tasting and also, they start pumping in the "club music" at around 10:30 so you probably wouldn't want to do a late night date here. Otherwise, overall - not a bad spot to have a group dinner - nothing special or amazing experience wise, but a solid pick for a dine out night with your friends in NYC.

Pros: good food, nice interior

Cons: funky sangria, club music came in a bit early

03/16/2008 Posted by TL81

I thought the food was good (especially the steak). The service was a bit slow. To me, it seemed like there were a lot of underage drinkers there -- I'm guessing NYU students. I saw one kid who looked about 16 with a beer. Also, when leaving I noticed a girl was allowed to smoke INSIDE the restaurant next to the front door. Even though I liked the food, I wouldn't go back or recommend this place because of the smoking and what looked like under age drinking.

10/13/2007 Posted by sthomas31

The tapas is fabulous, the mojitos and sangria are to die for. I just can't get over this place. Service is spectacular, decor is great, and the people (both eating and working) make a great atmosphere. This will remain one of my favorite spots for a long time. And... nothing beats the happy hour on the drinks and tapas.

Pros: Value, Food, Service