Boqueria

08/03/09

Best Tappas outside of Spain

by truereview14

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!

• Pros: Great food, atmosphere, sangria
• Cons: None

07/30/09

Good food but sketchy Israeli manager ruins authenticity

by CityCritiquer

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.

• Pros: Good food and wine quality
• Cons: Surly Israeli manager, dishonest food portions

03/02/09

Fancy, modern, nice, and overpriced

by Vildan

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.

• Pros: Nice looking place and more or less friendly staff
• Cons: Everything else...

02/16/09

awesome tapas!

by heenneeh

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.

• Pros: food

01/26/09

Don't believe the hype!

by ScottyLovesLamby

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.

• Pros: Friendly service, nice atmosphere
• Cons: food is disappointing

12/30/08

AWFUL - Please don't waste the money!

by youngadventuroushungry

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.

• Pros: can't think of any
• Cons: The food, the price, the service - if you're going to charge a lot your staff should be knowledgeable in regards to the product that they are serving

12/05/08

Best Tapas

by Mikelllita

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.

• Pros: Datiles con Beicon
• Cons: Crowded, small groups are best

10/02/08

Great place for small groups

by farmerpeggy

I went with two good friends from college, one of whom had visited before and recommended that we eat there early as the place fills up quickly. We arrived at 6:30 on Wednesday and were promptly seated at the end of a high top table for 8. The other seats were soon filled by other people. In fact, within 15 minutes of our arrival, a large crowd had gathered, making the place noisy (and a bit crowded) but in a lively, convivial way. We ordered two salads for the 3 of us to split, plus the croquettes, serano ham on toast, sea scallops (which turned out to be 1 scallop but was on a bed of great pea/corn mixture) and 2 cheeses. We were dissappointed to see that the brussels sprouts we had seen in the online menu were not on the menu at the restaurant. We all tried some of everything as these types of plates are conducive to sharing and conversation. We also each had a glass of wine - don't be afraid to ask about any on the list - the waitress was pretty knowledgeable, I had a great red which I promptly forgot the name of!

Dessert we ordered the churros which were tasty as well.

overall a great experience - i'd definitely go back.

• Pros: Great place to share with friends and chat
• Cons: Noisy, fills up quickly

08/19/08

Poor value and a poorly executed menu.

by DoctorDoctor

Firstly, my wife and I love tapas and the small plate concept. Both of us have lived in Europe and have ties to Spain. That being said, I recognize that not every tapas restaurant has to push the envelope and redefine Spanish bar food. Classics can be fantastic when well executed. This however, was not the case here.

The dishes such as razor clam, "chorizo con vin", and Mahon cheese were just simply not executed well. One can maybe forgive the lack of culinary excellence for $6 small plates but at double that, the expectations are higher. The server was knowledgeable but bland dishes with silly names and long stories of what market the ingredients came from did little to make the food taste better. In terms of boring: "Cave Aged Mahon" was a tiny, tiny sliver of Mahon with one Spanish almond, 3 table grapes, and one black olive the size of a pea (including pit). I believe it was about 9 dollars. There was a couple slices of truly old and dry bread that came with it. That is just a bad dish. Additionally, The chorizo tasted store bought and the razor clams were bland, oily, and in desperate need of salt and acid. Just a poorly executed series of dishes. Other dishes such as "Pulpo de Playa" translated literally as "octopus of the beach" left us scratching our heads and wondering where the honest, rich, and inventive food of Spain was on this menu.

On the positive side, the place had many open tables and we were seated right away. The environment is nicely arranged but looks more like a place to grab a bite for lunch, then to linger for dinner.

• Pros: Nice environment
• Cons: not a good value and bland, poorly executed dishes

08/18/08

great atmosphere, good food

by joehoya

went to boqueria saturday night for tapas after a recent trip to barcelona. they don't take reservations, but we (2 ppl) didn't have to wait at all for a table despite the restaurant being more or less full. great, lively atmosphere, crowded yet still comfortable, loud but in a good way, and the service was excellent. esp for a busy restaurant, our glasses were always full, and our waitress checked in with us often. the sangria was great, and the food was pretty tasty overall - we ordered 6 plates + a dessert and were pleased with them all. the salted peppers were the most interesting and worth trying, the patatas excellent, the chorizo and jamon serrano standard, but the lamb skewer was too chewy and as much fat as meat. cheese plates seem to be on the small side for the price, but good quality. give it a try, if the food isn't the most exciting, the atmosphere and service will probably make up for it.

• Pros: service, atmosphere
• Cons: some plates too small, lamb skewers