Macondo

Very disappointed

by ilovemax

July 18, 2008

I was very excited to try this new restaurant, but unfortunately was extremely disappointed. First of all it was about 100 degrees inside -- we were seated at the front of the restaurant where there is a large window that opens onto the street, but, sadly this is not a great idea when it's 100 degrees outside. We asked to sit in the back, but it was full. The food was very average. We ordered the lamb tacos, vegetarian arepas (completely tasteless), patatas brava -- but the rest of our order was forgotten. When we pointed out that we were still charged for the plate we never received, it took a very long time for the waiter to return with the corrected bill (meanwhile, we were still stuck in the 100 degree heat). I suggest heading a few doors down to Oliva for similar (but much better in my opinion) tapas. Possibly Macondo is still in its infancy, but there are much better choices in the neighborhood.

• Cons: uncomfortably hot inside, mediocre food, mediocre service

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Great for a night out with friends~!!

by ilene117

June 28, 2009

Went out on a double date & had a fabulous time!! Didn't have any problem getting a table on a rainy Friday at about 8pm but the place filled up shortly thereafter.

The waitress (Charlotte i think) was enthusiastic and very attentive to every detail. We ordered an assortment of food to share & a pitcher of the tamarind tequila drink- soo good & not too sweet.

The server recommended this specialty sparkling beer drink which you use a flask to drink out of & it proved a great time for all.

The food came out one thing tastier than the other- the manager came over and said hello and even sent out a few things just because. The dessert of churros & donuts wasn't too memorable but they were a tasty way to finish the meal.

We stayed for over 2hrs and they didn't push us out or make us feel unwelcome ever. I will definitely return to try some more food items & their long tasty drinks.

Having worked in many restaurants i appreciate when i can go out and be treated well just because and for that i give this place 5 stars!!!

• Pros: good food, drink & service, reasonable
• Cons: smaller drink sizes

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come on, be less obvious

by flo

June 10, 2009

As somebody else pointed out, most 5 star reviews here have one thing in common: the reviewer has never written about another place, except two people who also gave their sister restaurant Rayuela 5 stars. Sounds suspicious ?, imho rather amateurish, but unfortunately very common and easy to do on this site and others.

Let the dice fall where they may, people. If you guys at Macondo are good enough, it will show eventually, but please don't try to manipulate us with these fake testimonials. Having said that, I am going this week and will report about it. Hope Kevin Spacey is not sitting next to me, I'd prefer Benicio del Toro.

• Pros: enthusiasm, trying (too) hard
• Cons: dubious critics

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Best cocktail ever!

by mariaparra

March 11, 2009

Loved It!

I was there last Thursday and waited for my friend at the bar while having a cocktail made with... avocado???? (a little risky I must say... some sort of frozen avocado drink mixed with a hard core Latin liquor) Absolutely amazing!!! Turned out to be that my friend never showed up and so I decided to stay for dinner at the bar. I had three to-die-for tapas including one named pastelon something made with plantains and beef and manchego cheese... Wow!

I wish my "friend" would've been there with me. We're trying again next Friday. It's been a while since I've been to a place where I go for the risky options (I'm addicted to the flavors I know) and leave the place more than satisfied.

Beautiful experience.

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Casual hipness with style comes to the Lower East Side

by foodsie15

March 10, 2009

There are two kinds of restaurants on the LES. One of them is the ultra modern overpriced (com'on its the LES) eateries and the other the neglected dump. Macondo offers the perfect blend of hipness and style in a space that is cool and reasonably priced. Macondo's great savory tapaz are a great welcoming addition to the neighborhood. The reason my friends and I chose this place recently is because we are all on a budget, however we still wanted to eat good food in a great environment. Macondo was the perfect choice. Appropriate service, great music and delicious cocktails made our experience extremely pleasurable. Since there were 6 of us we pretty much tried everything on the menu. There was not one dish that i wish we did not order. Cocktails were flowing, music was blasting and great times were had by all.

• Pros: Great vibe, good food, excellent cocktails and great music
• Cons: Extremely busy place so there might be quite a wait for a table

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Edible Shitshow

by sleepyscience

March 01, 2009

Don't let the fancy exterior fool you, the service at Macondo is one hairsbreadth away from that of your local McDonalds-- wait-- Duane Reade. Atrocious. We waited over an hour to be seated after being told by the inept hostesses the wait was 20 minutes. $9 cocktails that taste like watered-down popsicles, bland, lukewarm tacos, a spacey waitress who only materialized every 30 minutes... save yourself the headache.

• Pros: good location?
• Cons: watery, over-priced drinks, forgettable food, horrendous service

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Best latin cocktails in NYC - highly recommend!

by chelseatree

November 17, 2008

I'm a huge fan of latin food & cocktails, but I have yet to find somewhere remotely authentic until now. Macondo's food & drinks are truly innovative & delicious! The service was great, and I loved the atmosphere - especially the chalk-board walls in the bathroom to write quotes on. I thoroughly enjoyed myself and my Tamarindo + Tequila cocktail. I HIGHLY recommend this place!

• Pros: Ambiance, drinks, creative tapas

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Comida extraordinaria; trato excelente; ambiente maravilloso; decoracion de ensue?o

by pacosanz

October 18, 2008

He probado casi todos los platos y tengo que decir que la comida es dificilmente mejorable: me da la sensacion que estoy comiendo esas comidas, irrepetibles, que hacia mi abuela con mucho cari?o y sis preocuparle el tiempo. Me encuentro como en casa, rodeado con los amigos que quiero en un ambiente de ensue?o. Merece la pena frecuentarlo.

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A Nobel Prize Winner It Is Not

by bechewy321

September 26, 2008

Although based on the award winning Gabriel Garcia Marquez novel, Cien A?os de Solidad (One Hundred Years of Solitude), Macondo shares none of the attributes associated with the critically acclaimed work. A clever idea though, with nice decor and a cool Spanish street fare theme going on, but sadly the rest is very inconsistent. We went there expecting a wonderful spanish meal, but the result was a throughly tasteless, underseasoned, and well, bland, experience.

First of all, for a "tapas" place, the items on the menu are oddly portioned and pretty pricy. Some things are tiiiiny, while the bocadillos were more than enough food. the waitress suggested 2 or 3 items per person, but depending on what you order, one might be enough.

Not only does Macondo not accept Visa cards (which is ridiculous in my opinion), they are highly overstaffed. The waitress would hover around us and refilled our water every 5 minutes, I'm not exaggerating. The food came fast, aaand was taken away fast as well. A waiter tripped over some lady's bag and dropped what he was carrying, splattering sauce al over my backside and the coat I had draped on my chair. He didn't even apologize! Eventually the waitress brought me some club soda and the manager came over to apologize, offering to pay for the dry cleaning of my coat. However, I would have preferred a refund of my evening and my dinner.

Overall, Macondo has potential, but seriously steep prices for food and drinks and tasteless "street fair" aren't going to cut it. What's sad is that the decorations around the restaurant (boxes of salted clams, pickled items, ground coffee in cans) have more food in them than what arrives on your plate. But, try the yucca fries, they're the only correctly seasoned item on the menu.

• Pros: Good atmosphere, interesting menu
• Cons: underseasoned food, steep prices, pesky waitstaff

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Courtesy of the Rayuela crew, this Latin-themed Lower East Side spot crafts tasty street eats and killer, fruit-centric cocktails.

by Joshua Bernstein

September 25, 2008

The Lower East Side goes tropical at this bright and airy bar, decorated with faux ivy and fruits suspended in nets that dangle from the ceiling. While the open kitchen serves savory street eats including empanadas and arepas, the real stars of the show are mixologist Junior Merino's playful, fruit-based cocktails, like the potent, mint-tinted Guava and Whiskey and the knockout, meal-in-a-glass Aguacate and Mescal ($7.50). It's a blended, silky-smooth mixture containing mescal, agave nectar and--get this--avocado.

High Marks
"Seems they use a lot of really interesting things like refurbished airline seats and plywood molded into beautiful booths." (gloflo, Citysearch user)

"Great place to relax and unwind with friends while enjoying delicious food and friedly staff." (cacula, Citysearch user)

"The cocktail menu is absolutely amazing, fresh and innovative." (JulianaCanido, Citysearch user)

Low Marks
"Not great service...our drink order was incorrect multiple times, and the food was in very small portions." (nyc55555, Citysearch user)

"It was uncomfortably hot inside...Possibly Macondo is still in its infancy, but there are much better choices in the neighborhood." (ilovemax, Citysearch user)

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Sweet corn tamale that barely showed up...

by gloflo

September 11, 2008

The food was amazing, served hot and fresh. The style of the restaurant is very clever and well thought out.

Seems they use a lot of really interesting things like refurbished airline seats and plywood molded into beautiful booths.

It was slightly startling when my girlfriends main course came before even the appetizer...then all of sudden after she was done her main course everything came all at once and then we were rushed.

I was still chewing my last bite, when the plates were zipped away and I had my fork in my hand....

It's a good idea to ask what you are ordering if you are not sure what the items are on the menu, just in case you think you are getting a sweet corn tamale, instead you get a black sausage, with some sort of brown goo that looks completely unappetizing with a garnish of a sweet corn tamale that you'd been dreaming of. However the tamale was amazing....

Service not so great, but food is wonderful.

• Pros: Ambiance, Food, Drinks
• Cons: Service

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