Boqueria

JUST GO ELSEWHERE - OR BRING EARPLUGS AND PLAN TO TEXT INSTEAD OF TALK. Went with a friend for early dinner (6 pm). Noise level was unbearable, louder than a heavy metal rock concert. The 20-somethings at our communal table sensibly were not trying to talk, they were texting each other and eating. We complained, they made it quieter for a few minutes, then the hostess came over and screamed that they wanted to be known as LOUD. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED. We left as soon as we could, ears ringing from the hearing damage. Pity, because the food is great, but is definitely not worth the hearing damage. more

According to New York Magazine, Boqueria is supposed to have the best Paella in the city. Gosh I hope... more

According to New York Magazine, Boqueria is supposed to have the best Paella in the city. Gosh I hope they're wrong. I mean, the paella was good... more

Went there July 22nd. Very busy, nice crowd & atmosphere. The food however was not what I had become accustomed to at Boqueria. I had been to both the Flatiron and Soho branches at least a dozen times and had always enjoyed it there. I was told by a friend that the chef had changed, but that most of the menu stayed the same. We ordered 7 dishes, but were disappointed with all of them. The only dish we liked was an heirloom tomato and watermelon salad, but we had to fight for the very few pieces of tomato in the dish. The dish was fresh and tasty, but was mostly composed of watermelon and salad. From there on, a bit of a disaster. The lamb cubes were under seasoned and rough. We had to return the burnt patatas bravas, which should be very easy to master. The second rendition was barely any better. The stuffed dates (filled with ham, cheese and almonds and formerly one of my favorite side dishes) were too sweet. The bacalao was runny and had a strange flavor to it (which might explain why I was later sick from what was most likely food poisoning). While the service was polite and pleasant, it certainly felt very rushed. All of our dishes except for the bacalao were served within 10 minutes. At this point (9:30pm), there were a good number of empty tables, so I am not sure why we were being rushed. I had many good meals at Boqueria, but I am afraid I will not return. Pros: Nice crowd and atmosphere Cons: Quality of food has really slipped, expedited service more

I was surprised when I entered the restaurant, from the description, I expected fairly small and cramped seating. It wasn't. The decor was clean, minimal and very comfortable. All the tables and chairs were at bar level, which I liked. Like I said high hopes. We sat down and ordered our drinks, a spicy bloody mary. Sadly, I cannot recommend the Bloody Mary. I wondered why they accompanied the drink with an anchovy (along with an olive, cheese and pepper). Its because their version of a Bloody Mary was basically cocktail sauce on ice, I wish it had been accompanied with shrimp. Did I mention that it wasn't spicy? We waited 40 minutes for our meal from when we ordered it. I ordered Bocata Boqueria (egg sandwich, chorizo, market vegetables). I enjoyed the side salad (market vegetables). I don't eat potatoes and the eggs were basically a scramble with chorizo. Did I mention that my eggs were cold and a little pathetic looking? they were. I felt like I was served someone's left overs after looking at my neighbor's plate, who had ordered the same dish. My companion ordered a medium burger with bacon. The burger came out rare and cold. We sent it back. Twenty minutes later, after i shared and finished my salad and the sad scrambled eggs of my dish, the replacement burger arrived. It was more well done than medium but that was better than it being raw. He said it was ok, but nothing ruins a meal than having to send something back. What I found really disappointing was that people who came in after us received their food in a timely manner and left before I did. In addition, the person sitting next to me ordered the same dish I did and it looked much better. We didn't try any tapas, but unfortunately I have no interest in returning to try it. We work so hard to earn a living in such an expensive city that I would rather spend my money on a restaurant that did not disappoint. Pros: Casual and friendly ambiance; Nice decor and layout Cons: slow service more

I may not be a foodie, but I've been to Barcelona and went to amazing tapas restaurants. more

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 more

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 more

As a Spaniard, what can I say? (even though my English grammar su....ks)... \r 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...\r 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... \r 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.\r 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. \r 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. \r 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... more

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 more

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 more

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 more

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 more

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!\r Dessert we ordered the churros which were tasty as well.\r \r overall a great experience - i'd definitely go back. Pros: Great place to share with friends and chat Cons: Noisy, fills up quickly more

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. \r 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.\r 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 more

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 more

We were a group of five people. The service was excellent, our waitress was very nice and knew everything about the dishes in the menu. The baby octopus is highly recommended, it's lightly grilled and comes with a pate of black olives, a must have. The jamon serrano comes served with delicious toasts lightly covered in tomato paste. The paella, however, was not so successful. The rice was too cooked and there was really not much inside. So I will definitively come back to check out other items in the menu. Pros: Jamon serrano, baby octopus, tomato toasts, service Cons: Paella more

Went to Boqueria last night with two friends. The hostess sat us at a small table for two, even though the restaurant was half empty. When we said we'd be ordering several tapas dishes and would need more room, we were allowed to use a second table... but we'd have to give up that table if they needed it for another party. We should have left at that point. Pros: Food's decent, Waitstaff is helpful and friendly. Cons: Management is unwelcoming, room too small and too loud. more

This Spanish tapas bar is certainly one of the reasons people have become obsessed with Spanish mediteranean food. It is crazy loud and crowded, but I'm a foodie and don't really mind rubbing elbows and learning every personal detail of the next tables conversation with food like this. You will certainly have to wait a bit for a table, (if going on a friday or saturday you wanna plan on a few drinks at the bar) Excellent wine selection and I never drink sangria...I really like theirs though. Pros: amazing food, good service Cons: Get's a little too loud, no reservations more

I liked this place, but I don't really feel the need to go back. We intended on having drinks and a few tapas, but there wasn't the best selection. What we did get was certainly edible, but forgettable. The sangria was a little too sweet and the fruit was diced very small. I like to be able to spoon it out and eat it. The space is tight but I like the layout with the high tables. However, it's VERY loud. The place was consistently packed and the service was average. I don't have anything really bad to say, but I wasn't wowed. Pros: Good vibe, cool layout, decent service Cons: VERY loud, tapas selection pretty blah more