Boqueria - (212) 255-4160

• Spanish Cured Meats & Tapas
• Lunch, Brunch, Dinner
• Catering & Delivery

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.

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.

I may not be a foodie, but I've been to Barcelona and went to amazing tapas restaurants. Boqueria took me back to Spain. The croquetas were perfection. There was a selection of 4 different types of jamon. I ordered one and it was so good. For those that have had good jamon in Spain, it's just not the same here in the states, but Boqueria's simple jamon with bread was so yummy. The service is great. From hostess, to the bartender to our server, everyone was on top of things.