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All Reader Reviews of...

Boqueria

53 W. 19th St., New York, NY, 10011
nr. Sixth Ave.
212-255-4160

Avg. Rating

6
Food: 6
Service: 7
Décor: 5
"Mixed Reviews"

Average Reader Rating on a Scale of 10.

67% would go back.

 Write your own review

Expensive, small portions

By amt391 on 11/8/2011

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 5
  • Service: 6
  • Décor: 3
  • No, I would not go back!

The seating arrangements are too close to other tables and uncomfortable. Plate were OK, nothing special or different from another tapas place, and way too expensive. I definitely liked Pipa, closeby Boqueria, much more.

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30 out of 64 people found this review helpful.

Average Food, Dreadful Experience

By JDNNYC on 7/22/2009

  • Overall Rating: 4
  • Food: 4
  • Service: 5
  • Décor: 3
  • No, I would not go back!

What may have been an acceptable dining experience bordered on absolute misery. Cramped space for what the owners of this Chelsea tapas restaurant are trying to accomplish, full of what appeared to be tourists or poseur aging hipsters, who knows. The food was a bit bland, not much taste at all. The patatas bravas (friend potatos) were about the best item we had but were heavy on the burned, crisp pieces which seemed to come out of the bottom of the pan. The all around experience of Boqueria was annoying, uncomfortable, nowhere near worth the steep price of food, loud, Loud, LOUD! I had a headache the next morning and for once, it wasn't from enjoying myself, it was from the miserable chaos of dining at Boqueria. I might otherwise give the food here another chance, but the threat of the experience outweighs any second chances for me I'm sorry to say.

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124 out of 240 people found this review helpful.

Never again.

By dshuba on 6/27/2008

  • Overall Rating: 6
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 4
  • Décor: 3
  • No, I would not go back!

Went to Boqueria with two friends last night. When we were seated, the hostess tried to fit the three of us onto a small table for two. We said that we were going to order several dishes and would need more room than the table for two would fit. So she let us use two tables, but told us that if the restaurant filled up, we'd have to squish into the one. The restaurant DID fill up an hour later, and she told us to we'd have to move everything in. We said we had one more dish coming then we'd leave. The manager stared at us from the bar the whole time, like WE were the problem for being there. The food was okay, our waitress, Emily, was wonderful, but the management was incredibly rude. AND stupid, considering that we would have ordered more tapas, dessert and coffee if we had felt like we were valued as paying customers.

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156 out of 262 people found this review helpful.

Skip the paella

By susan56 on 1/27/2008

  • Overall Rating: 5
  • Food: 3
  • Service: 7
  • Décor: 6
  • Yes, I would go back!

It's not fair to compare this place to Spain. However, as far as the paella goes, don't bother. We decided to try the paella after reading Robin Raisfeld's review. Unfortunately, we left with a bad residual aftertaste. Bland and greasy would describe it adequately. We may go back, but only for the tapas. Another place for tapas you might consider would be Las Ramblas.

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185 out of 357 people found this review helpful.

Don't Go Hungry

By gotham10014 on 1/12/2007

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 8
  • Décor: 9
  • Yes, I would go back!

If you're dining here, you have two options: have a sandwich before going and enjoy yourself or spend a fortune. I did the latter a few nights ago. The food was nice (especially the pig) and people were friendly. The plates are very small and precious-better for the gucci and "presentation" crowd than people seeking a convivial experience like you'd find in Leon or Grenada.

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292 out of 677 people found this review helpful.

great staff, fun food, a gem in flatiron

By seascape on 12/16/2006

  • Overall Rating: 8
  • Food: 7
  • Service: 10
  • Décor: 8
  • Yes, I would go back!

I recently went to Boqueria, for the first time this week with friends, and it was fabulous! I went for lunch, and I'm so glad I stopped in. The decor was very simple and warm, and the space felt intimate and inviting. I have to admit I expected a bigger place from all of the rave reviews, but I was nicely suprised. Our waitress was great, we didn't know how to go about ordering a spanish wine and she knew just what to recommend according to our descriptions, and was right on the money. She picked perfect wines with consideration to our food order, and our tastes. She was also very helpful in guiding us through the ordering process. We started with the lamb skewers, grilled tomato bread, and quail eggs on toast, which were all really fun. She helped us move through the menu with ease, and we had just the right amount of food, (and for dessert, I would definately recommend the spasnish toast!) Even the coffee was great. I was very impressed and will even attempt to get a table at night, no matter how long the wait is!

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262 out of 602 people found this review helpful.

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