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Agozar!
Categories: Restaurants Cuban Restaurants Spanish Cuban, Spanish [Edit]
324 Bowery(between Bleecker St & Bond St)
New York, NY 10012
Neighborhoods: East Village, NoHo
(212) 677-6773
- Nearest Transit:
-
Bleecker St (4, 6, 6X)
2 Av (F)
Broadway - Lafayette St (B, D, F, M)
- Hours:
Mon-Sun 12 pm - 4 pm
Mon-Wed 5 pm - 12 am
Thu 5 pm - 1 am
Fri-Sat 5 pm - 3 am
Sun 5 pm - 10 pm
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- Yes
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- Yes
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
214 reviews for Agozar!
Review Highlights
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"The unlimited sangria was definitely a plus." In 15 reviews -
"camarones al ajillo (shrimp in double garlic sauce; i also..." In 6 reviews -
"I love mojitos and it's hard to find a good one." In 31 reviews
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214 reviews in English
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Review from Sydney P.
Manhattan, NY
4/24/2012
This has been my go-to place for happy hour for years now. My husband and all my girlfriends who I have taken here have all enjoyed.
Why do I keep coming back.. 1/2 priced cuban drinks and tapas! For $30PP total, my friends and I have left super full and waaay past tipsey on several occasions!
Happy hour is only in the bar area which gets very tight especially int eh summer. I would suggest getting there early to hold down a space. -
Review from Mary P.
4/25/2012 1 Check-in Here
Lively crowd in this little Cuban establishment where you can get decent paella to satisfy your paella cravings. It's definitely not the most amazing.
They do however have great drink specials and it inspires a good time via the music, the drinking, and the ambiance (colorful yet dimly lit surroundings). -
Review from Ammu K.
4/1/2012
Went here with a couple of friends the other night, and although it was super crowded, we were lucky that we knew the bartender who served us immediately and scored us a seat at the bar. Ron makes a great sangria!! I am not usually a fan of white sangria, but his was delicious!
The food was SPECTACULAR! Each bite made me want to dance. Definitely going back. When you do go, ask for Ron & expect good drinks. Order the rellenitos, expect delicious guac and get the mushroom croquets. Overall, DELICIOUS! Go and enjoy yourself with some friends! -
Review from Steven B.
Seattle, WA
5/19/2012
Fantastic tapas. Cuban sandwich was amazing.
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Review from Klysha R.
Updated - 5/17/2012
Update: Cheap Strong Drinks? Yep, Agozar is Still Slammin'.
Listed in: Best Happy Hour
1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/20/2010
Great Spot! Agozar is a great after-work spot. The mojitos are delish! We usually buy them two at… Read more »
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Review from Ana B.
Brooklyn, NY
5/14/2012
Yumm, Cuban food! Went here a few times last summer for brunch and once for dinner. I remember liking it. Place is pretty cute, too. Heard good things about their happy hour. I'll probably try it at one point or the other. Not in the greatest rush though....
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Review from Yayita C.
Manhattan, NY
5/15/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Very chill place for happy hour, I enjoyed my stay here. Bartender was very courteous and helpful, drinks are STRONG!!! Def going back
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Review from Shana B.
4/23/2012
Agozar has a great happy hour special. You can't beat buy one get one drinks and tapas. We tried a variety of foods and strangely enough I enjoyed the ribs the most. The cocktails were pretty good as well. Nothing to write home about but overall the experience was pretty good.
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Review from Chris M.
3/9/2012 2 Check-ins Here
They have a great happy hour. BOGO drinks and tapas. The food is good, not worth the listed price but for half off, its good (the BOGO makes it so its basically 5 dollars per tapa and 5 dollars per drink).
shrimp skewers - the sesame seed was a nice touch.
empanadas - the ground beef and the pulled pork were delicious...the mushroom veggie one ehhhh not so much.
churizo sandwich - very good. nice garlic pesto-ish sause. nom nom.
babay back ribs - excellent. falls off the bone and fatty yesssssss.
note - next time, i want to try the chicken skewer thing. The ladies next to us got one and then got two more. Must be good. Or they really really like chicken.... or hate chicken and wanna eat all of them...whatever the reason, i want in.
The mojitos here are delicious and strong. But honestly, mojitos usually arent bad. the mint leaves are grinded like the classy places but its fine, you get the basic idea.
They only offer the happy hour at the bar/lounge area. There are a few tables but get here early on a nice day because it gets packed fast.
Also if you check in on Yelp, you get a free mojito. Truth.
Happy eating, suckers. -
Review from Alejandra L.
Brooklyn, NY
3/12/2012 2 Check-ins Here
I'm a huge fan of their Happy Hour! The drinks are BOGO and their tapas dishes are pretty spectacular.
The atmosphere is a bit cramped by the bar, especially as it starts picking up, but the bartender was cool and I think you get a coupon for checking in with Yelp! So that's a definite plus!
I'll definitely be returning. -
Review from Yan T.
2/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
Let's break it down. Agozar is probably a 3.5-4-star restaurant on food alone, but the insanely awesome 5-8 pm happy hour which includes all of their tapas, mojitos, and sangrias takes it to a 5. A shout-out to the bartender, who patiently served us our 2-for-1 drinks, and didn't slap us when I discovered you can get a free mojito just by checking in on Yelp--and shared this with 3 other people.
The drinks are really tasty, I'd say a B+ mojito (I'm a tough grader) and you can get various flavored renderings. From the tapas menu, definitely try the chorizo Cuban sandwich--it kicked the regular Cuban sandwich's porky butt (the classic is also good). Shrimp were also pretty tasty as were the beef flautas. The fried calamari was thin, stringy, and lightly battered, just right. Nothing is too exotic, but they do what they do well. And the place is totally empty until 8 pm, making it a great happy hour option in NoLita. -
Review from Roger D.
Manhattan, NY
4/29/2012 1 Check-in Here
Agozar is a great place for food and drinks. I've actually been there at least 3 times previously. This time I remembered to check in and, surprise, I got a free drink for checking in.
One word of advice, stay away from the prix fixe menu, where you will find the second string dishes. This place is so inexpensive that even when ordering off the regular menu you won't have to mortgage the co-op. All of their pork dishes are excellent and skirt steak is one of my favorites.
The drinks are good, if not a little pricey for the size and neighborhood. Overall however, Agozar is a go-to place for good Cuban food and one of my favorites. -
Review from miss t.
Santa Cruz, CA
4/25/2012
The outdoor table and appetizers were wonderful. And the tuna coconut ceviche: AWESOME! My only complaint was by the end of the night, we felt a little neglected, and it took forever to get our bill. So yes, go eat! But don't expect spot on service.
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Review from Judy D.
Astoria, NY
4/4/2012
The food is a 5 star!!!!!!!! best empanadas, ropa vieja and churrasco with chimichurry sauce! just Divine and authentic Cuban food!!!
The service is mediocre at best....It is a very small, noisy place, but the food and the drinks make up for the service 1,000 times!! Have been there 2 dozen times and will continue to go there!!!!! -
Review from Dan M.
2/9/2012
I have no complaints about this place at all. Great location, solid food, long menu and tasty drinks. Not to mention the fact that they have an unbeatable happy hour.
Their tapas dishes were pretty good, not the best but they got the job done. The mojitos were pretty bangin and had just the right amount of kick.
I was with one other person so we split 5 different tapas. The ribs were my favorite dish. It's a pretty neat looking restaurant and the service was solid.
Toss in a 20 dollars for 40 dollar Groupon and I was one happy customer walking out of here to start my Friday night!
You can do better then Agozar but it's a solid choice in a great neighborhood. I will be back. -
Review from Monica M.
Manhattan, NY
3/15/2012
Went ther once and the service was good, we were a party of three having tapas and a couple of drinks, however when we went on march 3rd for a birthday dinner they seemed annoyed that we had a large party. They took longer to get our drinks and food than our surrounding tables. On top of that they kept insisting that they had a party coming in a couple of hours like it takes so long to eat tapas and down a few drinks, please, they were so rude, and they kept ogling us from afar, while giggling, just so unprofessional. I'm never going back there, the food is just ok, the drinks were good though...
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Review from Arielle S.
Manhattan, NY
Updated - 3/13/2012
came in last night with a friend. we decided to just share a whole bunch of items so that we could try many things on the menu that looked good.
we tried empanadas. i thought the beef ones were terrible but my friend liked them. I liked the chicken ones but my friend disliked them so the empanadas may just be a matter of preference.
we also tried a goat cheese salad with walnuts and apples. it was just OK. I've had better.
another try was a shrimp that was cooked in a pineapple slaw----this was very good and I highly recommend it.
now that we moved past the appetizers, we decided to go with a salmon dish over crab fried rice with avocado with side of sweet plantains. the salmon dish was good but not as good as I remembered from last time. the sweet plantains, though, were ripe and the sweetest I have had in some time.
i am very glad I came back here and sampled more items on the menu by sharing.1 Previous Review: Show all »
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1/25/2012
Came here last night with a friend because I had a http://restaurant.com gift certificate that i got… Read more »
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Review from Jessica L.
New York, NY
4/7/2012
This is my go-to place for a ladies night out. Monday nights there's a great two for one drinks and tapas deal- its such a steal! Went there recently to celebrate my 25th bday with an intimate group of girlfriends and had a blast! Ron is my favorite bartender. He took good care of us. I highly recommend the mojitos and sangria.
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Review from Gabby D.
New York, NY
4/1/2012
Came here on a ladies day out and it was great. The food was amazing, the drinks were great. and the service was good for it to be a busy Saturday afternoon. I intend on going back more often.
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Review from Lili K.
3/11/2012 2 Check-ins Here
Yummy strawberry mojitos and friendly servers! I talked to the manager for awhile who was sitting next to me-he told us more about their food and how awesome their brunch is...I will have to go back for brunch one day!
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Review from Mary G.
Sunnyside, Queens, NY
12/2/2011
Went here with my coworkers for a livingsocial deal they had purchased. I think the service from the moment we walked in turned us off so much we couldn't truly enjoy the food. We had a 4th person joining our party 20 minutes after we arrived, and the hostess had a problem with us wanting to be seated, when the reservation had been made for 4 people anyway. The busboy was a bit unprofessional, but was definitely more helpful than our waiter.
I did however enjoy the empanaditas, my cubaniche, the plaintain chips with black bean hummus and guacamole, and the sangria was pretty good too.
Overall a disappointing experience with Cuban food. -
Review from Angela C.
Manhattan, NY
5/6/2012
The Tiny Moody Bartender:
I love Agozar, I have been going there for a long time.
fun place to hang out with friends.
But I had an incident last weekend that kind of made my mind change.
The tiny moody bartender was treating employees very bad.
Agozar has a nice environment, clients are nice and employees are nice too, expect for the tiny bartender.
I saw/heard him was screaming at one of the employees, and I don't think it was correct. Right after that, I asked him for a drink and he said "can you wait? I'm busy"
It is great if you have built a sort of relationship with a client but we had no nice relationship at all. I always noticed he was moody and a provided a bad customer service..
It's ok if he's nice to clients get a nice tip, but treating employees with an attitude in front of clients doesn't look good for the bar. What kind of people work here? who deserves to be treated like that? NOBODY.
This isn't the first time I saw him doing this but he went over the limit last weekend.. Maybe it was too crowded but if you can't handle a fast pace, and don't know how to treat your own co-workers, then you should do something about it..
Everyone there is nice! the tall bartender is always nice and gentle, and everyone else is very nice and knows how to provide excellent customer service, expect for the tiny bartender. -
Review from Jane S.
Manhattan, NY
3/14/2012 Seated via OpenTable
Ok food...but great for the price. $22 for brunch + unlimited sangria.
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Review from Sandy S.
Fresh Meadows, NY
1/4/2012
Came here with a groupon once. It was really busy, but we called ahead for a reservation. We were seated quickly when we came in.
I loved the food!! The best tapa is the baby back ribs. The meat just falls off the bone. I still think about it from time to time.
My boyfriend ordered the ropa vieja and I ordered the paella. The ropa vieja arrived and the presentation was so cute! The rice, meat, and beans were stacked in a circular shape with plaintain chips on the outside - it kind of looks like a flower. I ordered the seafood paella and it was pretty decent - but I've had better.
Our waiter was awesome! He came to check in on us from time to time, so we didn't have to flag anyone down.
Overall, I enjoyed my experience here and the food was good! -
Review from Richard D.
New York, NY
12/8/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Came here due to the Yelp check-in for free drink.
The bartender was a bit puzzled but hooked it up. I like that kind of service. They were just setting up their kitchen since it was 5 pm, but we were in a rush so couldn't wait.
While we drank, the bartender and manager ? explained to us their menu and brunch specials $22 for meal and unlimited sangria.
We'll definitely be back, maybe we'll have a 2nd sangria spot other than Calle Ocho! -
Review from Stephanie T.
Brooklyn, NY
12/24/2011
I've actually been here 3 times..the first time I came here, I really loved the tapas! the place had a nice cuban/latin vibe, with a really good sangria and margarita!
but things seemed to change when i came back about 2 months later. i arrived around 6pm and tried to get a table before my friend arrived. they told me i had to wait at the bar first, and i was ok with it BUT what i did not like was sitting at the bar trying to order a drink for 15 minutes, when the bar was not even packed! o_O like seriously mr. bartender man, i am trying to give you my hard earned money in exchange for a drink but you dont seem to want it..hmm..ok.
the last time, i came huevos rancheros for breakfast which was pretty good. but again, the server just seemed to forget to ask if we were ok, refill our water glasses, etc.
i dont recommend this place ... i just think there are better tapas places in NYC. -
Review from Steve M.
Manhattan, NY
1/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
Cool, hip place to hang with great food. Nice selection of tapas. Vieja ropa (shredded beef) served within a tortilla and black beans was fantastic. So juicy. Extensive drink menu to match all tastes. Happy hour specials. However, service is slow. If you have any coupons, stand your ground. It may take awhile for them to agree to accept them. They must accept the Yelp Free Mojito deal as long as you don't combine it with another discount.
I will mos def return here despite the service and crowded seating. I just hope the service can improve. -
Review from Kristen M.
New York, NY
1/7/2012
What happened to this place? It used to be so much fun. Went on a Saturday night and the place was pretty quiet. At first we didn't know why, and then we tried to order. First, we tried to order guacamole
"Ohh, I'm sorry - we are out of avocados".
Are you kidding me? Then we tried to order a chicken and mushroom quesadilla.
"Oh, right, sorry about that. I know it says chicken, but there's no chicken in that."
Okay...
Then our drinks came - tiny, watered down, and the mint didn't taste fresh in the mojito.
Net-net, while I used to like this place a lot, the idea of paying for a not-fresh drink paired with being "out of avocados" at 8pm on a Saturday ruined it for me.
"Never again" we both said. Sorry Agozar. -
Review from Samson W.
Washington, DC
12/25/2011
I call on all Cubanos to rise up! We need a revolution to end the perpetration of this culinary fraud!
I've had more authetic Cuban food at Pollo Tropical. The restaurant is not all bad though. The rice was edible.
My lunch companion thought that I should mention that the coffee was ok as well because, "it was fixable". The undercooked beans, the tastless maduros, the spoiled milk smelling bread (the bread was really just an innocent victim of an attempt at French fusion gone bad) and the spoon with...we don't know what was caked on the spoon. I was just happy to notice it before using it to stir my cafe con leche. That way I can confidently assert that the cafe con leche sucked all by itself. I mean, how does one fuckup cafe con leche? I just hope there is a Starbucks open somewhere around here. And a McDonalds, cause I'm starving! -
Review from Vince N.
KNICKERBOCKER, NY
12/13/2011 1 Check-in Here
I should start off by saying that the food here ain't bad, worthy of around 3 stars. We ordered several tapas, which were each decent, and for the entree, I ordered the Lechon (Cuban roasted pork), which was quite juicy and tender.
The reason for the two star rating however was the service, which was subpar to say the least. To begin with, I attempted use the Yelp check-in for a free Mojito. When i first showed it to the waitress, she was cool with it and said she'd go to the bar and request the drink. As such, I went ahead and checked off the coupon as used. However, she returned a few minutes later saying that the bartender needed to see the coupon, and since I had already marked the coupon as used, I would no longer receive the free drink. Okay...
Outside of that debacle, it took as literally half an hour to place our complete order as the waitress would disappear for what seemed like 10 minutes at a time. The billing process wasn't much better as the waitress once again disappeared and we had to flag down another waiter to get us our check. Perhaps it was because we were seated in the back and away from the bar area? Can't say for sure, but its unlikely that I'll return. -
Review from tony d.
Brooklyn, NY
10/18/2011
I am going to put this out there... my father is Cuban... which in turn makes me an expert of Cuban food (i.e. eating white rice and black beans does not make you a lover of Cuban food). As of recent NYC seems to have a large influx of Cuban inspired restaurants. Add Agozar to the list which is located on the Village.
In terms of decor, it's a cozy little spot (Do not try to bring a large group in here). The colors used in the restaurant are reminiscent of colors used in various Cuban artwork. Great atmosphere for an intimate gathering.
On to the food. The food is not bad at all. The chicharron de pollo (chicken chunks) are crispy yet succulent, the vaca frita (shreeded skirt steak) is juicy and the paella is ok. Although I am giving positive comments, the meals are here are missing a lilttle ... umph! Nothing really knocks my socks off. Maybe I have been spoiled by Victor's cafe or Azucar or Cuba. If your looking for a intimate place for a quick dinner and you dont want to travel uptown, Agozar is more than reliable. -
Review from Lianna R.
Staten Island, NY
2/19/2012
Went here for my friend's birthday and it was a lot of fun. The mojitos were amazing! A++ I love the variety of mojitos. I didn't enjoy my dish though. But the appetizers were good. I liked the tres leche cake too. I'll definitely be back, but I'll order a different entree.
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Review from Y F.
Manhattan, NY
11/14/2011
Went for a group brunch---fairly large group, around 15 people. Restaurant is much larger than it looks. Not a fan of the decor but I could care less if the food is good. And it is!
Tapas: Camarones al Ajill (shrimp in double garlic sauce) - $8
Brunch: Eggs Benedict ($16), Huevos Rancheros ($16), apple pancakes ($14)
The shrimp was good---they came with two small slices of Cuban bread and there were 5-6 shrimp in a soup-sauce of garlic/tomato goodness. I wish they'd given more bread because there was a ton of yummy soup-sauce left and I really wanted to have more but it was too salty on its own... :(
My main brunch entree was the eggs benedict, which was pretty good. Not anything spectacular. They used cuban toast instead of English muffins (makes sense), which I more or less did not care for (it lacked that soft, moist texture after the crunchy surface that English muffins provide). BUT it was in a chipotle hollandaise sauce, which I found divine. Perfect kick to a classic recipe. Everything else on that plate (yuca frita, mini salad) was not memorable but I'm not a fan of yuca frita or side salads so that's a bit biased.
That sauce, though, that chipotle hollandaise sauce was great.
Boyfriend got the huevos rancheros (chicken, tortilla, black beans, fried egg). Instead of separating out the blackbeans and everything, they topped it all off one after the other and it made for a very busy-tasting and soggy entree. Like it was trying to do too much in one bite. It was good though, difficult to screw that one up and only eclipsed by my chipotle hollandaise sauce.
That sauce was great. Go for that sauce.
I tried someone's apple pancakes. Dry. Super sweet. But I don't usually like pancakes so I wouldn't trust my judgment. To be fair, the pancakes smelled like heaven. I was salivating until I tasted it and then went back to my own dish.
The chipotle hollandaise sauce was great.
Oh, BIG BUMMER. After our meal, the waiter handed us the dessert menu (which isn't on the website, boo) and right at the top there was this awesome-sounding dessert involving shaved ice and fruit. Ice and fruit? You can't fuck that up.
But you can if you don't have it. Apparently they hadn't started freezing any ice.
Service was great. Waiter is friendly and attentive. Unlimited sangria doesn't hurt either but I'm not a fan of sangria so it was lost on me.
I would go back there to steal the sauce. Damn, that was good sauce.
Three and a half stars. -
Review from Anna C.
10/11/2011
I never thought twice about coming to this restaurant. I think I remember them advertising a lot on CitySearch and for some reason, I got the impression that they were desperate and/or that most of their customers would probably be tourists.
Anyway, some friends were visiting in town, and someone suggested this place for our large group of 10, so we went with it. There was some annoyance with the hostess not seating us until we were all there, even though the restaurant was empty, and there was no space in the waiting area so we were just in the way so they could have been a little more accommodating. But whatever, not an unusual thing with most NYC restaurants.
Now the food was surprisingly decent. I sat across from my vegetarian friend and we shared these dishes:
Tapas:
-Croquetas De Hongo: wild mushroom, salsa gulf. Not bad. They were basically fried or baked riceballs filled with mushrooms and other stuff.
-Milanesa: crispy eggplant, goat cheese, tomato sofrito. We liked this one the best, though right now I can't even recall what it looked like.
-Torta De Frijoles: black bean croquette, house guacamole. Our least favorite of the three. Not terrible, but not great. Basically just little bean cakes.
Entree:
-Vegetariano: congri rice, squash, zucchini, onions, tomatoes, piquillo sauce - Really good! I would order this again if I find myself here again.
Also ordered a mojito and it was made well.
Not bad. Maybe I'll be back again one day. -
Review from Desiree G.
Bronx, NY
11/11/2011 1 Check-in Here
Bendicion! This place is delicious! First, the hostess at the door is completely accommodating. You know, one of the few genuinely sincere people, she's was very sweet and helpful. And unlike a LOT of receptionist or hosts, she kept us informed and updated on where we stood. And that is the type of service that keeps people IN the restaurant when it is crowded and at the bar. So, kudos to her!
The food was delicious, one thing about tapas is you can keep going and going, so it is a lot of food in retrospect and the drinks were strong and amazing. The waiter was awesome and I believe she is a manager or maybe someone who's been around a while, either way, she was great too! Just a great place to go, I'll definitely be back! -
Review from Jennifer R.
Hoboken, NJ
9/3/2011
I came here last night for dinner and was more than happy with our experience.
We made reservations for 8p.m. on a Friday night. When we arrived it was relatively empty, but it filled up rather quickly. It's not a big place, so I would definitely recommend reservations. The servers were very nice and attentive, and the service was quick.
Onto the food...we got the calamari and ribs for an app and enjoyed both. The calamari was different from what most might be used to, but I liked it. The honey drizzle was the perfect touch. The ribs were cooked well and had a nice flavor. I got the vaca frita for my meal and really enjoyed it. It was a little salty, but it was nice and crispy and had a ton of flavor. My boyfriend got the paella and he liked it, but felt that the rice was a little dry.
Overall, we had a very enjoyable experience and I would definitely go back and recommend it to others. I will definitely be coming back to check out their brunch. There is a rumor going around that they no longer have an AYCD brunch, but that it not true. I confirmed with the waitress last night that one complimentary drink does come with your brunch entree, but for $22, you can have unlimited white or red sangria with your meal for up to two hours. You can bet the Brunch Gang will be making an appearance here soon with that deal! -
Review from Ray B.
Brooklyn, NY
12/10/2011 1 Check-in Here
Great meal. Was in the mood for Cuban and found this on yelp. The restaurant was more lively in the bar area, we were seated in the back which was pretty dead on a Saturday night.
Started off with a solid mojito. Then had an excellent garden salad and above average ceviche. However, the lechon was fantastic and the lechon was the highlight of the night. Would go again if I am in the neighborhood. -
Review from Christina C.
Queens, NY
6/30/2011
My co-workers brought me here to celebrate my 29th birthday. Not great. I almost wanted to give it three stars, but couldn't bring myself to say it was "A-ok." Yes, the food is ok, but the service is not great, and the food is surely, without a doubt, not authentic. This is what most people look for when going to non-American restaurants!
I'm Cuban and lived in Miami for 25 years. This doesn't even come close to the food there. They even have taquitos on their menu. WTH! Um, hello. Please don't mix in Cuban and Mexican food while naming your restaurant such a Cuban name like "Agozar." Very misleading. Not to mention, Cuban and Mexican cuisine cannot be more opposite.
I had bad expectations of this place; therefore, I was not too disappointed. The only thing that was quite disappointing was the service. It was a Wednesday night, sort of rainy and not busy. The server forgot our 3 tapas, so the entrees came out first. THEN, when the tapas came out, all three of them were wrong - completely different dishes. Several mistakes all night long. It was annoying.
The vaca frita entree was good - nothing special. The white rice and beans - eh, less than standard. All three of us had that. The tapas were pretty good, but NOT the chicharrones de pollo (fried chicken chunks) - they were gross.
I guess I would go here again if I had to. I wouldn't ever suggest it to my friends, though. I'd be embarrassed to bring someone here, pay $100 for dinner for 3, and then they'd hate it.
The ambiance was pretty cool, music was nice, but that's about it.
They need to improve their service and stick to improving authenticity of Cuban dishes. That's what the restaurant is about after-all. -
Review from Vivian H.
6/7/2011
Agozar means "to enjoy oneself." And I had a decent time, but this place didn't rock my Cuban world. Che (el amor de mi vida) would not have been impressed.
A decent place to have some tapas, but not authentic.
On a Friday night, this place was packed but not impossible to get a table. Nice, narrow restaurant with outdoor seating. But nothing really stands out about this place. This place smells of mediocrity. And you can't seduce with mediocrity.
I remember ordering a mojito. And we ordered up a few tapas which included ceviche, croquetas, gambas al ajillo and calamari. Basically, everything was a disappointment. Why was the ceviche swimming in mayo? A good ceviche does not have mayo in it. It has been marinated for hours with lemons, chilies, salt, onion. For a good ceviche, try Chimu in Brooklyn.
And although the food was a letdown, it nevertheless served its purpose to fill up the stomach before a night of drinking on the town. -
Review from Marcus M.
Queens, NY
5/18/2011
One word review: NOPE.
The night I went the staff came through the place and carded everyone... after everybody in the house had ordered their drinks, of course! Some people left.
Then the party poop-er police came through again, and this time it seemed they were just carding people randomly. But I'm not a sociologist, so what do I know?
All I can tell you is that when it looked like they were going to conduct yet another sweep of the joint, this time holding an ink pad... I was sure they were expecting a raid, so I left, too.
My sorry excuse for being there in the first place: It wasn't my idea.
So, if being chased by the cops, or their general public (most likely republican) counterpart is your idea of fun, I'd say go for it. Have a few drinks, get frisked and even fingerprinted. Mug shots taken in the back are available at no extra charge.
BTW, for all those complaining about the food, maybe it's because it's not really Cuban. About 95% of the menu is Mexican, as is about 99% of the staff. However, neither of which, including the waiter in a quasi-Gestapo outfit, is all that sensational.
