- Restaurants |
- Nightlife |
- Shopping |
- Movies |
- All
Azucar Latin Bistro & Mojito Bar
Categories: Restaurants Latin American Restaurants Tapas Bars Latin American, Tapas Bars [Edit]
71 E San Fernando StSan Jose, CA 95113
(408) 293-8482
- Hours:
Mon 4 pm - 12:30 am
Tue, Sun 4 pm - 12 am
Wed 4 pm - 1 am
Thu-Sat 4 pm - 2 am
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Parking:
- Street
- Attire:
- Casual
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Good for Kids:
- No
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Wi-Fi:
- No
- Good For:
- Late Night, Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Full Bar
- Noise Level:
- Very Loud
- Ambience:
- Casual
- Has TV:
- Yes
- Caters:
- Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
239 reviews for Azucar Latin Bistro & Mojito Bar
Review Highlights
-
"I tried the passion fruit and strawberry-kiwi mojitos." In 20 reviews -
"Great live band, great ambiance and good food." In 26 reviews -
"Speaking of happy, happy hour is awesome." In 28 reviews
Loading...
239 reviews in English
-
Review from Jaime P.
2/27/2012 1 Check-in Here
Oh man, what a memorable night! I came out here to see my friend Angel Zelada perform on Valentines. Unfortunately when we got there the only table available was right near the door. Despite asking our waitress to move us, she never did. In fact, she was a terrible waitress. So why the 4 star review??? Management knew she was a twit. To compensate they constantly checked on us, kept our champagne glasses full and made sure our food came out on time.
Besides my super talented friend's singing, the food was indeed bomb. I loved their fish cerviche and the jalepeño camarones dish. The sauce was so buttery!
I would love to come back here again just for the food, and well see my friend perform, hopefully that waitress won't still be there next time. -
Review from Andrew W.
4/24/2012 1 Check-in Here
The music is so loud that you have to scream to have a conversation. The crowd is late 30's to late 50's Hispanic. The bartender tried to overcharge me for my drink. The drinks are make with mix and not fresh juice. The drinks are not cheap. There is a cover charge.
On the positive side, it is not ghetto like some other downtown clubs. So, if you are upper-middle class and Mexican and you like salsa, you may enjoy this place. Otherwise, try somewhere else. -
Review from Melissa B.
Campbell, CA
Updated - 3/27/2012
I was dragged here because someone I knew was having a birthday party and insisted on trying this place. I wish I had warned them what they were in for prior. This would have saved me from writing this agonizing review for this roach joint.
The service:
Right off the bat even though we had reservations EARLY...was horrible. A few people came to the table after we were seated, so we asked the waitress for two extra chairs. There they were the two people who arrived late, standing there for at least 15 minutes when they finally decided to go and grab the chairs themselves. It wasn't PACKED yet mind you because it was still early leaving NO exception for the lack of concern that we had from this waitress.
Here is where the kicker comes into play. The waitress comes over and asks the couple HELLA RUDE "where did you get these chairs?!" The boyfriend replies "I grabbed them since you never brought them to us and we kind of got tired of standing" She says I need you to get up please! She takes the chairs from them and then says " I told you I was going to grab two chairs for you didn't I?! You can't just go grabbing chairs from wherever you want!" Takes the chairs and walks away. Again, forcing the couple to stand. I couldn't get over this fucking bitch!
Seriously?! So lucky we aren't hood anymore or this bitch would have had a foot in her ass for the level of attitude she was trying to dish out. We waited there patiently for someone to bring two chairs over so they could have a seat with us. Another 15 minutes go by and here she comes mean mugging us as she walks to the table.
Just hating the fact that she works here or what, we don't know.
What I do know is this bitch was the worst server I had EVER encountered.
It took FOREVER and I mean FOREVER to receive OUR water and our drinks. AGAIN, the place was NOT crowded! Our food also took forever and some of it was cold? I don't understand that at all but the last thing I was going to do was tell our server to take it back. I didn't have an extra 2 hours to wait for the second plate.
After food we couldn't wait to get up and OUT of there. So we headed next door to the ghetto ass extra room that was converted into a "club" or "lounge" if that is even what you want to call it. OMG the bottle service section aka VIP table/area....bwahahahahah! So ghetto. It looked as if some dudes from the home depot literally built that shit in like 4 hours. LMAO!!!! I was embarrassed to sit in the "VIP" area when clearly there was NOTHING VIP about it.
Oh and the portapotty that is set up right near the VIP area is classic. Think an empty box with the top cut out and a toilet. there is a tiny hook lock that fastens the door closed. This seriously took me back to the days of Rosarito when I was 15 when it was cool to hang out in ghetto ass places like this one. I know the owners must have tried to make this place night but it's obvious they didn't try hard enough. I am still laughing at that bathroom though... LOL!
The bartender, some white chick had the attention span of a gnat and it took her, I kid you not 10 minutes to CHILL and POUR two shots of patron. She spilled them twice. Again, there is still nobody up in here. Just our itty bitty party of 8. She laughed and then paused to talk to the other bartender working before grabbing the bottle of patron to try again.
THE ONLY GOOD THING ABOUT THIS PLACE WAS THE MUSIC. That's the ONLY reason why I am even giving you one star.
I swear this place fucking sucks and it also reminded me to never visit Mexico again anytime soon!1 Previous Review:
-
3/5/2012
Horrible food.
Horrible service.
I can't believe YOU HAVE TO PAY TO GET IN HERE!!!!!!!!!!
-
-
Review from David H.
Fremont, CA
3/12/2012
Friendly but terminally slow service (despite being empty). Food was practically inedible and simply gross. Bad enough to refuse a replacement offered and eat instead at Flames down the street after we got out of here. We should have known the second we stepped in and realized the place was almost completely empty.
We ordered the mixed appetizer plate and the calamari was cooked to the consistency of leather. The quesadilla was ok, but it doesn't take much to make one of those passable anyway. You could tell the guacamole was old just by looking at it and it didn't taste much better. I'm just glad we didn't order the ceviche. If we had we probably would have spent the night in the hospital.
My wife enjoyed (or at least she was being a good sport) her steak, but I got the arroz con pollo and it was so poorly prepared that I couldn't take more than a bite or two before sending it back. I've had this dish many times before and their version was not what one would expect. Usually this is pieces of chicken stewed with saffron, green olives and some pimentos. The version I got here was something you'd expect someone who knows nothing about Latin American cuisine to prepare and then pass off as an authentic dish. Oh and did I mention that it just tasted awful. It looked terrible and tasted worse.
I did my best to get the attention of our server, but after being ignored for 15 minutes I finally had to go to the bar to get any service. They staff was pleasant, but just soooo slooooow. It even took forever to get our check processed.
To make things worse for live music an earnest but karaokesque father/son duo provided overly loud Sinatra covers. It made an unpleasant experience down right awkward. To be honest we weren't expecting music and didn't want it, but regardless it was strange.
Truth is this must be a place that probably survives on the bar alone (mojito was average to ok). Whatever you do don't eat here. -
Review from Helen H.
4/6/2012
We only came here because it was right next door to Fahrenheit, where we had dinner. I would never purposefully come here. There was almost nobody inside and the crowd was less than stellar. Most people stood around the bar. Past the bar was an empty dance floor. A bathroom was right next to the dance floor...! The music was ok though.
-
Review from Jeanette M.
Redwood City, CA
4/16/2012
I went to Azucar on Friday for a friend's birthday celebration. We had a quick drink at the bar while we were waiting for our table to be ready. Table was ready pretty quickly, so we all sat down for dinner.
First of all, it was difficult to figure out who our actual waiter was. We had 3 people coming to our table asking different things, so it was confusing on who the main one was. We figured out what we wanted, and ordered our food.
Let me just say, this restaurant really doesn't have much seating available, so there was a total of about 30 guests that looked like they were planning on getting food at tables....not that many guests to accommodate in a timely manner.
Food took over AN HOUR to come out. AND when it did come out, each plate came out one by one. We all had to wait about 10 minutes for all of our 10 plates to come out so we could finally begin eating together. I do not understand how it took that long to make food for 8 people, and why couldn't they bring the plates out together like normal restaurants would do. Food should not come out one plate at a time with gaps of minutes between plates.
Overall, the food was mediocre, and seemed to be way too pricey for what you actually get.
I will say, go here for the great mojitos. Those are actually pretty good. DO NOT go here for the food. It's too expensive, and not really good and by the time you get it, it will no longer be warm. By the time your friend gets it who is at your table, your food will be completely cold. -
Review from Tonya T.
12/25/2011
Good salsa scene.
I came a few times with friends, and there were a lot of good dancers, and good music. They played some Bachata too, which was nice.Listed in: Blame it on the A-A-Alcohol!
-
Review from Arlene J.
San Jose, CA
4/3/2012 1 Check-in Here
So far, I'm not impressed. Had to return the bland steak, and waiting for replacement. People are nice, service is prompt, but for a Latin America place, it's just Mexican...black beans came out of a can, and rice was old. It's been almost an hour since I got here. Ok, the cook just tried to pass off flank steak as rib eye. I'm outta here!!! Hellooooo P.F. Chang's!
-
Review from Juan M.
San Jose, CA
2/23/2012 1 Check-in Here
I thought that by returning to this place I would find the same ambience but I see things have changed. To start with the service, even though it was not busy at all, was mediocre and then the food was a lot better, the ceviche was more like a salad and then a few strips of steak for $15!! The portions where worth it before now I don't know if well come back... Maybe only for live bands they have...
Oh!! Don't order Sangria... Don't know what I got but it wasn't sangria, stick to the mijitos they are better. -
Review from Diana C.
Richmond, TX
5/6/2012
Absolutely terrible! I worked with them planning a party of 25. The restaurant looks nothing like the website. The menu was not even close. Service was the worst. They ran out of fish and pasta even with all the planning and communications for months prior to this event. The manager left me in this embarrassing mess. They advertise that they have won awards....not sure how that could be possible.
-
Review from Cristal C.
San Jose, CA
2/26/2012
This is the "if all else fails come here" type of bar. Sometimes they have good drink specials and good music at times. Decent crowd but beware of the creeps
-
Review from Delya S.
11/24/2011
During a recent quiet rainy Sunday night, we stopped in for a mojito. They feature an all evening Happy Hour on Sunday and the place was pretty empty, except for the bar. The bartender was friendly and cute. She made the mojito well. It wasn't too sweet. I like mine a tad more minty and limey, but it was still a fine representation of its kind. We didn't eat, but the food smelled really promising. This spot looks to be a good stop for soccer watching on Sundays, to judge from the other people sitting at the bar.
I really liked the decor, with the exception of a blaring light over the door that changed the color of the room at intervals. The temperature was a bit cool as well. -
Review from Alexandra N.
San Mateo, CA
10/7/2011
My friends and I went to Azucar last Saturday night. When we arrived we had to pay a $5 cover charge. Once entered, we realized there was no where to sit. Not even at the bar. We asked a hostess if there were any spots anywhere, even on the patio. She said they weren't serving to the people on the patio. So we had to sit on a couch, there was five of us and there was only enough room for three people. We took turns getting our drinks so we wouldn't lose our crowded couch, and we bought overpriced Margaritas ($9) and Mojitos ($10).
We were also very hungry, we left hungry, unsatisfied with everything and upset we had to pay 15 dollars each for nothing special. Next time we are skipping this place. There are plenty of better places.
P.S. There was a sketchy disco room next door. So if you are sketchy you'd love it. -
Review from Noel M.
Updated - 8/18/2011 1 Check-in Here
To be fair, the following is the owner/manager's? explanation of the service I received. Note, my reviews cannot be bought and I had to tell this person so. Also, I did NOT use a Groupon coupon during my visit. You can also see an example of how she believes my review should read by checking out Azucar's review by Local F (the profile who sent me this message:
"Hi Noel,
Unfortunately you got the NEW server who is no longer there and we apologize. In front of management she was great, but to customers and staff she was not attentive.
The other issue we ran into this day is we were training a NEW cook, and our head Chef was out having surgery, ugh! Timing.
Please do let us make it up to you, we value you as a customer and want to make things right.
Please let us know when you are coming in so we can extend a generous discount to your bill for your troubles. It was all bad timing.
Thank you in advance and if you would please consider revising your posting or even removing it, we would greatly appreciate it. Both employees are gone and we are done with grouponers which was a disaster that no restaurant should ever encounter.
All in all, we want your business and will do what we can to redeem ourselves to you and retain you as a valued lifetime customer.
Thank you kindly,
Melia"1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
7/30/2011
I think I have found the worst waitress/bartender AND the worst chimichurri sauce in all of the… Read more »
-
-
Review from Emelyn L.
Hayward, CA
10/9/2011
I was very disappointed with my last visit to Azucars this last Friday night. Ever since it opened, I always raved about the place and the great, tasting mojitos, but after Friday I'm debating on going back.
The drinks were watered down and flavorless and the bartenders were unable to provide you with basic bar items, such as a stirring straw.
The environment, let me say that the place has become less classy and it felt as though they were more concerned about volume, and the music did not relate to the name of the bar either. Mojitos are known as a Caribbean specialty so you would think Caribbean music like Salsa and merengue would be played NOT Banda and House music.
I have to say that I may be looking for a new "Caribbean" joint if Azucars does not return to it's original roots. -
Review from john-michael c.
Santa Clara, CA
Updated - 11/8/2011 1 Check-in Here
I came here during a DTSJ special food event thing...
We ran around trying the specials that had been offered by nearly all the area's vendors and this place was alright. Perhaps it would have been different if we got their earlier instead of toward the tail end of the event but the food wasnt bad and the drinks were better.
Yay for drinking!
;D1 Previous Review: Show all »
-
2/11/2009
why is it that whenever I find myself in the rare condition of being unable to drive it is usually… Read more »
-
-
Review from Tamika C.
Oakland, CA
9/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
The ambiance is nice but the drinks and service were horrible. I will not come back...
I wish I could give it NO stars. -
Review from Evonne L.
2/6/2012
Came here for a reception event. The space was pretty cramped and it crowded fast. However, the bartenders remained responsive and friendly. My only complaint was that their beer was watered down and not foamy =\ Gross. But the gin and tonics were fairly decent and the staff used their talent in manuevering through the cramped space to deliver appetizers. Eggrolls were a little on the dry side, but I really didn't come here for the food. I would say the quality of the food and drink would be a 2 star, but the staff worked hard throughout the reception. Had a fun night mainly b/c of the company I was with, but probably wouldn't return due to the lack of space for large events and the meh quality of the drinks and foods.
-
Review from Christine B.
Martinez, CA
8/6/2011
I WILL BE BACK. AGAIN AND AGAIN.
Dinner reservations were at 6:30p.m. on a Friday. The bar seating was full so I stood next to my friend who had met me there. Within a minute, one of the staff brought a chair for me. Thought that was very considerate and attentive.
Even though they were short staffed, their service was good. Because we had to wait a little longer for a drink, the manager surprised us by showing up at the table with some complimentary chimichangas/chimichurris. Another plus for Azucar!
We ordered from the appetizer section of the menu: The ceviche...AWESOME! The strip steak...OMG...FABULOUS...the calamari was KILLER (not to mention the BEST remoulade I've ever tasted...still trying to figure out how they made it, was it with creme fraiche?!
Since we were there for happy hour, all said and done, our tab was less than $35.00...including alcohol!
Simply put, give them a try. I'm coming back with my girlfriend from NYC to get our salsa on!
Cheers! -
Review from J C.
Palo Alto, CA
8/16/2011
Review for Monday Salsa ONLY:
Friendliness: 4/5, people are chill enough.
Skill level: 2/5 before 11pm, 4/5 afterwards. Big difference of crowds.
Music: 3/5 (Romantica), 5/5 (Latin Jazz) -- do note these reflect all my biases and taste of music :)
Free salsa and lesson. Small, chill crowd of ~10-15 beginners till about 11pm or so... reminds me of the beginner-y crowd at Alberto's, as does the heavily Romantica influenced sets. Then suddenly all the good social/troupey dancers come out of the woodworks -- the music takes a turn to Latin Jazz/Mambo and the dances are AMAZING. Props to DJ Jazzy Jez for choosing music accomodating to the crowds.
Small-ish floorspace that can accomodate prolly mid-20s people without too much haggling over slots. Part of me hopes this stays as a hidden gem, but they need support so go there if you're lookin' for a good Monday option. :) -
Review from Tisha K.
7/29/2011 1 Check-in Here
Happy hour consists of an amazing mohito list for $3 each. I bought a round for my friends and we thoroughly enjoyed how fresh and light tasting the classic mint and lime mohitos were. Man, and what a kick to 'em!
I wouldn't have left if it weren't for a yelp elite event next door. Next time I'm in the area from 5-7, I'll stop by to sample more from your drink list and perhaps, even the food. -
Review from Rick M.
San Jose, CA
1/22/2012
Came here with 2 of my buddies too have a couple of drinks. Place was dead for a Friday night, maybe because of the rain. A $10 cover charge with bad weather and your place is half dead might not be a good idea. I ordered some Remy & it took the bartender a while to tell me that they were out. I then ordered some Hennessy & of course they were also out. The bartender offered me some Conjure cognac which his best sell was that it was made by Ludacris. That was one of the worst drinks I have ever tasted. Will be a long time before I come back.
-
Review from Dmitriy S.
San Diego, CA
8/24/2011 2 Check-ins Here
Came here on my birthday before meeting up with some friends next door at Fahrenheit. I entered before 10pm, and there was no cover charge. Very friendly employees and the place was definitely pretty packed.
Thanks to my amazing friends, I got some mojitos to start the night off right. They whip up some pretty good mojitos, but not the best I've had. Worth the price, though.
The dancefloor was already packed with salsa dancing patrons, young and old. Very fun crowd! -
Review from xtina d.
Castro Valley, CA
7/7/2011
So my girls and I decided to eat dinner in SJ before a show at the Pavillion. Not knowing the downtown area very well, we decided to meet at SJ bar and grill. Realized that it smelled like years and years of unmopped spilled drinks in there and the music was super loud at 5pm...definitely not for us. So we walked and found PF Changs which told us there was a 20 min wait and the restaurant was 2/3's empty. 0.0 Since we were on a time crunch for the show, we had to move on, hoping that we'd find something quickly.
Enter Azucar. Thank goodness we saw a sign in front of PF Changs that directed us here. I tried to open the door to Azucar and it was locked. It was 5 min. before they opened but the bartender ran and opened the door for us and ushered us in. Super welcoming and I knew we were in the right place; just for this small gesture, I knew I'd be writing this and giving them a good review.
The food was yummy. We ordered calamari, flautas, ceviche and the arroz con pollo for four girls to share and it was more than enough. Drinks were excellent and not watered down. Our main server was really friendly and helpful.
I want to come back and try other stuff on their menu and of course try more of the mojito flavors!
Thanks Azucar for starting our night off perfectly! -
Review from Cindy T.
7/9/2011
I came here a couple of days ago for a work dinner. The place is nice and surprisingly, not too busy at all. The vibe of the restaurant is very laid back. Our waitress had visible tattoos and I saw other girls wearing short skirts, etc...so don't expect your normal food servers. Now on to the mojitos! Wow, they offer such a variety. I ordered both a passion fruit and a coconut mojito - both double shots - and I enjoyed them. They are not light or watered down whatsoever. I also got a chance to try the blood orange mojito and that was interesting. It reminded me of the blood orange froyo at Pinkberry. If you love mojitos, then this is an awesome place as they offer so many variations and flavors. For appetizers, we ordered:
Steak strips - pretty good, could have been more seasoned
Ceviche - LOVED this! I could eat a whole plate of this...must order!
Plato de Azucar (quesadilla, calamari, guac) - didn't try the quesadilla as I hate cheese, but I enjoyed the calamari - so crunchy and full of flavor
For my entree, I went with the Caribbean steak with black beans and sweet plantains over white rice. Again, I wished the steak was more seasoned - the Caribbean was no where to be found. However, I did enjoy the black beans and the white rice - both cooked nicely. And the plantains were awesome. Overall, good food and good drinks! Nice and friendly staff. If you're around the area, definitely check it out! -
Review from Cheryl B.
8/14/2011 2 Check-ins Here
For the mojitos, this place is about 4, maybe 5 stars. For the bar nights... maybe 1 star. It's hot, sweaty. The new side room is kind of cheaply made and some areas are super dark.
Did I mention that the DJ kinds sucks a little? Maybe an off night? Maybe I don't like latin songs mixed into "deep" house songs from the late 90s.
Yeah. Bartenders are cute. Crowd is an odd mix.
But damn those mojitos. A few of those and I forget what we're talking about. -
Review from Priscila H.
San Jose, CA
2/13/2012
Worst food ever!!! if you land up there please do not think twice to get out of that place......
-
Review from Adam G.
Union City, CA
2/5/2012
CAme here last night to eat dinner and was told we still had 20 mins to order dinner. We ordered but was told they didn't have what I ordered a few time. How does a restuarant not havebhalf their menu? We got chevulas asnwell since we love them but they were made just like you would at home withntable salt. Not getting them there again.
also trying to Get ahold of them for the past week to throw a birthday party by phone and email and still haven't got a response back. You think they would want a group of 30 with over half females. -
Review from Jill T.
2/18/2011
This place is ridiculous on so many levels! Had a groupon, decided to use it. First thing is this place specializes in Mojitos...so we ordered Mojitos....they were nothing special, in fact mine was WAy overly sweet and the banana Mojito that was recommended tasted like shit, or rotten bananas at best. The Guacamole with plantain chips came with tortilla chips, when we asked they brought us cooked plantains (not plantain chips) and they seemed puzzled that we asked. The ceviche was good....unfortunately or maybe fortunately our dinner was interrupted and we had to leave.
In sorting out the bill I noticed a couple of things....our mojitos were billed as doubles (we got a VIRGIN ones), opps...only a 6 dollar a drink over site. What I also noted was the TIP was INCLUDED and BILLED at 18%, they figuired they would just bill it for whatever reason you would do that... no warning... hey doesn't matter what kind of service you recieve, doesn't matter that you AREN'T a large party (2 people), we are getting our tip DAMN IT... R U kidding me, including the tip... bad business!!!!
Here is the clincher... They forgot to give me my credit card back, I had to leave in a hurry. I called when I realized I didn't have it and let them know my son would be coming by to get it. They said fine, just make sure he has my drivers license to pick it up. Parking is difficult, my son runs in with my drivers license and the hostess talks to the bartender who tells her NOT to give it to my son even though 5 minutes before this was the arrangement, is this the same bartender who overcharged us on our dinner bill?? Apparently the bartender is NEW, new and in charge, new with a attitude, new and needing to practice up on making mojitos.??
Positives...our actual server was nice, bad recommendation on the banana mojito, good recommendation would have been to skip the mojitos,. Our overall experience wasn't worth a second try (and I have another groupon, luckily groupon has a good return policy).Listed in: Not so good!
-
Review from Lolita D.
Oakland, CA
2/19/2011
Why was an 18% gratuity included for a party of 2?!
The bartender needs a serious attitude adjustment. -
Review from Annosus L.
San Jose, CA
2/19/2011
The sweet taste of drinks and appetizers was overcome by the bitterness of my customer-rage. Good deals on bar food, but that doesn't matter when the bartender is rude, the place is understaffed, and the staff forgets your orders.
To start, we come in and order drinks at the bar. When I went to ask for no ice in my drink and before I can get a word out, the bartender says "YES I KNOW, I'm coming with your drink" like I was coming to complain?? Woah nelly! Baditude. This seemed to be par for course for all the other staff here. They were all EXCELLENT at avoiding eye contact with customers when tried to get their attention. This wasn't like "too busy" attitude, it was like "don't want to deal with pesky customers" attitude. (Nice..)
This was just the beginning of this war-crime of an evening. It was freezing inside since the door was open while it was raining outside. Did eight people wearing their jackets at the bar tip anyone off? How clueless can you be to discomfort of your customers? Best of all -- Bartender girl forgot to turn our order in to the kitchen so it took 40 minutes to get our appetizers. When you do this you need to come up to the customer, explain what happened, and offer some way of making up for it. Instead, all we got was an "Oh yeah!" when we reminded her.
Oh, it keeps going. All the while, two management-types circulating around didn't step up behind the bar despite the single bartender girl obviously being in way over her head. That's very poor management, and a disservice to the employees and patrons. When the staff sees management won't rise to the occasion, they won't step up either. If you aren't smart enough to staff-up your bar at the beginning of a Friday night you shouldn't be in the bar business. This is obviously one of those family-run joints where they are in there micromanaging the details and losing sight of the big picture. Hire a real manager and step back from your "baby", everyone will appreciate it.
Wait, wait, oh no! No, it doesn't end there! (I kid you not) So to finish this massacre, we don't even get an itemized bill, and the bottom-line on the credit card transaction bill was about $10 over what we ordered. Luckily we caught it and had the cashier fix it. What kind of operation doesn't give you an itemized tab? Sheistey. Some management lady comes up as we are leaving and tries to chat us up afterwards, but at that point it is wayyy too late. It's like trying to apologize to a land-mine victim after their legs get blown off. I am seriously ashamed to have such a second-class establishment in downtown San Jose.
This was a hurricane-Katrina customer service event and I'm sure this wasn't a one-off. The bar/restaurant business in downtown San Jose is too competitive to make such a disappointing showing. Considering the sour looks on the faces of other patrons and those having sit-down dinners, I suggest going elsewhere for drinks, snacks, and dinner. -
Review from Ashley R.
Fredonia, NY
4/11/2011
My fiance and I decided to have dinner here last Thursday. They were offering 1000 points through http://opentable.com
We came in and the place was dead. We were seated a table that was filthy. I asked if we could sit closer to the window. The new table was marginally better. We ordered a small plate to start with quesadilla, guacamole, and calamari. The calamari was a little fishy for my taste, but okay. The quesadilla was just like I'd make at home, but the guacamole was actually quite good. I then ordered a glass of sangria, and he ordered a fat tire. The sangria was really sweet, but was okay; definitely not my favorite. I ordered flautas and he ordered something I'm not sure what it was called, but it was in a crock and had plantains on the side. He said his was okay. I tried the plantains, and they were very plain(I've eaten plantains many times before-they can be flavored well). My flautas were fine, but not even close to great. They did come with some of the guacamole that I liked, but eh..
Our waitress was okay. She was pushing the most expensive entree and dessert to improve her tip, it seemed.
This experience would normally warrant a two star review. I lowered it for two reasons. The first was, when we booked the reservation on opentable, it said we would be validated for the Safeway parking lot across the street. We asked her when we were about to leave, and she said they don't validate. We told her that it said on opentale that they would, but she refused. This really angered me, and we ended up buying something at Safeway so they would validate. The second reason was that after we got home, I became very ill, and ended up throwing up. I would give this place zero stars if I could. -
Review from Abdul M.
Milpitas, CA
3/13/2011 4 Check-ins Here
Had my brothers BDAY party here last night and had such a great time. They have 2 areas to choose from. The main side that plays Latin music and then the other side that has a mix of house, salsa and R&b music. I got bottle service and our host (Elisa) was on point and made sure we had everything we needed
Thank you Staff at Azucar for making out night great -
Review from Derek N.
San Leandro, CA
11/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
Cool spot! We got there as they were opened and took over the bar, being loud and obnoxious as usual and the bartender was surprisingly ready to put up with our BS and she was pretty good as shelling it out too!!
-
Review from Yllari L.
Morgan Hill, CA
3/11/2011
The food is sooooo bad and expensive, worst $87 I have spent in my life for such a horrible dinner. The mojitos were the only good thing of the night.
The women's bathroom stinks, and it was just 9:30 pm... -
Review from Oriana C.
11/20/2010 1 Check-in Here
Happy Hour - $3.00 Mojito.
Sadly, I don't remember much after that...... -
Review from Irina s.
San Jose, CA
12/4/2011
My boyfriend and I have been here a few times. I really only like this place for the plantains and the mojitos. We have tried a lot of the things on the menu; the food is always ok. Not good but not bad. The atmosphere is fun. We enjoy ourselves every time we come here but is mostly because we like coming here not so much because the food is out of this world.
-
Review from Shawday B.
San Francisco Bay, CA
8/6/2011 1 Check-in Here
The hubby and I went out last weekend and ended up here. The music was good in both rooms ( one offers a live band playing music to salsa to - the other has a dj mixing old school dance tracks, Latin, hip hop, house, etc). My passion fruit mojito was delish and the atmosphere was pretty good. We didn't stay out late because we had an early morning, but we left saying we definitely planned on returning!
-
Review from Kelly A.
San Jose, CA
7/27/2011
Worst dinner experience ever!!!!
Where do I begin...
My husband and I live in the neighborhood and have been here a couple of times over the past few years. We hadn't been for a while so when they had a groupon deal we figured we would check it out.
BIG MISTAKE!!
We went for dinner at 6:15 on Friday night without a reservation. When we walked in it immediately felt more like a bar scene than a place to have dinner, music was very loud. The bar was a little busy but the dinner tables were only 1/2 full. We decided to grab a happy hour Mojito ($3) at the bar before dinner. There was only one bartender working, it took over 5 minutes to get one drink. The staff ignored us to the point they were rude. We asked someone (the hostess?) people if we could get a table for dinner. She said she was busy but would help us in a few minutes... (remember many tables were empty). We decided to order another round of happy hour Mojito, but asked for the flavored ones, blood orange and strawberry.
We asked a man working there if we could have a table for dinner (the "hostess never came back to help us). He told us that we could not eat dinner there because we did not have a reservation and that they were booked for reservations. (remember, most of the tables were empty). We sat at a cocktail table near the bar and asked for dinner menus. My husband asked a waitress walking by if we could order food from her. She was very unpleasant. When she came back to take our order, she gave us the bill for our drinks at the bar and told us we needed to pay before we could order food. My husband told her to move the bar bill over to our dinner tab and she argued with us. She kept saying she didn't know who made our drinks (remember there was only one bartender working). If we didn't have a groupon to spend I would have paid for my drinks and left right then and there. We explained that we had a groupon and wanted to use it for dinner and drinks and that we wanted it on one bill. She argued with us for a few minutes but then let us place an order. We ordered guacamole (which looked and tasted like it came from Safeway with greasy stale chips), ceviche (I love ceviche and didn't even try it it looked so bad) and grilled skirt steak (which was okay). It took another 5 minutes and us asking twice before we got silverware.
I think I have made my point about this disappointing experience, no need to list the many more missteps of this establishment. Such a disappointment,.
The next time I want Latin food, I will walk an extra block to Mezcal, where both the food and service are great. -
Review from Arnav G.
Manhattan, NY
11/28/2011
Sloppy stab at a limited offering of simple foods, slow and easily flustered wait staff, and an arrogant chef make this a tacky place best avoided.
The staff was extremely slow - over 10-15 minutes for simple drinks and over 40 for food - and got easily flustered. Mojitos had no mint flavour, they don't have Pisco, and waitress seemed unable to remember, ever, who ordered what. Then she forgot to take down the birthday girl's (identified in advance) order.
The menu was limited; ceviche (which was good) was the high water mark. My friend and my carne asadas were very, very greasy. I had no clue how to deal with this but my friend asked for a tostada - the waitress informed us that the chef had "refused" to comply with the request.
Now if I'm dining at Daniel Boulud's restaurant and make a retarded custom order, yes, he has the right to call me out on it. But granted that we were being served guacamole with Chevy's style chips, the food had already arrived and been judged sub-par, the suggested solution to this was a side of (jasmine) rice, and that the chef didn't even bother to come out to the table but sent the waitress to deliver the message, this came across as EXTREMELY arrogant.
Club was fun, but the series of mis-steps during dinner tank this review. Note: this was not a Groupon visit.
