Zocalo
174 E 82nd St Frnt
New York, NY 10028 (212) 717-7772
- Nearest Transit:
86th St (4, 5, 6)
- Price Range: $$$
- Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
- Parking: Street
- Attire: Casual
- Good for Groups: Yes
- Good for Kids: Yes
- Takes Reservations: Yes
- Delivers: Yes
- Take-out: Yes
- Waiter Service: Yes
- Wheelchair Accessible: No
- Outdoor Seating: Yes
15 Reviews for Zocalo
I happen to have worked at this place yeah worked at this place. I was a server here and at Rosa Mexicano. I'm Mexican and I know my cuisine like the back of my hand and it kills me that both places claim to have "french infused mexican cuisine" urghhhhhh Mexican food doesn't need no french-infusion to be appealing!
anyhow, Zocalo right?
well, this is when i worked there Spring 07:
Food: pricey for the average Joe but it's the UES so deal with it!
YUMMY and truely organic. Loved the Mushroom quesadilla and shrimp tacos...oh and munch on the guacamoles by the waiter station hehheehehhe (hey we get hungry too!). Chef Julian's menue for Zocalo is what really holds this place, hands down
drinks: all staff was getting a drink per nite at one point. Never liked the frozen but if i had to- MANGO! they use cheap tequila though (moctezuma) that comes in plastic bottles =/ not worth the 10 dollars honestly. If you pay 10-12 buck you get a better white tequila for your margarita.
decor- festive but subtle
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I'm really of two mind about Zocalo. There are things that they do really, really well. And others just fall flat on their face. If I lived on the Upper East Side, I'd probably spend the time and effort to find out what all the good ones were, and stick with them. But I don't, so it's a mixed bag review.
-: Carnitas tacos. For $20, I expected them to be slow cooked for a week to the point where the pork dissolves in your mouth. The stringy pork that I was met with was disappointing.
+: Mole. Creamy, chocolatey, but not over powering. It's possible that they served it a bit oily, which was probably more about the chef than the recipe. Had promise.
-: Crab guacamole. I really had high hopes for this. Fresh avocados in large chunks made me think it was going to be a winner, until I tasted the crab. Despite being a Friday, it tasted like it had been sitting in the back of a pick up truck that had arrived from Baltimore earlier in the afternoon, but not put in the fridge.
++: Salsa. A lot of places treat the free salsa they serve with chips before the meal as a throw away. Not the case here. Thick, slightly warm, a little spicy, and delicious.
++: Tequila list. I'd say the list was about 60 deep, including a few premium bottles. My Don Anejo was chilled perfectly, and tasted great. No frills, just deliciousness.
-: Pechuga. The mole helped, but the chicken itself tasted dry and over cooked. I realize it's difficult to trap the moisture in this dish, but I was expecting more.
++: Sweet corn mash. Sweet Jesus was this good. I'd have ordered a bowl of it and gobbled it up with chips if given the opportunity.
Not a bad place overall, but for the price, I want everything to be in the + range.
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I LOVE THIS PLACE. Everytime I go (which is usually for the margharitas - they have an amazing array of flavors including blood orange, pomegranite, mango, white peach and your typical strawberry and lime) my tastebuds are titillated by the tantilizing food they serve. Hats off to the chef. They call it "haute Mexican" . . . I call it delicious.
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I've only eaten here once, and that's only because of the bill at the end of the night.
Zocalo offers extraordinary gourmet Mexican cuisine. The dishes are delicious spins on authentic recipes made with fresh, quality ingredients that are artistically plated; its clear that alot of thought and care goes into their food. And the staff is really nice and friendly; our waiter was patient and helpful in describing and recommending dishes. The drinks are also wonderful, and there is a reason that the bar area is packed nightly; their tequila selection is amazing. Mixed drinks really shouldn't be called 'mixed' because they are loaded - but soooo yummy!
The vibe is very hip/trendy, definitely a place for a night out but not for a date; it can get really noisy. Its packed every night, so if you want to eat here either make a reservation or prepare to wait (but that's what the bar is for). And don't be shocked by the bill at the end of the night.
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I think it is very hard to find good Mexican food in this busy city, but Zocalo hit the spot. On our way home from the mets opener, my fiancee and I finally went to this great spot. The front is deceiving, the restaurant is pretty big. Our waitress was very helpful and every one of the bus boys all helped out; service was excellent! Would go back in a heart beat!
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Zocalo feels like a restaurant that's not quite comfortable in it's skin. Upscale Mexican is just hard to pull off I suppose.
Their decision to concentrate on fancy ingredients (truffles, Niman Ranch meat, 'Kobe style' meat), hyper-attentive service, and classy/sterile atmosphere is just the wrong call in my book for 'upscale' Mexican where I prefer intimacy and (deceptively) simple but well-executed/presented dishes (like Mercadito in the EV)
Enough of the preamble - onto the food. The guacamole rojo starter was very good - like both the guac and the warm chips. I was disappointed by the special ceviche - a hamachi with sliced mango. I usually avoid tuna ceviches (prefer chewier/harder seafood like squid, octopus, shrimp, etc.) but the waiter insisted and I relented. The fish was good quality but there wasn't any citrus-y bite at all to the dish.
Rather than order an entree, we split the Ensalada del Zocalo ($8.50) and the Gringa Con Trufas quesadilla ($13). The salad was quite good - the avocado dressing was perhaps a bit too subtle but the toasted sesame seeds, queso fresco, almond slivers, and tortilla chips more than made up for it. The Gringa Con Trufas quesadilla was otherwordly light and crispy with a thin layer of black truffles, manchego cheese, corn and huiltacoche (Mexican delicacy that's like a mushroom which grows on corn). If anything, I'd like to try it again w/o the truffles so I could distinguish the huiltacoche.
They have a lot of tequilas and several frozen margaritas and mojitos to choose from. I went with the margarita straight up w/ salt and thought it was very good.
The place is deceptively big and, despite the candles, never feels truly intimate. It's a much better date place than, say, Fresca Tortilla but it wouldn't qualify as romantic in my book.
I'd say the food is 4 star (and I would not be surprised if other dishes are 5-star quality) but the prices and feel of the place knock it down one star.
Final note: $25 for tacos? That's fucking obnoxious. if they are that good, figure out how to downsize the entree portion and add them to the appetizer menu.
A Mexican restaurant that seems to have been developed by the guys that brought us "Designs Within Reach". The Mojitos were great, so great I can't remember how many I actually drank, but hey! I wasn't driving. The food was fantastic but a little too 'new wave' for me. Chips, cheese, beans, guacomole, some spicy chicken, these are the basics of a Mexican restaurant.
If Zocalo was music, I would file it with Moby, The Orb, Pizzicato Five and well, you get the idea.
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Zocalo has fantastic, gourmet style Mexican food and loaded margaritas with glow stick stirs. It is filled with bright colors creating a fun and eclectic atmosphere. Excellent service. Can be pricy, but it's worth it. I will definitely be back.
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Fancy Mexican food, very tasty. Great drinks. Busy place, crowded.
This place is great Mexican up there on my list with Rosa Mexicano, the guacamole isn't as good here. But the churros are awesome and so is some sort of steak quesadilla. The corazon margarita is so strong (and expensive)!
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Similar to Rosa Mexicano in the quality of food served. As difficult as it is to find good Mexican food in the city, Zocalo does a superb job in infusing authenticity to the cuisine. The upper eastside location has the ambiance of a neighborhood restaurant. This eatery is a good place for a quiet date. Make sure you leave room for dessert--churros. Lightly fried, crispy dough sprinkled with sugar and chocolate syrup.
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Good place for a nice Mexican meal.
We had the guacamole, ceviche tasting of 3 different ceviches (prime rib, tuna, and shrimp), the appetizer trio tasting (shrimp quesadillas, chicken taquitos, and chipotle ribs), and dessert was called "tres leches" and comprised ice cream and some cake I couldn't identify.
The guacamole was too mushy (I prefer the freshly-made,chunky guacamole at Dos Caminos and Rosa Mexicano), but was accompanied with several cucumber and jicama (?) sticks which were a nice touch. The ceviches were all very tasty. For the appetizer trio tasting, the shrimp quesadillas came with the tortillas wrapped around the shrimp and sliced into pieces like sushi, very good. The taquitos were really just one and half taquitos and not quite as crispy as I would've liked, but still yummy. The ribs were delicious, very tender, fell off the bone, and melted in my mouth! The dessert was pretty good, but nothing special.
Our waitress was very helpful at recommending extra specials (that were not originally given with our menus) and several tequila specials. Very good service.
Very dimly-lit restaurant, played both lively and slow/romantic Spanish music in the background, and has a huge tequila menu. A good choice for either a date or a group.
They serve avocado fries that I need to go back and try.....=)
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It is just amazing mexican food. It is not greasy, and heavy. you leave feeling good, and satiated. Make sure you try their mexican salad appetizer, and also the warm chocolate cake!
the food is great drinks are great if u like frozen drinks they have every one but watermelon on ice is my favorite love the food prices are good
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One of my absolute favorites!! I love the upbeat atmosphere, and the food is incredible. Zocalo is my favorite place for mexican in the city. The white peach margarita is delicious, and perfect for summer nights!
The shrimp tamaki roll is like mexican sushi and is honestly the best thing i have ever tasted.Also i can't eat there without having the zocalo salad, and the UNBELIEVABLE churros served with chocolate and caramel sauce. It is the perfect restaurant to have in the neighborhood, I go almost every time i go out to dinner!!!
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