Zafra Kitchen

Wow I used to love this place until something happened in the last month. Maybe it was this new man that started working there and giving attitude to patrons. Our office was ordering lunch, dinner, and drinks several times a week. Well I stopped… one day my chicken tasted like rubber… they wanted to charge me $ 1 extra for a sauce. The last straw was when they messed up my drink order and wanted me to pay extra for the change. Wow what great customer service let me stand around for five minutes while you fix your mistake. My coworker orders the same coffee drink and its never the same because they don’t know what she’s asking for and she’s a native Spanish speaker. Oh and the kicker tonight is that apparently you can only pay cash for pick ups now. Good luck staying open.

I really like this place, has a very cute festive touch to the restaurant. Never really had Cuban food because most Cuban restaurant didn’t have many vegetarian options. But this place have few. I love their bread, bean soup, kale lemon salad (all these have Spanish name to it but this is what I called it) definitely worth trying.

Two stars because the food was good enough
However:
Let me tell you: if you call to make a reservation make sure to specify indoor or outdoor because they WONT ask and instead assume outside even if it is below 50 degrees out at night in the middle of April.
The woman was indignant when we said that was ridiculous and it’s not her fault since we didn’t specify. If that’s the default, the person on the phone from the restaurant should ask indoor or outdoor not expect that the person calling to make a reservation would know that outdoor is the default (IN THE MIDDLE OF APRIL! THIS ISNT JULY PEOPLE)
Then the woman told us we could move inside after the party who had just received dinner left. Fine, let us know. What happens! They never told us and were going to sit another party there. Luckily I got up to use the restroom at the right time and needed to go back and forth with them to be moved inside.
Needless to say, I will never go back there.

Had been to Zafra a few times before, and always had a good dinner. Its a cramped little place, but the food was very good and service was friendly. Not sure if they have changed chefs, or management, but it seems to have gone down hill.
I ordered the enchilladas, which i had had before but they were out of some ingredients so i had to change my oder to a roasted pork dish (big mistake). We also ordered yucca fries which i have always enjoyed there. The fries were ok, but the sauce was different this time, and not for the better. We were still eating those, and our salad when our meals came out (very fast) and we awkwardly had to hold our plates in the air while they figured out how to put our meals on the tiny table. Maybe if they gave us a minute to eat our apps, we’d have some room. the roasted pork was just not good. very fatty piece that left me feeling uneasy. We should have taken a hint when the couple who had been dining next to us had grumbled that their food was terrible. We were done and ready to pay within 30 mins of sitting down. Not for nothing but if i wanted to eat that fast i would have just gone to taco bell. It prob would have tasted better.
Hope they get their act together, because it was always a decent place. Until then, we prob wont try again for a while.

Pains me to do this to a neighborhood place I used to love, but I felt so incredibly insulted last time I visited Zafra’s. I ordered on the phone, and asked for three items, and the order taker asked for my name and said 10 minutes. Great, I show up 10 minutes later, and he brings me the bag, and I look at the receipt. There’s an extra item– Piquillo peppers, to which the following dialogue occurred:
Me: I didn’t order the piquillo peppers
Him: Yes, I took your order, you said piquillo peppers
Me: No, I didn’t, I ordered the other three things, not the peppers
Him: You said it. That’s fine, but you said it (harsh tone)
Me: (while he was rudely adjusting the check) maybe you misheard when I ordered the Pechuga De Pollo Adobada, but I’m sorry about that
Him: You said it, tossing the peppers down on the counter
I speak enough spanish to know that I did NOT order the peppers, and for the order taker to accuse me of saying something that I didn’t was unprofessional and just rude. I even tipped on a takeout order, told him to have a nice day, and he said nothing.
Straight up rude. I’ll gladly pay more to go to The Cuban or other places. This sucks to say this, but Zafra’s used to be a welcoming place. This guy is a straight up jerk.
Outside of this, the food is good, and the drinks are BYOB. Love the Sangria option.

Churrasco steak was so good. We brought a bottle of Grancha Spanish Red Wine and the bar tender made us the most amazing sangria. I will definitely be returning.
Tip for the restaurant: Offer delivery service

I have been to Zafra before, but avoided it for a bit after a not-​so-​great churrasco. The other night, an old friend and I decided to go for a meal, wine, and catch up session. We started with maduros and the pork skewers. As much as I love maduros, these were not great. They were dry and flat, not plum and moist like I like. The pork was ok, but the cubed and fried yuca with hot paprika was delish. It served as a good starchy base for our bottle of wine.
For an entrée, I had the ropa vieja, which was out of control. The meat was so tender, it was like butter, a perfect topping for the salty rice and earthy black beans. My friend had chicken enchiladas, which were also extremely tasty. There was a lovely balance of mosit stringy chicken, tangy green sauce, and cooling crema. Both dishes were very delicious and well prepared. Simple but effective.
Of course, we ordered dessert. I got the dulce de leche crepes, which were what dreams are made of. The two folded pancakes enveloped thick sweet caramel sauce and were coated with cinnamon sugar. To die for. My friend got the rice pudding that had an adult flair with a hint of anise and lots of creamy sweetness. All in all, this was a good trip and BYOB is best!

I really wanted to love Zafra so we would have that ideal brunch spot … But I didn’t. I can’t tell you what I ordered but it came with eggs, chorizo, potato cakes and bread. The bread was amazing and I would order just that next time. The potato cakes were horrible. Imagine leftover mashed potatoes made into a cake and pan fried with absolutely no seasoning. There wasn’t even enough crunch to keep it from being seasonless mush. My eggs and chorizo were very plain. My husband is way less pickier then I am and dos not enjoy the food either.

I’ve been going to Zafra for at least 11 years and it’s consistently been the best accessible Cuban food in Hoboken.
Whether it’s a quick sandwich to go, a first date, or a BYOB with friends, Zafra is a good option. They cater, too! We’ve had them cater holidays with family in town and it’s been a hassle free experience each time.
Good vibe, no reservations, and outdoor seating.

I live right around the corner from Zafra, and am so happy I finally tried it out! They have a great menu, friendly staff, a fun atmosphere AND they’re BYOB.
We came on a Friday night, and it definitely fills up, but staff is very attentive and efficient.
As an appetizer, we ordered Platanos Maduros. They were okay, but seemed like they were missing salt or some type of dipping sauce. My boyfriend ordered Camarones Coloraditos– shrimp with kale, rice and beans in a red mole sauce. He really enjoyed it. I ordered the Churrasco Entrana con Chimichurri– a skirt steak with rice and beans. It was delicious and was served as a very large portion… could definitely be shared as I took half home!
I’d love to come back in the spring to take advantage of their outdoor seating and enjoy a pitcher of sangria!

I came here for a girls’ dinner. We decided on this spot because of the BYOB (didn’t try the sangria as there was a $ 15 charge). We ordered an array of dishes to share. The food was all very good, but the service not so much. I hadn’t seen my friends for quite some time, so we took our time eating and chatting. The waiters and waitresses came by our table multiple times trying to clear food that we were still working on. They also stared at us from behind the bar– very rude. Because of this and despite how good the food was, I won’t be coming back.

Happy New Year 2016.
Came here last Wednesday with some friends and the food was pretty good. It’s a bit overpriced for the portion size, but overall good food.
It’s a byob so they claim that they will make sangria for $ 10 if you bring your wine. They basically just added fruit. This is nothing but a sophisticated way to charge a corking fee. As we all know, sangria requires more than just adding fruit.

As far as BYOB goes this place is great. We went on NYE and were able to get a table within about 10 minutes for two people on a pretty busy night. The menu is huge, and we had a tough time wading through it to figure out which 4 – 5 things to get. Unless you’re looking to drop a huge amount, I recommend picking 4 – 5 smaller things from the appetizer/​tapas menu and sharing.
We went for the patatas bravas (some of the best I’ve had outside of Spain), Pimientos (a little soggy but packed with flavor), Pinchos, and the Kale. I am the first person to say that kale is evil (blame it on a bad attempted batch of kale chips) and this is the first time I’ve actually fought my girlfriend for the rest of it from the plate. It’s sauteed in garlic and it is absolutely killer. Far and away the best thing we ordered (outside of maybe the wine but, hey, we brought that ourselves)

Yum yum yum — loved this tapas restaurant. Came here on NYE for dinner before we went out. We tried the Patatas Braves, Pimientos Del Piquillo Relienos De Frijol Refrito Y Tres Quesos, Pinchos Morunos, and the kale. The patatas bravas were by far my favorite, crispy and the sauce was amazing. The kale is a must — I got it because a previous Unilocal review had recommended it. All I can say is my boyfriend who typically hates kale loved this dish. The pinchos were awesome especially with the yuca that its served with.
Will definitely come back soon to try the entrees as well. Also they are BYOB. If you bring wine they can turn it into sangria for you. We didn’t try that but will next time!

Yum yum yum! This place is especially great at representing Latin American food in Hoboken with a variety of offerings on their menu.
BYOB, and great because we had our white wine converted to a sangria (not the best, but a sangria nonetheless for those who are all about them), while the empanadas had a perfect little sauce accompanying them as our appetizer.
The beautiful mesh of flavors didn’t stop there, as the enchiladas were a stomach stuffer and the steak was grilled just right.
Service was great, and the complementary espresso was a bonus (the forgot to add it to the bill, however acknowledged it and let it go– thank you again!) didn’t not hurt the Zara cause.
I definitely have more to try on this menu and will be back!

The food was delicious but the service was awful.
Food:
You have to order the Argentinian skirt steak entrée. The fried mashed potato ball was amazing as well as the empanadas. The sausage tapas was sub-​par, but the kale side was good. The free bread wasn’t anything special and doesn’t need to be served.
Service:
it took them forever to bring me water and had to ask a few times before we actually got it.

What a great place to go in the summer! We had outdoor seating and it was wonderful. They have some good vegetarian/​vegan options. The waitress was very knowledgeable about vegan diets– THANKS!
I had the veggie platter with kale, pumpkin, rice and beans. Simple, good food. Tastes homemade and fresh. It was a little pricey ($ 18) for all veggies though.
My friends loved their dishes too (steak, chicken etc.)
Service was attentive and good.
We did not have alcohol but I heard the waitress tell the next table it is BYOB.
Nice place to go in a small group for tasty, simple Cuban food.

We came here with a friend one night and had a really good time and meal.
Décor: I’m not quite sure how to describe the décor of the place, but it is certainly striving for authentic _​_​_​_​_​ (Cuban? Latin? unsure). There are a handful of tables inside but we sat outside (as it was a beautiful night). If you had a HUGE group of people you should probably call ahead but a normal four-​some (+/​-​2 or so more) shouldn’t be a problem for them to accommodate.
Bathroom: Well kept and clean.
Staff: Our waiter was a really nice guy who promptly took our order and delivered our apps and meals in the same manner. He also refilled our waters regularly (which is always a big plus!).
Food/​Drink: It’s BYOB, so that’s always fun. For apps, we started with a Tamal De Pollo Y Rajas and some Platanos Maduros (both were fantastic) and then moved on to the Ropa Vieja (enjoyable, rather large portion) and the Churrasco Entrana Con Chimichurri (delicious! and a big portion!). All of the food came out hot, ready to eat, and tasted wonderful.
Value: Prices are right where you’d want them to be for a place like this. The level of service, and the food quality/​taste, just makes the deal even sweeter.
This is easily one of my favorite spots in Hoboken and I can’t wait to come back.

Love Zafra
This is one of those places where I always love my meal, and always love my drink. It’s BYOB and they’ll make your wine into a mean sangria for a nominal fee :)
I think this restaurant is best when the weather is nice so you can take advantage of the outdoor seating, otherwise it’s kind of small inside.
Yuca fries are delish, the skirt steak is SO GOOD and the sauces on anything I’ve had always are a win in the flavor department.
I notice some reviews knock off a LOT for service (like three stars) and I’ve always had wonderful friendly service here — so I’m giving five!!!

I just don’t know– I wanted to like this place and the food was good, but I think the service we received killed it. We had three different waitresses and I felt like we had to ask the same thing 3 times. They were not friendly at all and it overall just wasn’t a welcoming place to be.
When I ordered the Papa Rellena small plate, the waitress (one of 3 of them) rudely corrected my pronunciation of the dish. I had that and the steak sandwich which were both very tasty. However, until they pick up on the friendliness of their staff, I don’t think I’ll be back.