Ariel’s Bistro

How a five-​star meal became one star, in a few easy lessons.
M (my long-​suffering dining buddy of choice) and I went on a Living Social on Wednesday. Dinner has just started, and the place is jumping. A bartender has to help me with the ladies’ room door, which was semi-​stuck. Well, it’s a warm day, and doors get stuck.
When we order, I explain to the waitress that I don’t do alcohol and that I want a coke. No prob. M orders a coke in addition to her margarita. Like I say, it’s a warm day. So we wait, and wait, for the eats.
The scallop appetizer, the steak churrasco, and the arroz con pollo y camarones are all really good – really quite good – and the music is rockin’ and sports stuff is on the TVs. And then we start noticing how warm it is in the joint. No AC, just an open window, and M sees a bunch of mosquitoes zizzing around the lights up front. I turn, and we’re both watching them and thinking zika. We also see our waitress leaving. She didn’t ask for her tip. She didn’t say who would be doing the rest of our order. She didn’t come back.
The waitresses are ringing up the bar checks, and it’s a long time before anyone pays attention to us. It took a long time to get our food, now it’s a long time to get our dessert. And M and I start itching, and scratching to keep up with the itching. It can’t be the mosquitoes – if that many of them had bitten us in that many places (including my scalp under my hat), we would have been aware of it. Nope, it’s the food. What in hell was in the spicing?
It takes maybe forty minutes to get the check. I’m charged for the coke. The manager tells me that the deal is only good for the liquor and that I should have told Living Social that I wasn’t intending to have a cocktail! What? Booze costs something and soft drinks cost next to nothing – I know this from watching Bar Rescue and Restaurant Impossible. Further, I’ve been in high-​end places with deals and they had no trouble with the swap, and offer a second soda besides. (I didn’t expect M’s coke to be comped, but a place like KTCHN would have.) I call BS.
Deduct one star apiece for slow service, mosquitoes, itching spice, and the coke incident, and there you have it. If I’d been really upset about the bathroom door, they’d have no stars at all.

Here’s the rundown:
Nice lil spot on the LES; we went on Sunday and we had parking right out front.
Get the Groupon
Wilma the waiter took really good care of us, it was like we were guests in her home.
Grapefruit beer!!!
Cocktails just ok, too much lime in the strawberry gimlet
Totones and chicharon w garlic sauce – bangin!
Entrees: steak $ 3 up charge; all good
Shrimp and like a chicken fried rice– Mmmm
Go Go Go!

THE AMBIANCE: Since we have a one-​year-​old baby, we decided to come early on a weekday, hoping not to disturb other diners. We came here on a Wednesday afternoon around 5:30 but the place was already super packed and LOUD. Seriously, this place was loud enough to be a dance club, which is fine, but really a bit odd for the early afternoon/​diner crowd. There happened to be a HUGE group of women celebrating a bachelorette party (on a Wednesday??) and another huge group of women coworkers apparently just celebrating the fact that they were drinking and not at work. I have to lay the scene to explain how LOUD this place was. We almost didn’t stay to eat because it was that loud. You seriously had to shout to hear yourself over the music and, because of that, everyone in the restaurant was shouting at each other. The server could not even hear our order; instead we used caveman-​like pointing and grunting to explain what we wanted.
THE FOOD: The food itself was fantastic. We used a Pulsd deal for dinner here one evening. The deal was $ 29 which included 2 entrees and a bottle of wine, not a bad deal at all. The restaurant was much better than we expected and the meal/​wine was totally worth our money. I had the chef’s burger which was really good. I suppose it’s a little weird to order a burger at a Latin restaurant but it was excellent. The sauce was delicious and the meat was grilled perfectly. My husband enjoyed the shrimp with rice and found it very satisfying.
Overall, this is an awesome place but I would only come back if they turn the damn volume down on their speakers.

Used a Groupon deal here and we were content. Had a shrimp appetizer with this awesome sauce it was drenched it. My friend who does not like seafood even enjoyed it. I then had the Churrasco which was cooked simply, yet perfectly. The meat was so big I couldn’t even finish it (no pun intended)! The fries were delicious, too. Can’t remember if I had dessert or not.
Try the Sol y Beso drink and the Dark N Stormy. Pure awesomeness. Oh — and the customer service was great.

My parents came up to visit from NC (I hadn’t seen them in a year and we were also celebrating a birthday) and, after going through reviews and ratings, my boyfriend and I decided to take them to Ariel’s. What a mistake. We made reservations at 9:30 but had to wait FOREVER to order and our appetizer didn’t even come out until 10:40!!! I was so embarrassed that my parents had to wait for over an hour for their food. We ordered assorted empanadas, but received a plate of ALL chicken empanadas and our entrees didn’t get to us until 11:10.
As if that wasn’t bad enough, there was the most ghetto music playing. I’m not talking catchy, top 40’s hip hop. I’m talking some real hood rat music that must have been on one of the staff’s playlist. It sounded like the same song was playing over and over again. It wasn’t until about 15 minutes before we left that they finally started playing some nice, Latin music.
To put the icing on the cake, the metal chair I sat in was very painful. It left deep marks on my legs and I ended up having to sit on my sweater (not that that helped very much). I also asked the server if she did anything for birthdays (singing, etc) and she told me there was a flan cake that she could put a candle in. She made it sound as if it was complimentary, but we ended up being charged for it.
I will say that the food was good. Very good. I don’t blame the server too much for the bad experience. She was the only one on the floor and must have been exhausted and in over her head. There absolutely should have been another server on (this was realized later on and another girl was called in just before we left).
I really, really, REALLY wish I had had a better experience and was writing a different review. I can’t tell you how awful I felt as I watched my parents trying to pretend, for my sake, like they were okay, all the while being exhausted and famished. The only reason we didn’t walk out was because we had been walking around all day and were too tired to move.
That being said, as mentioned earlier, the food was very good and, although we will probably not be going back any time soon, for now I will give Ariel’s the benefit of the doubt and assume that it was «just one of those days» and the that the experience my family and I had was just a rare, unfortunate disaster.

I have gone twice. Not because I thought it was so amazing, but because I went once and it was fine, and when I needed a brunch spot sometime after that because Sweet Chick had a wait and ended up there.
Uhm.
I don’t think I will return. The food isn’t that great. The service is ok. But overall it just isn’t a dining experience I need to have again.

This place serves a mix of various Latin American cuisines. They have Mexican stuff, Puerto Rican (mofongo), Brazilian (caipirinha), Spanish (paella) and more. However, if you are looking for a place with good Latin American food, this is not the place. We tried several things from here and they were all bad to okay. The maduros were burned. The chicharrones de pollo had the skin removed and was too salty. The pernil was not pernil at all. It was chopped up bits of pork with sauce all over them. Tostones were okay though.
It appears that this restaurant is more interested in looking hip and cool for the locals. Better off going to a nice hole in the wall mom and pop place for some good Latin American food.

Not what I expected from the pics listed, appetizer was very good which was chicharrones and tostones, but the red sangria was the worst I’ve ever had, their entrée «canoa» not good, I asked for the pernil one and I wasn’t sure if it was chicken or what? And it should come with avocado and cheese on it, had none of it!
Never going back! Plus there’s a surcharge of $ 3 for beef or dead dos entrée if using a groupon, which you don’t know until you go there!

If you are coming here for great food this is not the place to go. If you want some great hip hop music, if you want to enjoy your high, if you want to throw back some drinks this is the place to go. The eye candy is sparse but the music and vibes will make up for it.
The food is a 2 out of 10. The skirt steak was not even fit for my cute beagle/​pug mix (though he would have loved it). The meat is tough and stringy and the truffle fries was decent. The mofongo taste a little old and unauthentic. The appetizer also tasted old and stale (tomatoes were very soft and soggy).
The server was great, attentive and friendly.
They will turn you away if you don’t have a reservation so make one.

I came here with a friend due to the Groupon. The menu in the restaurant was very different from the one online, with literally no vegetarian entrée options (their website showed a portobello sandwich).
Also, they only serve a select menu for Groupon, with up charges for many entrees, so be wary of that.
We ordered the nachos, which were soggy and bland with a very small side of oxidized guacamole. I ordered two tacos and an empanada. They were out of the one I wanted, and I overheard staff telling other customers they were out of other things. The taco was greasy and unremarkable– same for the empanadas. My friend said her meal (some rice dish with chicken and shrimp) was also bland.
We both got pisco sours and those were good– highlight of the meal.
The service was super slow despite not being too busy.
Overall, despite what seems like a good deal, is just not worth it at all.

Nah.
Went here with a friend for dinner with a Groupon deal. They clearly have a separate menu specifically for Groupon considering it was completely different than what we saw online. We had a reservation and waited about 10 minutes before even being served water.
The menu was kinda lackluster but we got nachos and my friend ordered empanadas and tacos but not before being told they were «out» of most types.
I ordered arroz con pollo which was an awfully small portion especially considering it came out nearly 30 minutes after all of the rest of the food.
Service was bad. This is a tiny establishment idk how it was so difficult.
While we were waiting (again exceptionally long) for our waiter to grab our bill, I overheard them telling another party they were completely «out» of something else– and another woman behind me had her dish completely forgotten about bc after she said «I’m still waiting for my meal» one of the servers said «oops I forgot». Smh
Food was not great. Definitely not worth the OG non Groupon price.
Drinks were dope though. On to the next one. Do not recommend.

Great ambiance with delicious food and drinks. So why only three stars? The service.
Although the servers were friendly and accommodating, the service was painfully slow. The restaurant is on the smaller side so they do tend to get busy. But the wait times for drinks is out of hand for the size of the place. We had close to a 30 minute wait for our first round of drinks. Despite waiting for what seemed like forever, we were thrilled when we took our first sip. They were delicious! The bartender was not skimpy on the alcohol at all. We loved them and went on to ordering three rounds.
On to the food, we came in with a groupon that included an appetizer and two entrees. We tried their calamari, stuffed chicken and sliced pepper steak. The food was perfect. Flavorful, generous portions and nicely presented. I’d recommend all three dishes. We cleaned our plates like true overeaters. We were stuffed to maximum capacity. I’d definitely come back to Ariel’s with high hopes for faster service.

**This is not a review for the food**
I have been to Ariel’s before but it was almost a year and half ago. I only had a couple of drinks and several tapas/​small dishes and was happy (I was partially drunk and had no recollection other than laughing the entire night and stuffing my face with empanadas, wings and dumplings). When Lapin said he wanted to go after passing the restaurant on our way to another restaurant I thought it would be a good idea.
Oh, how I was wrong! We made reservations but arrived a bit early. There was one waiter and one bartender in a semi-​packed place (the restaurant was small). We stood for 15 minutes and then decided to sit down. The idiotic bartender made us get us to go to the bar to check our reservations and gave us the same seats we were sitting in. If you were going to do that, at least come to us or give us different seats. When other people came in and also waited to be seated and then decided to sit down, she never once said anything to them. Then the incompetent waiter finally came around and asked if we had reservations this was 15 minutes after being seated with no menu or acknowledgement. Apparently she didn’t believe us, she had to ask the bartender. After waiting another 30 minutes, we finally got to place our order. They both took our order and one didn’t write down our order and forgot how Lapin wanted his food and came back TWICE to confirm. Not like pen and paper was never created. Everyone was using some type of voucher, that the menu has stuff crossed off and has the up-​charge prices written on them (and before the waitress even said hello, she said do you have a voucher but she had no idea what was available and what wasn’t). The menu claims this place is seasonal but it was the same exact menu from my last visit almost 1.5 years ago. I would like to tell you what I ordered, dear reader but there is no point because after 1 hour and 45 minutes (additional from the time waiting to place our order) of waiting and asking 2 times where is our food, it never came and we got feed up and left after just being ignored.
AVOID AT ALL COST. The place treats other patrons better and have no experience or knowledge on how to treat people. A very very incompetent staff as I saw more than one dish being sent back.

Great service and decent food. Went on a busy cinco de mayo and had great margaritas. The staff were accommodating and funny. A pleasure to be served by them.
I am suggesting the pork con chicchoron… Am I spelling that right?
My buddy did not like his stuffed burger, I thought mine was fine (with guac and jalapeño). Fries were great.
Totally loud environment.

Cool place. Not great but it has potential. Drinks were strong, service was lacking, ambiance was rowdy (kinda’ ghetto but nothing really wrong with that). The reason for 3 stars is I wasn’t crazy about my food.
We started w/​«Chicken & Carnitas Empanadas». Carnitas were salty as hell. The chicken was ok. Wiifey enjoyed her «Pollo al Limon». My «Chicken Parmesan» was served with melted slices of Swiss cheese tho. Swiss cheese? I thought everyone knew Chicken Parmesan is served with mozzarella…
Anyway, wasn’t too bad. Again the place is pretty cool, prices are decent and the neighborhood is always interesting. The place is worth checking out. Lesson of the week, don’t order Italian dishes at Latin bistros.

First, let me start off by saying that the bartender Anna makes the most amazing drinks! She takes her time with these hand crafted masterpieces and delivers nothing less than perfection. I had a strawberry coconut mojito which isn’t on the menu but, I was able to show her a picture of what some people posted on Unilocal and she delivered! Hands down, it was one of the best drinks I’ve ever tasted!
The food was good. I had a the Caramonfongo with shrimp and scallops in a garlic sauce. I must say that I thoroughly enjoyed my meal — didn’t even have leftovers for a doggie bag lol.
The service was awesome. Our waitress greeted us at the door and was super attentive ever since. She gave great recommendations and was super friendly!
Will I be returning in the near future — Hell Yeah!
Awesome service — awesome food — super awesome drinks … I mean what more could you ask for!?! :)

Just wanted to start off by saying that my waitress was a complete sweetheart! It really makes the difference when the food is mediocre and the drinks are extremely watered down. Read many reviews stating that the cocktails were strong so I guess. Oops. Someone’s an alcoholic!
I ordered the seafood paella. Said there would be scallops but mine came with none. Maybe there was a misunderstanding because my friend ordered her dish without scallops. Anyways, there was an abundant of seafood. All delicious! But I just do seafood anything. It can have no seasoning and I’ll still love it. The rice was a bit undercooked. It was hard.
Also had the tosotones as an appetizer. It was nicely fried and loved the sauce on the bottom. Added a kick to the already seasoned plantains.
For drinks, I had the sangria and my friend ordered a classic mojito. We both agreed that it could’ve used a bit more alcohol …
Overall, I would probably come back to try other things. It’s a great atmosphere to drink, eat, and talk. We spent about 2 hours there! The waitress didn’t rush us and kept checking up on us and our waters. The size of the place could use some help though. I felt like I was toppling over a table the second I stepped through the door. Felt so many eyes on me, meh.

I’ve been here twice and had the same meal, each time the dish was a variation of what was on the menu, but I’m giving 4 stars because the food was really good.
The drinks were good each time, but the service was slow the second time I went. I didn’t mind because I wasn’t very hungry, but if you’re pressed for time, you might want to let them know.
I’ve had the calamari Fra Diavolo twice now and it was great both times, the mussels and clams Fra Diavolo was a tasty appetizers as well.

A fellow Elite and I dined in on a Friday night, with reservations for 7pm. We’d found a LS deal that included an app to share, two entrees and two cocktails for $ 35. Having this place bookmarked for a few weeks I was itching to go and couldn’t pass up that great deal.
This place was packed! Loud music and lots of loud people, it was definitely live! We were seated at a table by the window which was pretty small. It was also really close to the people next to us, like within elbows reach *awkward*.
I ordered a sangria to start and after my first sip I sent it right back. It was bad, the wine tasted old. I instead opted for a Dark N Stormy, which was made perfectly and came in a silver mug. For an app we settled on the chicharrones de pollo and an order of yuca fries. The garlic sauce on both dishes was good, the fries were thick and the accompanying tostones with the chicharrones were plentiful.
I know when using LS deals and Groupon there’s always some sort of catch. We were informed by the waitress that some meals would have an additonal charge. Two dollars there, Five there; but when reading the details of the deal we were entitled to entrees up to $ 20 each. Some of the items she pointed out were less than $ 20, like the salmon steak we ordered. It came with spinach and mashed potatoes and was $ 16.95, but we were informed there was a $ 2 charge. We didn’t complain but I was slightely disappointed bc the salmon was only mediocre.
I was in good company and enjoyed my Friday evening at Ariels. I would return but only if in the area.

Had such a good time at this place and I’ll try and be brief as to why…
I came here to celebrate a friend’s bday on a Friday night. This place is pretty intimate but very relaxed. We were given the option to play our music through the aux cord so that definitely turned things up a bit. The drinks are great and the hookah is some of the best. You guys know I love me some hookah. The food is off the wall. I love Mexican/​Latin/​Spanish food. Like it drives me wild.
I have no complaints about this place. They honored my Unilocal deal with no issues and the service was great. I can’t wait to go back.