Boqueria

Love Boqueria for tapas. The restaurant always feel bustling when I’m there, like there’s lots going on. The wait on the weekend tends to be long but the weekdays aren’t bad. Last time we went was on a Thursday around 7pm for a party of 3 and had no problems getting a table. An hour later the place was filled up though. The last weekend day we came the wait was over an hour long for a table for 2.
I really like tapas and Boqueria is always reliable and solid on their food. Here’s what we had: Rose Sangria, Pan con Tomate, Montado de Boquerones, Croquetas Cremosas, Piquilos Rellenos, Datiles con Beicon, and Churros con chocolate. My favorites were probable the boquerones and the piquilos rellenos and the churros of course.

The ability to try multiple small great plates at a moderate price, what more can your taste buds ask for. This Tapas spot is located in Soho so as you would expect it has a chic, cozy and contemporary feel. It was busy for a sunday night which can be interpreted as a good thing. We were seated immediately and service was good. First thing we ordered while we browsed the menu was a pitcher of white sangria. While being a good amount for two people, we were very disappointed with the lack of cut fruit in it and It’s tarty taste. We all know the best part of sangria is eating the fruits that are engorged with alcohol. We were even afraid to call it sangria in fear of angering the sangria gods lol.
Despite being disappointed with our drinks, the food made up for the lackluster start. We ended up ordering about 7 items. Ima just review the items that blew our taste palate away.
We started with Cojonudo which is quail egg with chorizo on a slice of bread. After biting into the first one, we were hooked. The egg was perfectly cooked and against the taste of the chorizo it was heavenly. The only problem we encountered was deciding who was going to eat the last one lol. Next was the Gambas al Ajillo. Grilled shrimp with this charred bread. The shrimp were seasoned deliciously, but what surprised us was the bread. It appeared to be burnt on the outside but once you bite into it you knew it wasn’t a mistake. Dipped into juice of the shrimp bowl, made something good even better. We ordered next the Pulpo a la Plancha, grilled octopus. This dish was excellent, if you never had grilled octopus, this will make you a believer.
Honorable mentions: Tortilla Española, Montado de Boquerones
Cliff notes verison: just order the Cojonudo, Gambas al Ajillo and the Pulpo a la Plancha. End of story

Stopped by for sangria and brunch. Red sangria was authentic, made from scratch and not sickly sweet. A pitcher will give you eight glasses if filled with ½ ice. Ordered the tortilla which came with pan tomate, small salad with a lite dressing and olives — delish. The burger was prepared as ordered, flavorful, beefy without the grease, the papas that came with it were fantastic. Ambiance is warm, welcoming and the noise level was low even though the place was full, a NYC rarity. Five years of NYC brunches and this is at the top of the list. So if you want brunch with a Spanish flair this is the place. Comer Feliz!

Came with a group of 15 people and had the chief menu. Food was okay, but absolutely loved their seasons blood orange sangria and wine. Favorite dish was the seafood mixed rice and the garlic shrimp.

Excellent place for tapas. Great, very cool atmosphere & the food was superb. Highly recommended

I absolutely loved this place. Amazing food, lovely wine list, nice ambience without the sometimes SoHo pretentiousness. Sat at the bar and had a great time with wonderful service. Everything I tried stunned my tastebuds into delectable submission. The simplicity of their Pan de Tomato was artistry. They had a seasonal tapas with Salted and Pickled Anchovies on a peasant bread spread with goat cheese. Transformative.
Go there. Eat. Drink. Enjoy. Its that simple.

Had an awesome dinner experinese here. I would definitely recommend trying this place. They get really packed after 7 so be sure to show up early or make reservations.
The food was tasty and fresh, came out accordingly. I would definitely recommend the garlic shrimp.
The service was excellent. Can’t find anything bad to say.

Had dinner here on Friday, 01÷15÷16, and had the best time!
Food was perfectly seasoned and absolutely delicious!
Our last dish was running late but our excellent server Graham took great care of us. Him and the manager Kieran (hope I spelled it right) treated us to a yummy dish AND dessert as an apology. We were super impressed with their hospitality and thoughtfulness.
Would definitely recommend this place to everybody and I will go there again!

Haven’t visited the restaurant but had their food twice during office meetings and gatherings. Loved their cheesy balls and lamb skewers.
The food is very flavorful and unique. The bacon wrapped dates are a must try, the paella is also quite decent.
Overall the food has been consistently good and has been a party pleaser each time.
We also had some churros dipped in chocolate as desserts which was really good.
I will definitely visit the place in person the next time I have company.

I had heard a lot about Boqueria… in fact I had recommended a few friends here when they were looking for Spanish food, without even having gone myself. That’s how much confidence I had in it.
But nevertheless, I had to try it, so when a friend invited me to dinner here, I was excited. And I confirmed that this place is awesome. First of all, it’s fun and it’s a relaxed environment. While I didn’t like the sangria we ordered, Boqueria is definitely a place where you can spend drinking and eating your night away — I felt young and energized.
But perhaps my favorite part was the open kitchen. I was lucky enough to sit close to the cooks, and I watched them, making each dish, in small quantities, with skill and care. It made me appreciate the food so much more.
Food is delicious. From the potatoes to the pork belly to the octopus to the nutella churros, everything is authentic and innovative. Service is spotty at times, but I’ve never been one to deduct too many points to service.

Boqueria is a great tapas spot! Very popular so my tip is come in early at 6 for dinner. The cheese plates and all the tapas were spot on. We indulged on the desserts and got Churros with Nutella! Drool! The octopus was perfection and so was the tortilla.

Wandering around Soho, midday on Christmas Day, looking for a light lunch and maybe a glass of wine. NOTHING is open for blocks. It’s a ghost town. We stumble upon this little tapas bar and decide to give it a shot.
We order a split of Tempranillo and the seafood paella. Again, trying to have a small lunch. Our waiter warns us that the paella takes 35 minutes, so we decide to get lamb skewers too, while we wait.
The lamb comes out and it is perfectly seared and full of flavor. We got excited for our paella. 20 minutes pass. Then 20 minutes more. We were engrossed in our conversation and didn’t notice it had been nearly an hour. The restaurant was now packed (remember – only thing open for blocks).
That’s when Kierin, the manager, approached. He said, «I have a big problem. I’m so sorry, but there was a mixup and your paella didn’t get made. I want to feed you, though. If you have time, I will make you a new paella and I’ll bring you some tapas to enjoy while you wait. Of course, I won’t charge you.»
He proceeded to bring out a delicious sampling of several tapas plates that made us wish we had gone that way in the first place.
The paella that came out was excellent and overflowing with mussels, squid, shrimp and more. It was perfect. When the bill came, we were only charged for the wine. He even comped the skewers we ordered.
I didn’t really expect him to comp everything and my glowing impression has nothing to do with getting comped. Kierin took care of us with DELICIOUS food and honest service. He righted a wrong professionally. It was far and away the most generous gesture I’ve experienced in a restaurant. It made my trip to NYC.
Kierin is a true asset to this restaurant. The food is excellent, sure, but this guy genuinely cares about the experience and taking care of people. That’s what makes a place endure. We even talked about SF a bit – he’s originally from the Bay Area. I would certainly recommend this place. You will be treated and fed well.
Thank you!

I like this place, time and again when in Soho in good company, we end up in this tapas place. It does get crowded and the tables are placed very close together so during busy times, its not very private and could feel a bit claustrophobic. I also don’t like sitting next to the chef’s table as I don’t want to walk out smelling like a piece of steak but the food is always excellent, my favs are Pulpo a la plancha and gambas al ajillo — grilled octopus and shrimp with garlic. The octopus is perfectly done, tender and delicious, the garlic shrimp has the perfect unctuous garlic flavor and is an amazing dip for bread, which usually leads to everyone having a little too much bread LOL
Last time I took a friend for a birthday lunch and we really enjoyed it, the wine selection is also excellent, even by the glass, and we had enough time to try the seafood paella, which was good.
Boqueria Soho a consistently great experience and I am sure will be back here at some point :)

Three of us came here last night for our «thanksgiving» dinner (it really wasn’t very thanksgiving-​y). It was kind of empty but I guess that is mostly because of the holiday.
I got half a bottle of the 2010 Muga rioja ($ 39) which was good but I wish they had more half bottles (only had like 3). As for food this is what we got:
Fennel Salad (part of the thanksgiving menu) $ 12 which had fennel, pears, gorgonzola cheese, and walnuts I really liked the salad and it was also a large portion (considering this is tapas).
Pulpo a la plancha ($ 18) — probably one of my favorite octopus dishes that I have tried. It was larger than most the other dishes. It was perfectly prepared and was super filling because it came with a lot of mashed potatoes
Torrada de Matrimonio ($ 13) which was sardines in oil with bread and olives. It was good but I am not too crazy about sardines though this dish was much less salty than most sardines I have had.
Gambas al ajillo ($ 16) the shrimp was perfectly cooked and I loved the garlic in it (there is a lot!) but it only had like 6 pieces of shrimp and compared to the octopus which costs $ 2 more (and tastes a lot more to my liking) it wouldn’t be my top pick for a seafood dish
cojonudo ($ 8) I didn’t try this but it was small and came with 3 pieces of mini toast & quail eggs
Seafood paella for 2 ($ 23 per person) which was more than enough for 3 people to share. The rice was super crispy and the seafood wasn’t over cooked (which sadly a lot of times it does get overcooked in paellas). The only negative thing would be that it was VERY salty.
Overall I really liked Boqueria. Probably one of the better restaurants in this area. I would highly recommend the octopus and (if available) the fennel salad. Also something to keep in mind is while most dishes are on the smaller side, the paella is VERY large.

You absolutely cannot go wrong with a visit to Boqueria. On a recent visit to the city I was looking to treat myself a bit while hanging out near the Lower East Side. My previous experience at Boqueria was the midtown venue when I made three visits in a week-​long visit. Yea, that good, in a city overrun by fine food.
Most of the magic I found at the midtown location I found here as well, and mostly in a really friendly and talented bartender who seems to know exactly what’s going on in the entire restaurant.
Arrive by myself and sat and the bar and outlasted three patrons that sat to my immediate right, though one poor chap came in a guzzled a glass of wine and was out the door in like 5 minutes. I ordered their chef’s sampler, sort of a tapas version of omakase – the chef delivers whatever he feels like that night. And out it came. Bacon wrapped figs stuffed with cheese, smoked potatoes, a meat entrée that was yakitori style, a dessert, and, and, and… well, the night melted away with a couple of fine glasses of wine and surprising amount of great conversation with the variety of folks that sat down next to me by chance.
Lovely evening, about as well as you can have solo on a business trip, and confirmed my decision to come here. Whoever is running this set of restaurants really has it going. My hat is off to you. I will almost certainly be back next time I’m in the city.

I think I wrote a review for their other location but hey, I’ve been here more than once, it means something special.
We had an amazing sangria to start off the night, four of us sat right at the kitchen stools and I personally loved it, this location was also very crowded on a Friday night, and they do not take reservation of parties less than six I believe. The wait was about 30 mins, not bad for NYC downtown. It was one of my girl friends’ birthday, we ordered a prosciutto & cheese platter, fried potatoes, potato balls, seafood paella, garlic shrimps, lamb skewers, hanger steak, and four of us were stuffed so badly but satisfied.
Service was excellent, the space is slightly bigger than their 19^th street location so I was not squeezing myself through the crowd, three other tables were celebrating birthdays, but it’s not a teenager’s birthday party, you have beautifully dressed ladies and gentlemen with wine, you get the atmosphere.
I particularly love the potato mochi balls, so crispy but sticky and hot inside, the paella though, we all found it to be saltier than we would like, we watched the whole process of the paella (and other dishes) being cooked which was pretty cool, except for we all smelled like we worked in the kitchen for a bit.
There’s a glass window by the front door where you could observe the chef making cheese platters, it was lovely, as we were waiting we already decided to get everything we saw him make…

Quick trip to New York 2015 walking around SOHO, Unilocaled and got Boqueria on our radar, right across the street, let’s do it!
Nice entry, décor, felt transported to Barcelona, sat in the bar area. Started with a salumi plate, very nice, of course rich and fatty, just as it should be. Then had a squid, shrimp in garlic and olive oil, all very nice.
Dessert was fantastic, a quadrant of bread pudding, whipped cream and ice cream. Heavenly. Very nice experience.

I left here feeling like I was going to give a glowing 4-​star review but after reflecting upon my lunch, the tapas goggles have worn off and I think a 3.5-star review is appropriate. That extra half star matters, people.
Good:
— Intimate yet lively atmosphere in a trendy area, fun to bring a friend for lunch on a weekend like I did
— Pretty wide variety of menu items
— Received great service from our waitress, and she knew we would want extra bread to soak up the garlicky olive oil from the gambas
— Dàtiles con beicon — never had these with almonds before, so good
Not so good:
— Fairly overpriced for what you receive
— Tables are rather close together so the hostess has to physically remove the table for you to get in
— The garlic aïoli on the patatas bravas needs more garlic, the sauce underneath needs a lot more kick — «bravas“is in the name, after all!
— Gambas were tasty, although slightly overcooked and underseasoned
— Seared squid good, accompanying grilled veggies overly wilted
I fucking love tapas, so I would probably come back for another lunch or even dinner, but I am well aware that there are many other (better, more authentic) places for tapas in this city.

Consistency – by far one of the most important and memorable adjectives i like to find in many restaurants. It is part of the formula that actually gets me coming back – and this place is extremely consistent – great food, great service, great atmosphere, blah blah blah blah.
Located in Soho, you find yourself walking into a quaint restaurant with simple décor, reminds me a little of the restaurants in Barcelona. Never fails, but you’ll find a large iberico ham to your left, right before you hit the hostess stand. Their tables are high tops, with a large center table in the middle for large parties or just share some space for random diners. I recommend you call for a reservation as they do get pretty full.
The kitchen is open, so you actually get to see the magic happen which adds to this restaurants quaintness. They boast of a large array of tapas, from your traditional patatas bravas, to their lamb kebob with a delicious minced mint sauce. If you want something more filling, please enjoy their delicious paella (which is prepared for two, so I hope you have a large appetite). The garlic and oil infused camarones (shrimp) are probably my favorite on the menu. It’s a far better shrimp scampi if you ask me. If you have a sweet tooth, please enjoy their fried churros dipped in melted dark chocolate… a spiritual experience to say the least. Top your night off, with a selection from their robust selection of spirits, wine from all over Spain! Rioja for everyone!

Un très bon restaurant de tapas! Guidée par une amie NYquaise je me laisse entrainée ici pour un déjeuner. Nous commençons par prendre un verre de vin chacune, et à ma grande surprise (alors non je né suis pas vraiment confiante sur les vins aux us, peut-​être un peu trop française sur ce coup là) mais le vin était très bon!
Nous commandons ensuite plusieurs tapas, 3 ou 4 si je me souviens plus, et chacun était aussi bons les uns que les autres. Je dois dire que j’étais assez habituée aux tapas parisiens assez répétitifs (je né suis sûrement pas allée dans les meilleurs restos de Paris, ceci dit), mais j’ai tout de suite vu la différence. Tout était super bien assaisonné, les plats étaient originaux, et moi qui né suis pas très piquant, rien né m’a déplut, tout était vraiment très bon.
Petite mention spéciale pour les Churos au Nutella en dessert (miam miam), et attention quand même, car la note est assez salée si on prend plusieurs tapas sans vraiment regarder le prix (ce qui est souvent le cas, car les portions sont petites).
Une bonne adresse à garder!

Disappointed by this establishment. Expected much more from the food due to the décor. Overpriced, slow service, workers on their cell phones and socializing amongst themselves, burnt food.
Bottom line: steer clear unless you feel like giving your money away and enjoy burnt food.