Sonora Restaurant

I was very disappointed by my experience Saturday night (January 16) at Sonora. I had received emails advertising a «Lobster Special» throught out the MLK weekend. When we asked the waiter about it he said they’d have the special the next night, but it wasn’t available on Saturday. He told me we could get a more larger and more expensive lobster dish that was on the menu (bait and switch?). I went home, checked the advertisement, confirmed that I was right and wrote to the restaurant. I haven’t heard back from the restaurant with any explanation for what appears to be false advertising.
Drinks, guacamole and dessert (flourless chocolate cake) were excellent. Main courses were fine, but nothing special. Service was too efficient — both my wife and I felt rushed.
Sonora used to be one of our favorite restaurants.

From the freshly made authentic guacamole in molcajete and home made chips to the mango sangria, for starters — this place gave us a great indication of the yumminess to come!
We tried the branzino with mushroom risotto — superbly seasoned and so fresh!
We also had the rib-​eye, which was simply succulent perfection. Even the maduros accompanying the delectable filet mignon rice bowl was also very tasty and quite a flavor innovation of chef Palomino’s extensive Latin American palate — in one word the whole experience was impressive!
Dessert was literally the strawberry on top — we tried the Dulce de leche cheese cake and the churros — both works of art of the tastiest kind!
The place gets 5 stars for amazingly fresh deliciousness and excellent attentive service. Can’t wait to come back!

Walked in early Saturday night– with kids and no reservation. While we were waiting for them to set our table, chef came over and started talking to us. (Mets fan!) he was great. Even though not in the menu he made my daughter ‘hard’ tacos and we happened to mention it was her birthday. Food was delicious and at the end they sent over a birthday dessert for our daughter. So thoughtful! Great service, delicious food. We definitely will be back!

This was a very beautiful meal. Guacamole and empanadas and Chilean salmon crudo as appetizers were sublime and the Entrecôte with chimmichurri was superb-​and side of plantains was lovely and not overly fried my son Carne Asada was superb!
Yuca chips were good but could be a bit hotter when served

We came here for 2015 Restaurant Week (Sunday) & Disappointing — I am a loyal customer and have been coming Raffle’s restaurants in NY and CT for a few years, and my group of four were not happy with the customer service at Sonora. I am not complaining about the food because This has never been a problem.
The problem was with the «Temperature Inside» the restaurant. I asked our server to put up the heat because we were freezing and cold air was blowing out of the vents. **Note: the temperature outside that night was in the mid 50 degree range. Our server did tell us that she would take care of it. However, a half hour later cold air was still being pumped out of the vents. Honestly, if there was an issue with the heating system she should have told us, but she didn’t say a word. Myself and my other guest were sitting in our jackets eating and looking around the place there was another women with her jacket on, so we were not only one’s cold. Honestly, we will not be returning back to Sonora because I refuse to sit and eat my meal in a cold restaurant. *Note: I did write to Sonora about this issue on their website, but never heard back from them. SEE YOU IN THE SUMMER!

Nice décor
Good drinks
The paella dish was alright with the rice being undercooked
The salmon was good
Very good service

I made a reservation for my boss to entertain a client one weekday evening mid July. I had never been and it was shot in the dark but previous good reviews and an excellent website that shows the chef’s extensive experience and what the place looks like made me comfortable with the choice. It turned out to be an excellent choice and my boss and more importantly, our client were thrilled with their experience. They said the food was excellent and the wine selection was impressive.
I ended up meeting the chef at 2015 Best of Westchester Party a week later and I approached to let him know how impressed my boss was and how happy our client was with their meal. Chef Rafael Palomino could not have more gracious and happy to hear about it. I will be making more plans for client meals there and I will make sure to head there myself with some friends.

Came here for brunch. A bit pricey for brunch but well worth it. Never seen such a nice presentation of eggs. Staff are very nice and professional.

The mango sangria was both tasty and strong. The menu was cute, labeling where each dish was from, culturally. The service was great; very sweet and knowledgable of the dishes. We ordered three tapas, including the steak and manchego cheese flatbread and quinoa empanadas. Everything was delicious! There were many creative dishes, which made the experience fun as well. We shared lomo saltado, which was presented beautifully and was full of flavor.
Unfortunately the lomo was a tad on the salty side. There was a man there, by the way he was dressed most likely the owner, who was a little intense. All the staff were, as mentioned, wonderful, but this guy seemed to make all of the young servers nervous. Owner/​manager in the grey suit, take a chill pill. Customers pick up on this and it even made me feel a little uneasy. But our server was great, warm, and knowledgable.
Overall, I would suggest this place, lovely for tapas and trying something new. I will definitely be returning. Hopefully grey suit guy drinks some sangria before my next visit so I can give 5 stars next time

My husband and I reserved Sonora for our wedding back in May and it was one of the best decisions we ever made. The food, the drinks, and the service were top notch! We worked very closely for months with Omar, the manager, he accommodated all our requests and details and really worked hard to make this day as smooth as possible. Many of our guests told us they’d like to return to the restaurant even though we live in NYC with endless options of Latin restaurants.

The food and front of the house are good but the service ruined the meal.
Ordered an app for my daughter’s main and told the server it was her dinner. Brought it 15 minutes before the mains. Ordered a second drink before dinner. The server came back after I had finished my meal to say they were out of that beer. 20 minutes to figure out your out of a beer? My water glass sat empty the entire dinner as well. They were only half full with plenty of staff. Completely unacceptable service for an expensive restaurant.
The kicker was I thought they recognized
their errors because the bill came without any of the drinks. Gave them my credit card, when they brought the bill back said forgot to add the drinks, sorry.
This is how bad service ruins a meal. If I was then owner, I would revisit staffing because I can’t be the only one this happens too. Might be the reason the restaurant is half full on a Thursday night because the food isn’t.

To be fair, Sonora knocked 50% off our bill and offered us a flan for dessert, which we declined. Something seemed wrong lastnight, but if that something belies deeper problems, they better get them fixed. They have lost us for good. Before the problems surfaced we were told they had just introduced a new menu the previous week, but that should not be an excuse, nor was it offered as one. In fact, it should be all the more reason why what happened to us should not have occurred.
Several issues, but the biggest is that the menu is quite specific about the two entrees we ordered with what was presented to us nothing like what it proclaimed. We felt as if the restaurant was cutting corners and assuming its customers would be too stupid to realize the scam. Not saying that was the intent, but it felt that way. Cheaper ingredients were used in lieu of claims on the menu, and very poorly prepared.
Menu item #1: PUERCO AL SARTEN — $ 24. Bacon wrapped Pork tenderloin (ordered medium well) | Chia salad with shiitake mushrooms, sweet plantain, diced mango and arugula | Parsley chimichurri sauce
What she got: a very dry, overcooked pork loin, NOT tenderloin. Quinoa cooked with button mushrooms, baby spinach, underripe diced mango. A pinch of chia seed scattered around her plate. No shiitake, no plantain, no arugula.
Menu item #2: ENTRECOT AL SARTEN — $ 33. Coffee rubbed Rib eye steak (ordered medium) served with a Heirloom tomatoes (sic) salad and a Spanish Serrano ham potato cake topped with chimichurri
What I got: two blackened, tasteless pieces of beef lacking any juice, with the barest hint of pink. It might have been ribeye, hard to tell; but it was certainly a cheap piece of beef poorly cooked. The «potato cake» was hash browns — I did not see the ham at first, and certainly could not taste it. The wife pointed out the few 2 mm cubes among the strands of potatoes. Quite a stretch, but I suppose it meets the description. The heirloom tomato salad did not. It was three cherry tomato halves with diced cucumber, asparagus, and a few leaves of — wait for it — arugula! Served in a two-​inch ramekin.

Ive never been to a hispanic restaurant that serves only 1 type of rice, and the rice is made with seafood. Not everyone eats seafood. Never coming back here. However the waiters are very sweet.

I recently had a dinner for 2 that was excellent, and then followed up with a surprise birthday party upstairs and the food, drinks, and service was perfect. They not only have a very cool ambiance but the food is so flavorful and creative. I went back last week for a birthday celebration and again a table full of happy customers. From the guacamole to the swordfish — perfect Not to mention the sangria and the margaritas. Speaking of Margaritas, that was the waitresses name and she was incredibly warm and kind. Thank you again

Went for Valentine’s Day 2015. It was packed but we had made a reservation. The table we sat out was kind of a hallway next to a patio door and an emergency exit door. You can tell they struggled to make sure there was seating for everyone and more. A few people complained that were sat at the table next to us and were moved promptly to another area. We didn’t mind because it gave two options to escape in the event of a lovers quarrel turning bloody.
They offered the regular menu and a pre-​fixe menu. We ordered from the pre-​fixe menu. I had the duck quesadilla, my partner had the tuna tacos. For entrees I had the bacon wrapped pork loin, my partner went with roasted bass. The dessert was a share-​able flan and flour-​less chocolate cake with ice cream on it. The food was great but I thought it was expensive compared to the regular menu. $ 69 per person for the pre-​fixe, where most entrees were $ 20-​$ 30 and apps were $ 5-​$ 15.
We ordered four specialty drinks from the bar. A chupacabra margarita, a ginger and pepper margarita, a peartree martini and a pisco sour. The margaritas were the best of the four.
We will return, but will order from the regular menu.

I went to Sonora on Valentine’s Day with a friend and was very excited to try a new restaurant. It was pretty funny when we pulled up and I realized that I’d be there before (totally forgot).
We had an 8:45 pm reservation and were seated promptly. Several waiters came to the table to take our drink orders and ensure that we had everything that we needed at our table. We both ordered the filet mignon appetizer and after a while we spotted what we thought was our first course. Well to our surprise the appetizers were given to the couple sitting next to us. This couple arrived about 10 minutes after we were seated. I thought to myself, what a coincidence that they ordered the same thing we did and their food came first. We patiently waited a while longer and still no appetizer in sight. So we called over one of the waiters and he told us that our food was mistakenly given to the couple next to us. Shortly after that, the appetizer that the couple actually ordered was sent to their table (IT WAS SOUP-​CAN YOU BELIEVE THEY DIDN’T TURN AWAY THE APPETIZER THAT THEY KNEW THEY DIDN’T ORDER??)
I was a bit disappointed that the restaurant’s error was barely acknowledged and we didn’t so much as get a complimentary drink :(
Anyway, when our appetizers finally came they were delicious. The steak was tender and the horseradish and cilantro dipping sauce was a nice combination. Our entrees came without a hitch and my lobster ravioli was AMAZING! The lobster was cooked to perfection and the cream sauce was rich and flavorful. My friend said his steak was just ok: s.
If I’m ever in the area I may try Sonora out again…

My boyfriend and I had a great valentines /​anniversary at Sonora. We weren’t looking forward to the Pre-​fixed menu so much before heading there, But once we walked in we were very nicely welcomed by two beautiful young professional hostess. Once seated I loved the lighting in the room it wasn’t too dim like I envisioned a Valentine’s Day– date night most rated restaurant to be. I watched and was impressed at all the young staff work off very professionally. We were very satisfied with our appetizers and main courses I won’t mention since it was a one time only selection. The portions were pretty small something my Italian boyfriend is not fond of but surprisingly he was very happy with his selections and mines. Dessert was average. Cocktails just like they should be. And we can’t wait to come back and try their Brunch and dinner menu.

For food I would give them 4-​stars but the waiters push so hard to get you in and out that it absolutely ruins the evening. This is based on two visits over the past year or so.
Too bad…

Restaurant week forces me to get out and about (within a 1-​hr driving radius, that is), so four of decided to make the trip to Sonora for dinner and the RW specials.
The red sangria was very good — the pricetag for a pitcher seems daunting at first, but it’s a fairly large carafe and realistically is not much more expensive than four drinks on our own.
My app was very good — a quinoa quesadilla. The apps in general were a bit on the small side, but they were at least tasty. Two of us got the braised short ribs, and two of us got the paella. I can’t comment on the short ribs, but they seemed good, as one person cleaned both his plate and the remnants of the other. The paella was good — fine — and while mine was a bit short on «stuff» and a bit heavy on rice, you kind of can’t go wrong with it. I had sorbet for dessert — mango and coconut — which was very good, but I was cold and didn’t finish it.
The service was ok, if not sliiiiiightly intrusive. One server was very loud, and the others were sort of hovering. That aside, they at least served in proper order (eldest woman to youngest) and from the proper sides (serve on left, clear on right). It’s good for small groups, of which there were several very loud ones — It’s a small place, so sound carries, but generally the ambiance is nice, and I’d be inclined to return if I happened to be in the area, but I don’t know that I’d make a special trip.

Had a pretty good meal last week. We started off with the guacamole, which was excellent the first time and very good the second time we ordered it.
My wife ordered the paella and I had the chicken relleno and we each enjoyed our meals. The ambiance is very nice and romantic for a date night.