Las Margaritas

2/21/2011 Updated review

So I came back here this past weekend with my bf. We sat at the bar this time since we were only here for drinks. I decided to try their chocolate raspberry martini and he tried the espresso martini. They were both mediocre, nothing really memorable or spectacular. All I could taste was the Irish Cream. I feel like the chocolate martinis from Ayza in Manhattan are much better and stronger. We opted for their signature margaritas (mango and lemon) after we finished our martinis. They were very refreshing.

Anyway, that night, we met a colorful stranger named John. He was a nice little guy and kept commenting on our relationship and telling us about his previous one and his current one. I think that's the best part about sitting at the bar. You always meet someone unexpected, usually drunk, but honestly nice and genuine. Usually. This John guy was no exception. I hope the next time we come back, we'll strike up a conversation with someone like John again. Perhaps we'll bump into him again soon...

7/22/2012

I've only been here twice, but I enjoyed it both times.  I'm really surprised at the negative reviews I'm reading about the food because that just wasn't my experience at all.  The atmosphere is really nice - soft lighting, with understated, tasteful decor.

We were a table of three last night.  We shared the guacamole and the calamari.  One person at our table felt the guacamole might be missing something because it's a simple guacamole; you taste the avocado more than anything else, no tomato, minimal spices.  In its defense, I thought it was a simple, clean flavor.  Everyone agreed that the calamari was perfect.

For entrees, we had the shrimp fra diavolo, the shrimp in garlic sauce and the bandeja tipica.  We were all very pleased with our entrees.  We're not professional foodies like some of the so-called cooks, chefs and so forth on here make thmselves out to be, but I think we recognize and appreciate good food.  We had good food here, from the chips and salsa they put on the table all the way through to our entrees.

We opted for a third round of drinks instead of dessert, but that's just a testament to the fact that the drinks were good, too.

The only thing I wasn't completely satisfied with was the service.  The service was very friendly and professional, but I think our server was overloaded and we had to flag him down for anything we needed, such as a round of drinks or the check.  His manner and that of the rest of the staff compensated for it to a degree, but it's always more enjoyable when someone shows up at the table every so often to follow up and see if you need anything.

3/17/2012

I'll keep it as short as my experience at this self-respecting establishment with a terrible name: average takeout shrimp & rice with a passable plantain side.

6/13/2010

For what it is--imagine, if you will, a South American equivalent of Applebee's, only with a lot less sugar and/or salt--it's pretty darn great... It's definitely not haute cuisine, but the comforting slightly Tex-Mex food on offer is more than decent, and the drinks (which could definitely be a little bit cheaper) are really strong.

4/14/2012

Went here with the hubby tonight to have dinner.(Saturday Night around 8:30pm) Not bad.
The crowd inside was a good mix between young and old.The vibe was happy and relaxed. They played some music in the background. The lighting was dark,they had small candles at each table.
Our waitress seemed nice.Took our order and as very attentive to the table,not TOO busy for a Saturday night.
Since they are known for their Margaritas I decided to order one. I ordered a Strawberry Margarita.WOOW! :) it was delish!...nice balance of frozen and mini chunks of strawberry,a little on the strong side,but still good.
We ordered the Porterhouse Steak and the Bandeja House Special?..
The steak was GOOD! Was cooked to perfection the way I ordered it. Big ,thick , juicy steak,had to bring almost half home. The Hubby ordered the Bandeja House Special? (think that's what it was called) He enjoyed it very much.the beans could have been a little bit SAUCIER...but still good.
Not a bad meal,would go back again.The price wasnt that bad either...3 drinks and two big meals...about $50.00

9/14/2011

I've came here a few times being that I'm near by. I once got a steak sandwich and it wasn't all that good. The cheese on it was melted but cold. The second time I had the skirt steak and I've had better. Actually the restaurant across from them has some amazing steak! Both times the service wasn't all up there and sometimes they tend to be rude! The margaritas are really good! Especially the mango one.

8/24/2012

Good food, horrible horrible service.  (Hope you get everything that comes with your meal when it comes or it'll get cold while you wait for the rest.)

5/13/2012

Came here on Mothers Day. WOW, what a dissapointment. I'm a cook so I know food. We had a party of four, some sangria and margaritas, $142 tab. Food was very very sub par. My mom asked for a chicken dish with veggies and had only soggie zuchini. I had a steak that arrived cold with gravy made from a pre mix packet. UGH! and trust me, I know true gravy. My sister had the shrimp which she said was rather good. My brother in aw the chicken cordon bleu which was edible he said. I truly hate wasting my hard earned money on poor food quality and this place takes the cake. I eat at small dives that are so much better than this. I mean how did u manage to mess up the rice? It's white rice, just let it cook adequately! I was against it given the YELP reviews but my sister insisted. Lesson learned. on the plus side the margarita was strong. NEVER coming back. I was born & raised in jackson Heights and now i know why I have avoided this spot or why people rarely mention it. Chivito de oro across the street is more low key in decor but much much better in terms of food quality and taste. I rarely jump to write a review but this just burned me. Happy eating folks

11/3/2010

Awesome drinks and the food is great. :)

2/28/2010

My partner and I went to this place today, and put simply, it was really bad. It was a good reminder of why we try to eat at home.

Right after we sat down, we got some free chips and salsa, which was cool, we thought, until we tasted the salsa. It seemed as though the chef had accidentally spilled about 5 tablespoons of salt into the tiny salsa cup. It was almost inedible. The chips were also salt overload, and I couldn't really eat too many.

We moved on to the food and started off with what the menu referred to as "Fresh Guacamole." This consisted of (from what we could tell) an avocado or two mashed up in a little bowl, with super salty tortilla chips around it, for 7 bucks. Not good. Not guacamole, even. And the chips, again, looked as though they had ice crystals attached to them, they were so unbelievably salty. We also ordered what the menu referred to as "Jalapeno Rellenos," which were, let's be serious here, jalapeno poppers. These things had a dense crust of disgusting chemically-tasting breading surrounding some tasteless, limp, pepper-like vegetables, with very artificial, neon-orange cheese inside. You could probably get better cheese-filled jalapenos at a movie theater, or maybe from a box, or perhaps in a garbage can. Those things were also ridiculously salty.

Being vegetarian (as of a month ago), we were kind of disappointed at the menu options, though maybe if you like sketchy meat this would be a good place for you to go. For us, though, our entree choices seemed limited to a vegetable burrito and a vegetable chimichanga. I ordered the burrito and my partner had the chimichanga. Yuck. Both were ginormous, but they were seriously grody. The "vegetables" turned out to be the kind that had obviously been frozen in a large bag only minutes before our order was placed, consisting mostly of green bell pepper chunks. The inside of my burrito was comprised of those and some watery cheesy goo. The handful of limp greens added to the plate did not much improve matters. There was also a hair in my food, ick. Everything, again, was ocean water salty. I drank 3 glasses of water while we were there and I left feeling as though I had ingested a handful of water softener pellets.

We still feel rather ill, and we only ate about 5 bites of this nastiness. We pretty much asked for the check as soon as the waitress (who was very nice - it's not her fault) came to ask how everything was. We politely refused "to-go" boxes.

To conclude, do not go to this place. It is gross and entirely too much money for the grossness. It is also the kind of grossness that lingers, apparently, as we ate there about an hour and a half ago and still feel like we need to brush our teeth again and drink another giant glass of water. Don't go. Your stomach and wallet and kidneys will thank you.

1/10/2011

Great drinks, lovely staff and a good crowd. Not being at all latin i thought there might be some confusion, i can happily say we were treated like the excellent patrons we are. We had a mix of appys along with the drinks. Just nice overall experience. We'll be back.

11/18/2011

I have to agree with Luis W & Peter K. on their reviews of this place.
I am going to sum it up like this:
.
The food is, low quality, not that good, and too expensive.
The waitresses are nice, but the men waiters are very aggressive and pushy.
The Margaritas are too expensive, too little, and not that good.
The worst hamburgers in NY, hands down.
The steaks are low quality beef.
.
The waitresses are nice, but the men waiters are very aggressive and pushy and all they do is look at all the girls that come in to the restaurant and also look at the waitresses all day.
I can answer Peter K on why this place still survives and that is because the owner of this place is the owner of Pollos Mario on 83rd street & 37th ave.
.
I don't recommend this place to anyone, save your money and go somewhere else where you can eat more for less and also taste better,
There are a lot better places in Jackson Heights like Boina
Roja on 37th ave.
I gave it one star because they didn't let me put less.

4/12/2011

m-th $4 Margaritas, delish. I stick with their guac and chicken quesadillas.