Matiz

3.5 stars. The seafood paella was tasty, but very small and fried yuca fries were made to order so be careful, they’re extremely hot! The food portion here is quite small, but if you like to do family style, you can always order lots of apps and a few entrees so you can taste more than 1 – 2 items on the menu. I like the guacamole trio which came with regular, pineapple and cheese chunks in it and the shrimp ceviche, which was served in a martini glass with sweet plantain chips.
The service here was pretty good. Always checked up on us and came around to refill our water cups. The sangria here is decent, not much alcohol in it. The soda here is very very flat, since they use the soda guns, instead of can soda. Overall, the price was pretty fair, considering the size of the plates.

My boyfriend took me here because I was craving paella and after reading the reviews we also got an order or Arepitas!
Both the paella and the Arepitas were delicious! The Arepitas come in three with two beef (?) on corn bread I think and one chicken on white. I really really liked the beef and make sure to ask for hot sauce! The paella was also one of the better ones I’ve had in NY.
In addition, the waitress was very attentive and friendly! Can’t wait to go back.

Came here last Sunday evening for a dinner.
We had small plates empantoes, fish tacos and some of the cheese and crab dip. The food was very savory and authentic. It’s a cozy and intimate atmosphere. They also have a full bar set up too. It’s a nice place to go for lunch, dinner or to get some drinks.

Haven’t had delicious latin cuisine in a while around Forest Hills since we had only limited selection to say the least. After doing some research and finding Matiz on Unilocal,I did not hesitate to try it. It finally sufficed my cravings for latin food. This is my new ‘go to’ place! Superb food!

I really wanted to like this new spot, and am genuinely disappointed given all the glowing reviews here. It makes me wonder how authentic the reviews are in Unilocal.
The décor has a very nice feel, and it is cozy inside, but that’s pretty much the best part of our experience. While the staff was friendly, they were not very attentive. We had to ask for water three different times from different servers before we eventually got someone to bring it to us, and not until we were done with dinner. We also had to wait a long time to flag someone down for our bill.
As for the food, everything looked good, but was incredibly bland. If you want great tasting Latin food I would urge you to go to cabana nearby instead. We tried the mofongo, and it tasted bland. Also tried the bandeja plate, as well as the paella. I don’t reach for salt when I eat, but this made me wish I had some to sprinkle on all three dishes. For the price they charge and how little the serving is (on the bandeja plate especially) it is truly disappointing. Presentation is nice but flavor is lacking. I’ve had better bandeja plates in Jackson heights for half the price. We also tried their much praised (on Unilocal) arepitas, and it was also disappointing. The toppings were bland, and the arepas fell apart and seems too soft and spongy. Maybe I just got spoiled by arepas at the Arepa Lady in Roosevelt, but these were just a letdown.
I sincerely hope this new place sticks around and improves their food.

My husband and I were taking a stroll in the neighborhood when he began to feel his stomach growl. So when we saw Matiz we decided to give it a try. At first when we walked in we were completely ignored, even though the bartender and the waiter helping a table clearly had seen us. At least acknowledge us?
After a few moments we were finally seated. My husband ordered the Arepitas for a starter and the Bandeja Matiz while I ordered the Pollo Matiz.
When the Arepitas finally came it smelled soo good, and our stomachs were already aching with hunger so we dove right in. Although they were small in size, boy did they pack a punch. It was very unique to have the meat salty and then finish with the sweetness of the corn arepas on the bottom. It was delicious. When we finished, we were very excited for our entrees because we were definitely not disappointed with our starter.
Both entrees were OMFG. My husband loved the way the steak was cooked and marinated as well as the sauce that was drizzled on it, for mine the potatoes were cooked to perfection and the sauce was out of this world. They were very flavorful and I really enjoyed it.
The bread pudding to conclude this wonderful meal was also very good. It was came piping hot from the kitchen with a side of vanilla ice cream and some kind of cherry or raspberry sauce.
During the duration of the meal the waitress was very attentive even though we didnt feel so welcomed in the beginning. But the meal was SUPERB.

This place was phenomenal… The food was sensational and the service was beyond compare!!! The staff was extremely attentive, friendly and knowledgeable of their menu. I would like to call particular attention to the waitress named Lesly. She was a breath of fresh air with her genuine smile and ever apparent desire to ensure my experience @ Matiz was unforgettable… She was simply amazing!!! I look forward to my next meal @ Matiz and i would highly recommend this resteraunt to all!!!

Less than a month ago I had my bday dinner here, if you are looking for a classy and a comfy space this is the place !
We started with the guacamole trio, the empanadas, the patacones, and my favorite the fish tacos. YUMI!!.
For meal, we all try to get different plates, and all of them were delicious, but my recomendation, go for the pabellon criollo !! A perfect mix of beans, rice, cheese and maduros! :)
And finally the best part !! The desserts !! We went for passion fruit tres leches, chocolate lava cake, and guava empanadas. Very tasty all of them .
Even though they dont have a full bar yet, they have beers, and a good list of wine, so I highly recomend this place.
TIP: Make reservation, it can get really hard to find a table on friday nights ;)

Great people and nice music playing all the time
Great atmosphere and delicious food!

I wanted to try and new restaurant in the area. This was probably the worst Latin food I have ever had. Our waiter handed us our menus and didn’t tell us if they had a drink menu at all, so i decided to have passion fruit juice and it has a strange after taste. I couldn’t take a 2^nd sip.
I started my meal with the Fish Tacos, they were bland and greasy. The waiter offered me hot sauce, which was absolutely disgusting and inedible.
My husband had the skirt steak which was burnt and didn’t exactly look like skirt steak, I had the pork mofongo. It had a sauce on top of it that tasted like soy sauce and was slathered in peppers and onions. I was so turned off by the food I had to leave. I ended up throwing it all away.

We came here during the first month they opened. The food was pretty good. But we were a big group. Food wise, everyone enjoyed their main dish, we all tried different things.
The Biggest critiques I have is:
1) The wait time for food — took them 45 minutes after we placed our orders for food to come out. It felt like an hour.
2) The portions for some of the appetizers were really small. We order the guacamole, which was delicious, but the bowls where they put the guacamole in are super small. There are more chips than guac, and after six dips, the thing is gone. There is basically only enough for everyone to have one or two bites in total and then scrape whatever was on the bottom. Oh and we were 5 ppl and we ordered 2 of the chips and guac. (just to give you an idea) And the bowl wasn’t filled to the top of the rim with guac.
3) The tables are really small and the plates are very big making it really hard to squeeze everything on the surface and sit comfortably.
4) I love the modern décor, but the lighting was so dark that I felt like I could barely see at times. I know the ambience they were going for, but it was night time as well, so I think they could have added a little more light.
All in all, I like that this place came to Forest Hills, but if they can tweak some of these things I will become a regular otherwise I wish it good luck.

Probably some of the worst food I have had in Forest Hills, I don’t even know where to start. My fish (pescado Veracruzano) tasted like they just pulled it out of the freezer after months of sitting in there, had that overly «fishy» smell and taste as my wife likes to call it, which doesn’t often stand out to me, but at Matiz, it was in full force. There is absolutely no way it was fresh. Also, the green rice that it came with tasted like nothing.
Otherwise, had the Patacones which were at best quickly forgettable, and at worst the chicken had a very unpleasant taste to it. I mean, its chicken, how could you make it taste that bad? If anything, I would expect it to have no taste. The paella? Forget it, although that may have been the highlight. And as for the wine? I should have expected nothing less than to get a $ 9 glass of the house wine, which amounted to either a chardonnay or sauv blanc from Beringer, again, I am trying to repress the memory). That bottle (think it was larger than a standard 750ml) probably cost less than $ 9.
At the end of the day, I love FOHI, and I’m always rooting for new places to be successful, but Matiz more than has its work cut out for it.

This was on my bookmarks to try since it opened. It was a 5 – 10 mins wait for a table when we got there so my friend ordered a Sangria at the bar. Finally we got a table by the window where there was a commotion happening right outside the restaurant. Why get one dish for one another… its much better trying a little of everything from Platos Chicos section of the meu. Our server Angelo was friendly, attentive and always have a big, happy smile on his face. Whenever he checked up on us, I would replied «Mama Like» and its the honest truth sooooooo yummy in my tummy! Angelo brought out a huge plate with everything was plated to minimize our table space so thoughtful =)
Food (shared): Carimanolas (omg love these Yuca and Mozzarella Cheese balls), Patacones (the shredded beef topping is my favorite as I am beast when it comes to red meat lol), and Taco de Pescado (wooooo very yummy and impacted with a lot of flavor profile)
Dessert: Passion Fruit Tres Leches (my friend’s order) and Vanilla Flan (my order… I love FLAN yo)
Add this baby to your bookmarks because its worth yo!

Absolutely delicious restaurant with delicious food and great service! We oredered the Arepitas, Mofongo with shrimp, Bandeja Matiz, and deserts of passionfruit tres leche and bread pudding. All were delicious and bursting with flavor. All tasted totally authentic and like what I enjoyed in Peru and Puerto Rico. I enjoyed each and every bite of the food that I consumed and licked the plate clean. I cannot wait to come back and I am super thrilled that such an awesome restaurant is right in my neighborhood!

Oh, I definitely LOVE eating at Matiz! We’ve enjoyed brunch and dinner in the past 2 months and each meal was delicious and memorable. Patacones, Empanaditas and the Arugula Salad are all delicious as appetizers and we’ve demolished Arroz Imperial Cubano, Pabellón Criollo, Pescado Veracruzano and Paella Matiz with side orders of Tostones, Maduros and Fried Yucca (yes, I love me some starch, especially Latino style). All this accompanied by their kick-​ass Sangria and their Brunch is AMAZING. we’re usually stuffed after lunch and dinner here, though we have tried and loved their Dulce de Leche cake (KILLER).
What a treat to have Matiz across the street! Whenever we arrive, we’re greeted like long lost friends, and we’re always made to feel at home. I’m so glad to have this welcome addition to Queens Boulevard. GO!

I’ve bookmarked this place for weeks and was excited to finally come here this past Friday with my husband for dinner. It was close to 7pm and it was surprising only about a quarter full, which works for me — no wait. Angelo was our server and he was absolutely a gem.
We ordered the patacones as well as the taco de pescado for appetizers. For entrees, we ordered the paella matiz and the churrasco. Yes, we were very hungry. I was pleasantly surprised to see that they had soursop milkshake but decided it would be too much in addition to all the food we had ordered. I love that fact that Angelo did not try to convince us to order the milkshake knowing that we were very interested, but was honest and agreed he felt it would’ve made us too full. Next time for sure I’ll get it.
The patacones was the first appetizer that was served and it was fantastic. I’ve always like tostones but these are on a whole different level — particularly because of the awesome toppings and dips it came with. The shredded beef was very tasty, but the real winner was the hogao. Angelo also brought us some hot sauce and eating the tostones with the hot sauce itself is very good also.
The taco de pescado came out second. It consisted of three little appetizer-​sized fish tacos. Cute presentation. However, because the patacones was so savory and richly flavored it really drowned out these fish tacos. Perhaps if the fish tacos were served first it would’ve been better? It was pretty good, but I just did not enjoy it as I did the first appetizer.
The churrasco was sooo flavorful and delicious, I was over the moon. The beef was tender and juicy. The steak was cooked just ever so slightly more than I would’ve like, but that’s okay — I still enjoyed every bit of it. The garlic spinach it came with was delightful, and I’m sure its very bad for you since it tasted very buttery — but for that moment, I did not care. GET IN MY BELLY!
Lastly, the paella. At first bite I thought it was a bit bland and just okay but as I kept eating it I started liking it more and more. I like how you can taste every separate thing that is inside the paella from the mussels, clams, to the sausages and the rice itself. Excellent. Plus it makes for one helluva leftover for the next day. My one big problem which is the main reason as to why I had to take a star off was that the mussels were not debearded. When I had a mussel and saw that, I thought it was just a fluke but when I saw that the second one had that too I was like WTF? I think it’s basic 101 when it comes to cleaning mussels. I mean who wants to eat a bunch of nappy hair-​like things coming out of your food? In hindsight I should’ve said something but for some reason I was so confused at that moment about the whole thing — I’ve never seen mussels served like that so it really threw me off.
Two appetizers and two entrees costed us close to $ 100 after tax and tip. But we were full and even had leftovers. I think it’s worth the money for special occasions — I definitely can’t be coming here every other day because of the cost. Overall I had a really good time. I enjoyed the food, the music, the ambience, and the service was great. I would be back.

So excited about this new addition to the neighborhood!!! There really isnt any good spanish restaurants in forest hills to speak off that are good when it comes to spanish food. The place isnt so big maybe 50 people or so. The bar itself holds about 6. The service was excellent. Our waiter was extra attentive and would come over often to see if there is anything else we needed. This is a nice place for girls night out or date night. The music selection was also very good. They had a variety of artist playing like my all time favorite, Marc Anthony. The décor has a blue tinge and with the music you feel transported to the carribean. Lets talk about the food. I ordered the fish tacos. You will receive 3 healthy filled tacos with salsa verde, some sort of orange dressing (chipotle aioli) and pico de gallo. delicious. The fish is fried in a light batter. Not overly doughy. Since this is a latin american restaurant you will see that all spanish countries are equally reprersented with one or two dishes in the mnenu that latin people are known for. Main courses i tried were the Mofongo and the Bandeja Matiz. Portions are a bit smaller than your other less formal spanish restaurants. The Bandeja Matiz was kind of like the bandeja montanera for tierras columbianas. However, the portions were smaller. But the flavor were fantastic. If you try this dish you will find that the churrasco will be the next dish you try. The skirt steak used for the churrasco was so juicy and tasty. You also tasted a sort of charcoal flavor to it. You can beat it the selection of the bandeja (rise and beans with chicharon, chorizo, skirt steak, maduros, avocado, corn cake and egg).
Drinks — try the sangria. Delicious and strong! The serving is also good because they give you long glasses. I believe they offer sangria by the pitcher but they were running out of sangria and they didnt want to make us wait. Nice that they were honest about it. They did buy us a round of drinks on the house because they couldnt meet our request for the sangria pitcher immediately. I will be back and I cant wait to try their other dishes. Make reservations. It was pretty bsy for friday dinner and parking is tough in the area.

Really enjoyable dining experience with Angelo and the rest of the folks here. Thanks to Unilocalers we tried:
Patacones, pork dish, fish tacos and 3 guacamole which were all well prepared and tasty.
For dessert we tried the rice pudding & flan bother done innovatively. Rice pudding was served warm and the flan was a rice almost cheesecake like texture.
Happy new addition to da hood!

Service is excellent! Food was great!
We had Patecones — That was delicious!!! Highly recommended
Ceviche — not my favorite. The shrimp tasted like the frozen shrimp bags you buy at the supermarket and it was a little bland
Bandeja Matiz– Excellent!!! A Must have
Paella — I loved it but my friend said it was Ok
Forgot the name of the last dish but it was shredded beef with rice, beans & plantains– Excellent! It was delicious
We are so excited that we finally have a nice Spanish restaurant in the neighborhood with yummy food, great service and great location. Oh and lots of space (we love cabanas but it’s too crowded and the wait is too long)

Just stopped by for the soft opening of this place and I’m excited to say I think it will be a favorite. The food was delicious. We got some staples: fish tacos (!), empanadas, calamari, the flavors were harmonious and they neither overwhelmed nor bored these fairly picky taste buds. Can’t wait for the place to officially open. The staff too were very nice, friendly and wonderfully attentive without being obsequious. I could see it being perfect both for intimate dates as well as casual drinks with friends. I would even feel comfortable flying solo in the cozy décor and calming Latin music. Hope they stay in the neighborhood for a long time.
Ps: excuse the blurry photo of the fish tacos, I was in too much of a hurry to eat them, but rest assured they were as visually pleasing as they were yummy! ;)