Azucar

We went based on the recommendation of two co-​workers. Very disappointed. We went on a Friday night at 6:30. There were 2 cars in the parking lot. We were tempted to leave because that’s an indicator that the place isn’t good. We should have gone with our instincts. There were two workers, hence the two cars. The guy barely pulled himself away from his cell phone to greet us and asked us if we wanted to sit in the bar. We said Dining. He brought us up the stairs to a woman that was sitting down. she took us around a strange tight corner where the coffee station was. Just past it was the dining room. It was completely empty. The décor was kind of warm and formal. White linens. Silver ware looked dingy. There wasn’t crystal like another person mentioned. We were very tempted to leave yet again. I asked for a drink menu. The guy said hold on let me get the woman. She said they don’t have one, but they have a full bar. I asked if they had Pear vodka. They didn’t so I just ordered the Mojito since it was a Cuban place and it was the one and only drink on the menu. It was a very mediocre mojito. They added sour mix to it instead of lime juice, which was disappointing. Since there was no other customers you would think they would have time to attend to us. We waited forever. They didn’t ask how anything was, or if we needed anything else. Since I was unimpressed with the drink, I ordered a Bud light lime. The glass came wet, not frozen and had lipstick on it. I had to call the lady over to tell her.
Appetizer– fried plantain and shrimp was very tasty. Lots of garlic, but very good.
Husband got the shredded beef on rice with plantains. He said it was good, but has had better.
I had the Snapper with Calamari– it was very good. had a nice spice, cooked correctly. Served with plantains and rice.
The food was good, but I question their cleanliness, due to the lipstick on the glass and another person mentioned that the bathroom was gross. That’s an indicator that the kitchen is also bad. So that skeeved me out. They definitely need to take some customer service classes. This is the first time that I’ve ever dined and being the only people there. Especially being a Friday night. There weren’t any customers coming in as we left either. It was very uncomfortable and awkward. We definitely will not be going back.

My partner and I visited Azucar with a Groupon, on a Wednesday night around 715p, reservations at 730p. FInding the proper entrance was a bit awkward – we walked into a bar area with several older couples dancing. A gentleman tried to entice us with a free tango lesson, but we were here to eat.
We ended up entering at the back end of the dining room, and the woman (perhaps one of the owners) led us to a table. There were several others diners – two couples and a table of four. Soon after a solo diner and another pair arrived. Later on another pair. We arrived at 715p, got our entrees at 830p, and left a bit before 9p. So it was busy – which may be related to the fact that the groupon was expiring that day, but who knows.
I really want to like this restaurant; I like family-​/​locally-​owned businesses, I like Cuban food… but I was completely underwhelmed and vaguely disappointed.
What we ate:
— Warm bread and olive oil brought to the table — best part of the meal. And necessary because we were starving by the time the entrees came out.
— Passed on the apps
— He had the camarones al ajillo, which included rice, plantains, and salad. The salad was overseasoned, much too salty. The shrimp was also overseasoned and overcooked. He said the rice was the best part. I thought the sweet plantains were.
— I had the sapon (?cursive was hard to read) caribeno, which was a mix of mussels, clams, shrimp (overcooked), some white fish, and calamari with rice in a «corn coconut lobster broth.» None of those flavors was pronounced enough. It was fine, not bad, but not anything to write home about.
I would not return to this restaurant…
1. The wait was ridiculous, especially for the meals we had (seafood). We had no appetizers. We polished off the bread and sat around for a looong while.
2. Combined with lack of service. She didn’t even ask us if we wanted anything to drink. Nor did she acknowledge that we had waited so long.
3. The food was mediocre and overpriced. If not for the groupon I would feel terribly ripped off.
4. I had leftovers and they did not have proper takeaway containers. I had to bring home the broth, etc. in a foil lasagne pan, haha.

This restaurant is a diamond in the rough. The food was fantastic. We had the plantains with chorizo for the appetizer. It was delicious. Our entrees were the pork with lemon garlic sauce and the ropa vieja. Both had great flavor and they were extremely filling. We had plenty to take home when all was said and done. The bread and oil was also good. I would come here again for the food. Sadly, we were the only customers at 6pm on a Saturday, so we sat in the dining room alone. Another family showed up towards the end of our meal and they sat them right next to us, even though the dining room was empty. The print on the menu was extremely hard to read, so I would suggest they update that. I’m curious about he salsa dancing that occurs at night, so maybe I’ll come later in the evening.

My friend and I went to Azucar on a Thursday night. We had never been to the restaurant, only the bar, so we thought we’d give it a try. Anyway, I had called and made a reservation and told them we had a Groupon. The lady said that would be fine. We arrived, were seated, ordered our meals, and everything was perfect. My friend ordered the chicken with caramelized onions and I ordered the snapper. Both were excellent, and I would’ve given 5 stars if it weren’t for the awkward ending to our visit. When it came time to pay the bill, we gave the server our Groupon and a credit card to pay the balance and she said, «You need to spend more money to use the Groupon. You can use it next time.» We couldn’t believe it! We had to politely argue with this woman that that is not how it works. Then, she finally said she couldn’t run the credit card and that we had to pay the balance in cash, which was an inconvenience. We definitely would’ve left a larger tip if it weren’t for this unfortunate end to our experience.

This was my first visit to Azucar. My girlfriend and I had a gift certificate for
and we had a choice of several different restaurants on Franklin Ave. We picked Azucar having never heard of it because of its Italian/​Cuban menu which we thought was very interesting. We figured we would choose items from both and share. When we arrived we were very surprised to find the place entirely empty. There wasn’t even a hostess, bartender, or even a customer to be found. After looking around a few minutes a chef/​waiter arrived and seated us back into the restaurant. The dining area was fine except for a weird vibration under our seats. The chef/​waiter ended up being the owner. He seemed nice, but not overly talkative. We asked why the place was so slow and he blamed the summer and it was the weekend before July 4^th, which I guess was a good point. The bathroom were also a bit gross. But, not a huge deal. To this point I know I have been a bit rough. But, I hope you are still reading because here is the good part. The food was outstanding!!! Definitely one of Hartford’s best kept secrets. We ordered based on the recommendations of the owner and we were very impressed. Lack of décor or not, we will definitely be back because the most important part — the food — was well worth the trip. We also had some fairly good mojitos and the price was reasonable for the entire meal. Perhaps on my next visit I will be able to move it to four stars.

This was our 2^nd visit to Azucar and both times the food was great. The Chicken Parm was some of the best I’ve ever tasted. My wife had the Chicken w/​Carmelized onions. I’ll get that next time. We had Flan for desert. Normally, Flan doesn’t float my boat but the Flan they served was OMG! Nuff said. The restaurant combines both an upscale dinning experience with a homey touch (White linen, crystal water glasses and is family owned and operated). We stayed and danced Salsa until late in the evening.

Cuban and Italian don’t go together. Upstairs is wannabe classy food. Downstairs note that Hartford doesn’t need more cheesy/​sleezy clubs! They once didn’t let me in b/​c I was wearing flip flops. Come on! This place is a sleezeball magnet, and the food is shabby and WAY overpriced.