Alegrias en la Nacional

The most horrible place in town. i pray to God it desappears soon.
i am a 68 years old woman from Spain. last night i went there to watch the show. as i was sitting listening to the music i cheered and did some dancing moves with my hands and feet. All of a sudden i was assaulted, dragged on the floor, beaten up badly and trown down the stairs by the THUG of the owner, Jorge Navarro together with a BEAST of a woman who works for him called Tamara. I am lucky they did not kill me because that was their intention. Thank god i was saved and although in great pain i don’t have any broken bones only some scratches an black and blues in my arms, legs and body.
May God give them what they deserve!!!

I’ve attended several shows recently, January February, April.
The Flamenco is the real deal, and that’s what this place is good for.
The dancers are phenomenal, each with a different style. Some better than others, but totally into their art and the emotion of Flamenco.
The musicians are super professional, and talented. Amazing, especially Pedro on the guitar, and the percussionists are no slouch either. Some singers could be better sometimes.
The venue is a blank multipurpose room that could really use a little finesse, design, and warmth.
The food is overpriced and ok on quality, nothing to write home about, but good for a small snack.
If you want quality Flamenco that is REAL, with talented and professional dancers and musicians, not some contrived, showy Hollywood nonsense, this is the place.
4 stars because the food and environment could be better for the price of admission. The Flamenco pretty much makes up for it though.

I attended a Saturday night and had read reviews which recommended a reservation which was really helpful since we had seats to the front of the stage and they were incredible. It was a $ 22 cover and no pressure to purchase. We got a pitcher of Sangria and had the best show ever. I love real flamenco. No touristy dancing here! The real stuff. I am still floating from the performance. I can not recommend it any more highly than five stars and an Olé!

After reading about this place in the New Yorker, I decided to try it since I love flamenco. The performance was amazing and authentic. This is truly THE place to go for flamenco in the city. However, the environment is rather bare-​bones: a rectangular hall with white walls and a stage at front. The food is also decent: not very strong Sangria, and passable tortilla española. Still, I’m returning for the flamenco.

Everyone should visit this place!
I took my mother here for her birthday because I wanted to give her some unusual artistic experience. So after a long search, I found this place through New Yorker magazine and I am so glad it turned out to be a great discovery!
Great musicians, great female Spanish singer and incredible Flamenco dancers made this night amazing for me and my mother! I could tell that these performers were really passionate about what they were doing and it made the environment very exciting and emotional. I enjoyed the vocal response from the audience to the dancers: «Oleee». The music never stops and it is even hard to take your eyes off from the stage because you get drawn into this fire like passion of Flamenco and its Spanish rhythms.
Besides unforgettable performers, the food was pretty good. Although we mainly went there to see the show, we did not order too much food. However, we ordered ‘white sauted mushrooms made on wine’ and ‘Spanish sausage with potatoes made on wine’. Both exactly as spiced up, as we like; therefore, we were very satisfied with the food.
Talking about audience, there were all ages of people there; we noticed many couples on a romantic date.
So, if you want your loved one to experience something authentic, not very fancy, exotic, sexy and artistic, take her to Alegrias en la Nacioanl!!! you will never regret :) My mom said it was the best and the most creative birthday gift I had ever given to her :)
Sincerely
Khatia

Definitely pricier than other Flamenco/​Tapas nights you’ll have in the city, but the performance I attended last night had the most wonderful performers I’ve seen in this sort of setting! Yes, the décor and utensils are cheap. Yes, if you don’t get there early expect to sit at a large table with other people. But if you are looking for a top quality performance and good food and drinks, Alegrias does the trick.

Venue: quite boring, much like an old banquet hall. Difficult to see the performers.
Food: absolutely awful. It’s served on plastic plates, with plastic forks and knives and plastic glasses. The «sampler», which included an assortment of the smaller tapas, was ridiculously expensive at $ 20 when at most, it should have been no more than $ 12 (especially after paying a $ 20 cover).
Performers: excellent. Not authentic flamenco dress, but nonetheless very entertaining. It’s unfortunate that they have to perform in such a deplorable space.
Overall, I wouldn’t bother with this place. There are plenty of other flamenco shows out in NYC with more «bang for your buck»!

Not many places in the city where one can consistently find flamenco shows. Located upstairs in a brownstone, atop its tapas restaurant (La Nacional, which you should certainly frequent before the show), Alegrias has shows I believe every Saturday. It looks like a dining hall, as other reviewers have suggested, but you get to sit up close and view the show uninterrupted, which I think is essential in a flamenco show, kind of like seeing them at the teensier cafes in Spain.
The normal flamenco performers are very good — they have a male dancer (he also teaches the classes there); a female singer, and one other dude. They also have a series of rotating performers. The weekend I went the rotating performer was this insane older woman (70 to be exact) who used to famous, apparentlly. Now, she’s kind of just kooky, but god bless her, I guess. I would suggest doing research about the rotating performer before you go. Also, if you bring a flyer from the website, it’s 5 bucks off the performance.

Overpriced, bad service, and mediocre food = bad times!
Went here on a rainy Friday night with a couple of friends. We didn’t have reservations so we got a bad table and our waitress pretty much ignored us the entire time.
We ordered a few tapas and paella. The tapas were average to poor and left me unimpressed. The paella was better than the tapas (though that wasn’t difficult to do), but definitely not the best that I’ve had.
All in all, I didn’t have a great time here and I don’t think I’ll be coming back anytime soon.

I had a friend send me an invite for one of their Flamenco shows. It was amazing! The performers were so passionate and it was I believe one of the most authentic and inspiring live dance performances I’ve been to.
To top it off, they had a great selection of authentic Spanish tapas. Their tortilla espanola was great as well as their plate of jamon serrano, olives, and manchego cheese. The manchego cheese was a tad on the creamy side for manchego, which was interesting, but good nonetheless. Would definitely recommend checking it out if you’re looking for something different to try.
Word of warning — cash only.

Located on the second floor of a townhouse building on 14^th Street, Alegrias is tucked away in its own little world. I was fortunate enough to find my way in and experience the wonders of this amazing place.
There is so much to say (and since this is its first review, I want to make it as informative as possible), so I’ll just break it down into categories:
Atmosphere: It felt sort of like a banquet hall… one large room, tables set up with red paper tablecloths, a small wooden stage, lights dangling across the ceiling. However, it also felt very homey, like a big family gathered together. Very simple, but somehow it was perfect for the experience.
Food: Tapas! Yay! I didn’t eat a lot at Alegrias, but I did try the cheese (which was alright) & the judias y vegetales (white beans, chickpeas, and chopped vegetables… it was really tasty). The tapas selection is limited to these and a couple other veg dishes and a bunch of tapas involving chorizo (sausage!). While it’s not the most expansive menu, I think they at least offer something for everyone, but I’m guessing this place is more about the sangria and entertainment than the food. Tapas prices range from $ 5-​$ 12. Oh, and the bread was nice and warm too :)
Drinks: We got a couple pitchers of the sangria, and it was sooooo goooood.
Entertainment: Live flamenco performance (Raul Ortega, El Polo Pedro Cortez, Jorge Navarro, & guest artists)! I wasn’t expecting anything spectacular, but this was seriously one of the neatest experiences I’ve had in the city. It made me realize that I’ve never really seen a great flamenco show. The singers were fantastic, pouring their hearts out and truly talented. The dancers, both men (I was surprised because I always envision women when it comes to flamenco), were so amazing. It was just such an incredible performance… emotional, intense, beautiful, at times humorous and at other times moving. Just wonderful.
There is a cover of $ 10 or $ 15, but totally worth it in my opinion. Also, their website has more info about the performances (shows are every weekend, with different artists each month, I think).