Itzocan Cafe

** Unilocal FIND**
Unilocal failed me on this one. I usually trust the stars but I was severely disappointed when I came here.
Service stunk
Food was blah (guacamole & enchiladas verde)
Sangria was nothing special
Wayyyy too many decent Mexican places in NYC to go to one that’s sub par.
El Paso on 104^th in SPAHA (Spanish Harlem for you neophytes) still holds the crown for best Mexican food in the city.

Maybe this place was good once, but it’s certainly gone downhill since.
The service was atrocious. The waitress was one the phone and ignored us when we came in we sat down. She continued to be surly and not let us order apps before thinking more about mains («the kitchen doesn’t take split orders» — there was only another table there with 2 people!!), bring out the app someone ordered as a main first, bring out each appetizer randomly and try to clear them before we were finished. She also put an obligatory 20% gratuity on a table of 5. She probably feared that we wouldn’t tip the full amount considering how rude she was to us.
The food was also really not that good and overpriced. They no longer have the cheaper menu with regular items (burritos, enchiladas, etc.) for dinner and mains are mostly around $ 20. The porkchop was totally overcooked and bone dry. The salmon verazcruzana had a crazy spicy tomato sauce with olives which totally clashed with the flavor of the fish. The famous semolina dumplings in veggie broth were decent but lacked flavor, and the guacamole was a very small lump of avocado.
Considering the variety of really great food around this nabe, I’d definitely recommend a PASS on this one.

I’ve gone back there a few times since my last review. I’ve been fairly happy with the food every time. Nice mexican/​french sort of mix with the presentation or certain dish prep being on the french side even though it’s not neatly presented.
I really wanted to like this place and I’ve gone back a handful of times but I have to report that after the last time going it made me weary to return. Everything was fine about the meal and consistent from the last times until my eating partner and I got up after paying and walked out. After a couple of blocks we realized we both needed the bathroom and badly. I’ll just say that it wasn’t just a really long piss we both needed.
That said we really don’t have any desire to return even though that was a one time blip.
Sorry Itzocan, you failed us and we have some pretty strong stomachs so something hit us entirely the wrong way.

I was so excited to try this place after reading the rave reviews and seeing that they were Michelin recommended, but I was disappointed by Itzocan. We shared the blue corn truffle soufflé and the semolina dumplings based on other Unilocalers suggestions, and both left something to be desired.
The dumpling dish was bland, and the soufflé was cooked fine, but also fell flat on flavor. I wasn’t excited enough to want to go back and try the other dishes.
Still on the quest for good Mexican food in New York…

I’m definitely not an expert when it comes to Latin cuisine, but I know what’s good. Itzocan Café is good.
This place is MINI. It’s mini even for New York. The whole restaurant seats maybe 15 people. They do take reservations so if you do plan to come here at a certain time on a certain day, I would recommend that you make a resy.
The food is great. The queso appetizer is lip-​burningly oozilicious and the entrees are good portions. Their service is speedy and the sangria is strong. Come check it out for yourself! It’s a great EV gem.

This spot is just around the corner from us and we had hoped it was a spot that we would regret having not come to earlier, but it was a bust.
The food was unfocused and a mix of various flavors and influences it seemed.
Here is the run down:
— Queso fundido — brie cheese in a Mexican fondue, I don’t know it just missed the mark altogether. It wasn’t even really a fondue, but rather mushrooms and chorizo topped with slices of melted brie. The consistency was very watery underneath the melted cheese layer. Wow, so sad.
— Semolina dumplings — interesting stew /​soup like dish. A bit bland lacking any real complexity or layers of flavors.
— Shrimp — ok, but nothing really special.
Maybe I ordered wrong, but I won’t be back to find out. Good luck there, so many folks say such great things about it.

— intimate, unpretentious, charming hole in the wall kind of place
— attentive and accommodating staff
— recommend: sangria ($ 35 for a full pitcher)
— shared a pitcher of red with the boy, stronger (higher alcohol content) than most sangrias, pretty much just apples as far as I could tell, not particularly complex but still refreshing and tasty, around 8 glasses
— I’ll be back to try the food

Really a 3.5 but I want to maintain my tough façade so I’m leaving it a 3. I get take out from this place all the time because i work on the street. For some reason I always get sucked in to the chipotle chicken burrito so I have to try something else soon. The burrito is good, not amazing, and doesn’t really have any chipotle flavor. I usually don’t encounter this problem but the last time I ordered it, the beans inside were pretty hard and ruined the burrito a bit.
It’s worth a try.

I’m a big fan of Itzocan. I’ve been twice and walked by multiple times, and there never seems to be a wait. Although the place is about the size of a bedroom, I never see it full. It’s also never empty – just a steady flow of satisfied diners.
The menu, much like the restaurant, is small and unpretentious. The sangria is a must have, and the appetizers are great to split. Be sure to check out the goat cheese ravioli.
It’s hard to go wrong with the entrees, and the dumplings were particularly memorable during my last visit. The broth is smooth and the dough is perfectly cooked.
The waitstaff maintains a nice blend of being there when you need them without smothering. All in all, a great experience.

Wow! Yeah I said it… wow! Itzocan restaurant is definitely worth the visit. You can’t get any more cozy than this place. With 7 small tables, the dining room is tiny, but the staff was aware enough of thief establishment to quickly accommodate our party of 6. Tables were moved, arrangements were made but we definitely sat comfortably and had a blast.
To start, SANGRIA. yum yum yum! Excellently made and served in a pitcher with a generous heaping of fresh fruit, 2 pitchers were enough to make all 6 of us feel the buzz.
On to the good stuff… the food!
Appetizers were unique yet classic and made to perfection. The guacamole was wonderful. Extremely fresh and ripe avocado mixed with onions, peppers, tomoato, cilantro, lime juice and vioa-​la! Accompanied with warm tortilla chips it was attacked and finished quickly. Luckily we ordered a second app for the group and were equally as satisfied. The Queso Dip was amazing. Melted cheese with bits of onion, peppers and to-​die-​for chorizo made this dip a favorite and before you knew it there were chips battling for a piece of this amazing starter.
Having 6 of us total I was able to see a few of the various entrees. All were professionally presented and had a 5 star taste. Stuffed Chicken Breast with Goat Cheese, Shrimp with rice and veggies mixed over a light brown sauce, dumplings and pork chops filled our table and our bellies. And everyone, and I mean everyone, finished all their food. It was that good.
$ 193 for the group ($ 35 pitchers bumped up the price a bit) was still moderately priced and was definitely worth every penny.
My recommendation, just be prepared for tight quarters and if claustrophobia isn’t something you suffer from, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at this tiny establishment.

Tiny spot (seats maybe 14) but intimate rather than claustrophobic.
The foods are all about the sauce and the sauce is very good. I had the mole chicken and it was uncommonly tasty for this dish, which I tend to overorder. I was left jealous staring at my friends’ more exotic fare.

I wanted to love this tiny Mexican joint, but I didn’t.
It’s so cute and inviting from the outside with just a few tables occupying the quaint space in front of the tiny kitchen, and I’d wanted to try it forever. I arrived early for brunch with a friend, looking forward to warming up with a cup of coffee. After being seated, the owner didn’t offer me anything to drink. I had to finally ask for a water and coffee (sadly too weak but with gratis refills), and once my friend arrived and our meal was underway, we had to repeatedly ask for refills. We were the only table in the restaurant, which was great for conversation, but the entire time I felt like the staff couldn’t wait for us to leave.
While the service was lacking, the food and flavors certainly were not. The $ 9 brunch includes entrée, coffee or tea. The menu indicates that all eggs dishes come with potatoes & greens, but I was told mine (the Vegetable Baked Eggs) only came with potatoes (the greens are really what I wanted) only after my entrée arrived.
My annoyance aside, the rich veggie sauce smothering the gooey eggy goodness was delicious. It reminded me of a mushroom gravy with a healthy smattering of squash, carrots, and peppers, and I would have loved a good bread to dip into it.
I so wish this place delivered on its warmth and charm potential to make me want to come back for its tasty grub. Perhaps once I check other places off on the olé list I’ll circle back around to give it another shot in the hopes that this was just an off day.

The mole goat-​cheese-​stuffed chicken breast is good. Sadly, it did not blow my mind. Perhaps my expectations were too high. I also had the opportunity to try some sort of mushroom special that they had. Again, very tasty… but it did not make me go insane with the Mexican food bloodlust that I had hoped would overtake my motor nerves and cause convulsions of pure joy.
The space is small, but cute. It is pretty good for a casual dinner or date.
Their sangria pitcher is not a little carafe. It is a serious pitcher with a good amount of booze. This place gets bonus points for takeout sangria containers for what we could not finish.

Tiny, tiny place. Enough to sit 12 if I remember correctly. Small wait to get seated. I loved the Mayan brick wall. Very cute! Not typical Mexican food. Mole chicken and shrimp were good as entrees, although the mole stood out more. Service was not quite so attentive. People were even asked to move to make space for formation of bigger tables.
it’s cash only.

Wow, really is a tiny restaurant! Walked in here having read the menu online prior, but were saddened when we realized that we were reading the lunch menu not the dinner menu. Stupid on our part :(
Well we were really craving some tacos and burritos stuff, and this obviously didn’t have it… but we had already sat down. Opted for just a round of sangria and some guac and chips.
Sangria was OK — nothing special, and not great compared to Mercaditos on Ave B.
Guacamole was really good actually, which is where most of the stars are coming from. Freshly made with perfect flavor and consistency. Only bad thing — too many chips for the amount of guac you get, and it was SO hot in there the chips were stale by the time we finished eating them. We were amazed!
I would come back to try the dinner if I was in the mood for the fancier mex-​french stuff.
The girl working wasn’t the friendliest either. After we sat down and haflway through our sangrias, she made us get up to move to a different table because a party of 4 was coming in. No big deal, but you should’ve sat us in a different spot in the beginning.
Cash only.

Wow… this place is such a little surprise discovery. Fabulous food, and quite a few veggie options. I ordered the Semolina Epazote Dumplings which come in a broth soup with mixed vegetables. I had no idea there were mexican dumplings. Wow. Epazote is apparently an herb that I’ve never heard of before, but it was definitely delicious.
Place is cute and tiny, and perfect for a date spot. Don’t forget to order the sangria, it’s full of fruit and dangerously good.

Another four star review! Went on a Wednesday night and was glad I made a reservation because the place was full… and by full I mean had 4 other people in the place occuping the rest of the tables. We got the mushroom soufflé which I craved this morning for breakfast. The sauce it came with seemed mismatched, a little too bright and sweet, but i loved the dish. We split the pumpkin seed salmon and the goat cheese stuffed chicken. I loved the veggies in mole sauce that came with the chicken, we both agreed the side to the salmon was too sweet. Our waitress was really nice… she grabbed my arm when talking to me-​which I only allow strangers to do. Not sure what all the hype over the sangria was… it tasted like wine with apples.

I like. My friend and I chose this place rather arbitrarily when we decided that we wanted Mexican (when do I not?) and Unilocaled a place in the neighborhood. A great choice! The place was empty when we got there (right at opening time…12pm), and the place itself has approximately 5 2-​person tables. The decorations were cute and there were pictures of the workers with Hosea from Top Chef (Hoseaaa! I don’t know why, though. But any Hosea beats no Hosea).
I ordered the empanadas with mole sauce and my friend ordered a quesadilla. We shared the guacamole. The guacamole was really fresh, the empanadas were delicious (not too spicy… which is great since my tolerance for spiciness is very low), and the quesadillas were fantastic as well. Each dish was huge. I didn’t finish mine. When I was done eating, my plate looked like mangled brown goop but the dishes (at the beginning, anyhow) were gorgeous as well. A nice hole-​in-​the wall «discovery».

Man, this place is soooo amazing.
At first glance, it looks like a little hole in the wall, which it is I guess. The food that comes out of that hole, holy shit! So incredible. Everything they brought out to us was a knock out the park. The Sangria is one of the best I’ve ever had.
The food was very refined and real Mexican, not some water down attempt at it. The Crispy Goat Cheese Ravioli was delicious and highly recommended. I had a special which was a Skirt Steak in a mole type sauce with Chorizo hash. It was spot on.
I’m so bummed I’ve lived as close as I do to this place and only now found out about it. It’s time to start making up for that.

This place is great! Probably some of the best mole sauce I’ve tasted in NYC. Make sure to get the chips and guacamole for an appetizer, it’s also quite tasty. Wash your meal down with some unsweetened sangria and you can’t go wrong.