Tonalli Cafe & Bar

Putting aside the fact that this is the only contemporary restaurant for actual ‘cuisine’ in the neighborhood, this ‘little mediterranean bistro’ rarely misses a beat. The environment is warm and inviting and the menu is an amalgamation of Meditteranean, American, French even a touch of Thai. (Dumplings in Peanutbutter Sauce? Yum!)
The service can be iffy. But, considering there is virtually nothing but KFC/​Taco Bell (across the street) around, I won’t complain too much. Instead, I’ll say. «Keep up the good work».
Oh, and don’t forget to make sure the cooks season everything. The biggest food issue I have is wondering, «Ummmm… Where is the salt and pepper in the cooking?»

Great service. Well prepared complex dishes. Menu is higher then average, but fair for the quality. Very nice ambiance and comfortable.

CLOSED! I went by there yesterday.

Love this place! Right under my building and I’m so happy about that. My boyfriend & I go here very often. (now it’s closed because it’s under reconstruction) Every entrée I’ve had is amazing. I’m always full once I leave there. They sometimes play the Beyoncé cd which makes me love it even more! Overall it’s beautiful inside, great food, and good priced drinks.

This was my first time at Tonalli Café&Bar. A friend and I came for dinner at around 9pm. It took about 6 minutes to be seated, as the hostess was not in sight. A guest that was seated at the bar was nice enough to call the hostess over, who had been chit-​chatting with one of the servers. After being seated, my friend and I were greeted by our server within 2 minutes. At our servers suggestion, we ordered the bruchetta as an appetizer which includes some sort of ceviche mixture on top in addition to the glazed tomatoes (shrimp, avocado, and onions.) Delicious to say the least!
For the main course, I went for the Penna a la Vodka with grilled chicken, and my date chose the Tuscan Panini. Both dishes were excellent. To drink I went for the red sangria, and my date went for a glass of Malbec. I’ve had better sangria elsewhere, but it was decent.
The overall service at Tonalli’s was mediocre. It could’ve been better, but it could’ve been worse. It’s a great go-​to little gem in the heart of Harlem.

The food is delicious. The veggies are well prepared and they are careful to double check ingredients that may be allergens for myself or my partner.
That being said, the service leaves something to be desired. When you run out of an ingredient for a special, that special should be removed from the menu or at least altered to reflect any substitution.
We’ve also had problems ordering drinks whereby they were out of basic drink ingredients or had changed their selection and not the menu. It’s unfair and frustrating to both customers and staff to have to repeatedly say, «oh actually we don’t have that. Or that. Or that.»

Food was good, service was terrible. We had to keep asking our server for things like water, napkins, and remind him about our drinks. After our food came and we asked for the bill, he brought it over immediately and left to go talk and text on his phone. I had asked for change for a $ 20, he never came back with it. I had to ask the manager for it and he brought it. This was my first time here and I was not impressed. Not sure if I’ll be back.

One evening I ordered my food from this place. As I get my food and I start eating, I notice the Lower half of a bug was in my food!!! I had to throw up and call the restaurant immediately. The manager did not receive my photos, so I have to send them in many different ways for him to receive it. He then apologized and said he was going to inform the owner about this, so the owner can apologize to me as well. I was promised a refund, and after they did some extermination they said that they would send me free food for this horrific experience. He sent me food from a sister restaurant, which was the same order… But when the order came to my house they expected me to pay! Naturally I was already very upset and I told him that I was definitely not going to pay for this meal. Till this day (almost 2 weeks later), I did not receive one phone call from them, no apology from the owner, and I didn’t even receive my money back!!! I highly urge you to stay away from this place, who knows what’s going on in their kitchen…

This place has changed a lot. If I were to have written this review a few years ago it would have been much better. The service here is horrible and the cook has no idea what he’s doing. The calamari was so salty I could barely eat it. Our burgers were burnt, not medium well like we asked and the potatoes that came with it were over seasoned and neither of us ate any. I almost got up to get my own water because no one was paying attention to us. I will never come here again and suggest you not to come either.

I have been here twice so far. Once for drinks. That was a good experience. They only have a few beers on tap, but one of them is their house beer. They call it Tonelli Pils. It is basically a Lionshead Pilsner, but it is $ 4 which can’t be beat in NYC and they also gave us some free fries to go with it which had some seasoning on them and were VERY good! Brandon (maybe a manager?) was our server. He was very friendly and helpful.
My second experience here was for lunch. My girlfriend and I went on a Monday afternoon. The place was relatively quiet with just a few patrons. The bartender was our server. She was extremely friendly and made us a delicious lemonade. We split a Turkey BLT Panini and a Maryland (Crabcake) Panini. The turkey was good, roasted in house, but the Maryland Panini was awesome! We both loved that one. The fries although different from the ones I got for free with my beer were fresh cut and very good.
So, the food is very good, the waitstaff is friendly, but the lunch service was very slow. So, go here and try it out, but know that it might be a little slow so if you’re in a hurry skip it and try another time.

The first few times going to Tonalli have been enjoyable — good food, nice place — but the service has been horrible. I went for lunch and got a burger. I specified which cheese to put on it, toppings, and how it should be cooked. They got everything wrong the first time. The burger came back, and I let them know, so the waiter brought it back. It took 20 minutes before I asked where the burger was, and it turned out the waiter had completely forgotten about it!
The dish came back with everything wrong from the first time, except the cheese was different. At this point, I just sat back and tried to enjoy the thing. The manager then comes over to our table, and instead of apologizing he says that he hopes I’m not upset about dish and then blames the cook for the mixup. This was not the cook’s fault and I expected a sincere apology. Instead all I got was the manager pointing fingers at other members of his staff.
The food is not good enough or cheap enough to put up with such poor service. I’d say go to Harlem Public if you’re in the area. I am certainly not going back anytime soon.

Unfortunately this place has sunk rather precipitously over the last year… from the food (ingredients just don’t taste very fresh, particularly seafood, coffee served below room temperature) to the service (lots of mistakes with orders and general inattentiveness) and ambiance (bugs on the banquette). You literally have to wave your hand to be seen by someone here. Unthinkable under the previous management. A recent menu overhaul, while promising and needed, leaves much to be desired. My last several visits have consistently been disappointing in some way or another. Once a neighborhood staple (and trailblazer), with nearby competition thriving, Tonalli will quickly fall fast if it maintains this trajectory.

Went for brunch on Sunday, ⁶⁄₁. Cappuccino watery –no foam. I specifically asked if they had freshly squeezed orange juice; waiter said, «yes». Ordered it. Not fresh squeezed orange juice. After speaking two employees about the service (one being the «manager») the food was served 35 minutes later. Awful service!
This is neighborhood restaurant and there is not much around so there isn’t much competition. I have been here a number of times, but the experience is always the same, poor service. I give up! I will not return.

Sat outside on a nice night. We were one of five tables and the service was very slow. 45 minutes to get our food. Our waiter got my order wrong. I tried to sub our spinach for the mixed veggies. The portions were very small for the price. I ordered the shrimp scampi and got 4, over cooker, under seasoned and partial unshelled shrimp. My boyfriend ordered the sausage pasta. It was also very underwhelming and a small portion. I would not recommend this place.

I’m writing to review the delivery order I placed last night — FANTASTIC! The food came fast, hot, and was absolutely DELICOUS! My boyfriend and I were so impressed! We ordered sliced rare steak in wine sauce (drool… so good), sauteed garlicky spinach, polenta (made with butter — wonderful), and a fish special with artichoke, capers, string beans, tomato, white wine, and potatoes. We loved it!
I really was so impressed with this delivery order — just as good as if I had been at the restaurant!

Tonalli was the spot a few years ago. Unfortunately it’s gotten progressively worst. We’ve continued to go as we have few options in our area, despite poor service, getting our order wrong and leaky containers. Few months ago, after a long hiatus, we ordered and thought they had finally fixed their issue with the to-​go containers, but then they got our order wrong. Tonight… again after another long hiatus, we opened our bag of food only to have a roach crawl out.
Sucks as their arent too many great spots within a few blocks of our apartment. Sadly, Tonalli has joined the rest of those in the hood with crappy service and questionable sanitation.
The photo is a screen shot from here —
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I’m not sure what has happened to Tonalli, but there’s been a clear change in the last two months. I like this place and go a lot (at least once every two weeks, if not more). Recently, the service has been really bad (like every time I go now). There seems to be a lot of new people. I don’t recognize most of the staff anymore.
The place can be nearly empty and the waiters don’t come to your table, refill drinks, or bring you things you ask for. A lot of them don’t seem to know how to work the computer system either. The wait for food has greatly increased. It still tastes the same, which is good, but the experience is suffering.
I don’t know what happened, but I want the old Tonalli back.

Food was very good. Service was decent.

Happened upon it while trying to go to Harlem Public. HP was too crowded and loud so we went here.
Our food was delicious. The lamb chops my friend had were perfect. I had the steak. Maybe a little overcooked for my medium taste buds. But the flavor was awesome.
Drinks were not good. The mojitos we ordered were BAD. not sure if other drinks were bad too. But I’d stick to wine if I were you :)

Tonalli is a very special place for my boyfriend & me. This is one of the first restaurants we went to together (shortly after it opened), and it quickly became Our Place. It was the perfect place for us to get to know each other, over good food, endless coffee, and people-​watching.
We’ve had more meals here than I can count — with most of them being brunch. My boyfriend is a big fan of anything ending in «Benedict.» I almost always order the crepes, with fresh berries & nutella. Sometimes I switch it up and order the waffles or pancakes, just so the waitress doesn’t think I’m completely predictable. But the crepes are, by far, my favorite dish. Everything is so fresh & well-​made, and you never feel heavy or sluggish afterward. You’ll feel relaxed, satisfied, and ready to start your day. And, of course, endless coffee.
We’ve also had dinner here a few times, lunch once or twice, and delivery. The dinner menu is amazing. Everything tasted so fresh, from the fish, to the crisp vegetables, to the homemade pasta. The fact that they deliver offers a great reprieve from having to find a meal from anywhere else in the area (read: Domino’s, Taco Bell, KFC, Subway, McDonald’s).
Their liquor license was a huge deal. I remember walking in one day, shocked to see the big new wooden bar. I thought it would take away from the already cozy restaurant, but somehow it just adds to the charm. And a glass of wine is the perfect compliment to their dinner menu. Thursday nights have live music, and they have outdoor seating (and big windows which offer a nice breeze) when it’s warm.
We’ve been happy to watch Tonalli grow from a quiet new brunch place to a busy, successful business. Hopefully it stays successful for a long time, because I’d love for it to remain Our Place.