Ox and Stone

Went here for a friend’s birthday party to get the night started, but was really disappointed. The host was very rude to my girlfriend when she asked a question about a menu item while waiting for a table. Had i’d known at that time I would have walked right back out. The food was quite overpriced for the quality and quantity. Also beware if you order the large punch bowl it has little to no liquor in it. There are 100s of restaurants in this area and this place unfortunately does not stand out…

On two separate occasions here our waiter has forgotten about my table for 15+ minutes. Tonight we ordered a drink well before dinner and after finishing dinner the waiter admitted he never put the order in. He offered to comp us a drink, but before putting that order in he spent 5 minutes taking another table’s order.

Lots of potential. Mixed results.
We made a Saturday night reservation four at around 8 pm. Having never been here, before, I didn’t know what to expect, but I did know about the bar. The bar and cocktails are amazing. There were a variety of tacos, and I liked what I ordered.
The areas that left me wanting were the staff and the second floor. Our waiter, I believe, was spread too thin, as he had much of the second floor to himself. There were several tables that, when combined with the poor acoustics, drowned our conversation out.
Bottom line: I’d go back in the summer to try the foods on the first floor.

It was my first time dining here and I was impressed. The cocktails were exquisite and even though the menu states that items may take some time to be prepared from scratch, our dinner arrived less than 15 minutes after we ordered. The enchiladas were delicious and the steak taco special was seriously amazing. The complexity of the flavors and sauces with the onion ring toppers was incredible. I even loved the décor and cleanliness in the bathroom. My husband and I love Mexican cuisine and are always in search of another quality restaurant to add to our list of standard favorites. We will be back.

Love the Mexican-​inspired food here and the décor. However, the noise level is hard to take for long periods of time. I will come back on a week night when there are less crowds.

This place is awesome. Best drinks in town. Great atmosphere and good People. The food is delicious. Id suggest ask for alex when you go to the bar. Great guy and gray bar tender. We will be back very soon.

Wonderful food and atmosphere. I have read negative reviews of staff, but our experiences have been wonderful in terms of service and patron attention. Good was fresh and well displayed. Great variety on menu.

I came here with my husband for lunch, and I must say Elena was a rockstar waitress, she let us wander around and admire the building and was very patient with our shenanigans.
We ordered chips and salsa and she brought us two types of salsa for $ 5
Chile relleno was great, and my husband loved the Baja fish sandwich! It was on the perfect buttery bread, and wasn’t too greasy or heavy.
Had rice and beans on side and left very full and happy. Will be back soon!

We have been to Ox and Stone twice now. I stopped myself from writing a bad review the first time, because we went when they first opened. We went last night for my birthday dinner to give it another whirl. We ordered the calamari and chips for the start. The calamari was kind of gross. As an italian girl I was hoping for a different take on the italian classic appetizer but this was a big fail. It was over seasoned with a weird ortega style seasoning. It was not crispy at all — just mushy with a lot of guacamole cream on top. Not impressed. The chips/​guac/​salsa was good but again a lot of ortega style seasoning on the chips. So far not impressed. I ordered a caipirinha — Drinks were ok. I am used to Tapas and their caipirinha — this was muddled way too much. I had pieces of lime floating through my straw, the texture was just off. Tasted fine but muddled too aggressively.
For dinner the table ordered (2) tacos, halibut, enchiladas traditional and I thought I ordered a pork carnita with some side dishes. Apparently I ordered a mexican version of a garbage plate. My dish came as a grotesque plate of black beans, salsa, guacamole cream paste stuff, mexican rice, lettuce and pork carnita. It was just way too much food — I wish the waitress had warned me that it was like a garbage plate. I would have never ordered it. No where on the menu did it say it was that large. And it wasn’t very appetizing to have everything thrown on the plate like that. I ate the meat, some rice and called it a night.
One of the other things that irritated me was that we had told the waitress we wanted to wait to order our main entrees, after we ordered appetizers and drinks. She served the appetizers and literally 10 minutes later she was back at our table asking if we wanted to order. We told her no. She walked away and 5 minutes later she came back and asked again. No one had even reviewed the entrees but we felt pressured to order. She saw that none of us knew what we wanted yet she stood there and stared at us. So we all randomly picked something. We felt rushed — on a Tuesday night — when we had a reservation. We wanted to have a slow experience, enjoy my birthday, but she didn’t allow for that. Not ok.
I was disappointed and I know the bill was very high based on the prices I saw on that menu.
We have tried twice and will never try again.
This place looks like a great place for drinks for the 20 somethings in the neighborhood — a great place to be seen and order some apps with friends — but it’s not a place for a high end meal with family/​friends. Save your money — the food isn’t worth it.

Elegant yet fun
Came in with a party of 5 during their daily brunch hours and was seated right away to a very roomy booth on one side and high seated chairs on the other
The ambiance is beautiful, service was fantastic and parking was easy. There’s even outdoor seating!
I ordered the huevos rancheros which is their version of eggs Benedict but with a special house sauce. I would highly recommend it.
Most definitely will come back for dinner

This place is fun and full of flavor. If you want to have a really fun night, just get the punch bowl which has about 8 drinks in it tailored to whatever liquor and flavor that you want. We had the fresh chips, fish tacos, peppers, and shrimp and we were feeling goooooood. Everything tastes fresh and we couldn’t get enough of it. MuY bien!
This place is a little loud but nothing that you wouldn’t expect for a Friday night. And everyone in there looked like they were having the time of their lives and the mood was infectious — perfect place to welcome the weekend!

So it was a dark and snowy night, not a creature was stirring not even the free valet parking attendant that I found out about after paying to park across the street. I drove around the restaurant twice before leaving to find street parking. There was no street parking so I ended up paying $ 5 to park across the street and behind another business. I was disappointed because that money could have been used towards something more useful like a beer.
I went inside the restaurant and the ambiance was very nice. The place was pretty small and very packed. I’m not sure what their maximum capacity is but it looked like they had exceeded it. It was so packed on a Thursday that I could not find my friends so I called and oddly enough they were just a few steps away from me. I’m giving them two stars just for having a nice looking restaurant and pleasant staff.
In any case I sat down and it was a hot minute before I was able to order a drink. I thought about getting up and going to the bar to order my drink but that looked like a wait as well. Eventually I got my drink along with a glass to pour the beer in. When I finished said beer I ordered another beer. About 15 minutes later no beer had come so I asked a random waiter coming by if I could order a beer from him. He came back pretty fast but took my glass. meanwhile my actual waiter totally forgot and never mentioned the beer that never was again.
I cannot give them more than two stars because it simply was not the experience I’d expected from so many people in Rochester talking it up. It definitely was not the experience I expected with the prices which I felt did not live up to their cost. It was my first time and will likely be my last. First impressions are everything and the place was great in regards to the ambiance as I said before but the service was inconsistent and the food was not impressive at all.

Who would’ve thought that Rochester have such an awesome hidden gem!
We sat at the bar and have the Awesome Alex as our bartender, such a pleasure to talk to and he would steer you in the right direction.
My visit to Rochester will never be the same again because of places like this. Really awesome cocktails and Alex was very knowledgeable and know his craft.
From service, food, drinks it was Superb!!! The menu was very attractive and eclectic with heavy Latin America influence.
Please try the cricket because it was probably the best thing after popcorn, if you don’t have any corn, you eat cricket!
Crispy pig ears were awesome and oxtail taquitos were excellent.
Will definitely be back for more good stuff here!

Classy, yet satisfying.
For those of you who don’t know me, I’m a big eater and appreciate large portions of food. That usually means more upscale places fail to impress me when I spend $ 70 for two and feel like I ate half a salad.
The Ox and Stone, however, achieves the desired power combo of atmosphere, great food, and portions for sharing.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if 4+ could share a whole mole chicken ($ 30) and feel quite content. And the mole chicken is damn good. Tender & moist, served on a bed of black beans and spanish rice. It was some of the best chicken I’ve ever had. I just wish there was a bit more mole sauce.
As for tapas, you certainly could order a bunch as your meal, or with it. We tried the pig ears, sizzling shrimp, and a mahi mahi taco.
The pig ears are interesting… I don’t think there’s anything wrong with the way they make them, but pig ears themselves aren’t very tasty. I probably wouldn’t order them again.
But the sizzling shrimp was fantastic! It comes sizzling in a small pot and there were probably around a dozen of them in there. Served with toasted slices of baguette, it’s a great sharing dish and well worth $ 11.
No issues with the mahi mahi taco except it’s so small. But if you can get over that, they’re a tasty treat.
Will be coming back!

Atmosphere: A+
Service: A+
Lighting: A+
Parking: A+
Spanish Poutine: A+
Baja Tacos A+
Final report: This is probably my new favorite place in Rochester & I cannot wait to come back.

came here for dinner the other night with friends. Their guac is awesome! I got the barbacoa taco and the lobster taco… both were awesome, but that lobster taco was my fav! I really love their food here! We also picked the option to have the bartender make us a drink, you tell him what liquor you want and they make something for you. What ever they made me was awesome and well worth the money! Can’t wait to go back again!

Ox and Stone is my new favorite restaurant. There’s so much to talk about so I’ll start from the beginning.
There is a decent size parking lot, which is a rarity on East and Alexander. There is also a great outdoor dining area to sit outside on awesome sunny days. The tables and chairs are brand new and clean…2 thumbs up right here.
Upon entering the restaurant, I immediately noticed a latin vibe. The trendy stairway to the left leads to a quiet dining area. To the right, a bartender was mixing a drink. He quickly noticed us and made sure we were promptly seated. Since I went there for lunch, I chose a chicken and pork taco from their $ 9.75 special. I also purchased the sizzling shrimp appetizer because, well, I wanted to. Everything was fresh and flavorful.
The waiter was very prompt and friendly. He gave great recommendations and made sure our glasses were full at all times. I can’t wait to check them out again for dinner.
For anyone looking to go with a group, they have a few tables that fit 8 – 10 people and a room that accommodates up to 30 of your closest friends and family.

Let me start by saying my number of stars has nothing to do with the food. The acoustics in the dining room is horrible and so loud. What I was hoping to be a peaceful dinner was not. We could not hear our soft spoken waitress (not her fault) let alone each other. Almost like a bar! This would be 5 stars if not for the noise level.
We started with the chapulines and crispy fried pigs ears. Loved the chapulines — if you don’t know they’re crickets! The house made hot sauce was a perfect accompaniment. They were perfectly crispy and you wouldn’t know you’re eating a bug. The pigs ears were ok. Didn’t taste like much and tended to be chewy. The bbq and aioli that came with them made the dish.
I hate the pork mole enchiladas. Hubby had the carnitas. The mole was perfectly made and it was a great meal. However the carnitas! Perfectly cooked meat. A great selection of toppings/​sides to accompany it. It comes with a fried egg on top which I questioned (but I love fried eggs on anything) was the piece de resistance!
Their cocktail menu is unique and creative. Dessert was flan. Our dentist will be happy with that choice!

Went to dinner with a group of 7. You walk in and the restaurant is beautifully decorated — ornate fixtures and rich colors, with a nice, big bar. We had made a reservation for 6 PM and were seated once we told the hostess we were ready.
Looking at the menu the drinks were pretty standard prices for the area, and you seemed to get a good portion. My mother got the red sangria and she loved it. We asked if they do pitchers of beer/​sangria and were directed to the $ 36 punch bowl. We were too cheap for that, maybe next time!
At 6 PM, the restaurant was already VERY loud. I jokingly asked my architect friend if he could fill out a comment card with some suggestions on how to fix that. It was so loud at this point that we had to ask the waitress to come around to the other end of the table to re-​read the specials since we couldn’t hear her when she was 5 feet away.
To start we ordered the chapulines, lamb meatballs, chips and guac, empanadas and the crispy pig ears. My favorite was hands down the the homemade tortilla chips and guac. Ohhhhh, my those were heaven. The pig ears were a little chewy — like Andrew G remarked — not super appetizing when they’re chewy. The lamb meatballs were very good too, but at $ 9 a pop for 3 golfball sized balls, I’ll skip them next time.
I ordered the chicken Enchiladas verde for dinner ($ 18) and they were good! Other meals had and enjoyed were the carnitas, chicken mole, fish tacos, and the burger. Everyone seemed like they enjoyed their dinners.
We took a pass on dessert, as we had already rung up a bill of about $ 225.
Throughout the meal the service was definitely good, but could have been a little more attentive. My water was refilled often, but my empty beer glass sat empty on the edge of the table for a couple very long stretches of time.
The food was very good, but definitely has that «posh tax» on it, mentioned by other Unilocalers. I’d say that $ 18 for 2 enchiladas is quite expensive. I would have been more okay paying $ 14 for that dish, tops. BUT, you’re in the East End, so when in Rome, spend the extra $ 4.
I will most definitely be back, I’m hoping they have outdoor seating once it’s nice? Maybe that will help the noise situation. I’m itching to try a bunch of those cocktails and eat 7 orders of the chips and guac.

I was really excited to try this place actually, but was super disappointed. I’ve been craving some good Latin food and unfortunately this place didn’t cut it for me.
On the bright side they were pretty good at seating us at our reservation time. We expected to wait a little bit because it looked pretty busy but we were seated pretty much right away.
However!!! We waited 40 minutes for our appetizers. I didn’t expect guacamole to take 40 minutes, even if the pig ears did. Our server didn’t even realize that we had been waiting for so long until we asked him where our food was. He was very apologetic and the manager came out to apologize and comped our 2 appetizers.
Chips and guac was mediocre. The pig ears were ok, but got a little too oily/​greasy/​artery cloggy toward the end of it. It would be a good appetizer to share among a large group, not really for 2 people.
I ordered the paella and was super disappointed with it. I don’t know what I expected from Rochester but certainly didn’t expect soggy and sticky rice with zero saffron flavor. The rice was cooked very inconsistently because some of the rice was super soggy and some were undercooked. It seems like they may have just added more raw rice to bulk up the dish after it was cooked. Bleh :(
We also had their bread pudding, which was passable, but after such a poor experience we were just ready to leave.