El Sombrero

randomly walked in because of the $ 2 taco HH all day sign in the window. chicken tacos were even moist (which is not always the case). Had their yuzu based tuna ceviche which was good too. Great people that work here. They have house made hot sauces which are great as well. Everyone’s drinks looked really refreshing. Definitely want to come back to try their other dishes.
Only place in the city that has these amazing frozen green mojitos!!!

I love this place! I wish it weren’t so far downtown so I could come more often. I’ve come for both brunch and dinner on several occasions and I’m never disappointed. The waitstaff is always friendly and attentive and the owner, Junior, comes out and talks to his customers all the time. The food is amazing — the yucca fries are to die for. Their tacos are always packed with flavor and everything is always perfectly cooked. And the drinks … oh, my god, the drinks. I love margaritas and basically all things tequila. These margaritas are amazing, so many flavor choices, and don’t leave that sugar aftertaste (Does anyone else get that?). Be careful though, they’re pretty strong! Everything here from the ambiance to the food and the drinks is why this is one of my favorite restaurants in NYC. The only thing I’d change is for the place to be bigger!

Great drinks and food! It was my birthday last week and it was one of the best birthday meals I’ve had! The margaritas and house drinks were amazing and not weak. We had the steak tacos and mahi mahi ceviche and ropa viaja entre and mahi mahi with pineapple, coconut, crab rice; everything was absolutely delicious.
You know a place is good when your not even half way through your first visit and are already thinking of when you can return.
Great staff, very attentive and accommodating!
Can’t wait to return!

Cocktails are way too sugary. The food took about 45 min for empanadas. Waitstaff was texting on the floor and not paying attention. When we got there we were starving and the food was still bad. The only good part was our waitress who was an older woman with the glasses. Give her a raise.

I dropped into with my party around midnight as many other places in the LES were packed. We chose this place to avoid the long lines from other bars. There is no table service after 10pm, so we ordered a few beers at the bar and sat ourselves down at a table. The music isn’t too loud to have a conversation and the beer price ($ 8) was reasonable. This is a fairly less popular place to grab drinks, but doesn’t fail to have messy people stumbling around.

Great service! Jose is such a sweet heart! Love the food! Ordered Guac and chips and then the churrasco quesadilla! It’s so good in the pic you’ll see only three because I was so hungry so I took the fourth one! Great LES place the ambiance is great! The music is amazing! The guac has fried white cheese! So good! It’s mild enough for those who are in between spicy lovers like me! The happy hour is all night! The sangria is amazing! I love it

Great service, especially from junior. Decent priced beers and ice cold. We got the burger w quail egg and garlic fries. Garlic fries were amazing, burger could have used something, a spice or a sauce ect. But still good. And I mean, it was kind of my fault for ordering a burger at a Mexican restaurant anyway. The rest of the food looked fantastic. Will be back again.

I went during brunch. But, all I wanted was mexican. I settled on Shrimp tacos. They were ok.

I just walked out of this place really happy and satisfied. I came in with a big group and every order came just as ordered. Food was really good with a nice presentation. Their menu is full on Latin American which is always a great idea. They have a little of everythying. Puerto Rican, Mexican, Argentinian and Dominican. Service was excellent too. Waitress and I think he’s the owner or manager were super friendly and super attentive in a non annoying fashion. Casual enviorment with nice puerto rican music. Everyone loved it!

Made reservations for a large group for my birthday on a Saturday night. The owner actually called me the day before and asked if I wanted the restaurant to do anything special for us. I thought that was so nice! Upon arriving, half of our group was running late and the restaurant was more than accomodating and seated everyone as they arrived! We weren’t rushed, everyone was soo proffesional & pleasant and the food was amazing (try their LES cocktail, mofongo crusted salmon, churrasco, and their guacamole-​everything is beyond delicious!!). From start to finish, it was an amazing birthday with the help of this restaurant!

Came here to this quaint little place for some quick brunch before heading to the airport back to Toronto~ the food here was quite good, particularly really liked the tacos! The sauces were really tasty with it :) they also give you large portions for your food, I love how they gave us a whole cup of rice with beans on the side of the tacos :) we ordered the potato hash with smoked salmon and eggs Benedict and it was quite delish as well! love how this neighborhood has such variety of foods and drinks!

Went for bunch and it was pretty bad. They didn’t have coffee and they managed to somehow ruin a side of morning potatoes. How was anyone able to do such a thing is beyond me. Also, nothing truly Latin American besides the yuca fries (which were pretty good). What my friend got was ok (the burger). They love to play Manu Chao, the same record, over and over and over again.

Dropped in with family, Great place to eat and drink, food was fantastic, service was awesome and the overall vibe made me want to continue to chill. I highly recommend this spot.
It’s definitely not the typical hole in the wall and lets grab a taco spot, they fancied it up really well.

Prerequisite to this review: must have watched the 1993 Film titled «Demolition Man», starring Sandra Bullock, Sylvester Stallone & Wesley Snipes.
3 sea shells in the bathroom and no toilet paper, well WTF?
That’s how I felt when I received my 3 tuna Aioli mini taco appetizers with 3 sauces on the side and zero explanation regarding the sauces…
I guess none of that really mattered because my lips were stuck on the straw that facilitated the lovemaking session that was happening between the icy deliciousness they call a Frozen Mojito here and I.
The Frozen Mojito is incredibly good. It’s strong without being pungent and sweet without being overbearing. Great balance and presentation.
I ordered the churrasco taco appetizer too, which are also 3 mini tacos, but BOYYYY what flavors do those tiny little things pack. Amazingly good.
I contemplated with giving this place 4 or 5 stars, mainly because the prices on those mini tacos should be more like $ 10 than $ 14, but even still they are delicious, especially the churrasco ones.
2 mojitos, 2 orders of mini tacos later and the beautiful sunlight from the sun setting behind me (I sat at the bar), I was ready to go home and write some more. ;)
Excellent, excellent experience and tummy full!

Where to begin… they had me at Hello! I was strolling in the hood with a friend, after entering a less than friendly establishment, we rolled out and walked into El Sombrero. Immediately, we were greeted by both a friendly, smiling staff. We also briefly met the owner who was on his way out as we came in… such a lovely, sincere person and a gentleman.
THEN everything they served us from our Sangria to the freshly made guacamole appetizer (served with toasted plantains… whaaaat?!) to my burger (topped with a tiny fried quail egg… whaaaa?!), my friend had a gorgeous looking salad… and I can’t wait to go back and try their goat cheese quesadilla!
My friend mentioned she felt like we were chilling in Miami… the décor inside was very nice. Upscale, but I felt comfortable sitting there dressed casually… also, great price range and options on the menu. Nice option if you have a big group (ya know, when you want to celebrate with friends, treat yourself but everyone’s on a different budget…), something here for everyone!
Also, I never like Sangria, loved their Sangria! They also have happy hour… Definitely going back.

El Sombrero is a clubby LES Latin restaurant, with a menu mainly of appetizers (/​small plates/​tapas/​whatever (from around $ 8 to $ 12) but also with big plates, around $ 30. It’s a cool vibe, but it’s loud, at least it was when I was there, on a Friday night.
I got the red snapper ceviche ($ 12) and it was A+, with just the right ratio of chilies to fish. It’s served with a handful of tortilla chips, but if you’re ordering this as dinner you may want to add a side ($ 5). My friend got the «LES burger» ($ 14) and liked it a lot. It came with fries, and they were some of the best fries I’ve had in a long time. Great texture and really well-​seasoned.

The bartender was the nicest and friendliest person we encounter all evening LES. I know it’s busy and what not.
They have blue moon on tap. Yeahh!!! I was happy and we had to down it in less than 30 mins BC they were closing. The food looked tasty. Can’t wait to try it! Yum!

I am a sucker for whiskey sour and they surely got it right. $ 5 mimosa — My group wished they had a bottomless brunch .
I was forced to get an egg fajita to accommodate my fellow veggies cravings for guacamole. Wasnt the best brunch entrée. The french toast had an amazing crunchy texture and was the best entrée on our table.
Come on guys dont add gratuity — People tip better for good service.

We waited 1HOUR for just the appetizer to come out. And then the portions were super tiny … Booh! Shrimp ceviche was pretty good but the empanadas were a little bland n gooey (Wow and seriously, thinking back, this ain’t the type of appetizer that take an hour to make!!). The shredded beef wasn’t $ 18 quality at all. Our waitress was very nice and it’s not her fault the food was slow or disappointing but man… I don’t even know what else to say other than we left hungry and tired.

It was a great dining experience at El Sombrero the food is delivered with passion and solid flavors all throughout every dish.
I started with the LES cocktail which had the perfect hint of sour and with the main liquor being Cachaca you can’t go wrong. I also sip a bit of my husbands Frozen Mojito and it was so refreshing.
Then we ordered the Sombrero Guacamole that came with toastones, mixed corn and plantain chips and topped with queso frito squares a great addition to the classic appetizer it added texture that will have you saying «why didnt I think of that». The Trio Empanadas and Pato Frito Taco Trio with tortillas cooked to order was another flavor journey that I cant wait to order again.
Lastly, the décor and ambiance was spot on, it all ties in perfectly.
Thank you Jose for opening such a phenomenal restaurant cant wait to come back.

REOPENED FOR BUSINESS!
I’m sooooo excited to say that The New and IMPROVED Sombrero is back!
I absolutely love the new atmosphere and the concept of the restaurant. From the mural of the old design to the actual pieces of the old sign being integrated into parts of the new layout to the AMAZING selection of food being served. I am a happy client. I came with one of my friends from work tonight and she feels the same. It was a totally welcoming environment and the waitresses and hosts never miss a beat. Thank you so much, Jose (x2) for everything!!!