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Stopped in for a late lunch on Sunday with family and friends. The waiter was the only positive in this experience. The food was fair; however, it was not up to the standards of those in our party who had lived in the southwest. The tortillas were dry and did nothing to enhance the enchiladas which were served with white enriched rice. The worst part of the experience though was the drink order. With 6 people drinking margaritas, we asked if it was sold by the pitcher. We were told yes and brought a pitcher without calling the tequilla. Little did we know that we would be paying $95.00 a pitcher for what was essentially ice and maybe 6 slim drinks. When we complained, we were told this was the Upper West Side and they had to pay their bills. We negotiated a small reduction in the bill and paid but will not be back. It was not the money as much as the principle for all of us. If you enjoy Mexican food - go somewhere else. If you enjoy margaritas and expect to pay a fair price - go somewhere else. If you expect those margaritas to be made with something other than well tequilla - go somewhere else. In our party of 10 no one will be back again!

So after reading a decent number of lackluster reviews of this place my husband and I finally visited it last night after we were both struck with a serious craving for guacamole. I have to say that the food at Cafe Frida far exceeded my expectations. The queso fundido with huitalacoche (corn fungus) was amazing - far better than the one I had recently at Mesa Grill. The guacamole also comes in different levels of spiciness according to your preference and I thought that it was really good - on par with the guacamole served at Rosa Mexicana and elsewhere. Our server was also very friendly and very helpful. The table next to us even sent him around to other tables to look at what other people had ordered and report back to them before they ordered! All in all, I would definitely go back and would recommend that others give Cafe Frida a try regardless of some of the negative reviews.

Used to love this place but they've just let the food quality and service slide to the point all the good points are outweighed by the bad. Ate their last week - was impossible to have a conversation because we were seated right next to the bar and a very loud (funny but too loud) group of people had their butts in our plates practically....part of the decline is that the restaurant has gotten greedy and put too many tables in and they refuse to send people away - which means that people are waiting literally touching the tables of people who are eating. Maybe take out some tables and improve your health score on nyc.gov and I'll be back for your great drinks.

Cafe Frida had some interesting flavors that made dinner a great experience. The waiter was very friendly, did not come around too often, but that wasn't necessarily a bad thing. The group of four in which we were, were very impressed with the quality of the food. Highly recommended!

The waiter was entirely cold and absentminded - the food itself was cold as well. My scrambled eggs with black beans were not good at all. Waited 20 minutes for the check, even after asking the busboy (our waiter was nowhere to be found). No wonder the place was empty. AVOID during brunch at all costs!

We had great food and drinks here on New Year's Eve. We had been for lunch last year and wanted to come back when we were in NY this year. We sat downstairs at the back and were pretty surprised by what good service we had, given the place was packed. Had guaccamole to start and it was very good, followed by shrimp quesadeas. Wish I could have some now! For my main meal I had a taco dish, but it was just ok. My husband's fajitas, however, were delicious. For drinks, we were on hibiscus margaritas most of the night. Although our bar bill was steep, there wasn't one sign of a hangover for either of us the next morning. We had such a good time we ended up staying on until way past midnight, even though we had intended to go to central park to see the fireworks. A DJ and a small dance area appeared about 10pm and it was one of the best nights out we've had in ages. Definitely worth trying!!!!!

We went last night for dinner with friends. When we arrived the place was empty but they had us wait until the full party had arrived. Once there, they tried to wedge us in a small corner table - though we asked for something a bit more roomy seeing that no one was there yet. They complied. Ordered the guacamole to start - asked for no onions but it came with them anyway - when we got the right order it was delicious, though a small portion for $9. App's were good - I had the tomato soup which was delicious, friends had salads which looked equally as good. Main courses arrived to a nice presentation - but my salmon which I ordered to be served medium literally came out raw. The waitress seemed surprised and brought it back to the kitchen, I then did not see it again for almost 15 minutes. Also ordered at the table was the combo platter - meat was also undercooked as per our order. Service was spotty and some on staff did not speak english - so, when they came over to the table, they seemed to scoot away and avoid eye contact. Dessert was a mixed bag we ordered 3. The flourless chocolate cake was fierce and rich - the best choice, we ordered petal gelato - which was a mixed of sweetened strawberries and ice cream - fine, and the last was the sorbet trio which came out first as ice cream (which they insisted was sorbet) but we insisted not, and then they brought out the actual sorbet. Overall, the company and the atmosphere were great. The food and service were spotty. Not sure if I am running back to try again. Maybe you will have better luck with getting your food cooked and your order right!