El Pote Espanol

recently visited nyc and was taken to this restaurant by my friends who live there. i had the shimp in garlic (yummy), chorizo (yummy)and the lobster in white sauce (extra-yummy) with lots of sangria. staff was friendly and overall we had a great time. definately would recommend and will be back when in manhattan.

Don't understand the negative review below, I have been going to this place for 2 years and never had bad service or a bad meal. My experience has always been quite the opposite. I think the problems with many New Yorkers is that they feel they are culinary experts. If you want the trendy atmosphere and the celebrity chef then go pay those prices. This is a quality place that has good food (quality and quantity) and above average service. Also, if you were to have a reservation at any other restaurant on Mother’s day you still would have to wait, but again some people will never be happy.

Wow, what a disspointment this place was. I took my mother on Sat night for early Mothers day night out. We had an 8:00 reservation and were not seated until 8:30. The first dissapointment was the atmosphere and decor. I unterstand that this is an old world style restaurant, but it was just very unpleasing decor. We started w/ the mussels, which may be the worst mussels I've ever had. Menu describes mussels in a wine sauce. Mussels came out in a nasty tomato sauce that tasted canned. We sent the mussells back and when questioned why it was a marinara sauce instead of wine, waiter insisited it was wine. We both had the paella valencia, which was short of average. The sangria was OK, nothing to write home about. Lastly, the service was indifferent NOT friendly. I felt as though I was being served by bus boys. No one explaied the menu or specials. They just asked what we wanted and was served by several different people. I don't undertsand what the fuss is about this place.

I am a trained chef working in NYC for over 15 years and this has been one of my staple places to visit. My only complaint with this place is that the owners are Real Madrid fans, but then again no one is perfect...

Friendly, fairly-priced and delicious. I agree wholeheartedly with the reviewer on the Pork Chops Riojana.

My beau and I always split a bottle of the Tempranillo, several orders of tapas, and the paella valenciana. For tapas, we usually get the stuff peppers (pimientos rellenos), tortilla omelet, and/or serano ham. The owner and staff can appear gruff, but they are seriously professional, and with repeat visits they always recognize and welcome us.

I have lived in this neighborhood for a long time and often wondered about this restaurant. Decided to try it after reading the reviews. It was a disappointing experience. The wine list is very limited and overpriced. We settled on a 1/2 pitcher of Sangria for $13. A whole pitcher is $22. The shrimp dish with tomato and onion was very good, the Paella valencia was passable, nothing exciting about the taste and the pork chops were overcooked and smothered in sauce so the meat taste was lost. The service was rude and rushed. Plates were cleared off the table as we were finishing eating. Dessert was carted over before the table was cleared, and the waiter was just plain rude and did not act like he likes his job very much. We will not be returning there soon. The owner was very warm and friendly, but unfortunately, this does not apply to the rest of the staff.