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Reading the other reviews I expected more. I love Spanish food, and I found the taste of the dishes to be a bit flat on most. I will say, they have great specialty cocktails, and the ambiance is great, but aside from that it's just too pricey considering the inconstancy of the quality of dishes.

I have been to Rayuela a couple times since it opened two or three years ago. Always thought it was a little pricey but still okay. That is until now. All of their prices must have gone up b/c tonight was outrageous. I split a guacamole - not generous portion at 18 dollars - got a main and a drink. total was 62 dollars per person (my friend had the same as me). My Paella was fine in terms of portion size, however the ingredients were lacking for 30 dollars. most paella is about 20-25 per person at any spanish rest and has decent seafood. this had little puny shrimp and BAY scallops and some mussels and clams which are dirt cheap. My friends "seafood stew" was tiny. He was starving after finishing it and I had to give him some of my paella. They need to deflate their prices by 20% in order to come back to reality.

Pina Agave very tasty, but you could not taste the tequila. Sake sangria very good. Guacamole very good and it had a kick to it. Lump crab meat salad just ok, not much flavor. Best bread!!! Steak with shrimp chimichurri very spicy and I like hot stuff, I could not eat the whole thing due to it being so spicy. My friends RAVED about the tuna rellena! Adorable atmosphere, very good service, we had reservations so we didn't wait. 7 females $80 per person. A nice evening out all together!

We were surprisingly informed of Restaurant Week's extension and both tried the menu with the wine pairing. This was a nice touch as opposed to other places we've been where you have to ask for the Restaurant Week menu. The food was interesting with flavorful mixtures. Very good for a change but could not do this every night. Service was attentive. Atmosphere is trendy. A nice alternative for something different but probably not going back soon. I prefer the more authentic environment when eating ethnic foods. I'd swap great, authentic food for un-hip atmospheres any day.

Tried it tonight for first time. The ceviche and appertizers were extremely average. Great sangria though- would stop for a drink. The paella was pretty good though. We shared some apps, ceviche and 2 paellas between 5 people and ended up at $80 a person- not cheap for average. Skip it.

My husband and I had dinner here for the first time last night...and we will definitely be back. The atmosphere was great...trendy, not too loud, busy but not crazy. The waitress (Gina) was probably the most knowledgeable server that we've ever had in the city...and we've lived here for over 10 years. She knew the menu in depth and was more than happy to answer our questions and make suggestions. The food was awesome - we had a guacamole special that had shrimp and crab (very tasty), one of the ceviches in a tomatillo sauce (great), the tuna relleno (a must - one of the tastiest dishes I've ever had), and shared the seabass entree - very very good. Fun drink selection also. Definitely recommended. Great date spot or fun girls night out place.

My party had made a reservation there for a 9 o'clock dinner a week prior to the date. We arrived at 8:45 to find a cozy (ergo, packed) restaurant with great ambiance that surrounded an olive tree. Unfortunately we had to take in this scenery for about an hour and 20 minutes since we were not seated until 10:05. We would’ve just left at (9:15) had there not been a blizzard outside hindering our search for a new venue. They compensated us for our troubles with 2 bottles of sangria that tasted like it was comprised of 7 parts Hawaiian punch, 1 part rubbing alcohol, and 3 parts rancid apple attained from the bodega a few stores down. For appetizers we had the crab Guacamole, scratch that, we had guacamole with an insignificant essence of crab (18 dollars/ per). My entree was the beef tenderloin (incredibly small), although being the best Medium-rare I have ever seen. We skipped dessert and swiftly asked for the check, only to find that they had charged us for a bottle of sangria that we didn’t order. The waiter must have misconstrued my girlfriend's objection to another bottle for "Yes, another 36 dollar bottle of Hawaiian punch please". All in all, much like the Wall street’s economic situation, this restaurant is highly leveraged in Décor, Ambiance and a unisexual bathroom with a disproportionate underlying asset of good food and good service. Restaurant Lighting and Ambiance: Great, unless you epileptic. If so, be wary of the flickering lights.