ABC Cocina
“The right level of spiciness to pump you up for a delish brunch and also plenty of refreshing flavors to savor.”
“We had the guacamole (amazing), griddled fish tacos, short rib tacos, patatas bravas, and ham and cheese fritters.”
“Many places serve good food and wine, but Cocina manages to keep the same level of exemplary service as Jean Georges without the formality.”
ABC Cocina
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Accepts Apple Pay: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Came here for dinner for GNO with a few co-workers. Unfortunately I was utterly underwhelmed. Maybe Jean Georges and I just don't click because I haven't LOVED any of his restaurants – his ginger margarita though is a whole different story.
*Sweet Pea Guacamole – this was a great starter. I loved the juxtaposition between the smooth guacamole and the crunch of the sweet peas. A really interesting and awesome combination.
*Patatas Bravas – The bite-side potato pieces were perfectly fried and the rosemary aioli was delicious, but the "Spicy-tangy sauce" was just BBQ sauce. I think it would have been better with just the aioli. Or if the sauces were served on the side, instead of right on the potatoes.
*Short rib tacos – maybe the best bites of the night. Eat warm, because they lose some gusto when they are luke-warm or cold. Each order comes with 2 so order for the party accordingly. – But 2 tacos for $22 is bananas.
*Shrimp with garlic and chili oil – delicious, but beware of those tiny little round peppers, those things are SPICY. I had one on purpose which I was prepared for, but one snuck in by accident – and wowee.
*Stewed chicken with sweet onions and crunchy rice – this was a cool dish. Crunchy rice comes in little rice cake rectangles. There were 3 of them. That was neat because I had never seen anything like that before. The chicken stew was alright, it was a little too sweet for my liking.
*Tenderloin and Chimichurri – The steak was cooked to perfection, but I thought the chimichurri lacked punch. It was more herb than sauce. I like my chimichurri more garlicy and flavorful.
Notable items that tables around us ordered that just looked sooo yummy: Grilled maine lobster with drawn butter and smoked chilies looked bomb! But in the end it's a $40 lobster… Mexcal cured salmon also looked super delectable.
Cocktail list was obviously centered on lation American flavors. I was pleased to see cachaça on the spirits list and they bar was able to make a great caiparinha.
After having an amazing brunch at ABC Kitchen (and peeking at ABC Cocina), I've been dying to come here for over a year. I finally came here for a pre-show dinner before Fuerza Bruta with a friend. We had no trouble getting reservations for a 6:30pm dinner but it may be because we booked weeks in advance. The place was pretty busy.
First, we started out with the guac with peas and complimentary bread. OMG both of these were so good! The guac and bread were my favorite parts of our meal. The dinner went downhill from there though…
We ordered the "chef's favorite" according to our waitress, which was a shrimp dish with bananas in it. DO NOT GET THIS. I think they were trying to go for that unique flavor but I really didn't like it at all. I was tempted to try because it sounded so different but yeah… no. Don't do it.
The octopus was OK, nothing wrong with it at all. If anything, I thought it was a tad bit too salty… and I've had better octopus elsewhere. The potatoes that came with the dish were pretty good.
Lastly, the arroz con pollo. This is the single most popular dish here but I really don't understand why. It was flavorful but SO watery… I wasn't a fan.
Overall, I really loved the atmosphere and the trendy vibe of the place, but if I come back, I would most likely just do drinks and appetizers, not dinner.
3.5 stars.
I tried to go to ABC Kitchen and the wait was an hour and 45 mins long! thank god right around the building was ABC Cocina, the latin version of Jean Georges' restaurant chains.
Indoor seating was about a 45 minute wait, but luckily, no wait for outdoor seating and it was a nice night out, so i didn't mind.
we basically ordered everything off the menu:
– guacamole – yes, get this and the fried tortilla that comes with it
– octopus – meh, i've had better octopus
– short rib tacos – probably the best thing on the menu, have to order this and 5 more
– mushroom tacos – a little too salty
– shrimp – yes
– steak – i could have passed on this, but still good
– complimentary bread – good, get more
– beets – i hate beets
– flan – i dont like flan
– churros – good
– tres something something dessert – very good
definitely worth the visit!
Guess the ABC series are doing a much better job than the original JG. A couple of months back, I tried ABC kitchen and this time with my friend, the ABC Cocina.
The main theme was about sharing (so don't hesitate to skip the prix-fixe, as it has omitted many of signature dishes). Guacamole lovers, go for the tortilla chip with Guac, perfectly mixed with peas. Definitely give a try on their spicy garlic shrimp – also to dip your bread into the spicy oil, amazing! My favorite course was the grilled octopus, chewy, tender and flavorful!
Did not get the chance to test out their dessert yet, nevertheless my taste bud already appreciated every single dish!
It was not too difficult but don't forget to nail a reservation before coming. In my opinion, Cocina was equally impressive with Kitchen, though from a very different angle.
Came here for a birthday dinner – the stakes were high for me.
If your an ANTI spice person like me, make sure to make it abundantly clear! After reading previous yelp reviews for this spot I was scared the food would be too spicy, but the server was able to make almost everything we ordered in a non spicy version. BTW the starter bread is amazing. Ask for more. Several times.
Chips and Guac- Delish
Shrimp & Garlic – Yum central
Short Rib Tacos – Mhmmm
Ribs – Could definitely live without this one. Nothing special.
Arroz Con Pollo – Good but don't see why there's so much hype about it. Nothing to write home about.
Stewed Chicken with Crunchy Rice – The rice is literally a block of crunchy rice. I did not expect it to be prepared like this. Definitely not better than the arroz con pollo.
The margaritas were good too! We got the mango and passionfruit.
Overall a solid meal. Only reason for the 4 stars instead of 5 is I wish they had more options of entree sized portions apart from rice centered dishes. Go here if your willing to drop a lot of money, because you need several dishes to get full!
I wanted to have lunch at ABC Kitchen, but ended up here. That was actually good quick lunch cuz they offer small plate and I didn't wanna eat too much.
I liked the decor inside, the dark theme color with sparkle beautiful light fixtures.
I got two fish taco which I asked the waiter for recommendation. It turns out great! It also went good with spicy sauce provided on the table. Freshness of vegetable and crunchiness of the fish were super combination! Complimentary breads w/ olive oil were really good, too.
I thought it was very small lunch and bit pricy regarding the portion size. I should order something additionally. But I had lots to explore NY after lunch, so it was ok.
This place is people who wants to enjoy small plates with cool vibe!
I was originally going to throw down a 4 star for this place but outstanding service bumped it up. I made a reso on Open Table to get my points bumpin'. We added a third person – no problem. We were seated in a little corner nook that was rather nice… except the lights above us began flickering bad. We're not talking pirates-of-the-caribbean-quaint-candle-flicker, we're talking holy-crap-is-this-a-strobe-light-wtf. First we were going to move tables, but then it calmed down a little so we decided to suck it up.
We ordered our apps and not long after, the manager lady came over and told us she could fix the light. Hey! That's nice. She fiddled with some lighting (this place uses light as an art installation) and we were good to go. On top of that, we were given a complimentary plate of cookies along with the dessert we ordered (some vanilla puff fritter things that were tasty).
The hits food wide for us were: short rib tacos, everybody loved it. I loved the grilled fish tacos. The habanero sauce that came with the table was my husband's favorite thing ever and he blew through a bottle and a half. The patatas bravas were good but imho, could use more sauce so ask for some on the side. Dessert was fantastic as mentioned.
I totally screwed my no carbs, no dairy, no meat, no sugar diet for the week but whatever… it was worth it. Thanks ABC!
The Quick: Trendy, swanky, tapas spot with great cocktail list. 4.5 star experience for me.
The Details: for party of two, I recommend five or six (if you're very hungry) tapas to share. I absolutely loved the octopus which was cooked to perfection, and to be fair everything we had was very tasty. If you're adventurous I recommend the soft shell crab. The drinks were tasty but weak, I recommend sticking to their cava rose instead.
The Damage: Dinner and drinks for 2 ~150 before tip