Socarrat Paella Bar – Midtown East
“The Soccarat
Carne
Arroz Negro (sin los camarones)
All three are recommended.”
“Now people can get their fill of Socarrat paella and tapas without going to Chelsea or Nolita.”
“My favorite is the "paella con carne", but all others are just as good.”
Socarrat Paella Bar – Midtown East
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Sadly, it seems like last year's "delectable" paella was a fluke.
Today's dish better reflected the other lukewarm reviews that Socarrat has received. Ordering the same- the mariscos- we saw at first sight that it was not going to be as good as the other. This could be attributed to the appearance of the assorted seafood, which looked dry and flavorless- and tasted the same. That is, except for a couple of mussels, which tasted rotten.
While the rice itself was perfectly cooked and full of flavor, it nevertheless was overly salted and dotted with pockets of olive oil. At $26 a head, it simply is not worth the gamble.
The ONLY reason this place is getting 2 stars is because their staff is extremely nice. The food, however, should get 0 stars.
Went today w/ some co-workers for restaurant week. Aside from taking forever to get our lunches, everything we tried was bland. Everything.
Garlic shrimp – needed salt and flavor.
melon salad tasted like someone through some melon and tomato in a bowl and served it.
paella only had broccoli and was just mushy bland rice.
we also tried a fish soup but it was literally a few mussels and clams in a water broth.
Never going back.
We were a group of nine and ordered pulpo, croquetas, gambas al ajillo, paella de maricos and paella de la huerta. Sangria for drink.
Everything was well cooked. Pulpo and croquetas were excellent. Paella was tasty and the rice had actually the socarrat.
Negative is that shrimps in both gambas al ajillo and the paella were absolutely tasteless.
Service were not good as expected. I guess it was late (around 10pm) so they were tired to face a group of 9 Spanish. We asked about how were the portions for the paella and I considered the waitress a bit rude answering us.
A little bit pricey for the portions you got. I guess it's best going for happy hours or brunch time with special offers.
Highly recommend this quaint and inviting Paella bar and restaurant. Located in midtown on the east side. Great for groups who like to share different tapas and Paella. Tapas we shared included the Brussels sprouts: fabulous, the bacon wrapped dates: scrumptious, cheese board: great spread, and Pulpo (octopus): cooked perfectly. We shared the carne Paella and the fish Paella. The crispy Soccarat on the bottom of the pan makes it worth scraping the bottom of the pans. A great meal shared with close friends makes this place extra special.
Pretty superb location for those working in the area. While the paella was underwhelming, the richness of the chocolate that came with the churro is convincing enough for a second try.
Amazing. We have been here multiple times, and each time we come here, we have superb service from the waiters and the paella is always amazing. We love getting the squid ink paella with garlic aioli; the seafood in this paella is always cooked just right, and the garlic aioli gives a boost of garlic taste. Tip: it takes about 30-40 min for the paella to come out after you order, so it's totally ok to come a little early and wait for the food!
I had lunch with my buddy during the New York Restaurant Week. Because their croquettes and paella of the day changes daily, I like to call them ahead to know what's on the menu.
Croquetas del dia: We had the mushroom croquettes. Crispy inside and creamy inside. It was really good. I think it's a mix of creamy potato and mushrooms.
De la huerto paella: eggplant, cauliflower, artichokes, tomatoes, chickpeas, snow peas. they have individual size paellas. The rice is a little crispy on the top and on the sides but not on the bottom.
Churros Sunday Funday: coffee cream, hot chocolate, whipped cream, cocoa nibs. The churros sticks to the teeth, as if they were made of glutinous rice. There were to much whipped cream for the churros. It's served in a cup and I couldn't reach the chocolate that was underneath the layers of cream.
There was a little disappointment that the rice in the paella wasn't very crispy, but my favorite dish was the melt in the mouth croquettes.
Our group went to Socarrat Paella Bar and took advantage of the Paella of the day special which is available at 11AM-2PM. For $19.95. the 2nd Ave restaurant looks like the front needs a makeover, it has three different major sings and 4 smaller ones plaster all over the front, like if you had three owners and they all got there way with the signs. Inside has two floors with a wood type rustic paneling layout, we were seated on the first floor next to the bar.
Today's Paella was Arroz negro, (Black Rice), which comes with shrimp, calamari, scallops, fish, and squid ink to make the rice black. We order as appetizer the fried croquettes , which today was stuff with scallops and the 'Gambas al ajillo' which is lite spicy shrimp in a small bowl about 5 pieces each. And then also ordered flan for desert.
The croquettes and shrimps where real tasty and they went so fast we had to ask for another serving of the croquettes while we waited for our Paella, 30 minutes+.
The Paella was absolutely delicious, very flavorful and seasoned, with crusty rice on the bottom of the pan as well. I read other review were they said the shrimps, fish were not cooked with the Paella and did not have any flavor, but that was not the case with ours.
Just a note: when you order the special of the day for 2 or more people they just give you a larger pan , not individual pans.
The flan was real good and freshly made. I will definitely go back to Socarrat again to try the other Paellas.