The Black Ant
“I also had the Huarache de Nopal( $12), which is grilled cactus pad, black mission figs, asadero cheese, pilonsillo chilhuacle marmalade.”
“Then I tried the enchiladas de conejo, I'm mexican and I had never tried some enchiladas like those, amazing.”
“Anyway, onto the food: we started out with the Tlayuda con Chapulines, which is the grasshopper dish mentioned in numerous other reviews.”
The Black Ant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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if you didn't think RACISM was alive and well. it's definitely alive and kickin' at a restaurant near you. it's just way more subtle and passive. back to the review….
went here a few weekends ago. a Friday night, i think. probably was around 9. (edit: June 24th)
she and me (rhymin') decided to grab Mexican at Black Ant bc of the rave reviews on YELP and another bartender (who i trust) used to be at Black Ant but is now at Hecho En Dumbo rec'ed it as well.
anyway waiting about 10-15 minutes. no host or hostess in sight. they were busy but not Wrestle Mania busy. eventually i flag down a waitress (glasses, blonde) and asked her how long the wait was…she said not long, but she'd check with the hostess. she went to the back and spoke to a dude for about 5-10 minutes then went back to her tables in the rear of the restaurant. eventually she made her way back to the front of the restaurant. flag her down again and asked for the wait. she said it would not be that long, but said to wait for the hostess/manager.
after about another 5-10 minutes…a slender guy cropped hair on the sides and the one of those micro ponytails came to the front…and started speaking to a white couple (this is relevant later in this review) who came in after us. the couple asked how long was the wait without reservations…the manager (apparently who is referred to as the "hostess" by the waitress) said that he'd have to see…
after this convo, i finally got the manager/host's/hostess's attention i asked him how long the wait was for dinner for two as i explained we had been waiting for about 1/2 hour. he replied "30 – 40 minutes"…i was like, "couldn't you have told that to your waitress that like 1/2 hour ago–it took that long for you to figure that out." he replied "have a nice night" w/o blinking.
as we were leaving, he seated the WHITE couple who arrived way after us….hmmm.
RACIST much, BLACK ANT?
here's my take: the manager/host/hostess/whatever-the-eff is a prick who was waiting to get rid of us so he could seat the other couple. the waitress who initially fielded our request either told the truth, was an idiot, or didn't want to let on that the manager/host/hostess was going to be a complete prick to us…hence why she avoided letting us know what the deal was until i flagged her down, the second time. the sadder part was the manager/host/hostess was a minority…it's sad day when someone of darker tones pulls this passive racist shizzz.
drops mic bc the manager or whoever almost ruined a perfectly great night. thankfully there are other restaurants in the East Village that throw down excellent Mexican eats and drinks.
so yeah the food, drinks, etc. MIGHT BE great or might not. never again.
1 star…choke on that, Mr Manager/Host/Whatevz
i out.
zzz…
I've been dying to go to The Black Ant since they first opened a few years ago. This place is excellent. The menu isn't huge, but it's very diverse and offers really interesting dishes and flavor pairings. Their drinks are great too (I had a margarita and sangria).
Around 8pm on a Saturday, it wasn't busy just yet. I made a reservation for four people but they wouldn't seat us until everyone arrived. I hate that, especially when the restaurant is less than half full. Whatever, TO THE BAR! Anyway, when we were finally seated, the service was painfully slow. Our dinner took over three hours. I'm not complaining because we were enjoying ourselves, but just to order food took forever, and the waiter rarely came to our table to check on things, take our orders, take our second round of drink orders…you get the point. That's why this review is four-stars. If it were strictly based on the food, I'd give it five.
Speaking about the food…BEST. GUAC. IN. MANHATTAN. True story. With fried chickpeas, fresh chips, and whatever else they throw in there…it's bomb. I had the grilled octopus appetizer as my entree and it was excellent. I also tried a bite of the cod taco and it was very good as well. Get the fried plantains, they won't disappoint. Nothing will disappoint…except perhaps the service.
In NYC, anything and everything can become fancy with a modern twist. Here at The Black Ant, they have successfully turned the Mexican cuisine into something more creative and upscale. And what else is great about this place? Their happy hour. So we decided to check them out during the happy hour.
Since we were there specifically for the happy hour, we sat at the outside. If you want to order from the happy hour menu, you have to be at/around bar area. We heard a lot about their Guacamole, so we decided to start off with that. And my goodness it was amazing! I had the "Holy Guacamole!!!" moment. And this is coming from not-so-fan of guacamole (me).
Everything else we ordered was fantastic, each very tasty, high quality, creative and delicious!
We also ordered a cactus fries off the regular menu, as I was curious.I have not had cactus fries before, and I heard they do a really great ones here. And, I would say it was a good call. They were pretty good, the texture and taste similar to zucchini.
After the wonderful meal and drinks, we decided to order one dessert to share. I noticed one dessert item that said "good to share" on it, so we decided to go with that. We ordered Ya Supe Lupe Sundae. I was a bit concerned when I read the "Avocado ice cream" as I am not a fan of avocado. But, they created the most delicious Guacamole I have ever tasted here, so the ice cream must also be delicious, right? the answer is YES! The ice cream was so tasty, creamy, velvety, just perfect! I can't believe it was made with avocado…
The food was amazing, service was great, we really enjoyed our dining experience here. It is now one of our favorite spot. I can't wait to go back for some more wonderful creations! Read my full review of this restaurant and food on my food blog, foodlovergirl.
Came here with a girlfriend for drinks and small plates and we both loved it! The decor is really cool and it has a great vibe!
The guacamole is so good packed with pomegranate seeds and crunchy chickpeas topped of course with ant salt. We also tried the grasshopper croquettes bc when else do you see them on the menu? So delicious and the grasshoppers add an extra crunch.
Spicy jalapeño margaritas are recommended but could be more spicy. Definitely going back!
I came here on a Friday night for dinner. The reviews were pretty good and name is intriguing. I ordered the guacamole, chicken enchiladas and the avocado ice cream. My husband ordered the octopus.
The guacamole is incredible! The add ons like pomegranate and very well seasoned chickpeas make it suprisingly delicious. The lime-flavored chips make it hard to stop eating the chips after the guac is finished.
My chicken enchiladas were also amazing. I honestly don't know what made these enchiladas so much better than other ones, but the seasoning, the cheese, you name it and it was really good. I loved the meal so much I ate my leftovers the next day around 1030-11ish AM thinking its "close enough to lunch?"
My husband's octopus platter was also very good. It comes with soft tortillas so you can make yourself octopus tacos. I am just not a fan of doing work at dinner, but thats just me.
The cactus fries were pretty good with the chipotle-ish sauce.
The avocado ice cream is a sight to see with the marshmallows on the periphery, chocolate truffles all in a waffle bowl. It is an interesting dish to try but I don't think I would order it again. The ice cream is good, a little salty, and at least now I can say I have tried avocado ice cream.
The drinks are pretty good. Unfortunately the menus listed online are not current so I can't reliably write the names down.
I had asked to sit outdoors and was seated in the back which is really like an indoor patio. It is nice but not what I had asked for. They do have outdoor seating on the street which is what I was hoping for. Otherwise the restaurant is dark but with a festive ambiance. Our waiter was very attentive and I liked that when I asked his opinion he had definitive answers. If you work at a restaurant you should know what you like and this man did.
Overall, I am giving it 4 stars because it was a great meal but its not "as good as it gets." I would definitely tell a friend to come here to enjoy the food. I would also definitely order the guac again.
I came here for brunch one Sunday and did not leave disappointed. The drinks here are strong (I wouldn't recommend getting the lavender based breakfast cocktail though; that tasted like soap), and the guacamole was delicious. They have indoor and outdoor seating in the front and an 'outdoor' seating area in the back, with clear glass ceilings. I had the duck and eggs and I enjoyed my meal. I hear their happy hour specials are pretty good so I would go back to check that out, and eat their guacamole again.
Black ant was pretty good.
The guac was pretty delicious. The octopus appetizer was cooked well, decent. The fish tacos were okay. Drinks were average.
Service was just okay.
Overall, this place is okay. Not that memorable.
i really wanted to like this place, with a name like the black ant and hidden behind some scaffolding, it definitely felt like it was going to be a solid brunch spot. things started off on the wrong foot when we tried to order 3 different things from the menu, and each time we were told that menu item was unavailable, and this was at 12:30pm on a saturday morning. instead of making us go down the list and get rejected each time, next time just tell us what's available up front. in addition to this, since the only remaining dishes contained sides that one of us was allergic to, we asked them to substitute out one of the sides, and they refused which is really frustrating. if you tell me 3 menu items which I'm not allergic to is not available, the least you can do is help me out a little, but nope.
their bottomless brunch rules is a little annoying to, its 20$ for bottomless brunch, but we didn't opt in for it initially. after we all got 2 mimosas each, i asked the waiter since our 2 drinks added up to 20$, we should be able to get the bottomless brunch, but nope, he informed us our 2 drinks came to 18$ and not the required 20$, so no help there. i get it, but still, after the previous frustration with the meals, you'd think they'd do something to alleviate the aggravation.
i've spent the previous two paragraphs complaining, but now on to the food: the food was pretty good! the duck and eggs was really good and the dons con mole negro was delicious as an appetizer. the huitlacoche was also really good, great mix of cheese, avocado and mushrooms. overall, the food was good, but the service was extremely lacking…i wouldn't expect to return here.