Toledo Restaurant
“Old school, delicious Spanish dining in a relaxing atmosphere.”
“It was quiet with dim lighting, not too dim you'd trip over something or bump into a wall, but dim enough your date wouldnt notice your new zit.”
“The Red Snapper baked in a clay pot is still amazing, it flakes apart like nothing, and the sauce it is amazing as well.”
Toledo Restaurant
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$$ Price range Above $61
4 reviews
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The Latin for Toledo or Toletum means palace or castle. This little hideaway in Midtown is not easy to find and its quiet closed exterior makes you wonder if it is indeed open? The setting here is very intimate with some lovely paintings and old style decor. It is not the bustling town of Toledo, Spain which is the birthplace of many famous artists like El Greco. The appetizers here are very good like the fried calamari, stuffed mushrooms, and garlic shrimp. The paella marinara and the sangria are all that I have had here. The paella is good, but not the large feast it is in most restaurants–It needs a little more spice and for the liquid broth not to overwhelm the peas and other vegetables. Paella marinara is not just about the seafood. The sangria is just okay. This is indeed a beautiful restaurant, and the wait staff is helpful, but needs to be less matter of fact and more accomodating.
My firm decided to go with Toledo this year for our annual holiday party. My first impression before I physically stepped in to the restaurant was "wow that Toledo banner really needs a cleaning … a deep, deep cleaning!" Mind you we have been dealing with unpleasant weather, snowstorm and all, but it still needs a good scrub lol. When I actually stepped in, my reaction was, "wowzers! This is a very fancy and elegant looking interior!" It was quiet with dim lighting, not too dim you'd trip over something or bump into a wall, but dim enough your date wouldnt notice your new zit. We started off with some sangria, which was good (coming from a nondrinker). I ordered the escargot for appetizer, seafood paella for entree and a lemon sorbet for dessert. The paella was absolutely delicious with a pretty generous portion size. They weren't stingy with the seafood at all. Moreover, the lemon sorbet was cleverly served in a ginormous frozen lemon and was a light and perfect ending to my big meal. The downside of my 3-course meal, I must say, rested solely in the escargot. I dont know whether this is due to me being spoiled by the French, but it was really bland. Fresh, but bland. One other thing: neither of us were presented with a glass of water. I mean, yes my bosses and coworkers were quenching their thirsts with sangria and red wine (lots of red wine) but someone like myself who cant drink and need to flush out the alcohol from my system need water! All in all, it was an enjoyable meal. I would return, when I become a millionaire.
It doesn't get more awkward than this: Girlfriend and I walk into this restaurant with no other diners except one table loudly complaining about immigrants. My GF immigrated into the country and having a table blurt out how she made life difficult during most of our dinner did not make us feel welcome.
I know a restaurant can't always determine its clientele so read this: The food itself was extremely bland and absurdly overpriced. Whatever taste you imagine fish contains was sucked out of a vacuum in the kitchen. This is food for people who think bananas have way too bold of a flavor.
The waiter told us that there was no wine menu yet wanted our wine order without any look at the price or options. Without any wine menu, are we just going to guess what bottles you have in the back? Did you expect customers to play along and get scammed with the we-wont-tell-you-the-price idea? Why not stretch it to your food menu and have us guess what appetizers you serve? The owner must've hated money to implement the dumbest drink ordering process at a place obviously counting on people ordering wine to pay the bills.
The atmosphere is stuffy, a parody of stuffy, way beyond anything I've encountered before, Daniel included. You will feel unwelcome just by the layout and design of the place.
Few restaurants leave you wishing the place implodes. Toledo, you're in special territory.
The quiet stretch of 36th Street that houses Toledo is a far cry from its namesake city on the banks of the Tagus, but the restaurant certainly deserves all the praise and accolades for being a worthy setting for fine dining when one is trapped in this relatively quieter but still characterless part of midtown.
Start with a plate of manchego, and then try the black bean soup with confidence. Let the plush setting and the attentive wait staff make you feel more important than you are and you look. But before visions of grandeur begin to take over, finish that plate of paella–every kind is well executed. When the dessert cart comes along, ask for the tartufo–it is an amazing complement to the food.
If only Toledo could graduate from a street to an avenue, it would likely have more traffic. But it seems to be doing just fine in its present location. And couldn't do a better job of serving "the classic cuisine of Spain". Bravo!