Xixa
“Xixa provided one of my most memorable dining experiences – right up there with dinner at Xixa's sister restaurant, Traif.”
“Definitely try the "steak tacos" which include bone marrow, steak tartare and some tasty sauces.”
“-Braised duck lettuce wraps, mushrooms, picadillo, raisins, peanuts, roasted banana- VERY good.”
Xixa
Takes Reservations: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
PokéStop Nearby: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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The foie gras tasted pretty good but oily. The pork belly was all grounded up and seems like it was assembled back together. This kinda ruined a nice piece of pork belly. The bone marrow tasted alright, nothing special. Overall, this place was alright.
Hot damn that was an awesome meal. After searching through the various options that might accommodate a party of 7 at a time other than 5 pm or 10 pm, we were thrilled that Xixa was able to give us a table. Could they possibly match the great experience we had a Traif?
I'm delighted to say they did. In spades.
We did the Chef's Table, a ridiculous bargain that would be a pity not to experience for the mere price of $50 per person. You just aren't going to get anything better, more varied, more interesting or more satisfying anywhere else for anything close to that price.
The food was stellar. From the transcendent foie gras al pastor to the incredible rib tacos with all the trimmings and the carnitas, so savory; we were in heaven. The biggest surprise was the carrot dish – served a la mexican corn style, it was a revelation.
Were there a few forgettable dishes and missteps? Of course. The fact that the bar only serves tequila or mezcal variations is a mistake. Some folks have an aversion to either or both and I don't think it would hurt to offer a little rum in the mix. The glasses for water are far too small and that they don't leave bottles on the table makes it hard to stay hydrated with all that food coming on. The service was a bit rushed – we were JUST starting a plate when the next would come. At one point, we had 3 courses at the same time on the table. We weren't terribly slow and it was overwhelming. Several of the dishes should have been served with more tortillas, more chips, or were honestly just not that great. Hummus? I don't want hummus in a Mexican restaurant. I also don't want that particular flan dish. It was a lackluster end to the meal.
All that said, we would return again and again, and even with the paragraph of missteps above, it still is in the top 3 Brooklyn spots we won't hesitate to recommend or revisit. That Xixa is one hot number.
Had a great dinner at Xixa. I've wanted to try this place for years. Sad. I don't know how I didn't make it here earlier. We tried lots of dishes: soft shell crab, bone marrow tacos, carrot elote, goat neck barbacoa tacos. I tried a mezcal based cocktail as well – this was kind of meh and I nursed it through the whole meal and even left a little. All of the food was good, but the stars of the meal were the carrot elote and goat neck barbacoa. The goat was amazingly tender and flavorful. Wish I could eat this every day! Same with the carrot elote – I took a picture of it and sent it to my vegetarian friend and said "you have to have this". Hopefully I will be returning again soon with my vegetarian friend!
Ordered: Guacamole, Curry brisket meatballs, Short rib tacos, and Churros
Pros–
~The guacamole was served with a variety of chips (plantain, beet, cheese, etc.) which added different flavor complexities. It was topped with pomegrante seeds which added a surprising and nice touch of sweetness.
~The meatball stew was packed with flavor and spice. I'm not a curry or spicy person, but this was lovely. I ate this dish with some of the leftover chips and guacamole which helped lighten the overpowering flavors.
~The short rib tacos were some of the best tacos I've ever had. They came with beet tortillas (with chunks of beets cooked in), a huge rib filled with tender and flavorful meat, a spicy green sauce, a mole sauce, pomegrante pico de gallo, and guacamole. Each component melded perfectly together for a complex and flavorful taco.
~The churros were soft, yet firm. They had a great cinnamon sugar, apple cider flavor. They came with a yuzu cream sauce and crabapple habanero sorbet. The spicy sorbet counterbalanced the sweet, citrusy sauce perfectly. Make sure when you're mixing the sorbet and cream, to make the proportion of the sorbet higher since the cream was a bit stronger in flavor.
~The servers were attentive with refilling water and they were knowledgeable in regards to the dishes' levels of spiciness.
Cons– I would've liked a little more pomegrante pico de gallo with the tacos, as there wasn't enough to suffice for all of the meat.
I don't think there is anything that I can say about Xixa that hasn't been said already, but this is far and away my favorite restaurant in Williamsburg (and maybe anywhere).
I absolutely love small shared plates, as I am a sucker for trying a bit of everything, but it is often hard to find gluten free friendly spots that fit that bill. I came here with a large group for my birthday recently, and their chef's tasting menu was AMAZING, a fantastic value for the amount and quality of food, and they were able to happily accommodate my gluten free request. I was able to eat everything, and they had back-up options for anything that I couldn't eat.
I don't even remember everything we ate, but there wasn't a single dish that I wouldn't want to eat again.
Some highlights I do remember: guacamole, queso fundido, carrots elote, and th emake your own tacos were amazing as well
Plus, their sangria was really incredible, it was fruity and strong, but didn't give me the instant sugar headache that most sangrias do.
Xixa is excellent. I'd been wanting to go ever since I had dinner at Traif about a year ago. Finally gathered a group big enough and did the tasting menu.
Before we even stepped foot in the restaurant, they were incredibly accomodating. I made a reservation on OpenTable for 6, but turned out that we had two more people who wanted to join, so we called them up and they made the change with no problems at all. The only caveat was that with a group of 8, we all had to do the chef's tasting. We were also the annoying people who had dietary restrictions (one vegetarian, and one gluten free). They called me day of to confirm all the details, which was very thoughtful.
Compared to Traif, Xixa is more laid back, with loud music, darker lighting, and only indoor space. It has more of a party vibe.
Their cocktails are super interesting. They have house-made juices that you can just add mezcal or tequila to. They also have "deconstructed" cocktails where you get ice cubs of juice or other spices and a shot of liquor (infused or otherwise). As the ice melts, the drink comes to life. Super interesting, but you have to have patience, of which I have none.
Onto the food. This is what we had:
0) Snap peas with cheese sauce
1) Butterfish sashimi with asparagus
2) Spring guacamole with chips (plantain and frico?)
3) Seared scallops
4) Chicken wings with macha sauce
5) Shredded beef lettuce wraps
6) Garlic butter shrimp with mole sauce
7) Grilled carrots elote
8) Beef short ribs
9) Queso fundido
10) Rosemary flan
11) Churros
0) Chocolate with nuts and caramel
Everything was great. My favorite dishes were the seared scallops (I'm a sucker for scallops) and the garlic butter shrimp. Some of the best shrimp I've had. The beef short rib was basically a brontosaurus bone, it was so large. It was the main event, and we were struggling to finish because it was so much food.
The person who did the vegetarian option said she really enjoyed what she had, especially the grilled carrot elote. And there was more than enough food for her.
I do have to put another caveat on this review though – Xixa is definitely worth 5 stars (I can find absolutely no fault with our experience) but in comparison, Traif should be 6 stars. If I had to choose between the two, I would go with Traif every single time.
If you can't tell by the menu, Xixa is Mexican-inspired. So some of the dishes were made with simple bases, and not as experimental flavor-wise compared to Traif (a lot of mole sauce involved). Also, it was probably because of our group's restrictions, but we didn't have some of the more exotic menu items as part of our tasting.
P.S. If anyone from the Xixa web team is reading this, you should take off the noindex/nofollow meta tag on your website. That's why the site doesn't come up in Google searches!
I had an 11 course feast here! Omg!!! Don't walk, run to this place! I was there for a private event so every dish I had may not be on the menu but it was all unique and amazing and all prepared by the chef.
Highlights:
Mexican style edamame – off the charts
Filet mignon tartare- Delish!! Skip the crackers. It should be eaten alone.
Osso bucco- amazing!
Buffalo roasted corn- more please!
Grilled octopus- yummmmm
Churro– still dreaming of it!!
Beet tortilla's? I think? Who would have thought that they would taste so so so so good. Also, the short ribs were so tender, so juicy, they fell off the bone. I'd skip the carrots and the venison tartare was slightly under salted. Of the cocktails, I loved hibiscus pomengranate and the tomatillo limeade.
Dessert wise, I'd suggest the churros and the ice-cream sundae.
The service was excellent (too). My only small gripe was how loud it got at times. But all in all, this a solid restaurant. OH, I almost forgot, you absolutely, must, without a doubt, order the bone marrow.