cucharamama

cucharamama was the venue for the international chocolate awards party on monday evening. located in hoboken, there was a warm welcoming atmosphere inside. this was a memorable evening made extra special by our charming and gracious hostess and restaurant owner, dr. maricel p. who is also a grand jury member. huge jars filled with crisp plantain wafers accompanied with a thick salsa paired nicely with the cocktails served. i had a beso andino (kiss andean). it tasted of innocent fruit juice till the alcohol seeped in - slowly. canapés were passed by attentive and patient staff as the restaurant was filling up with people. tiny plates of polenta topped with shrimp resembled a risotto. a couldn't have her shrimp so i happily lapped it up. it was delish! there was a lot of chocolate laid out that we nibbled on with the food and cocktails. with such yummy hors d'oeuvres, i plan on having dinner there.

good food, just wish i could afford to eat here.

portions don't warrant the prices. something needs to be done.

always disappointing. good food, horrible service. i'm sorry to say that i've been consistently disappointed by this restaurant. i want so badly to like it and yes, the food is good, but . . . the service is awful. this time we made a reservation only to have called back later saying that they didn't have a table for us after all but would seat us at the bar. we decided to go anyway. the waiter pressed us to order more quickly than we wanted. we ordered drinks and appetizers and an entree. five minutes later, our entrees came. the waiter had forgotten our appetizers! he did not apologize but insisted it was no big deal; they were not much anyway! he finally offered to take back our entrees and bring them back later. we refused. he shrugged. we had expected a long leisurely and relaxed meal. instead we were in and out within half an hour. the thing is, the service here is never polite, friendly or professional. i've been many times, hoping to give it a chance to get better and i'm always disappointed.

terrible service , over priced food. the decor reminds me of a 1920s antique shop.

interesting neighborhood spot. different take on latam tapas ... everything we tried was good , with tamales with roasted slab bacon very good.

nice cocktail list too

staff were accommodating and friendly and fit us in despite busy saturday night and having no reservation

unbelievably good; maybe best tapas bar we've found anywhere. great food, interesting and varied menu. we could not decide and would have to go back many times just to try all of the things that sounded awesome. i cannot believe anyone would not love this place.

this place has really gone downhill.

we have loved this place since it's opening weekend and have probably been responsible for multiple people dining there due to our glowing recommendations. no more. whoever is taking reservations and managing the floor is rude and thoughtless. i had been dealing with a family emergency and forgotten to cancel my reservation one saturday night. now i realize this is extremely annoying to restaurants and i promise you i always make a point to cancel a reservation when needed. this was an absolute accident due to what we were dealing with and when i apologized profusely and stated the family emergency reason there was silence over the phone followed by a rude comment and then a phone slammed down on me.

a month prior to that i had suggested going here with my in-laws and we were rushed off of our table. when we decided to take our time ordering the waiter said "i'm sorry but this table has another reservation coming in an hour." i'm sorry but that is not my problem.

the owners of cucharamama also own zafra, another once favorite of ours. my husband called to order something off their menu which was no longer offered. instead of politely explaining the entre was no longer available, the man on the phone says "hurry up and choose something else. i have a business to run here." we responded by hanging up and ordering from la isla (much better cuban food and pleasant service)

long story short we will never return to this establishment as no one should have to put up with such shotty unprofessional service especially when you are paying top dollar for your meal. there are too many yummy restuarants in hoboken and manhattan to ever have to give such an unprofessionally run establishment my hard earned money.

food is amazing! brunch is heavenly. consistency of dishes is on point. lovely restaurant. weather on a date, solo or with friends cucharamama will keep you coming back : )

pricy food, good quality, and drinks are out of this world. fave: frozen margaritas and the salmon dish with a side of the colombian cheese rice. also the wood burning oven is one of a kind in this town.

good food! amazing sunday brunch! but know service is always slow so don't go if you are hungry or in a rush.

eh.. food was good, not great. the portions are to small. if you are going to eat, pick several plates.

good food not spectacular. the tappas were great. the chicken breast entree was also good. the skirt steak was not as good,thin and tough. the short ribs look better than they taste,

most of the drinks were too small for $9.

food is overall good but to pricy for was it is. staff is friendly

my co-worker bernie accused me of discriminating against new jersey food. "sarah, you don't eat in new jersey enough! you only eat in new york city!", he complains all the time about my preference for nyc food. it's not that i don't eat in new jersey area

for when you want to eat at zafra's but want something a litle more upscale, and they have a full bar. great wine selection and specialty drinks, good for tapas or a full plate. our favorite restaurant in hoboken.