Restaurant Review: Guantanamera

My name’s Mark, founder and creator of the everything food blog Mealswithmark.com! I am back again, for another local Restaurant Review! This time I checked out Guantanamera located on the ever-bustling Queens Boulevard. I recently reviewed the new Mexican Restaurant Compadres 77, which you can read here! Also go over to my blog and check out my review of Numero 28 Pizzeria on Restaurant Row.

I have gotten some flack for my Forest Hills restaurant reviews I have done. I have one posted on my own blog and one posted here on Edge of the City. Between comments on both sites, as well as comments in the Forest Hills Facebook group where I posted one of my reviews, I received mixed reviews. I received some hostile comments due to my brutal honesty. I have been a resident in Forest Hills for about two years and have tried many of the restaurants the area has to offer and the majority lacked the 'Wow!' factor and failed to impress me.

Until recently, I haven’t had many “amazing” food experiences. That’s what makes reviews interesting. They give readers a chance to see a restaurant and experience it through someone else’s eyes and taste-buds. To get someone else’s opinion and perspective.

Me and my partner love living in Forest Hills! We love taking walks through the Gardens, taking in a movie at the newly renovated Midway, and eating out! We haven’t given up on the food scene in Forest Hills. We have actually had some great food experiences recently at Numero 28 and Moca, both on Restaurant Row!

Last Saturday night we decided to check out Guantanamera on Queens Blvd. After the short walk to the restaurant on a beautiful night, my first impression of the outside was the restaurant was a little drab and rundown. When you first look at it, it almost looks like they are closed. But let me just tell you, it is a whole different story when you walk through the doors. When you walk through the door, it’s like falling through the rabbit hole in Alice in Wonderland and you are transported off to Cuba.

Guantanamera is a friendly, fun, vibrant Cuban restaurant featuring traditional Cuban fare, a wide array of exotic cocktails and live Cuban music. The live music was booming! A little too loud in my opinion because it was hard to have a conversation with your dinner guest. But with that said, the music was amazing and I felt like I was partying in the streets of Cuba. Guantanamera, captures the essence of Old Havana with its exotic décor featuring exposed brick, candle-lit tables, ceiling fans, and hand-painted murals on the walls. I kept catching myself repeatedly gazing at the amazing décor.

We arrived at around 7:30 p.m. on a Saturday evening and we scanned the restaurant and it was packed. We checked in with the hostess and she stated she would be right with us. She checked in with one of the servers and we were seated immediately. No wait.

Our server promptly brought us menus and filled our glasses with water. We both looked through the menu and were impressed with the unique offerings on the menu. We asked our pleasant and always smiling waitress her recommendation for appetizers. She made several suggestions. She stated that the empanadas, the tostone rellenos (stuffed plaintains, shrimp, and Cuban sauce), and the calamari are amazing and her favorites on the menu. With both of us being fans of calamari, it was an easy choice.

The calamari arrived pretty quickly after ordering. It arrived at our table with a chipotle mayo sauce for dipping. The calamari was cooked to perfection. The batter was exquisitely seasoned and the calamari was fried to a golden crisp. I have had calamari at many restaurants and some come out on the chewy side. Not these golden delights. It was the perfect chew. The dipping sauce was a simple combo of mayo and hot sauce but it complemented the calamari.

Since our server made a great suggestion on the recipe and she was very engaging we asked her opinion on the main courses as well. I was in the mood for a beef/steak dish and there were several options on the menu. They all sounded amazing and a tough choice. They had a traditional Cuban steak with sautéed onions, grilled sirloin steak with sautéed onions, grilled skirt steak with a chimichurri sauce, and sautéed slices of prime beef with garlic, onions, peppers and a light tomato sauce. I was drooling with all of the choices.

I ultimately went with the Ropa vieja, a shredded skirt steak braised in a tomato sauce, onions and peppers which comes nested in a basket made of tropical plantains. It came with a side of white rice and black beans.

The combination of flavors was indescribable. The steak was so flavorful and tender and paired so well with the unique plantain basket. Our server was 2 for 2 so far with her suggestions.

My partner asked and went with our server’s suggestion as well. I love going out to eat with my partner, not only is it always great company, but we share each other’s food so we have twice the food experience. My partner went with the Pollo Guantanamera. This is one of the restaurant’s signature dishes.

It is a roasted half chicken boneless infused with a Cuban sauce and served with Tostones. Another dish that Guatanamera knocked out of the park. The infusion of spices on the chicken was delicious and the chicken was cooked so amazingly, that it melted in your mouth. Can’t forget to mention the Tostones, too. They came with a Cuban dipping sauce and the tostones had your typical delicious Tostones taste.

At this point, we were full on some pretty damn delicious Cuban food but still wanted to check out their dessert menu. We asked the server if the desserts were made in house and she stated that all the desserts are all indeed made in-house. We decided to split the Tres Leches Del Dia. It was a great ending to an amazing meal. The sponge cake was moist and was a perfect consistency! The three-milk cream was infused into the cake with just the right amount. The mango glaze and the cherry on top added a nice twist to the traditional Tres Leches cake.

We only had water due to having wine the night before. So, it was a non-alcoholic night for us. But, in addition to this unique and amazing dining experience, they offer a Cuban inspired bar and lounge area with a wide assortment of fine wines, rums, liquors, and specialty cocktails! Also, while at the bar enjoying a cocktail, you have the option of trying some of their unique appetizers.

I give Guatanamera two thumbs up and I highly recommend trying this Forest Hills Gem.


Guantanamera is located at 110-80 Queens Blvd. in Forest Hills, NYC
Call (718) 575-5755

BUSINESS HOURS
Sunday - Thursday 11am - 11pm
Friday - Saturday 11am - 12am

HAPPY HOUR
Sunday - Thursday 11:30am - 7pm

DINNER
Sunday - Thursday 11am - 11pm
Friday - Saturday 11am - 12am

LUNCH
7 days a week 11am - 4pm

Compadres 77 Restaurant Review

My name’s Mark, founder and creator of the everything food blog Mealswithmark.com!  I started the blog because I love and enjoy cooking and want to share my recipes and my culinary discoveries with others. Compadres 77 has a few drawbacks, but the one possible saving grace might actually be the food! Join me in my experience at Compadres 77’s new location in Forest Hills.

Compadres 77 is a New Mexican restaurant that opened about three weeks ago in the former location of the Italian restaurant Tuscan Hills (a Forest Hills staple which moved to another location in Forest Hills) located on busy Queens Blvd.

With a lot of competition in Forest Hills for Mexican fare, does Compadres 77 have what it takes to survive?

Upon walking into Compadres 77 with my partner, it was a cute place, but will definitely not sweep you off your feet with a wow factor! It had minimal decor and lacked ambiance. The restaurant felt like more of a fast food restaurant/take out place like Chipotle or Dos Torros, than a fine dining experience, but we were keeping open minds.  The Mexican music was a nice added touch to make up for the lack of ambiance.  They should definitely try to hide the huge refrigerator that you see when you walk through the doors. 

We were not approached when we first entered the restaurant, but when we finally were, we were told we could just sit anywhere. Since there was no better section than others we just chose a random seat.

We were given menus and not told much else. The server asked if we wanted anything to drink and we asked for water, which took some time to get to our table. *just a side not, they were not that busy.

We asked our server for a drink menu because when going to a Mexican restaurant, we love having a margarita on the rocks with some amazing authentic Mexican food! The server informed us that they don’t serve alcohol and was not sure when or if they would be getting it in the future. He did not offer us any other drink options besides the water!

Our server brought us over complimentary tortilla chips and salsa and we ordered guacamole for starters. He brought us over the guacamole and didn’t offer us any additional chips, we had to ask for more ourselves. The guacamole was good, not amazing but definitely fresh and tasty. However, it would have been nice if they came to the table and made the guacamole in front of you like they do at some other Mexican Restaurants (example: El coyote). It would have added to the ambiance and the character of the place.

My partner and I always order different things on the menu so we have the opportunity to try more stuff because we share. :). My partner ordered a beef quesadilla and I ordered a couple of tacos.

Let’s start with the quesadilla. The beef quesadilla was surprising delicious. The beef was very tender and the quesadilla was packed with cheese, which we both love! The server also brought over two sauces and sour cream to dip the quesadillas in! The Green sauce was a nice added kick along with the sour cream!

I ordered two tacos and we split them in half.   I ordered the fried Pork and the Chorizo Tacos.  They came plated nicely and loaded with onions and cilantro with a side of lime and radishes to add to the tacos.  The tacos were very tasty.  The meat was seasoned and cooked well.  But again, they were good but nothing special.  Even though they were two different tacos with different meats, they tasted identical.  There was nothing distinguishing one from the next.   We both said they taste similar to the tacos from the Taco Truck on Austin Street for the same price.

We ended up deciding to order a dessert to share.  We asked the server if the desserts were made in house, he stated no but they were all delicious.  That was disappointing.  In my opinion, when a restaurant does not make their dessert in house, they lose some credibility.  We decided to go with the Tres Leches Cake.  Tres Leches is my favorite Mexican dessert and one of my all time favorite desserts.  The Tres Leches sauce was good, but the cake to me tasted stale.   It was a disappointing piece of cake. 

In summary, I feel Compadres 77 needs to step up their game some if they are going to survive in Forest Hills.   First, they need to spruce up their appearance and ambiance.  They need to add more Mexican flare and décor.  They need to make themselves stand out from the crowd of other Mexican restaurants.  Maybe even add some live music.   They have to show the El Coyote and the 5 Burro Café regulars that they deserve their patronage too. 

Second, they need to work on either obtaining a liquor license or allowing for BYOB.  Guests not having the option to order a drink or have drinks with their meals, will limit their clientele.   A lot of people that go out to dinner versus having dinner at home want that option/availability.  Who wouldn’t want a Margarita with some good Mexican food after a long and stressful day at the office?

Third area of improvement would be their customer service.  They need to do a better job training their staff to be more attentive to their customers.  Check in on them more frequently and asking questions.  Also, make the guacamole table side - this would add to the customer service and would also add to the ambiance and the experience.  If you advertise that it is fresh, show your customers that.

Lastly, make sure the desserts you serve are fresh, if not don’t serve them.  Better yet, get someone in house that can make desserts.  It would give the place more credibility.

The one plus that Compadres 77 has in its favor, is the food is pretty darn good!  They just have to build off of that!  They have potential to be a great addition to the neighborhood.

Compadres 77 is located at 115-20 Queens Blvd., at the corner of 77th Ave in Forest Hills.

Check out my review of Numero 28 on Restaurant Row in Forest Hills:

https://mealswithmark.com/numero-28-pizzeria-review/

Or just check out my blog at https://mealswithmark.com for some great recipes for your next weeknight dinner!

Until next time!  Have a delicious day!