02/15/08

Not Bad

by kris23

This place is not too bad. The wait staff were friendly but service is slow. The food is okay could be be more flavorful. Be prepared to wait however as seating is limited and reservations are not accepted. May consider returning if I am in the area.

11/24/07

Don't waste your time

by vivianda

Literally, that is what you will do at this place. First of all, I saw the review on Check Please! and it had really touted a great review for them. I was really pumped up to visit the place since it seemed to be a hole in the wall restaurant in the mission that gave good cuban cuisine. We went on a Friday, when things are expected to be busy and although they were, they were not over the top busy and yet we were managed to be completely ignored. There was no dedicated server to our table so the accountability was not there. I ordered my drink and waited for about 20 minutes only to find out that the waitress had forgotten to place my drink order. After that things went down hill. The food was average nothing too extraordinary. The presentation of the food was very nice, but the flavors of the food were pretty bland. Then I had the courage to ask for dessert. I asked the same waitress which had forgotten my drink and she ordered it. Well, it must've taken about 20 additional minutes just to get the dessert. I had to ask a passing waiter, that wasn't even serving our table to please bring me my dessert...only after seeing and hearing my frustration did they act quickly and got me my dessert in less than 5 minutes...imagine that!! so all in all, the entire visit there was about 2 hours. Our servers didn't even bother to ask if we needed anything...only maybe a once half-hearted attempt by a neighboring waitress. Anyways, that is my take on this place. If you have a full 2 to 3 hours to spare on a mediocre meal and don't mind being ignored the whole time, then this is your place...after leaving this place we hopped on over to Cha Cha Cha, which is only 2 businesses down the way and we had a great time. Much better service and they really had a full house! We only wished it was Cha Cha Cha that we had visited earlier.

• Pros: nice decoration, nice food presentation
• Cons: bad servers who ignore you

05/10/07

Great Tapas in an Unassuming Package

by pidgemeade

I love tapas, and Charanga's gets very high marks from me. The yuca frita are the best I've had in the city, and the sauteed shrimp and calamari with chiles and coconut rice is one of the single most satisfying and flavorful entrees I've ever had. You might walk right by this place if you're browsing on Mission St., but it's well worth a stop inside. The service is very friendly, the music is festive, the ambience is hip yet low key, and the food is really fresh and delicately layered with flavor and so incredibly delicious and satisfying.

• Pros: Fabulous food, great service, nice vibe
• Cons: Parking