Buena Vista Nuevo Latino

[Abra]

There was a nice review in the Times the other day of this new place. The food sounded very interesting - has anyone tried it yet?

[cxt]

There was a nice review in the Times the other day of this new place.  The food sounded very interesting - has anyone tried it yet?

You mean the yellow and blue building on the north end of Lake Union, right? We went there for lunch on a sunny day and had a great time lounging around on the patio. They had a hip-looking bar and dance floor downstairs and nice tables upstairs. In spite of the 80 degree weather, I couldn't resist a dish of beans and rice and braised vegetables called Christians and Moors, which was delicious. My co-workers had salads, which weren't that interesting. The service was pleasant and the view is great. I'll definitely go back.

[Abra]

Ok, Nancy Leson and I are in total agreement. The food is very good, the service is unbelievably terrible. After waiting 2 HOURS I went to find our food. A guy was standing there with it on a tray, not sure what table it was for. One couple near us left because their appetizers took so long to arrive that they didn't have time for dinner. Another couple went up to the bar to get their own drinks, because no one ever came to serve them. The tropical drinks are excellent, but at $8 a pop they should be. They charged for each soft drink refill ($2 a glass) and they don't tell you about the charge when they ask if you want a refill. The deck is gorgeous - a fantastic place to bring out of town guests, which is what we were doing there. Just don't go unless you have all the time in the world - you'll need it. Bottom line -at $135 for a super-slow but yummy casual dinner for 4, we're not likely to frequent the place.

[LEdlund]

I posted this under the "late lunch/early happy hour" thread but I will elaborate here.

Mr. Ledlund and I had a truly horrible lunch there a couple of weeks ago and vowed never to go back. Not only was the service horrible but the food was less than mediocre. I tried to order the Christians and Moors (like cxt, despite the 80 degree weather) but they were out. Instead I opted for the grilled vegetable salad with pumpkin seed oil and toasted pumpkin seeds. The baby vegetables were not grilled enough to make them al dente and the tops and roots were left on all, which made for an interesting time trying to cut them off. I tried leaving them on, but they were too tough to be edible. The pumpkin seed oil (which I usually love) left an extremely bitter taste. Mr. Ledlund had the grilled fruit salad which was not bad, just forgetable.

The service was so horrible that the lackluster food could not make up for it. Too bad because it's a great location.

On a side note: Right after they opened I stopped by on a Saturday afternoon to check out the dinner menu, thinking we might bring some friends there for dinner that night. The dumpster is very near the front door and the smell of garbage was so strong it actually made me gag.

[reesek]

is this the former CaterArts space? it's an absolutely stunning space if so...i used to plan a lot of events and it was nice to have that one in my back pocket. what a shame if it's being wasted.

[Abra]

There was a CaterArts truck out front, so I'm guessing that's the place. It's a gorgeous space.

[SeAAttle]

We have tried to dine there with no luck. The first time we showed up, they were closed for a special event (the large sign announcing this was off to the side, out of sight, so we had already parked, etc). They were rather apologetic and gave us 10% off coupons. We asked about the next night and the gladly took our reservation. The situation was handled well.

We showed up the next night, only to find that again they were closed for another special event. When we complained that we had made the reservation the day before, the person just shrugged.

Since then, friends have been and reported a great view, mediocre food and terrible service. I wonder how long before they revert to a "special event only" establishment or close.

[ScorchedPalate]

Penelope has a scathing review in today's PI.

I can't say as I am surprised, given my experiences at Gitano.

~A

[Abra]

Wow, that is scathing. She had a completely different set of dishes than we had, with not one thing overlapping, but it sounds like the overall experience was the same, except that we enjoyed our food, when we got any.

[little ms foodie]

Wow, dining there sounds laughable. Think I'll spend my money elsewhere....

[braincell]

I am in total agreement with the bad service. It was incredibly slow. We sat downstairs at the bar. There was live music, which was pretty good--but VERY LOUD. Hard to have a conversation.

Then, we had a hard time getting our waitress when we wanted to order. We had a hard time getting our water glasses filled. Our food didn't come with the necessary silverware. Then it was hard to get someone's attention to get a spoon.

We thought maybe it was because the place had been open for only a couple weeks, and they needed to iron out the kinks. But there was no reason for such slow service.

The food was good--but we couldn't really enjoy it because we had to wait so long for everything. Plus, it was rather pricey--and not necessarily worth the price.

--braincell

[LEdlund]

We thought maybe it was because the place had been open for only a couple weeks, and they needed to iron out the kinks.

At this point, they have been open two months. Definitely long enough to work out the kinks. Obviously their management isn't reading the reviews or eGullet!