Elite Event: Agozar

Better late than never for this review. I’m a huge fan of Agozar on a regular day (especially their happy hour!) but free food and refreshing sangria?! Sure, I’m game!
Kudos to the staff for bringing out tray after tray of food, ranging from pork belly to skewers to flautas and meatballs, and they were great at ensuring each table had a steady supply of chips, salsa, and sangria! There were a ton of people in attendance, with many of the latecomers left standing in a narrow area… I think they could have moved a few tables out of the way to make more room for standing and schmoozing. All in all though, I enjoyed some food and drink, and got to catch up with some familiar faces and meet some new Elites. Thanks to Ruggy and the Agozar crew for a solid Sunday funday!

Let the sangria flow!
It’s been a while since I’ve gone to a weekend Elite event, but Agozar was a great way to ease into it. Yes, I had been drinking all weekend, but hey, if someone is going to offer me a sangria on a Sunday, why not? It’ll help with curbing that hangover I guess.
I got in a little after 6:20, so unfortunately all the tables were completely full and I had to resort to standing off to the side. I actually prefer to have standing conversation with other Elites, but at this particular event, standing put me and my other friends at a huge disadvantage. Not only did we not get to sample the plantain chips and guac, lots of sample plates passed over us simply because it wasn’t clear if we had already sampled that item or not. There were two instances where the server literally asked us if we had tried something already and before answering, turned the platter away and started serving the tables :(
The items we did try were quite tasty. My personal favorite was the pork served on top of the mini-​arepas (my memory is a little hazy on what it was specifically called). The sangria was pretty tasty as well, although I prefer my fruit to be a little more solid but hey, cheers!
Thanks again to Ruggy and the Agozar team for setting this event up. I always feel like the SoHo is such a dry area of quick, cheap eat, and now I’m glad to have Agozar on my radar!

The event was great, this place has a cozy atmosphere and a perfect place to chat with friends and have some delicious sangria and tapas.
The place is narrow and limited seating, so some attendees had to stand, but well honestly they had the advantage when the waiter came by with the tapas. The sangria was tasty and strong and the tapas were just right. We stayed a bit after most left the we were clearly enjoying the intimate space.
I would come back here with friends for happy hours or when in the mood for sangria, would like to see what else is on the menu. Thank you Agozar and Ruggy for hosting this event.

It’s been a while since my last Unilocal Elite event in the city, so once I got my Party Pass, I knew that I wasn’t going to miss this event. Tucked away on Bowery is where you’ll find this quaint Cuban restaurant. Upon entering, we were directed straight to the back room where Unilocal had it’s own «private area.» As always, Ruggy was there to greet everyone with his smile and then we were promptly handed our glasses of sangria.
On top of the ever-​flowing drinks, there were several hor d’ourves being passed around including chorizo and flautas. Because our area was intimate, arriving early and snagging a seat was like winning the lottery. Nonetheless, the staff was very accommodating and walked back and forth refilling our glasses and letting us sample all the goodies that Agozar has to offer.
Thanks for hosting, and extreme thanks to Ruggy for another great Elite event!

a long time agozar…
wait what.
agozar is a casual cuban eatery with a potent selection of cocktail and other beverage choices.
main entrance is on bowery where there is a few outdoor tables. the main space is narrowish with a bar area. festive décor. feels a lil old, but comfy in a good way. dark finishes with bright colors.
the elite event was in the back dining room where tables stood flush to either side of the space. after checking in with the Notorious RUG. grabbed a glass of sangria and did a little socializing.
the space became quite cozy as Unilocalers filtered in. not a tight squeeze but this place is not cavernous. you will definitely hear your neighbors conversations if you sitdown dine here.
food and drinks were brought out in well-​timed waves. started with the chips n dip (plantain chips + guac + black bean hummus) – pretty tasty. nothing awry. we were in for a delight as soon as the hot eats started being brought out by staffers. the camarones w/​mole sauce – tasty tasty tasty for such a small bite on a skewer. the tiny empanadas were a hit and got scarfed down fast. the fried pork belly was crisp yet fatty good. the chunk of steak on a stick tasted good. my favorite was the chorizo, seasoned and sauced well. there were a few other app choices but alas i did not have those.
the sangria was solid. i feel like sangria preference can be subjective. the ones i got were a bit too sweet and didn’t get cut enough by the citrus and wine enough. that said people were guzzling it like there was no tomorrow, so if you like sangria probably go by other folks appraisal not mine. wish there had been an alternative cocktail choice.
the servers and staff were super nice. they had a ton of hustle. manouvered the narrow dining room while delivering platters of food, trays of drinks, and bustling away empties and trash. kudos to them for making the night so smooth.
thought it was a warm day. the air conditioned in the room seemed challenged and at times the room was a bit sweaty – Air-​Condtioned challenged. not sure if this was a one-​time issue or a long-​time one. however you may want to take the temperature of the room or restaurant before sitting down. #seewhatididthere
agozar seems to do a lot of happy hour and tapas special. so i’d to do that for a return visit.
drops mic bc i choo choo choose mo’ chorizo skewers!
i out,
zzzz

A great event and my 2^nd one in NYC after moving here. The setting was small, but just enough to meet other Unilocalers and to enjoy good conversation over even better appetizers and sangria. The event was packed to its seams so seating came at a luxury. The pork, the jalapeño rolls, and the plantain chips were all very good, but I only wish there were more and I wish we saw the menu so that we could see all that the place has to offer, but thanks again for hosting Unilocal and Agozar :)

A very nice event!!! It was very intimate and cozy. Seating was limited and coveted. The place was nicely decorated. It took you to the Caribbean to Cuba with all the nice decorations. As always greeted nicely upon entering. Finally got to meet Ruggy. Thanks Ruggy for a nice Sunday evening. The drink of the night was sangria. They were very generous with the sangria since our glasses were always full. The apps were nice. They served meatballs (which I wasn’t able to try), chorizo, arepa, empanada, beef roll, shrimp with mole sauce, bacon, and plantain chips with guacamole. The chorizo and the shrimp were the best. Just wish there was a lil more. The wait staff was very friendly. Great times chatting with fellow Unilocalers and meeting new ones. Thanks Unilocal and Agozar for a great time.

I used to be pass by this place all the time when I used to work in the area and I once attended their happy hour which included yummy yummy mojitos and appetizers. For this reason, I was super excited for this event!
Ambience: Cozy with Havana-​centered décor. The played Latin music all night long, and as a Latina who loves to dance, I was feeling it!
Service: As soon as I got there, the staff greeted me with a smile and a glass of Sangria; a very good start! The staff serving the drinks and appetizers were quite friendly.
Drinks: Red sangria was pretty good and kept flowing and flowing.
Food: Although we did not get to try all the appetizers (I should had sat in the front dammit lol) the things we did tried were quite flavorful. The platanos chips were soo yummy, our table devoured them!
As always, there were free Unilocal goodies on the tables (I am obsessed with the Unilocal chapstick!).
Thanks Ruggy for the Sunday Funday!

Agozar is a family restaurant, just around the corner from soho right in the heart of the Bowery. Truly a gem and around for many years, Agozar has a cozy, intimate space that is bigger than it seems as it wraps around with a second dining room on the side.
The red sangria was the star of the evening: a tasty red concoction prepared with apples and oranges. In addition to the various passed hor d’ourves made their way around (from crispy pork belly and meat & shrimp skewers to flautas and meatballs), we were able to sample plantain chips with guacamole and a black bean spread. Lots of new Unilocal Elites and some regulars, it was a great evening of fun shared among friends tasting a little bit of Cuba.
Thanks to Agozar for hosting, and Ruggy for setting up the event. Can’t wait to go back and try more of their menu!

Great way to end the weekend on a Sunday night, Agozar was a very intimate and cozy event, the decoration of the place had couple of frames that show the culture of Cuba, and they also had some Latin music in the background, making this perfect.
I was lucky enough (maybe) to arrive early and get a table.
Drinks: Red sangria all night, that were pretty good, 1,2,3,4,5 glass sangria, good taste, good fruit.
Food: I did not have the chance, to taste all the goodies that the restaurant had to offer, my table was unlucky and no graceful and a few of the appetizer never came. But However of all I had the opportunity to eat, I have to highlight the shrimp and chicharon (pork) like the best.
Thanks to Ruggy and Agozar to have a good Sunday Funday!

This is my second Unilocal Elite event, and I have to say I quite enjoyed it. The sangria was absolutely fabulous (and, mind you, I’m not much of a red sangria fan, I prefer white). I was able to try a diverse set of appetizers, including some vegetarian ones, and they all seemed flavorful, even if I didn’t know what they were.
However, the best part of this event was the people. We had a smaller space without a lot of seating areas, but I was able to join a table with Reni M. and Shakira W., who made me feel more than welcome. Couple that with Kate O.‘s joining, and we had a blast! Looking forward to trying this spot for brunch and meeting some awesome Unilocalers in coming events.