La Fonda Del Sol

I booked a dinner reservation for private dining for 20 people at La Fonda for my rehearsal dinner (wedding was in the Grand Central/​Tudor City area), and this restaurant did not disappoint. I had never eaten at La Fonda, but I enjoy sister restaurant Brasserie 8 ½, and the location was perfect walking distance from the rehearsal, with a Latin flavor profile for my in-​laws. Katherine Kim (Events Coordinator) was gracious and flexible in helping us plan a custom menu and wine selection for the event to fit our budget, and the private dining space in the restaurant is intimate, private, and perfect for events (including corporate dinners). Every detail was taken care of in advance, which allowed our guests to relax and socialize with ease. Food quality and presentation were both terrific, and the guests raved about the pulpo a la brasa appetizer, roasted branzino, and tres leches dessert. Service was attentive and unobtrusive, and after dinner, we walked next door and took a large group photo in Grand Central Station of our new combined extended familia. Overall, I would highly recommend La Fonda for private dining again in the future.

Le Fonda Del Sol is a mediocre tapas restaurant located very close to Grand Central. Nothing really stood out on the menu and their sherry by the glass was truly disappointing. Wouldn’t be my top choice. Sorry. Enjoy NYC.

This review is for the tapas bar as I’ve never eaten in the restaurant section. I’ve sat in the tapas bar several times over the past few years since the location near Grand Central makes this a convenient place for me to meet up with friends after work. The food is tasty — the croquettes and empanadas are my favorites. For drinks, I prefer their margaritas to sangria.
Unless you’re prepared to spend money, though, don’t go super hungry. Portions are tapas size, enough for a bite or two per person if you share. Best way to order is to try a few dishes for the table and share so everyone gets to try a little bit of everything.

I enjoy the lively atmosphere and entire team here. It is the perfect place to wind down after work. I am very fond of the staff and their attentiveness. The men are all so handsome that they make me want to scream. The small plates offered at the bar are flavorful, filling and new. I love the empanadas, manchego cheese croquettes and as of tonight, the yucca sticks. I never feel like dinner after I leave. Everything is very hearty and delicious. Much larger selections are offered in the beautiful, separate dining room. I love it here. I don’t want to embarrass anybody by mentioning names. You all know who you are. Grrrrrr.

I was invited here for lunch during restaurant week, so I went with the rw menu. I believe I ordered soup to start and salmon as my entrée. This was about 2 months ago, so I don’t recall exactly what I had but I do recall enjoying it. The dessert was also delicious– again, can’t remember what it was but I recall being pleased with the entire experience. I would try it again at one point for dinner. I can’t speak much to the prices since I did not pay. I recall the waiters and staff being friendly and helpful as well.

Beautiful restaurant serving good tapas with excellent hospitality.
I was not dressed properly for sure because I was surprised after work, wearing jeans and a work sweater, but they made me feel at ease and comfortable.
My boyfriend and I had the fixed courses and an octopus to share. The courses were all pretty good, and our favorite dish was the scallops for appetizer. Nothing really stood out except for my boyfriend loved the different types of bread for some reason.
Our octopus however, was overcooked. Not over cooked as in chewy, but borderline to mushy. Cardinal sin of cooking octopus! It was tender when you bit in, but as you chewed it was not a pleasant feeling in the mouth.
So starting off with 5 stars, the restaurant was beautiful and service was swift and courteous. Dock ½ star for price and ½ star for food not standing out, and 1 whole star for mushy octopus. But lets just bump it up 1 because the service was great. I would probably come back for the tapas and just to have a drink when I am in the area with money to spend.

This is a favorite restaurant of mi e to go to over and over for sangria and tapas. I’ve never had a bad experience. The service is great sangria could be a bit stronger but Ohhh well I still keep going.

I have there many times and for the most part although pricey it was a decent experience except for today.
I ordered the NY Strip which was a shadow of itself. Simply put for $ 46 plus tax I was served a thin piece of meat that looked like a NY Strip until you realized it was as thin as a piece of cold meat. It was really very thin. Then they wer trying to make it up with very large side of potatoes.
Extremely dissapointing to the point that after more than five years going there on a regular basis I may not be back ever.
Something has changed. Not sure what, but I would suggest you stay away from it for now.
Best, J

Great experience at la fonda del sol last Friday night. We went for dinner and drinks and couldn’t have had a better experience.
From the greeting at hostess stand, to the bartender, our server and meeting the sommelier hospitality exceeded our expectations.
We had the ceviche for starter and artic char for main, both dishes were cooked perfect and flavor profile was exceptional. We also enjoyed the atmosphere in the bar and had a chance to sample their soon to be released gin and tonic specials. Wow– not what you would expect from an old school common adult beverage.

I come here from time to time and felt it was time to write my review… For starters, I ordered the Mango-​Chile Margarita and thought it was well prepared. I found it pretty clever that they infuse chiles in this drink as the liquor flavor is heightened by this ingredient so I wasn’t left feeling like I was duped of alcohol. We had about 7 tapas (only photographed a few) because they are super tiny so don’t come here on an empty stomach otherwise your bill will leave you in tears. Of all the tapas, my favs were the tuna tacos and the shrimp flatbread. The tomato bread had an odd flavor so I had to pass on it… Since they use the beefsteak tomatoes they lack the tangy taste of tomatoes on a vine. The chicken on skewers was ok… Warning: this tapas is served with bacon wrapped around the 2^nd piece of chicken on the skewer. For dessert, we ordered the Cinnamon fritters (highly recommended by our waiter Raymond… Thanks Ray!). Similar to churros, they are fried dough balls dipped in cinnamon and served with 3 dipping sides (a cocoa-​flavored chocolate, passion fruit and Carmel sea salt). The fritters were light and soft and were pretty good with the sauces (my fav was the passion fruit and Carmel). I ordered the Carajillo, an expresso served with Brandy and it was very, very, very strong… I now understand why it’s called Carajillo. Don’t think I will order it in the future because I wasn’t really able to enjoy it. All in all, this is a great place to meet up with colleagues or friends after work. I have not tried their dinner menu yet so I may edit my review later on.

overview:
t’was okay, I wasn’t floored but the food was edible! lol I came here on a Monday around 12:30PM with an old colleague of mine to catch up.
entrée:
there is a lunch special that is listed for $ 19 where you can have a drink of the day, a starter, and sandwich. my colleague and I ordered that, it seemed reasonable!
to drink, I had the «tamarind refresco» because I love tamarind! it was pretty tasty once you stirred the drink.
to eat, I started with a salad which was good, it got the job done. I ordered the «baja fish sandwich» which consisted of avocado purée, cabbage slaw, chipotle aioli on a brioche bun. not the healthiest option but it was pretty darn filling. the avocado and aioli blended seamlessly. the only thing that could have been better was the fish, OF ALL THINGS!!! lol I wish it was crispier, it was almost soggy, as if the fish had been sitting a bit or they didn’t fry it enough to a crisp.
the service was decent, our server made sure we were taken care of. oddly enough, he didn’t seem thrilled to be there, extremely laid back.
would I come here again? hmm, probably not but it was great trying it. I will say, the atmosphere was nice, there were large windows to view outside, along with outdoor seating.

Convenient spot for those needing to catch a train from grand central. Came here for restaurant week and the menu was actually pretty decent! Started out with fluke which was delicious, followed by the beef short ribs which were a bit too fatty but flavorful, veggies could use some improving. To finish, banana bread pudding good but not great! Was a decent deal due to restaurant week but otherwise pretty pricey for the quality in my opinion.

Visited LFDS recently and brought some friends from out of town. Party of five.
Ambiance was good, then saw a couple across from us having some delicious appetizer.
At this point my expectation was big.
Ordered a round of drinks and few dishes to share,
Drinks took a few minutes, even with that front section ¾ empty.
Food took 20 or 25 mins to arrive. Order wasn’t completed, as a matter of fact, something we didn’t even ordered was brought to the table. I told oen of our servers, but all he said was yes, somebody did. We just kept it, no big deal. However one guest ordered a meatless dish he never got.
To order another drink we had to wave like trying to stop a cab on a rainy night.
Bottom line. Ambiance fancy, food ok and service poor.
We all have bad days so I will try it again some time in the near future for a better experience.

LOVE!
great place to grab a glass of wine solo
meet with friends or have a meeting
this place looks elegant, but it kind of also laid bac
the food is so good,
had one of each thing on the menu and it was fresh and good
The fried peppers were so good
go here

Cool place to eat and pick at food with good drinks but the acoustics are not good. One feels as though you have to scream to have a conversation.

Upscale Spanish tapas restaurant — delicioso! This is a great spot for lunch or aperitivo.
(++) must get
(+) good, but not the best
(-) don’t get
Tuna tacos ++
So fresh and absolutely delicious with the guac served under it.
Croquettes ++
Melted cheese heaven!
Chicken Empanadas +
They were tasty, but not the best I’ve ever had. The sauce provided was quite bland. Note: I’m a spice queen so this might be reviewed different by someone else.
Garlic Shrimp —
These were your standard garlic shrimp. They were good, but nothing special — I wouldn’t order again.
The service was a bit slow for the lunch scene. If there was an option to give 4.5, I would, but it’s not a dealbreaker — I’m giving this place 5 stars and would definitely come back!

I’ve been coming here now and then for couple of years. Love this place. The drinks are always good and strong. Service is prompt. And food is delicious.

Popped our cherries at Restaurant Week with my friend tonight. This was my friend’s first choice to try. We have a reservation at 6:15pm through OpenTable and was seated right away at the upstairs dining area. Our original server Ana had a great personality interacting with us since it was our first time dining at La Fonda del Sol. She was grabbing our attention when she was describing the desserts… oh boy, oh boy *drools*! It was Ash Wednesday so my friend couldn’t have meat and there were plenty of seafood dishes on the Restaurant Week Dinner Menu. Ana also gave us a brochure of the restaurants participating Restaurant Week and suggested Raymi for another restaurant that we should try with the same flavor profile. Man, our palate were bouncing off the walls with these delicious flavor profiles made by Executive Chef Eric Basulto… you ROCK! Sadly we departed with Ana because her shift was over and her colleague Juan took over but he didn’t have the charisma engaging personality like Ana did.
Appetizers:
Creamy Shrimp Arroz, bomba rice, avocado, oven dried tomato, micro cilantro (my friend’s order)
South American Clam Chowder, aji amarillo, fingerlings, fennel, seafood broth (my order)…after drinking this delicious soup, I told Ana to tell the chef that «mama like» =)
Entrees:
Roasted Atlantic Salmon, fennel purée, baby carrots, orange scented sofrito (my friend’s order)…forgot what temperature was her Salmon
Grilled Hanger Steak, sweet plantain, caribbean dirty rice, chimichurri — well done (my order)
Desserts:
Crema Catalana w/​a churro (my friend’s order)…Ana described it as being better than a crème brulee and she was indeed right… yummyyyy
Buñuelos (my order)…it was good but I like my friend’s order WAY BETTER
Definitely the best dining experience that me and my friend had and we left very heavenly pleased!
Book your experience today
!

This place is great for Grand Central. I came one day after work and got to enjoy a lime cilantro margarita (phenomenal!) and a few tapas.
— Croquettes: soft, savory, and melts in your mouth. Wish there was more texture with the ingredients.
— Guac: good; you cant really mess this up
— Meatballs — very tender. The sauce was a little bland
— Empanadas: ordered the beef and they were good, but probably my least favorite thing. Maybe becsuse they were baked and the dough was a little too hard for my liking. The sauce was amazing though!
— Carnitas taco — a nice sized portion and great for sharing.
Theres also a pre-​fixe dinner menu for $ 38 that is a great value. Come for the drinks though! And ask for the tapas menu; they usually only serve them in the bar area.

Since my initial review I have return on more than a few occasions none for a sit down meal but for Happy Hour.
They don’t have happy hour specials which is disappointing but the bar has a good atmosphere & the bartenders are attentive.
On the drinks the Cava el Sol & the White Sangria are not bad in taste but can use more alcohol.
Jack & Coke is good, can’t ever go wrong with some Stella Beer & the Leffe Blonde beer was pretty interesting in taste.
I have since tried the Potato Croquettes, these are pretty good nice & creamy texture.
Happy hour for the most part is ok would be better if they offer some specials but since this place is close to my job changes are I will visit from time to time for Happy hour at least.