Pelea Mexicana

Service is horrible.
The $ 11 margaritas taste like they are poured out of a store bought bottle.
The only thing that is good here is the tamale and the sauce on the enchilada.
For about the same price, Lacanda Verde is just a couple blocks away

Ok, looking at the previous reviews I thought I was going to be walking into restaurant hell. On the contrary it was quite a nice experience. I had the lobster and mahi mahi tacos which were very tasty. Small portions but flavorful. My friend had margarita which in her opinion was delicious but a little strong. Me myself has ever met a drink that was too strong, but I digress. I had a glass of Prosecco. Tasty. I thought it was a little too pricy. Would definately return though.

I came here on a rainy night after work during the week, and was very pleasantly surprised! The interior is well decorated, the staff was great, and I sat at the bar for awhile waiting for my dinner date to show up.
The margaritas were a little small, but very good. Our meals were delicious. They didn’t hold back on the cheese or guacamole, but it wasn’t too much food. Beware, if something is listed as spicy, it’s actually spicy!
I would definitely recommend it, and plan on returning.

Wow these people really irked me!
I bought a Groupon for this place, made an OpenTable reservation, and made a special trip to Tribeca. This was during a 4-​day New York trip.
We open the door and the place is empty of patrons but two guys are doing carpentry. Apparently they’re closed for renovations. I showed my Groupon, told them I checked the website, made a reservation… and asked for a refund. They wouldn’t give me a refund and told me to come back on the 19^th when they reopen.
Groupon refunded my money but I was just appalled at their lack of concern. So, think twice before patronizing this restaurant because they don’t care about their customers.

We came here with a travelzoo voucher, and it was the last week they were running the promotion, so I think everyone who had the voucher decided to come that last week. Initially, we had reservations for dinner, but given that the hostess told us it’s super busy that night bc of the promotion, they were down a server, and we had been seated without being given any water for 15 minutes, we decided to leave and try to come back the next day for lunch.
Lunch was also packed, with only ONE server for the entire restaurant. When they know that it’s a busy week because of the Travelzoo promotion, wouldn’t you think that they would staff accordingly?! The server was trying the best he could, but you could tell he was struggling to keep up with everyone’s orders.
They ran out of flavored frozen margaritas, which would have been awesome on that hot, humid day. We ended up getting beers instead, but those took FOREVER to arrive. Apps were pretty good… we got the guacamole for 2 (huge portions) and the chicken quesadilla. But because we were super hungry when we arrived, we had also put in an order for a burrito. It didn’t arrive until at least half an hour after we were done with our appetizers, and the burrito was pretty tasteless and puny. I would have much rather opted to get a burrito from Chipotle.
Overall, I would never come back because the service was so terribly slow. I didn’t get attitude from the servers as some of the other reviews stated, but the place just wasn’t managed properly, which was evident in the chaotic service during both lunch and dinner.

I don’t know why i didn’t check Unilocal before i came here one day after work.
The drinks are actually pretty decent. but the food is really bad.
Really Really bad.
i don’t even want to waste time describing it other than to say — don’t come here.

Ewww. I know, I know. Who goes to NYC and gets Mexican? No one. But it was the first place we saw in sight and we were starving at that point.
We sit down in this huge restaurant but it felt so empty, probably because it was. My bf orders a beer, I try to order a Frozen Margarita, but the server promptly tells me there are no Frozen Margarita’s «today.» which is kind of funny considering their menu only lists Frozen Margarita. The Margarita was horrible – the salt rim was a joke.
They start you off with a trio of salsas and chips which were probably the best part of the meal which is an awful bar to set because the salsas were mediocre, at best.
My boyfriend orders a burrito that looks like a disaster. I got the cochinita tacos which were ok and kind of filled me but I was just so over the place that I wanted to eat and get the hell out of there.
Unfortunately, we had to waste another 15 minutes in there because they couldn’t break a $ 100 bill, which is pretty sad because they are in the heart of Tribeca. So after waiting for 15 minutes, we were like screw it and put it on a card. The restaurant is adjacent to a hotel. You’d think the hotel might be able to break it but i guess they didn’t think about going to the hotel to break the bill. O/​W I’ve learned my lesson.

I’ll cut to the chase. Food is great, service is horrendous. Here are some of my low lights from dinner Saturday night.
1. Margaritas were all sweet/​sour mix and no alcohol. Also, they were served without cocktail straws because they ‘ran out’.
2. The server insisted I orders apps with my entrees to save him time.
3. The chips were stale.
4. Our server was nowhere to be found when needed. I had to flag down the busboys for fresh plates and to pick up the dirty dishes from our tables to make room for the entrees they had laid on top of dirty dishes. Disgusting.
5. Our 2^nd entrée for the table came 30 MINUTES after the 1^st entrée. The server did not apologize or realize the problem, he just said it was on it’s way.
Never again. Tribeca is a an oasis of restaurants that have the potential to be great, but aren’t due to location. This is not one of those restaurants, it will not make it much longer. Quality food and great service go hand in hand in NYC. They apparently missed the boat on the latter.
Hasta Luego!

If I could give this place ZERO stars, I would. We purchased a Travelzoo for $ 30 which included 4 drinks & 2 appetizers. After having eaten here once before and having the all-​you-​can eat tacos (should of known then when the tacos stopped coming at 6:30pm, even though the cutoff was 7pm and we had only had 6 to share amongst the 3 of us)
Since we did not want the Travelzoo to expire, we decided to stop in last Friday. EVERYTHING went downhill as soon as we sat at the bar. The bartender nearly refused to honor the Travelzoo and then became aggressive when we asked for the happy hour menu instead of the dinner menus he plunked down in front of us (sheesh guy, it was only 5:30pm.) The entire bar was served with chips and salsa, yet we did not receive any, even though we sat waiting for our drinks for over 15 minutes. My girlfriend finally asked him for a basket of chips which he bought out 30 minutes later.
At some point, I asked the bartender for a glass of water. You would have thought that I asked for a couple of pints of his grandmother’s blood. He stormed away from us, poured what looked to be water in a shot glass and sat it down, while leaning over it to start up what would become a 10 minute conversation with a co-​worker. After he wrapped up, he sauntered over and placed the now warm glass of water in front of me without uttering a word. REALLY?!
As we finished our drinks and tried to decide where to have dinner, (we were NOT going to stay there) — the bartender comes over to the hostess, who by then planted herself right next to us to gorge on her taco/​chips/​bowl of guacamole + meal, he begins to loudly tell her for all the world to hear that we are cheap and he hates when «people like us» come and sit at his bar to get freebies and that he had a good mind to charge us $ 2 for th basket of chips he gave us. HELLO, we paid for the Travelzoo along with the 2 additional appetizers and multitude of drinks. Where do you see FREE here?
We paid our bill and left the nasty little turd a nice tip in order to curb his obvious hunger for the cash. I can definitely see why he was only being left $ 2 or $ 3 a pop as people left. I honestly feel bad for the poor bastard. Someone should teach him the difference between Negra Modelo and a regular light beer — it’s not the same thing Bar-​BOY.
Travelzoo, you’re awesome — but how did you get wrapped up with these people?!

Had it not been for the Travel Zoo deal, I would never have known this place existed.
I am in the lower Manhattan area for work but the deal on travel zoo was particularly awesome and I thought it would be a great time to try something new. For $ 59, i got 4 alcoholic beverages, 2 appetizers, and 2 entrees.
The décor is really nice actually. Lots of natural light and the bathrooms are AWESOME. Id give it 5 stars for ambiance.
The server was amazing. He was so friendly and accomodating. There werent many other patrons at the restaurant but he was the friendliest guy on the planet. That guy: 5 solid stars.
Mom got the frozen margarita. It was a little weak in my opinion. I got the margarita on the rocks with salt on the rim. Mom thought it was strong. I thought it was perfect.
The chips they brought to the table were awesome. Warm but super crunchy. The salsas were not so good. WAY too spicy.
For our appetizer, we got the Guac for two (which counted as one appetizer) and the Queso Fundido.
The guac came in a gorgeous clay bowl and was wonderful. I was warned by a coworker and the server that it might be in need of salt but it was just fine– perhaps they tweaked this.
The Queso fundido was a plate of melted cheese, peppers and chorizo. I could have eaten the entire plate. Damn lactose intolerance.
For our entrees my mother really wanted the lamb shank. She has a bad habit of not reading anything else but the main item of the dish and when it came covered in smoky adobo sauce she was a little deflated. Not to say it was bad, but the delicate flavor of the lamb was overpowered by the thick adobo paste that it was covered in. It was a bit too smokey for me. it would be awesome with a little less of the spicey stuff.
I ordered the fish tacos which were amazing. but the portion was tiny. I was full on dip and guac anyway but the 3 tiny tacos on my plate looked more like an appetizer than a dinner.
Had it not been for hte travel zoo deal, the check would have been $ 117 but with my deal the entire meal was $ 59. I had to pay an additional $ 10 for tax and left $ 25 for tip.
It was a nice dinner for mom and daughter time. And if I had the opportunity to go back, i would probably go back for a happy hour and some apetizers. Its a little on the pricey side.

Caveat: the restaurant let us leave without a hassle after we complained, so at least it has that going for it.
Experience: We came in and we were seated right away. From there, it went downhill. First, we waited a while. Then, the waiter told us they were out of the drink my date asked for. Then, we waited a while. Then the waiter told us they were out of the meals we ordered (i.e. no seafood, despite a menu full of seafood options). Then, we waited a while. Then the waiter told us they were out of the drink I ordered.
The whole thing was kind of weird, and at that point, we decided that eating here might kill us. We asked to leave and they let us leave without a problem.
Then we went to Nancy Whiskey and got a burger instead.

My experience at Pelea Mexicana finally made me join Unilocal for sure. This place ruined my whole day.
I went there for Sunday brunch to celebrate a friends’s birthday. We had a party of about 18 all together in which they acted like it was a surprise after he had made a reservation for 20 over a week ago.
We were seated and after 15 minutes or so we finally flagged a waitress down for some water and menus. She comes back with only 2 menus for the entire group… Okaaaay???
The décor in this place was gorgeous. Very classy and great chandeliers. From the looks of this place it really called for quiet subtle Latin music or even a live band would have been nice. However, they had a young blond dj in a cut off top playing obnoxiously loud techno music. The music was so loud I had to shout at the person next to me and I couldn’t hear anything anyone was saying. It was worse than being at a club next to a speaker. I asked one of the staff could the music be turned down just a tad and I swear it got louder.
As if the music wasn’t bad enough the waitress seemed as if she barely understood English and she couldn’t hear anything. It was so frustrating shouting my order 4 times in her ear. She didn’t seem to know about anything on the menu either. The bus boys only brought out chips and dip to half the table and had to asked repeatedly for more for the other side.
Then…oh wait this is what really got me hot! This place is being ran by cheesy club promoters. They were dressed in jeans and t-​shirts and totally looked like teens running around the place offering bottle service. There was no one around that even looked like they had authority or professionalism.
The birthday boy was promised bottomless Sangrias by one of the promoters so we ordered 4 pitchers at $ 30 each. Suddenly once we got the Sangria, and wanted refills that changed and wasn’t true. W.T.F… Yet we were still charged for the Sangria and given a bottle of Champagne to make up for the misunderstanding. BS…
Food came in spurts and they messed up a lot of the orders and had an attitude when anyone called them on it. One person of our party never even got his food because the waitress forgot to put it in. He finally just canceled the order.
My food was all right as far as taste, but it was cold and they didn’t bring me the rice and beans or toast that was supposed to come with it. It was also very little food, I left feeling very hungry. Someone at the table asked for ketchup and got the response: «I don’t know where it is right now.»
*long blank stare*
Wait there’s more!!!
All of a sudden the promoters get a dance floor started and the music gets even louder. At this point I can’t even hear myself think. I feel trapped and I just wanted the bill so I could run out of there and get away from the loud music! It was sooooo ridiculously loud. The promoters were throwing paper towels in the air over and over like dollar bills on the dance floor. I was appalled at the tackiness of that in such a wonderfully decorated place. The environment was reduced to a cheap club. They even started closing the curtains to blocking glorious sunshine to make it dark like a club inside.
The bill came and it was a ridiculous price for what we had. We were charged twice for some things. Charged for things nobody ordered and so on. I just threw in my money and was done with it, but I saw multiple arguments with the waitress and the promoters going on with people in my party. I was so frustrated I just had to get out of there.
Never EVER EVER EVER in a million years would I go back. Horrible service and plain stupid environment for a restaurant. If I wanted to go to a club at 3 in the afternoon then I probably would have liked it, otherwise don’t waste your time.
And on top of everything I had a headache all day long then a terrible stomach ache from the food. I didn’t eat anything else for the rest of the day so I know it was the food.

Used a Travelzoo voucher. Got seated promptly for 7 pm reservation. After reading the March reviews for the voucher, was a little skeptical.
1) Right about the techno music. I heard the same song 3 times while I was there. And yes the waiter had trouble hearing us, but nothing overly dramatic (like shouting). I think the restaurant was trying real hard to be trendy. Doesn’t fit with the design. It’s got old world charm and dimly lit chandeliers).
2) Only had regular margaritas, none of the flavored ones nor virgin ones. Everything ordered apps and entrees was available (I already had 2^nd choices just in case, the menu is a little extensive…). Had the crusted salmon, it was a tiny portion!
3) Guacamole was nothing special. I used lemon from my soda to add some kick to it.
I think I would have been happier with Chipotle…

Wow! Terrible.
10pm seating for 930 reservation was a great start. Coming to my table and not having a chair was interesting. Watered down «original» margaritas were a great touch. Not allowing to substitute a cheaper appetizer for an entrée on a prefix deal we had was smart business. Not bringing chips for guacamole or providing us with salsa like every other table was amazing.
Our waiter conveniently stated to us most of the menu was «sold out» or «unavailable» (I get them not wanting people with discount deals to order the lobster/​crab combo, so I let it slide)…many of available beers were conveniently shirnking in variety from the start to as the night progresed. Either this restauanrt is very under prepared or is really trying to «bait and switch» customers who present a promotional coupon. Even the corona with lime order couldn’t be fulfilled, «we are all out of limes».A bus boy ended up getting me limes after he foolishly saw me take a lime off a table who’s party just left. Why did he give me the best service out of anyone in this entire restaurant.
You really can’t make this up.
Obviously this place left a great impression on me. Bad business. I’ll never waste my time or money here again. This all could be a result from buying a deal off travel zoo — but the point of providing such deals is to gain & retain more business, not blowing off people giving you’re business a chance
In the end — I will say the food was pretty good — but the entire dining experience was terrible. Host and Waiter should be fired. Bus Boy should be promoted.

Cuisine: Mexican
Atmosphere: spacious, dramatic interior
Attire: smart casual
Ideal for: small groups, 1×1
Price: moderate — all entrees under $ 26
Phone: 212−925−1600
Location: 33 6^th Avenue (at Broadway)
Directions:
~
As I walked through the doors of what used to be Bar Artisanal, I could not help but reflect on the French bistro fare that I enjoyed at the restaurant in the summer of 2009. And, with its demise just one year ago, I had to wonder: Could Pelea Mexicana finally be the anchor that will hold down this frequently turned-​over space?
While the skeleton of the restaurant remained intact, the interior décor seemed drastically different.
I’d be a liar if I told you that Pelea is more aesthetically pleasing than Bar Artisanal. Perhaps it’s just me, but this particular space seems much more akin to a French restaurant than to a Mexican eatery. But let’s be honest here: the real test of Pelea would be in its food and drink — not in its lack of fancy-​pants design details.
Upon being seated, Robin and I were greeted by our friendly server, who handed us both food and drink menus.
It did not take long for me to decide that I wanted to kick off my evening with frozen pomegranate margarita.
While we began to peruse the dinner menu, a bountiful basket filled with warm, salty tortilla chips arrived, accompanied by a trio of homemade salsas. Did I mention that this gesture was on-​the-​house? No charge for chips ‘n salsa here!
To further whet our appetites, Robin and I ordered the house-​made guacamole. While flavorful and blended with all of the right elements (tomato, onion, cilantro, salt, lime juice), I found the avocados to be slightly unripened, thus creating a less creamy, more dense texture. In order to remedy this, I added a couple of spoonfuls of salsa to the guacamole on my plate and further smashed the larger avocado chunks with my fork.
For my entrée, I chose the Enchiladas Suizas, which were composed of shredded white-​meat chicken, onions, and Chihuahua cheese — enveloped by soft, earthy corn tortillas and topped with a vibrant and tangy green tomatillo sauce. The enchiladas were baked and presented in a clay, oven-​proof casserole. Black beans and a garlicky rice accompanied.
Although I told myself that I’d stop at two, I ended up eating the entire plate of enchiladas. Yes, they were that good.
~
Conclusion I really enjoyed my overall experience at Pelea and firmly believe that this newer Mexican restaurant is armed with some serious staying-​power. I would definitely recommend Pelea to you, dear readers.

Change of the transitory kind is generally good. But when Trigo morphed into Bar Artisinal last year, which then reinvented itself as Pelea Mexicana, one had to start doubting whether a steady state would be reached at this Northern Tribeca location, that is dangerously close to Canal and the traffic-​bearing arteries of this part of the city.
Pelea opened with relatively little fanfare recently. The space itself is grand and open, much like its predecessors that occupied this space. I couldn’t see any signficant changes, save the addition of a few paintings. A seemingly inexperienced wait staff was seen milling around the front, where most of the diners seem concentrated.
The menu is concise. The complimentary chips were thick and crispy – a definite plus. The guacamole was lumpy. And the quesadillas were not very different from those at Centrico on Franklin and West Broadway – quite ordinary.
Over time, Pelea will doubtless work out the service issues and find ways to fill out the dining space more evenly, but only if it survives at the space where other notable restaurants have failed.

My husband and I went here for happy hour before going to a movie at 92Y Tribeca. The happy hour special is very nice, $ 4 beers and $ 8 margaritas. I was a little hesitant about a $ 8 happy hour margarita but it really packed a punch so I only needed one :)
FYI: the happy hour is only at the bar & lounge (wasn’t sure where the lounge was so we sat at the bar)
They have a $ 15 all you can eat taco special during happy hour (runs from 5 – 7) but the service was so slow with our appetizers that I probably wouldn’t have been satisfied with how many tacos I would have been able to cram down my gullet. I was starving though so perhaps I would have been better off.
I was about to gnaw my husband’s arm off when we got in and we ordered two appetizers, on special for $ 4. The flautas was one flauta cut in half and elegantly arranged. I ate the lettuce off the plate, I was that hungry and it was that good with the sauce and spices. The queso fundido was awesome with the poblanos, spicy chorizo and corn tortillas. There was crusty crunchy cheese that has bubbled over the side and that was really yummy.
After inhaling the appetizers, I still wanted to gnaw my husband’s arm off so we ordered the other two appetizers on special. Mushroom quesadilla and tostada. The tostada was only okay, I’ve had much better tostadas in Queens but the mushroom quesadilla was awesome. It was a mix of mushrooms and the taste was perfect. It was also the biggest of the four appetizers which finally quieted the hungry beast in my tummy.
Overall, I thought the food was really quite good. The portions were small but since it was happy hour and we were paying $ 4 a piece, I was happy. I hope they have slightly larger regular appetizers because one flauta for $ 8 would have made me cranky. I know it’s swanky Mexican but I hate paying exorbitant prices for Mexican food when I can get great Mexican/​Hispanic food for cheap (I feel the same way about Italian).
I’d definitely come back here for happy hour if we were going to 92Y Tribeca again. I’d even consider coming back for dinner on a special occasion or when my in-​laws visit… they’d love it here.