Azuca Nuevo Latino

I’ve been going to this place for about 9 years. The food quality has gone down quite a bit in the past year. They used to have fresh fish but it is surely frozen now. Their ceviche was perfect a couple years ago… a trio of flavors has now become one cheap rendition… frozen tilapia ceviche?! Really? That type of fish shouldn’t even be in the kitchen at a place that charges $ 30.00 for a plate. Unfortunately, we are done with this place. Two stars because service was outstanding.

Just to give this review some context, my friend and I went to San Antonio to visit her brother. While he works during the day, my friend and I are on summer vacation so had a bit of a lazy day and ate a late lunch. So when we went to azuca, we were not extremely hungry. This is more of a review for the service and drinks.
One word: mojitos! They are da bomb dot com! There is a huge variety of mojitos and since it was our summer vacation, we tried the pomegranate, guava, and suicide. The best one by far is the suicide, which is a mojito made with Bicardi 151. Though strong, you could not taste the death as the name implies and it was just refreshing and delicious.
The service was excellent. The waitress was extremely friendly and would chit chat with us every now and again. She checked on us just the right amount, every time our mojito glasses were empty. She was also very knowledgeable about the restaurant, owner, and the owner’s son, who cooks at this other awesome restaurant next door.
Foodwise, my friend and I got salads, which are fine. They are salads. I got the palm hearts salad with blackened salmon. She got the goat cheese salad with chicken. Her brother ordered the cod. I tried a bite and it is DELECTABLE! It was very tender and melted in my mouth like butter. Next time I’m back in SA, I’d definitely want to come back to try the food and a couple more suicide mojitos :)

Ok, this was a tough rating, The service as mentioned in other posts, needs some work. There was just one guy, the bearded guy, that seats people and takes orders but he is not always at his post. Once he is where is suppose to be the service is decent. The restaurant is beautiful, I mean Latin beautiful. The food was excellent. Very surprising based on the service. Definitely earned another visit from me when I’m in San Antonio again.

The hospitality at this place was great as well as the food and drinks. I highly recommend visiting this place if you are ever in the area.

Great atmosphere, great ambiance, great service. To start, we had the tostones which were fabulous. We ordered the Cuban sandwich and chicken breasts with cilantro, lime cream sauce. Both did not disappoint. For dessert we ordered the made to order truffles on the advice of our waiter with toasted coconut and crushed pumpkin seeds. I couldn’t have been happier. I know a lot of reviews have made comments about the prices, but I thought it was reasonably priced for the service and food provided. Definitely a great date restaurant especially on Friday and Saturday nights with okthe salsa band playing great music!
Definitely a must go!!!

Terrible Service and Over-​cooked Food!
Too many great restaurants in King William to dine at Azuca’s. Coconut Shrimp was only breading, few coconut tidbits. Breading was brittle and fried too long. The beef was significantly over cooked. The crème brûlée arrived as a soup under the toasted sugar top. Inattentive service. We had to get up and find waiter three times. Why take your chances you go on an off night?

Dinner was great!
Tortilla Soup, Caesar Salad Latino, Guacamole all were delicious.
We did have to return the soup to be heated more… it was one of the best soups I’ve had.

Another gorgeous and tasty dinner on SA. Wolfed down their tasting sampler appetizer with tostones and garlic sauce, ceviche shrimp and fish, roasted chorizo and grilled shrimp with aioli.

Even though Azuca is really small it is still my go to spot to go salsa dancing. The music the band plays never disappoints and I like that they play bachata during their breaks.
I get it but it’s kind of annoying that a lot of people crowd the space to just watch because the space is really small to begin with and it makes it hard to actually dance. There is a certain part of the floor that is off so watch out so your heels won’t get stuck.
I would say if you like to salsa dance don’t go on first friday because it just gets way too crowded and it’s impossible to dance. Everyone is friendly and people will ask you to dance.
The food on the restaurant side is also really good. I love all the art, especially the Celia Cruz paintings!

Pretty place. Retardedly slow service. Mediocre food.
Pasta frontera is essentially chicken alfredo mixed with chipotle sauce. Except there way too much sauce on my plate and it was overwhelming.
Chef’s trio was not worth my money either. The shrimp were small, the steak was bland, but the tuna steak was really good and the plate was dressed nicely.
After we had been finished with our food for quite some time, I had to get up and go ask for a to go box. Then my mom had to get up and go find any employee besides the cook just to get our check. They gave us some cornbread to take home as a courtesy.

Amazing food! Amazing service!
We held our wedding rehearsal dinner there. After calling several places downtown, ALL of them demanded that we reserve a room, or a floor, or a section, ALL with extra fees JUST to be there, one even required an additional fee per waiter. Azuca didn’t require any of that. Very flexible. Very accommodating. And VERY good! Great place for large or small groups! Wonderful people! Wonderful food!

I had a nice enough meal here while I was visiting San Antonio, and I described the nice meal in a blog post,
; I’ll let that review speak for itself. But I made the mistake of letting them have my email address (maybe when I made the reservation?) and now they won’t stop sending me email. I have contacted them directly to let them know that I live 1000 miles away, objecting to getting their email, but apparently they can’t help themselves.
This is now one very dissatisfied former customer.
I appreciate the owner’s response, but I’ll wait for a few months (to make sure I am really off the list) before changing the number of stars. FWIW, I DID, in fact, send a private complaint about a previous email. It was the lack of response that I found annoying. The power of Unilocal to get the business owner’s attention!

The food is a little overpriced, but if you go for happy hour it becomes more reasonable. I have tried a few things I would recommend: yucca frita, guacamole, and the tostones with mojo. I combined the guacamole with the yucca frita and that turned out to be a good decision. The tostones with mojo are also pretty good and taste a little like garlic bread. For drinks I have tried the strawberry mojito and that was real good, but to be fair I like almost anything with strawberries in it.

We’ve been fans of Azuca since it opened, and though it had been at least three years since our last visit it was interesting to see that some things just don’t change… both good and bad. First the good, which imho outweighs the bad, food continues to amazing, with presentation to match. Far better execution of pan-​latin than the place at the Pearl… but (small but)…service has never been good here, and our recent visit was no exception. Mixed up orders, minimal follow-​up, wine confusion, and then adding 20% gratuity (for 5 people) keeping them from 5^th star. I realize that they’re trying to cover a main dining area, outdoors, and bar… but they could use a little more waitstaff as I’m sure some of the service fails resulted from being stretched too thin. It’s not going to keep us from returning or endorsing as the food is exceptional!

Went a while back for the happy hour. Drinks & small bites were all A+!! The drinks aren’t watered down & at $ 3.50 you can’t go wrong. The bartender that night was attentive & fast, zero complaints!

I was very unhappy with the service and the food. I will more than likely never set foot in this restaurant again. The jacked up prices are a joke. The ropa vieja was pretty much slop with rice and beans. There was no way that the ingredients that made up that plate equated to 5.00 let alone the 21.00 that they charged for it. The waiter was very uninvolved and bored and his feathers were ruffled when we presented our gift certificate. What a waste of a night. I would have been happier with going to a taco truck around the corner. I could justify higher prices if the ambience made up for the boring food but it just lacked luster all the way around. Good try but seriously, try again!

Came for lunch today. Never crowded for lunch. Had the chicken cilantro which was perfectly cooked and tasted great. I’m addicted to there cornbread which you must try. Ask for it when you first sit down. Food came out quickly and presentation was nice. Overall a great lunch under $ 12

Travel a lot and love good Latin food…
The black bean soup is some of the best I have tasted in 30 years of travel. The steps was excellent and Latino Caesar with rare tuna was wonderful.
Several other items I would love to try… ropea via … A mixed Latin grill with house made chimichurri sauce, and a Brazilian pork shank. Desserts, etc just too full … Would have been full and very satisfied with just of cup of soup an arepa.
If back in the area would skip riverwalk and return… Décor of glass art and paintings with copper ceiling tiles on ceiling … Is warm, comforting and makes one just relaxed and want to hang out. Service was perfect. And drink menu must have 20 –30 different types of specialty Latin drinks. Definitely recommend.

What? I’ve been here 4 or 5 times and never review it? Qué pasa?
Esposa and I first discovered this treasure during a First Friday Pub Run back in 2012 or 2013. Of course, we followed everyone’s sage advice and got the mojitos. Never having had one (what noobs, eh?) we were delighted by what have continued to be the ABSOLUTE BEST we’ve had ANYWHERE. Fresh ingredients expertly muddled then mixed with delicious rum. Stop reading and get a damned mojito, man!
The food? Well it’s equally good. They have a varied menu that should please just about anyone who has a penchant for a twist on comida Latina. It’s all excellent: freshly prepared, well seasoned, tasty, and nicely presented.
Service is variable, but usually excellent.
Prices are moderate/​high, but hey this is higher-​end Latino, not mama’s taco truck (not that there’s anything wrong with that).
Ambiance is festive and tasteful, devoid of the typical cheesy and kitschy décor found in most Mexican food eateries.

This service is poor and unprofessional and the bartender is slow. The busboy taking our plates away was the only polite employee. However the food was really great.

Loved this place! Our EVP recommended this place and he knows his Latin cuisine. I had the tops Vieja which was an excellent choice. My friend had scallops and shrimp. Tostones and fire balls were what we ordered as appetizers. All this and a good wine made a wonderful experience. You should go.

The atmosphere is exciting and energized. The Celia Cruz art, blown glass, and cuban music added to the unique Latin flair. The menu offers rich selections full of flavor.

Awe some appetizers at the bar had the fish tacos WOW! Jalapeño sausage good and fish ceviche. Ceviche very delicious different style I m used too but very tasty with fresh fish.

Great food if you are looking for Caribbean-​styled Latin food (i.e. not Mexican– which is great but not something I want all the time).
Nice ambiance.
Outdoor seating.
Dancing.
Thumbs Up!

I was so impressed by this joint! Due to the location, I didn’t have extremely high expectations (damn me for judging a book by its cover). The family and I decided to come here while on our mini vacation, mostly due to my
certificate. When we arrived, I was impressed by the cute little patio area and that they offered live entertainment (salsa, music etc) on one side of the restaurant, and a more family-​friendly atmosphere on the other side. Since it was midday and I had my kiddo with me, we opted to sit on the non-​entertainment side.
The inside of the restaurant is adorably decorated with fun, Latin colors. Our server (I forget her name, but she was phenomenal), greeted us promptly and explained some of the menu choices. This lady was seriously the sweetest server! We opted for the sampler platter to start. I got the pumpkin seed-​encrusted goat cheese salad (sans meat), my mom got the strawberry spinach salad with chicken, sis got the chicken dish (from the grill) and my kiddo got chicken tenders. They start you out with this delicious cornbread and butter, which was perfectly flavored.
The sampler platter was so full of flavor, I did not want it to end! Everything was so fresh and authentic. And my salad? Hands down the best salad I have ever tasted. My kid’s chicken tenders were HUGE, real chicken tenders, not some little sh*t McDonalds fake mess. They were legit. My sister let me try some of her grilled chicken (in a pesto-​like sauce) and mashed potatoes, and I was even more impressed. I was full, but not overly stuffed by this meal.
It is a bit pricey (We still paid about 68.00 even with the 25.00 certificate), but totally worth it. I will SO check this place out again when I come back to SA! (and hopefully do some sa;sa dancing while I’m there.

Been wanting to try this place for a while now. So one of my girls and i decided to give it a go for happy hour. Parking was a little tricky, i find a spot on the street and my friend parked on their private gated lot, marked for their customers. I was a little surprised there weren’t more people here, but it seemed cute and cozy so we figured we could just move on after a few drinks. Their happy hour specials were pretty good. Capirihnas, margaritas, mojitos $ 5 for happy hour were pretty good. We also tried the guacamole and chicken quesadillas which were skimpy but ok. The chips were a little overdone, but ok. Our bartender Adrian wad friendly and helpful. Not sure if this warrants a return trip, but i would like to try on a weekend or first Friday when there might be a little more action. They had a really cute looking patio area in the back that might be nice with some music and a crowd!

Came here with my family tonight for dinner and absolutely loved it! We sat on the patio and it was so beautiful and serene – we almost forgot we were in the city. Also really enjoyed the upbeat and vivacious Latin music playing! The staff was very friendly and courteous, especially our waiter, who even kindly apologized for being short-​staffer on an unexpectedly busy night.
All the food was wonderful! Loved the starter cornbread – so yummy that a little bird even picked at my sister’s crumbs when she stepped out to the bathroom.
I had the ahi tuna, which was very nicely plated and very generous! Loved everything together – the fish was tender (even though I had accidentally ordered medium instead of rare – my stupid mistake). I really liked the flavor by itself, as well as with the dijon mustard and balsamic! The potatoes looked plain but were very tasty. I had more than enough pickled onions, but they were really yummy so it was good that I had some to share!
My parents had the 12 oz steak, which looked delicious. Especially with the chimichurri sauce and roasted veggies! My sister had paella, which she really liked and came with a generous amount of seafood.
For dessert, we had the tropical crème brûlée, which came in a HUGE dish, but was very shallow. However, I really liked that because it allowed for more crispy parts and was well balanced with the caramelized fruit. Such a lovely and delicious meal – everybody left full and satisfied!
They also have an extensive and wonderful drink selection. FYI, the indoor dining and bar area are separate, with the patio in between and a shared space. Will definitely be coming back!

Parillada Mixta was perfectly seasoned maybe, only slightly overdone but that is the signature of a south American chef… no offense… Beef, pork chop, boneless chicken breast covered judiciously with chimichuri and a piece of sausage all on top of mashed potatoes with a side of grilled carrots and squash. I wasn’t that hungry but ate it all
Mojitos were prepared like I remember them from my South beach daze and the guacamole was fresh and delicious.
Service was attentive and pleasant, thanks Carmen I will be back.

Azuca! What a great experience. Made a reservation on a Friday night for 4 without any issues. Parking can be tough since it is southtown, but they offer valet for $ 8. The restaurant is cozy and vibrant in colors. The drink list is extensive. Tried the regular and skinny mojitos, go for the regular. And the Texas mojito was not good to me. Sad. But the appetizers were amazing! Generous portions, we ordered 5 apps total. The ceviche was good, the fireballs/​cornballs were awesome and we will get those again. The mofongo was interesting in taste as it has chicharron, but was a bit dry and needed a sauce to go with it. The fried sweet plantains are on point, and the steak on a stick with chimichurri was awesome too.
Minus one star for our server who came quickly for the check bc she said she was leaving, and she said it without much politeness. And because the mojitos were fine, not amazing as they should be at a Latin American establishment, along with the dry mofongo.
We will be back! Love the live band late night.

Azuca’s Restaurant Week menu really sold me but was unable to deliver a memorable dining experience.
This was our first time dining at Azuca and we left hungry. The interior is nicely decorated with bold colors and lively music is played (which I loved). Most items I sampled lacked a «wow» factor and flavor. The ceviche was bland and tasted fishy, the flat bread chips did not pair well. Their tortilla soup was too thick for my liking and reminded me of familiar canned tomato products. Our entrees failed to impress with a small portioned Mahi-​Mahi and the sides were generic (didn’t match the menu). However, my pork shank pibil was quite tasty and tender. When dessert arrived we both had a little chuckle, the tres leches cake was incredibly small but the BEST thing we had. Everything in that tiny little sliver of cake was perfection, I would definitely return to have another slice but not a tiny teaser.
Service was alright but nothing personable. There is a small private parking lot next to the restaurant if you can’t find a street spot. I’d like to give their happy hour a shot but I’ll wait awhile before I give their cuisine another go.

This was my first visit in many years and what a wonderful surprise (Previous visits
Left me wanting for better service and a memorable meal). Despite a good crowd we were greeted and seated quickly. The waiter was quick to attend to us and took out order for cocktails. Long story short is we had a wonderful dining experience. Everything we ordered met or exceeded our expectations and we will definitely go back.

Came here for some guac and cocktails to catch up with a college friend of my friend Chris. It wasn’t prime time when we got here (maybe 4-​ish on a Saturday), and we chose to sit on the charming patio out back. Music was playing as a nice backdrop, but didn’t interfere with our convo at all.
There is an extensive drink menu and I had a mojito with prickly pear. Yum… and not a light pour either. We shared an order of freshly made guac, which was amaze balls. I love avocado, but this was especially good, and was served with fresh tortilla crisps.
Even though it was not prime time, our server was great about checking in with us to make sure we had what we needed.
Again, we stopped in for a quick cocktail, but if this was any indication, I’d love to come back and explore their menu further… De-​LISH!