Comments on: Matador!

By: main line eats

main line eats — Sun, 29 May 2011 21:54:25 +0000

The Matador folks need to call Jose Garces regarding the timing of serving tapas. These guys at Matador are amateurs. Place is gorgeous. Waiters are not happy. Food is average, and served so fast that you question if the dish was meant for another table. Polish up these things, and you’ll have a beautiful place.

By: The Chef

The Chef — Sat, 28 May 2011 02:15:27 +0000

Great server till too busy,Great drinks OK, Food some good, some Please,Timing good to start and then!!!!got main courses 10 mn apart no flavor or seasoning Piglet great but portion for $22,may be as a Tapas with sauteed scallions as a veg ??,dessert flan good the churros I use to eat in spain NOT to Order.Ex Chef from Amada needs to go back to cooking school.We were going to give it a 8/10 at mid meal but now No es Buena Comida

By: Sophie

Sophie — Sun, 24 Apr 2011 11:54:07 +0000

Since Matador opened, I’ve had mixed experiences over the 6-8 times I’ve been there. My first visit was great, but the second wasn’t so good. I chalked it up to them still needing to work out a few wrinkles as a new restaurant. I went back a few times after that having acceptable experiences. I was there twice in the last 2 weeks and disappointed both times. There’s minimal customer service from the bartenders. It’s like customers are bothering them when asking for food or wine recommendations. The red wine was served warm and we were told it gets warm as the night goes on b/c it’s on a shelf under a light (Why don’t they move it???). Eveyone was disappointed with the slow bar service (and it wasn’t that busy), lack of personable bartenders, and the margaritas were sour. Matador is in a great spot and the inside vibe is a great option for drinks/apps, but this place needs to step up their customer service!

By: T&J

T&J — Mon, 28 Mar 2011 18:17:12 +0000

We’ve been to Matador a couple of times now and really enjoy it. The decor and music makes us feel like we are on vacation. Our server, Ed, knows the menu like no one I’ve ever seen. We’ve had several tapas dishes. Most were good to great with just a couple of misses. Some true standouts were Pulpo a Fiera (octopus, potatoes, hot paprika), Ancho Chile Relleno (smoked chicken, dried fruits, red mole, salsa verde, nogada), Tortilla Española (egg potato-onion tortilla, saffron aioli) Champinones en Verde
(wild mushrooms, truffle oil) & Brochetas Toro (skewered marinated sirloin). Reasonably priced and we always leave there very satisfied.

By: Kasey

Kasey — Wed, 23 Mar 2011 20:15:42 +0000

Stay away! This place is a total rip off. Recent lunch for two, no liquor, was $80 plus tip. The food was terrible, the service even worse. Despite requesting our service be staggered, the food basically arrived at once, salads last, the plates hanging off the table. Had to ask for water glasses to be refilled, service utensils, and for empty plates to be removed. Very difficult to get our server’s attention who never even asked if we were enjoying our meal. Probably, has heard too many negatives to even ask at this point. Most interested in socializing with regulars at the bar. Food was below mediocre. The salads were uninspired. Meat tapas were overly salted. Garlic shrimp was soggy, no doubtedly frozen and microwaved to a rubbery texture. Chicken was not fresh cooked, tasted reheated. Afterward, suffered from dyspepsia. Would never recommend this place, in fact, would suggest you stay away. There are many other good Mexican restaurants in the area, more reasonably priced and serving creative and authentic dishes. If you want great Spanish food, head north to the Newark, NJ area, absolutely worth the trip.

By: chris

chris — Tue, 08 Feb 2011 01:17:18 +0000

Ha, I said the same thing about the manager in my post below. I don’t know why, but that kind of thing really irks me – especially when it’s apparent that someone is going out of their way to greet everyone in the restaurant except for you. That guy totally blew it, I mean really, how hard is it to stop by and say thanks for coming?

By: Steve

Steve — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 06:22:56 +0000

I’ve recently been to Matador as well and considering the busy nature of the restaurant business (especially one like Matador during dinner time), I’m not surprised that the manager was not able to stop at your table. Think of this as a positive instead that the Manager was even able to come out and visit the few tables that he did. How many restaurants these days do we see that kind of gesture from upper management? I look forward to visiting Matador again.

By: Jim

Jim — Sat, 05 Feb 2011 21:22:43 +0000

As a person of Spanish origins who has studied in Spain and Mexico.
I was insulted by the Food at this establishment.

My family went to eat lunch here and it was the first time I ever brought back every single dish.
The enchiladas I ordered were rock hard. I was unable to cut them. It was as if they had microwaved them several times. The fish plate we had ordered had a strange taste and it’s scales were not cleaned off.
My sister and brother ordered steak dishes which were fatty and inedible.

When the manager came out he stated that the enchiladas were made today, which is impossible. The fish he stated was not made in the typical Mexican way but the Spanish way. I am sorry but Red Snapper a La Veracruzana is a traditional Mexican dish named after a Mexican City. He clearly did not even know the difference between Spanish and Mexican Cuisine. In regards to the steak, the manager stated that the steak was ordered from the number 2 supplier in the area
However even if I was just given a bad piece the meat, the rest of the food looked like it had been sitting around all day.

The only enjoyable part of my experience was the delicious margarita I had and pleasant waitress.

For these reasons I will never go back nor suggest anyone to go there for the food.

By: Marissa

Marissa — Sat, 29 Jan 2011 23:14:42 +0000

I had dinner at Matador the other week with my husband and we both really enjoyed it. The service was good and we loved the decor. Everything felt authentic. The upstairs bar was very cool! We wanted to enjoy a variety of dishes so we decided on a few tapas such as the lamb chops (my favorite), calamari, flautas and a few others plus we had the tableside guacamole. Everything was great. When I go out to eat in Wayne, I expect to pay more for a meal and I felt that the prices at Matador were priced fairly. The margaritas were amazing and our server let us know that they are made with freshly squeezed juices. Overall we really had a great night and enjoyed our meal. I would go back and recommend it to others.

By: Matthew

Matthew — Thu, 20 Jan 2011 01:59:13 +0000

My girlfriend and I decided to try the Matador tonight, after walking by it several times over the last few months while they were preparing to open. Overall, the food was decent and fairly priced. We had four small plates:
- chicken quesadillas: These were ok, nothing special though.
- calamari in parsley garlic oil: This was very well cooked, and very flavorful
- beef skewers: These were delicious. The large order was four skewers, probably around 8oz of meat. Very well seasoned and cooked perfectly.
- guacamole and chips: We were looking forward to this the most, as it’s prepared table-side. We were a little disappointed that it came out a good 15 minutes after we finished the other three dishes, but not a big deal, we weren’t in a rush. The server was great while preparing it; she talked us through all the ingredients as she added them (which we liked because we’re avid cooks, and love guacamole). Only downside was she added WAY too much sea salt.. it was almost inedible due to the salt in the guacamole plus the salt on the chips. That killed the dish, which otherwise would have been wonderful.

Now for the big negative, at least in my opinion. As a new restaurant, the manager (maybe owner, not sure) was walking around making sure everyone was satisfied, mingling with guests, etc.. everyone except for us, that is. He made several visits to the older, wealthier looking couple across from us, and even comp’ed them some ‘flaming coffee’. My girlfriend and I, who are right around 30 years old, did not even get a nod from him. This tells me one thing – he only cares about people he thinks will spend a lot of money there. Well, we happen to live a block away, and eat at the many restaurants on north Wayne 2-4 times a week. Unfortunately, we will NOT be eating here again. Maybe it’s petty, but I don’t appreciate being ignored, like my money isn’t the same as someone else’s. A simple “hi, thanks for coming” would have sufficed, but on our way out we walked right by him, and he even seemed to purposely turn away. Great job, buddy. Let’s see if your restaurant is still there a year from now. I’ll be at Teresa’s having a beer and wings.