Buenavista Restaurant & Bar

My cousin was in the area and she told me to pick a place for us to have lunch. I immediately thought of this restaurant for the simple fact that I had lunch from here 3 times thru Meal Pal - I had the Chicken Parmigiana sandwich, Traditional Cuban sandwich, and the Picadillo - ALL of which, I recommend anyone to try.

I get to the location and I'm greeted by Alberto, who is so nice, everytime I go in there for Meal Pal he remembers me, so today he looked at me and said "Meal Pal?" and I told him "Nope, not today, I made a lunch reservation for two" and he told me to grab a seat. I waited for my cousin and once she arrived, we ordered sangria, she got the red and I got the white. We both agreed that the white sangria definitely tasted better, while the red wasn't far behind.

To eat, I ordered the Oxtail Stew/Rabo and she ordered the Ropa Vieja Cubana. We did wait quite some time for the meals to come, however, we had a lot to catch up on so didn't really mind too much. By the time the meals came, Starling brought them out and, he too, was nice.

I LOVE Oxtails and let me just say these oxtails were extremely tender, delicious and full of flavor and unfortunately was the only thing on the plate like that. The rice that came with it lacked flavor, it literally tasted like nothing and I feel bad for saying that because I really wanted them to knock it out of the park for me. My cousins ropa vieja was more like pepper steak and while it was tasty, it had more peppers than it did meat, her rice was lacking in flavor as well. We had to add salt in order for us to enjoy.

That said, I'll most likely make my way back to Buena Vista, while the food I ate this particular time could've been better, I had good experiences with lunch. So I'll definitely be back. The service was great and Alberto and Starling were fantastic!

Cozy, nice ambiance, good attentive service. Appetizer was great, special entree was overly salty and a little dry, overcooked but overall given prices I look forward to trying Buenavista again.

Fabulous food. Calamari appetizer one of the best we’ve had. Good portions and great sauces.

Interior was small. service was good, but water glasses were no being filled. My sweet ice tea tasted like a mix. and I was not asked if I wanted a refill until most of the main course was gone.
My steak was over salted. Overall everyone enjoyed the restaurant and I would recommend it to friends

Great little place. Calamari and skirt steak were outstanding. Staff attentive and friendly, definitely will be back.

Terrific lunch menu.

This is a great little restaurant. Everything on the menu is outstanding and the service is personal and friendly.

Service is phenomenal! Great food selection and plenty of options.

This is the second time I’ve been to BuenaVista and both times the food has been outstanding. I had the deconstructed Paella and everything was superb. Place is small and I’d recommend Reservations. I found on Open Table. Service is also excellent. BuenaVista is a real hidden gem!

The food is absolutely delicious! The music is lively and the host is very charming.

Great Hell’s Kitchen find. Food was amazing. Staff was very friendly, just overworked. We’ll be back.

I was very pleased with this restaurant! Great menu and service. Everything was delicious and highly recommended!

Second time at Buena Vista ! No regrets! Food was great and our waiter lovely. Will certainly go back!

Chef Alex puts an amazing meal out and it’s surprisingly well composed and sophisticated Latin fare. I’m sold. Will return.

We enjoyed our dinner at Buenavista, from the greeting to the end it was all a 5 star experience. We found this restaurant based on reviews and was planning on seeing a show nearby. We were not disappointed and had a lovely meal. The appetizer and entrees were presented to beautifully and the flavor was superb. We highly recommend this little neighborhood gem.

This was our 5th visit to Buenavista. The first time was just good luck - and now we've deemed it our favorite place to dine out in NYC. It is unpretentious, welcoming, and the food is always perfectly prepared and attractively presented. The grilled octopus, avocado salad, scallop appetizers are great, and the sea bass is divine. This is our "go to" place.

VERY small place in Hell’s Kitchen. Convenient walking from Theatre District and Times Square. Food is Latin American influenced with emphasis on fresh seafood. Special appetizers were very well done and grilled octopus in particular was some of the most tender and well-prepared in the city. Paella was flavorful and seafood was fresh and plentiful in dish, but was a bit lacking in rice consistency for paella fans. Cocktails were well balanced and true to their menu descriptions. Wine list was small, but paired well with the dishes. Many of their bottles were available by the glass. Wait staff was friendly and knowledgable. Overall, a nice find for a fresh, no-fuss dining experience just a short distance away from the tourist traps and overpriced fare of the nearby areas.

The food was outstanding. Unfortunately we arrived for the last seating and they were only serving appetizers. We ordered 4 appetizers and all were incredibly good. We were still hungry and were getting ready to order a few more appetizers when the waiter informed us that they could prepare to meals. We ordered the steak and were totally pleased. My only complaint was the music was too loud. But then again. This place is a bar at night and we had a very late dinner. I would highly recommend this place.

Fantastic experience, highly recommended. Only disappointment is that there were so many empty tables, this place is a gem

Very good portion sizes. Everything tasted great. Seafood dishes especially.

Service was a little awkward and haphazard. Cocktails are meh... The sea bass tasted like it was cooked in bad oil. Not sure we’ll be back.

Amazing place with deliciously fresh and flavorsome food. Really South American cuisine from the Peru inspired ceviche to the Argentinian skirt steak. Everything was superb. Fine dining in a very casual wine bar setting. Service was friendly and not over the top. Wine list was good and not overpriced and cocktails, while not overly strong, were great. Very good.

Wonderful food, great wine, and very friendly service. We selected this restaurant based on the OpenTable reviews, and were more pleased than we had anticipated for such a small establishment.

This tiny, cheery restaurant is turning out some remarkable food. Service is very friendly and informal. Wine list is well chosen and reasonably priced. Everything I tasted was beautifully presented and deeelicious, especially the grilled octopus special and the Cuban tamal. Prices are very fair for the quality. While it's easy to spend a lot here (wish they'd given the prices when explaining the specials), you don't have to. Happy hour till 6 offers $8 glasses of wine, and sharing a bunch of appetizers would be a great way to sample an array of flavors.

Awesome food! Great ambiance. Friendly staff!

We happened upon Buenavista Restaurant after leaving a nearby restaurant because of the noise. What a find! Our server actually told us his favorites rather than what was popular when we asked and we could understand why when our meals arrived. The pork osso bucco was flavorful, fell off the bone and literally melted in your mouth. The Argentine skirt steak was cooked perfectly and the chimichurri, pickled red cabbage and other sauces were the perfect complement. We paired it all with an excellent Bordeaux Blend.

Buenavista’s walls are lined with amazing travel photographs. While the space Itself is compact, you do not feel like people are sitting on top of each other.

Buenavista was a great find and we would be there all the time if we were local.

After searching many different restaurants in the area, I chose this one for our pre-concert/ my birthday meal. We ate early so we were seated right away. The wait staff was very pleasant, attentive but not intrusive. The food was amazing. Everything we ordered was mouth-watering. My only let down was that I mentioned through OpenTable that we were celebrating my birthday, but the restaurant never acknowledged that note.

What a hidden gem on 9th Avenue. The food was terrific The skirt steak was marinated and cooked perfectly. The ox tail was falling off the bone. The squid ink pasta was correctly al dente. Service was friendly and attentive. All in all a great find on the west side.

This was my 2nd dining here and I love it. I am a huge fan of octopus and they do not disappoint. It’s great to see some creative and delicious Latin dishes. Can’t wait to go back again.

One of our favorite restaurants when when are in the city!!! Had to share our experience with our friends and they LOVED IT❣❣☺️❣

Always delicious!!!

Service great, food fantastic, quiet we went at 530.. only ones there until about 630 but even after people there is was not noisy.

Outstanding creative menu, cute little "hole in the wall" type restaurant in the heart of midtown Manhattan . Attentive, friendly service. We came back twice!

Have been a few times and food is excellent. Love the artichoke app and the Osso Buco was one of the best I ever had

Stayed at the Double Tree around the corner and stumbled across this restaurant. Everything was amazing! The guacamole was the best I’ve ever had, delicious with chips and plantain chips! Restaurant is very small and a bit noisy, but the food is unbelievable. Highly recommend!

Excellent restaurant, service & food overwhelmed us, a group of six adults. Everyone praised their food selection from appetizers, ceviche, guacamole, blue Peruvian potatoes with shredded oxtail to our main plates,roasted iberian pork osobuco and skirt steak. Desserts were also delicious, tres leches and churros

Unassuming restaurant that is well managed with a delicious sampling of quality food and great value ! A neighborhood gem.

Great service, well prepared food, for NYC generous portions. Highly recommended.

Food was awesome

A little gem! Great food and loved sitting near the kitchen To see all the fabulous food come out!

We decided on the Buenavista after looking at the reviews. When entering it was small, but very welcoming. The service was excellent from being seated until we left. Cuisine is listed as Latin, but it had a unique twist on everything from the appetizers to main course. We tried 3 different entries including salmon, osso buco, and ravioli stuffed with lobster and ravioli. We split a churros dessert that excellent.