The whole experience was one of the best meals I've had in NYC and I've lived here 20 years! Food was excellent and authentic and when we asked our server for recommendations between items we were interested in we loved it all.
Dub1
I love José Andrés restaurants as a rule, and have been patronizing them for years, but this one was an example of a trend I'm seeing at his establishments: overpriced and portions getting smaller and smaller. I believe ingredients are high quality, but it's getting a bit out of control. Some dishes real misses now, too.
tasteful
Top-notch food choices. We had the snapper for2 ($85), which was delicious. Came with a gem salad, but nothing else. Roasted artichokes ($18) were also fabulous. Dessert was their own cheesecake ($12), which was out of this world yummy. More like creme brulee, but fabulous. Tomato bread ($11) I'd skip next time. My only complaint was prices were about 30% higher than they should have been. Waiter asked us what was the special occasion. Now I know why.
shirleya
There was a wide variety of items to choose from. We order tapas sized items. the shrimp and pork was especially delicious. Our service was extremely pleasant and knowledgeable and gave us accurate feedback and the menu and specials. Definitely worth recommending and doing a repeat visit.
Excelente experiencia Te transporta a españa! Sabores increibles y muy cuidados !! Y un excelente servicio !! Si pasan por NYC tienen que venir !! Podes comer al paso o tener un almuerzo o cena Gourmet !
Great food; attentive staff; good ambience. A lovely venue that lets you forget that you are in the downstairs level of a mall! The tapas were well-varied, and the staff attentive to never let my water glass go empty!
merriam
Restaurant Week Winter 2024. Website says "choice of 4," which I understood as each person gets to pick 4 items. There is no choice, and one item on website, Catalan stew, is not served at all. When I asked about it, I was told restaurant never serves that dish. Here is what we got, for two people: 2 oysters (my partner said they were okay), 2 pieces of coca de escalivada (terrific veggies; bread hard, not crisp), 4 small artichoke halves with romesco (best item overall), 2 talos de chistorra (salty, greasy goodness), and a plate of fries to share (excellent) accompanying a small plate for each of us of the pollo mar y montaña (delicious sauce; lukewarm chicken; cold shrimp). The $10 white garnacha worked well with food, but for red, better to opt for the regular wine list. The $6 desserts were best deal of the meal; "burnt" Basque cheesecake was extraordinary. Excellent service. Would I come back at regular prices? Given unevenness of the food, no.
PamelaS
We have dined at all of J.A.'s restaurants in D.C, Zaytinya in NYC and Spanish diner ( MLS ). We always had excellent food & outstanding service . Unfortunately, Leña did not measure up in any way. We were absolutely disappointed in the food & service . My $ 85 seabass was swimming in an unappetizing white sauce, the squid was overcooked & subpar, chicken flavorless, the avocado salad was the best part of the meal !! Our server was aloof ( never our experience in any other J.A. restaurant ) . They were not busy, it was 12:30 in the afternoon. I'm not sure if it was an off day, but we have no intention of returning. PS I have never not recommended any of J.A.'s restaurants, but this one is a resounding NO
ThomasP
Good mix of high quality, interesting cuisine with great service in a very relaxed accessible place. I'll be back when I need high quality without the old guy's corporate expense account stuffiness.
BPay1
SUPERB dining experience! My husband & I came for a late date night, 9:45pm Thursday, so the restaurant was nice & quiet and we were seated at a back corner table. Lena is a small corner of Little Spain which is more meat-centric with large selection of tapas and about 4-5 mains for 2ppl. The restaurant has bold red colors, high ceilings, & lovely tiled floors. We were greeted promptly by our lovely waitress who was very sweet, personable, attentive, & professional. We ordered 2 specialty cocktails and 6 tapas. We ordered the croquetas, gambas, grilled artichokes, pulpo, grilled lamb, & the grilled pork. For dessert we had the "heaven's bacon" which was like a light flan. Everything was DELICIOUS!!! The gambas was a little bit of work bc it came shells on & had to de-vein. This was a PERFECT date night and I HIGHLY recommend!
SUPERB dining experience! My husband & I came for a late date night, 9:45pm Thursday, so the restaurant was nice & quiet and we were seated at a back corner table. Lena is a small corner of Little Spain which is more meat-centric with large selection of tapas and about 4-5 mains for 2ppl. The restaurant has bold red colors, high ceilings, & lovely tiled floors. We were greeted promptly by our lovely waitress who was very sweet, personable, attentive, & professional. We ordered 2 specialty cocktails and 6 tapas. We ordered the croquetas, gambas, grilled artichokes, pulpo, grilled lamb, & the grilled pork. For dessert we had the "heaven's bacon" which was like a light flan. Everything was DELICIOUS!!! The gambas was a little bit of work bc it came shells on & had to de-vein. This was a PERFECT date night and I HIGHLY recommend!
EddieP
Always love eating here but was a little disappointed. I bookhed for 10 people looking forward to a good Paella and they had none and offered no explanation why. What is a Spanish restaurant with no Paella?
PatriciaZ
This is a very expensive restaurant in a very noisy setting. If you want to go to the bathroom, you have to go where everybody in the entire market goes. It is dirtier than an airport bathroom. Very crowded and noisy. The food is OK but extremely expensive.
lac_d_tran
I have been dining at different posts in Mercado Little Spain, but Leña is certainly the best. All dishes are very good, but the lamb chops are exceptional. The wine is good, and it is 50% off every Wednesday, so we can get our bottle of Rioja at discounted retail price, in a restaurant. One more thing to be noted: there was significant waiting for a table, so we opted for eating at the communal area, but being waited by the food court staff. The whole experience was not much different than in an actual sit-down restaurant. Highly recommended.
Ty H.
The only reason for two stars is that the service was good. The food is very mediocre and the wine is ridiculously overpriced. Not worth repeat. Shocking that this place is packed night after night.
The whole experience was one of the best meals I've had in NYC and I've lived here 20 years! Food was excellent and authentic and when we asked our server for recommendations between items we were interested in we loved it all.
I love José Andrés restaurants as a rule, and have been patronizing them for years, but this one was an example of a trend I'm seeing at his establishments: overpriced and portions getting smaller and smaller. I believe ingredients are high quality, but it's getting a bit out of control. Some dishes real misses now, too.
Top-notch food choices. We had the snapper for2 ($85), which was delicious. Came with a gem salad, but nothing else. Roasted artichokes ($18) were also fabulous. Dessert was their own cheesecake ($12), which was out of this world yummy. More like creme brulee, but fabulous. Tomato bread ($11) I'd skip next time. My only complaint was prices were about 30% higher than they should have been. Waiter asked us what was the special occasion. Now I know why.
There was a wide variety of items to choose from. We order tapas sized items. the shrimp and pork was especially delicious. Our service was extremely pleasant and knowledgeable and gave us accurate feedback and the menu and specials. Definitely worth recommending and doing a repeat visit.
Excelente experiencia Te transporta a españa! Sabores increibles y muy cuidados !! Y un excelente servicio !! Si pasan por NYC tienen que venir !! Podes comer al paso o tener un almuerzo o cena Gourmet !
Great food; attentive staff; good ambience. A lovely venue that lets you forget that you are in the downstairs level of a mall! The tapas were well-varied, and the staff attentive to never let my water glass go empty!
Restaurant Week Winter 2024. Website says "choice of 4," which I understood as each person gets to pick 4 items. There is no choice, and one item on website, Catalan stew, is not served at all. When I asked about it, I was told restaurant never serves that dish. Here is what we got, for two people: 2 oysters (my partner said they were okay), 2 pieces of coca de escalivada (terrific veggies; bread hard, not crisp), 4 small artichoke halves with romesco (best item overall), 2 talos de chistorra (salty, greasy goodness), and a plate of fries to share (excellent) accompanying a small plate for each of us of the pollo mar y montaña (delicious sauce; lukewarm chicken; cold shrimp). The $10 white garnacha worked well with food, but for red, better to opt for the regular wine list. The $6 desserts were best deal of the meal; "burnt" Basque cheesecake was extraordinary. Excellent service. Would I come back at regular prices? Given unevenness of the food, no.
We have dined at all of J.A.'s restaurants in D.C, Zaytinya in NYC and Spanish diner ( MLS ). We always had excellent food & outstanding service . Unfortunately, Leña did not measure up in any way. We were absolutely disappointed in the food & service . My $ 85 seabass was swimming in an unappetizing white sauce, the squid was overcooked & subpar, chicken flavorless, the avocado salad was the best part of the meal !! Our server was aloof ( never our experience in any other J.A. restaurant ) . They were not busy, it was 12:30 in the afternoon. I'm not sure if it was an off day, but we have no intention of returning. PS I have never not recommended any of J.A.'s restaurants, but this one is a resounding NO
Good mix of high quality, interesting cuisine with great service in a very relaxed accessible place. I'll be back when I need high quality without the old guy's corporate expense account stuffiness.
SUPERB dining experience! My husband & I came for a late date night, 9:45pm Thursday, so the restaurant was nice & quiet and we were seated at a back corner table. Lena is a small corner of Little Spain which is more meat-centric with large selection of tapas and about 4-5 mains for 2ppl. The restaurant has bold red colors, high ceilings, & lovely tiled floors. We were greeted promptly by our lovely waitress who was very sweet, personable, attentive, & professional. We ordered 2 specialty cocktails and 6 tapas. We ordered the croquetas, gambas, grilled artichokes, pulpo, grilled lamb, & the grilled pork. For dessert we had the "heaven's bacon" which was like a light flan. Everything was DELICIOUS!!! The gambas was a little bit of work bc it came shells on & had to de-vein. This was a PERFECT date night and I HIGHLY recommend!
Restaurantji Recommends
SUPERB dining experience! My husband & I came for a late date night, 9:45pm Thursday, so the restaurant was nice & quiet and we were seated at a back corner table. Lena is a small corner of Little Spain which is more meat-centric with large selection of tapas and about 4-5 mains for 2ppl. The restaurant has bold red colors, high ceilings, & lovely tiled floors. We were greeted promptly by our lovely waitress who was very sweet, personable, attentive, & professional. We ordered 2 specialty cocktails and 6 tapas. We ordered the croquetas, gambas, grilled artichokes, pulpo, grilled lamb, & the grilled pork. For dessert we had the "heaven's bacon" which was like a light flan. Everything was DELICIOUS!!! The gambas was a little bit of work bc it came shells on & had to de-vein. This was a PERFECT date night and I HIGHLY recommend!
Always love eating here but was a little disappointed. I bookhed for 10 people looking forward to a good Paella and they had none and offered no explanation why. What is a Spanish restaurant with no Paella?
This is a very expensive restaurant in a very noisy setting. If you want to go to the bathroom, you have to go where everybody in the entire market goes. It is dirtier than an airport bathroom. Very crowded and noisy. The food is OK but extremely expensive.
I have been dining at different posts in Mercado Little Spain, but Leña is certainly the best. All dishes are very good, but the lamb chops are exceptional. The wine is good, and it is 50% off every Wednesday, so we can get our bottle of Rioja at discounted retail price, in a restaurant. One more thing to be noted: there was significant waiting for a table, so we opted for eating at the communal area, but being waited by the food court staff. The whole experience was not much different than in an actual sit-down restaurant. Highly recommended.
The only reason for two stars is that the service was good. The food is very mediocre and the wine is ridiculously overpriced. Not worth repeat. Shocking that this place is packed night after night.