Debajo

Excellent food. Has elevator access for those that need it. Service was great. Ambiance was casual.

Debajo is a cute spot located in the basement of a hotel my friend and I ordered the patatas bravas and the pulpo rice. Unfortunately the pulpo rice also came with potatoes so our meal was 80% potatoes. However, the food came out pretty quickly. The octopus was tender, and the patatas bravas were well seasoned. We also ordered a basque cheesecake at the end which was pretty yummy.

A very cute space that fits the restaurants name Debajo - you follow the stairs outside that lead you downstairs to this cozy oasis!Of the tapas, I particularly enjoyed the Grilled Octopus and the Little Gem Salad - the refreshing crunch was just what I needed. I've wanted to try the octopus with the forbidden rice but it was not available that day.

The place is nice and comfortable. It has a modern look. The service is ok. The staff know the food and they are attentive. The food is "ok". Perhaps I am picky because I know Spanish food. I know some of the dishes are just canned even though they could actually make them by themselves (as they do in most spanish bars). I thought the chistos would actually be the sausage, but it's more like little hotdogs! The best dishes: the octopus is good (I wonder if they buy the octopus raw and cook there - I didn't ask). The patatas bravas were good. The shrimp were good. The cauliflower was tasty but it was not really a Spanish dish. I've stayed away from Spanish food in NYC so I can't compare but it is inferior to at least most bars in Spain.

Food has good flavors but I think it was due to them just opening & not even staff that the service was very slow, they did apologize & comped the salmon along with giving another croquette dish, so nice of them and really appreciated it! It is pricey for these tapas but I did enjoy them, I would say the duck was salty but the ham croquettes, octopus, salmon, potatoes bravas was good. It's located downstairs from a hotel, nice speakeasy decor. I'll come back again for another try!

This place is cute in basement of hotel so it smells like a basement and is weird but beautifully decorated. The waitress we had was not good, forgot orders and brought two NY food, and we were one of four tables in the place mid week. Wine was decent. Food was better than expected. Shrimp and potatoes we'd recommend. Tomatoes on bread were grossly out of season; Brussels were burned and somehow undercooked; steak came out very rare, we weren't asked how we wanted it though; the portions were bigger than expected; def good for a quick drink and small snack but probably wouldn't go back for dinner;

Delicious and fresh Spanish food tucked away in a downstairs restaurant. Service was decent and the food was a real throwback to Madrid. The waiter recommended 2-3 tapas per person and 1 main to share for every 2 people, so we ended up getting the Patatas Bravas, Cauliflower, Brussels, Olive + Sardines, Tomato Bread, Jamon, Octopus and Babette Steak. I'm pescatarian so couldn't eat Jamon or Steak but my favourites from the rest were the Olives and Tomato Bread. Patatas were a bit too saucy for me so the potatoes were no longer crisp. Cauliflower and brussels tasted a bit Chinese which was unexpected.I also looooved the desserts and thought they were the highlights - lava cake and panna cotta were both absolutely amazing. They sound like relatively simple dishes but were some of the best I've had!! Panna cotta was the perfect texture and the lava cake was so chocolately and gooey. We also got a pitcher of Sangria which totaled around 5-6 glasses and was good, not too sweet.

The food and service here is great, just a little pricey for tapas. My favorites from what my friend and I ordered were the patatas bravas ($16 for a good portion - loved the sauce) and pulpo rice ($29 for an appetizer portion). Not sure if I'd return given the price point but the food is delicious, just a little expensive if you're ordering multiple tapas to be full.

Tapas seemed like a good option for me and my friends so we could try more things. When we arrived at 6pm they were pretty empty with only one other table occupied. It's a cute place with a mix of benches, chairs, high tables, counter seating, and ventilated outdoor space. Food came out fast The server was nice and didn't bug us throughout the meal. I did wish he was more proactive about providing menu recommendations. We ended up googling and yelping ourselves. I can't give this a 5* mostly due to the food quality. We ordered PCT, clam conserva, croquette, grilled octopus, pork loin, and wild red shrimp Their bread and garlic is good, so anything with those elements is quite solid. PCT was my fave. Idk what PCT stands for or its meaning in Spanish, but it's basicallly tomato puree on bread. It looks simple but still tasted so good. Garlic was strong. The tomato was juicy without being too wet. Croquettes are flavor of the day. It was ham when we went. It was alright nothing special. It came out fresh and crunchy without being too hard. I forgot what was inside but it helped balance the salty ham. Clam conserva wasn't what we expected it to be. Jk I googled beforehand too. I'm wondering what's the cultural meaning behind eating directly from the can. We were pleased it wasn't fishy or salty coming out of a can. It came with bread so by default it tastes good. There were a lot of clams in that can. Grilled octopus was a bit disappointing. We couldn't find it at first since the online menu mentioned it coming with black rice. Now it's octopus over potatoes. I found the octopus not tender enough. We didn't like the flavor. The potatoes were bland but it kinda worked out to balance out the pork loin later. Wild shrimp was fighting with octopus for the worst spot. We didn't realize beforehand the shrimp came with head and shell. It had a lot of garlic and oil which tasted good but the problem was with the shrimp. It was too mushy which was another issue when we had to peel the shell. I think I read other people on Yelp say it's not fresh either. Also dislike how they didn't clean the intestines here. It was very thick and dark. Pork loin was a bit too salty in the beginning, but then I think we got used to it and like the sauce. The edge pieces were a bit dry but the insides were quite tender. The scallion on the side was huge and we had trouble cutting it so skipped out on it. We weren't full full at the end but all the bread and oil and butter made us satisfied. I actually felt full after drinking another cup of water. We were joking their tap water tastes better than normal. Perhaps it's because of all the strong flavors in their dishes. Their kitchen is an open kitchen just behind the counter. I don't recall smelling anything upon arrival or my clothes being smelly after leaving. Ventilation is so important. Their bathroom is a hallway of 4-5 individual rooms with sinks inside. I like that format. The sinks are so deep. It's probably deeper than my forearm is long. Imagine dropping something in there.

The food and ambiance are good. It took me a while to find it since it is underground as the name suggests. Prices are a bit high.