Boveda

Really good guacamole! Awesome tacos--recommend the short rib tacos. The staff was fun and very nice but service was slow, restaurant not packed at all.

Not what I was hoping for. I brought a large group in to try out the free Salsa lessons they offer on Thursday evenings. I've been to other free lessons in the area, and this was nothing like I expected.

First of all, there were way too many people for the space allotted. Everyone was bumping into or stepping on one another. Secondly, the people in the back could not see the instructor. Thirdly, the ad online advertised specials during the lessons and those were nowhere to be found either. If you're looking for Salsa lessons I'd head elsewhere.

We didn't get the chance to eat, but it does seem to have a nice ambiance as a restaurant.

When I entered this place I decided to ignore the number one rule about mexican/latin food restaurants "if the restaurant looks fancy and expensive, then don't expect your food to be good". This place doesn't break the rule unfortunately. In addition the server was super unfriendly, food was expensive and felt old and more texmex style. We ordered a guacamole dish for starters, half of the chips were old and rubbery. The carnitas were better, but still far from the real thing. The quesadilla, was a bit better than taco bell, but 10x the price.

Boveda is located in the Westin and the inside of this establishment reflects this. As you come downstairs into the entrance of Boveda you see an upscale looking modern bar, which is great. The not so great starts after that.

Another co-worker was leaving to move on to bigger and better and the office planned a departure happy hour here. I didn't arrive until after 6: 30 and the place was mostly filled with my colleagues. Service at the bar was slow but when I finally got a bartender I ordered a margarita (which is part of the happy hour menu for $6). I paid $10 cash and the bartender had to leave (I don't know why) for change. She comes back hands me $3 and leaves again. Simple math tells me I'm short $1 and it takes 10 minutes for the bartender to come back. Then another 10 minute wait for her to get my buck and at this point I just say take it as a tip.

I tell this story to a co-worker and he checks his bill and they have overcharged him as well. And later that night they were rude claiming that we were creating a fire hazard by standing by the door. WTF?

This is a one star establishment but I gave them 2 because I'm reasonable and the night I was there they had salsa lessons which many people were enjoying.

Morale of the story - check your bill before you leave here.

Had a family reunion reception here. The whole experience was wonderful.
Jessica helped me plan it, since I would need enough space for about 25 people. She reserved a nice area.
I came in a couple days before to double check the reservation, and spoke with the manager, Juan. He was very helpful and friendly, and even took me on a tour of the hotel space, since I was accommodating one person in a wheelchair. He showed me that is was accessible, and how to get there.

I stopped in the week after for brunch, and he was there to greet me and ask how the evening went. I feel very welcome here, and it is one of my new places downtown to escape for a while with great drinks and awesome Latino dishes!

Roomy bar and good tapas. Good place for an after-work drink or to catch up with friends if you want to hear what they are saying (not too noisy or crowded).

I have visited twice - the first time just for drinks and the second time for drinks and dinner.

Setting:
Very well-lit for a bar, and crowd was picking up close to 10pm. When I came for dinner, we had empty tables on both sides from 8-10pm on a Friday night.

Tapas:
The squash blossom and chorizo tapas were winners. Would come again to have these items. The pork carnitas had tasty meat, but the house-made tortilla flatbread that they rested on was a little stale and, well, flat.

Entrees:
Dinner is a little less interesting - of all the entrees at our table, only the scallops were a standout - the mole and porchetta were not as savory. Scallops were very fresh and cooked to perfection.

One oddity:
Our red wine, the Porque No was served chilled.

WE went with friends on a Friday night and were the only people in the place. Already a bad sign. The restaurant is very pretty. But of the 4 drinks we ordered, 2 had to be sent back!! REALLY?
Also, the food was very mediocre and the menu very limited. With such a pretty place, you'd think they would have a better and more varied menu and a great bartender. ALSO, the waitress was on the moon. We were 4 people, and we ordered several appetizers which apparently (??) only come in threes. So why didn't she suggest to add a 4th so each of us would have one? She didn't. We asked for a forth but by the time those came out the others were cold. Come on. This isn't brain surgery. Get it together.

My brain hurts from this experience so I'll break it down to spare you the headache:
Buenos:
-FANTASTIC music
- nice vibe

Malos:
- bartender who is unaware of the difference between cachaca and tequila. Having indulged in too many Jose Cuervo shots in my college days, I can taste it beyond a shadow of a doubt. When called on it, he lied, but there's no mistaking tequila. I wasn't sure if it was a honest mistake or an attempt to cheap out on the liquor to save a dime.
- tomato salad boasted of heirloom tomatoes. Yeah, last time I checked the "heirloom" variety didn't include beefsteak or cherry tomatoes, both of which were the tomatoes that made up my salad. Now THAT is an attempt to save a buck. But don't for a second think anyone will be okay with you passing off those tomatoes at THAT price. Shame.
- mussels were cold. Not warm, not tepid. Cold. So cold in fact, the manager came and said, "I'm sorry your mussels were cold." When I let him know of the other issues with our food, including showing him the "heirloom" tomatoes, he had to admit they failed. He comp'd the tomatoes and mussels. I'm just not impressed enough to be motivated to go back.
-not food related, but I noticed the wood wall near us was marked. I suppose the carpenter was writing down the measurements of the wood and where it needed to be cut. Aesthetically it looked bad.
- the women's bathroom had a big 'ol bucket of hand soap sitting on the counter. There was none coming out of the soap dispensers located next to the fancy sinks, only a honkingly gaudy plastic container sitting there. Tacky.

After our experience, it's no wonder the place was completely empty save two hotel guests and the employees. On a Saturday night at 8:00pm in Georgetown, that's unheard of. Apparently, everyone else knew what we found out the hard way. Close the bóveda and throw away the key!

Loved loved loved the chicken en mole. Was meh on just about everything else.

Margarita tasted like cheap tequila and sugar, had to add multiple limes to balance the sweetness. Guac was nothing special.

They also mixed up my reservation and initially sat my date and I in the wrong restaurant. They also told me I must have made my reservation wrong, and changed our table when I showed them the online confirmation.

Had the beef tacos, the quality of the beef was to be desired. Would not recommend this restaurant.