La Rural

I went to La Rural because of all the great reviews and hype I had heard of this restaurant. I'm South American so I know what a good parrillada should taste like. This restaurant has great meat, cooked and seasoned to perfection. Their mash potatoes are also to die for. Their stuffed olives are actually not that tasty and with all the hyped reviews they receive, after tasting them, I thought they were very overrated. The decor is very artisan which is aesthetically pleasing to the eye. The only two downfalls were...1) My waiter Ulysses was not attentive. I had to look for him and call him over every time I wanted something. He was slow and would forget to bring what I asked. Not to say all the waiters at the restaurant are not attentive. 2) Beware...their Sangria is not made from scratch. They use Carlos Rossi sangria by the gallon, which if you bought it at your local liquor store would only be about 8 dollars for the 1/2 gallon. They pour it into a huge container, add sliced apples and oranges, and have people believe its homemade. Other than my bad waiter and the not from scratch (not homemade) sangria, my experience was ok. Like I said, meat and mash were great!!!

Pros: Example: best croissants in town

Cons: What are the drawbacks?

Posted 04/13/09

I went with my husband for my wedding aniversary. The T-bone steak is to die for. The aceitunas rellenas they are just amazing, and what can i tell about sangria i just love it. Andres our waiter that night was very attentive. I saw a review that someone one posted and let me tell you that you should go out more often to nice restaurants; in any restaurant they will charge if you bring a cake from outside. Restaurants sell desserts, it's like if you want to bring your own food. There is a corkage fee if you want to bring your own bottle of wine cause they sell wine; so they do the same thing with dessert. La Rural is a place where you will have a great dining experience. The person of the bad review get educated please

Pros: Food, Service

Posted 11/13/08

I went there with my boyfriend for our first year anniversary because he is Argentinean and there are not many places which serve good Argentinean food in NY City, I did some research about this place and I wanted to impress him... I ordered the Lamb chop while he ordered the skirt steak, we both agreed that our meals where delicious, tasty, juicy and very well cooked; in top of that we were able to pair our meals with a good bottle of Argentinean wine :-). Service was excellent and the manager, was very good as well. We wanted to try the panqueques de dulce de leche but after such a good meal, there was not room for desert.

Pros: a great dinning experience

Cons: none

Posted 11/13/08

Ever since we found this restaurant when it used to be called Pampa, we've been coming back at least twice a month. It is the center of our meetings, made cheerful with the very friendly staff and simple yet cozy atmosphere. We are always seated promptly even when we don't have a reservation, and the wine bar makes for a nice waiting spot if there is a wait.
The best part about this restaurant are the steaks; like the Skirt Steak, fillet Mignon, ribs..pretty much all are juicy, salted just right, well-sized and very affordable. We usually start off with empanadas--highly recommended--the salad with prosciutto, cheese stuffed-olives, provoleta, chorizo...etc! Everything is very tasty.
The wines are plentiful and affordable, with many varieties and some good malbecs and malbec blends that I recommend.
All in all, an affordable, cheerful, relaxed place to have some of the best steaks in the city, no coincidence that it is the favorite restaurant of our picky group of friends.

Pros: affordable steaks, ambiance, good for groups, outdoor seating

Cons: have had an occasional mix-up of orders

Posted 09/12/08

Love this place!!! Steak is great ( and I have been to Argentina and know what good steak should taste like) and the service is even better! The staff is extremely friendly and you often feel like you are a friend and not just a customer.

Pros: Great food and service

Cons: none

Posted 07/07/08

I would love to be able to give La Rural a good rating. The food is actually very good and inexpensive (for New York). For that I would give them a 3-4 star rating.

Unfortunately, their service needs to really improve. Their staff has no knowledge of the wines that they serve. I asked our server if she would recommend the Merlot or the Cabernet based on what we had ordered for our main course. All I got was that the Cabernet is fuller bodied. I asked her if she had actually tasted any of the wines on the menu and she said no. A note to the managers of La Rural, you need to educate your servers on the wines that you offer!

We ordered a bottle of the Cabernet, which was OK, but not a full bodied Cabernet as we were lead to believe. We didn't want to finish the bottle, so we asked if we could have it re-corked and sealed (per NY law) to go. Our server said we couldn't do that and didn't offer an explanation. When asked for one, she said we would have to speak to the manager. The manager told us that because they don't have "the" seal, we couldn't take the wine with us. When asked why they don't have "the" seal, we were told they were too expensive. He didn't offer an apology for the inconvenience, nor did he offer any kind of resolution. We wound up leaving a half empty bottle of wine at the table. A note to the managers of La Rural, if you don't want to pay for "the" seal, then you should let your customers know of this before they order a full bottle of wine. We have never had this issue before when requesting to take an unfinished bottle of wine home from any other NY restaurant.

Might give La Rural another chance in the future, but will wait to see if they can get their service level improved first.

Pros: Food

Cons: Service

Posted 05/14/08

I went here with my family over the weekend and had a great meal. I've been to Argentina many times and loved the food there so we thought we'd try it. From the moment we walked in we were greeted with friendly service. We were seated promptly which was also a plus. We ordered a bunch of appetizers (empanadas, salads etc) and loved them all. The parilla style meats were tender & juicy just like in Argentina. The wines were just as tasty as the ones we tried in Mendoza at the vineyards. We will definitely go back when we want to experience Argentina without having to fly for 10 hours! It's also great for kids.

Pros: great fresh food and friendly service.

Posted 04/27/08

My husband and I ate at La Rural last night and we thought it was the best Argentine food offered in Manhattan. We honeymooned in Argentina this past October, and have visited four other Argentine restaurants since then. This one was the best. The steaks are unbelievably flavorful, juicy and perfectly cooked. The empanadas were amazing, by far the best we've had since the honeymoon. The service was fantastic. We can't wait to go back.

Pros: Amazing steaks, Amazing food, Great ambience, Friendly service

Cons: I honestly can't think of one

Posted 04/10/08

Cash only .this restaurant is the same as pampa,I went on saturday night ,I order filet mignon medium rear ,it was overcook.The mash potatos Tasteless.Dont expend your money here .I find out The owner is from mexico So she does not under the Agentinian food

Posted 04/08/08