Blend Astoria

Bronx DJ Larry

After perusing the multi-ethnic restaurants along Astoria Avenue, my fiancé and I decided to taste some latin cuisine and entered Blend. This small and tight restaurant offers Sunday brunch with live eclectic music piped from speakers performed by a DJ. We started with appetizers of chorizos and Guacamole served with tortilla chips. I must say, the chorizos were charbroiled and a delicious accompaniment to the Guac. Our meal consisted of a pair of churassco steaks which were served as requested topped with chimichurri sauce along with rice, Black Beans, and sweet fried plantains as sides. The steaks needed a pinch of salt but other than that, they were very good. My queen and I shared a bottle of wine which was smartly priced. Overall, the meal was very good. A photo girl petitioned to take our photo for free. Of course, nothing is truly for free however, if you wanted any of the remaining photos, they can be had for a whopping $15.00 each. There is a warn of caution and a reminder that the tip is included in the bill. The wait staff will arrive with a portable card reader for your credit cards but not without showcasing the first window suggestion of an additional tip. This was an insult and a deal breaker for me. While I do not mind the 18% tip added to my bill, the additional tip ask is absolutely unnecessary. Admittedly, I will return without acquiescing to the photos and a much profound understanding of the pitfalls that sometimes accompanies an otherwise good experience. Se la vie.

Joancarlo Bonilla

It was good food. But it was annoying how a lady came to offer to take pictures of the whole table. We asked how much it was and she said “oh it’s for free” we’re like oh okay cool. She takes pictures and everything & comes back later. She then tells us it is $15 for one photo. Why you going to tell us it was free and then say it costs money. Very unprofessional and I will not be coming back here.

Manny Pena

Saturday night and the place was crazy packed. Thankfully we still managed to get a table after some time. Host with long hair was extremely attentive with updating us on a table. Male bartender at bar was busy with other customers (it was full) but still made time to make small talk with us. Our server Lorena was great and provided us with lots of recommendations which all ended up being delicious. Just love he vibes of this place, they even had a DJ. Will definitely be coming back for sure.

Fernanda Avila-Peñafiel

Food sounded great. Was ready to order so much. We walked in and the bouncer was nice, but as we came to the host stand there was no one there for very long. We kept wondering if you just sat yourselves, but as hostesses ourselves awkwardly waited until someone finally came up. The hostess was a bigger woman with black hair who approached us with the nastiest attitude. The place was half empty and she looked us up and down with so much attitude and said itd be at least 20 minutes...with like 20 open tables. Might come back to see if a different hostess offers better service as this was so horrible I'm writing this as I walk to a different restaurant. Really wanted to try the food, but as a hostess myself you need a better hostess.