Guarapo

by Ling X.

Wow.  Be very careful when you buy drinks here.  Especially when you're a bit tipsy.  The drinks are super expensive.  Not only that, but they take it upon themselves to add gratuity.I usually only tip $1 per drink.  Whether the drink is $3 or $10.  That's my rule.  But the bartender tells us the price WITHOUT saying that it included gratuity.  And we were only 5 people.  I have to say, that was INCREDIBLY shady what she did.  If they want to include gratuity, fine.  But don't just tell me "That'll be $64" and not say anything about the added gratuity!!! SO ANGRY!So I drunkenly gave extra tip on top of the tip she already gave herself!!!  So be careful when you are drinking here!!!

by Michelle L.

Guarapo needs to make up its mind. Are you a club or restaurant? If you're a club, put a stop time on when people can order food (take note from Paper Moon), clear some tables and allow for a dance floor. If you're a restaurant, then get an ipod out in lieu of a DJ so people know not to crowd the floor and hold up service. I'm a big fan of some of the Latin Concept restaurants and while this place didn't rock my socks off, it certainly didn't suck, either. Unlike other Yelpers, I actually enjoyed my Dragon Mojito but felt $9 a piece was a bit over priced ($7.50 would have been fair). I'm usually a fan of Mint hookah but I think they totally rip you off with the amount of flavored tobacco they give you. Points lost for their hookahs. With a large group, I usually go through at least 1.5 charcoal pieces. Here, we didn't even go through one. As for the music, the downstairs DJ was really great. He mixed flawlessly and kept the theme of his music the same but was able to mix up the beats so it wasn't boring. The volume also wasn't over powering. However, the upstairs DJ really sucked. How this guy made it into the club scene is beyond me. His tracks were bad and his mixes were off. I can mix better than this fool. In fact, he was the reason why I left the club completely. My spicy chicken sandwich from Wendys had more flavor than this guy. The set up of the upstairs is just as confusing as the downstairs with an abundance of tables but a larger dance floor. I've never seen a club so dark before, either. Furthermore, they only had Corona in bottles. I need bottles when I dance or you'll end up spilling it on yourself and/or others. Egh. The pros of this place were, as I said, the Dragon Mojitos. Throw that in with what I thought was excellent and speedy service and you get an average experience. I'd really like to see Guarpo get their stuff together and figure out a better layout for patrons to better enjoy themselves. That, and stop being so stingy on the hookah!!

by Ryan S.

I am about a 5 minute walk to Gua Rapo, and I've eaten there a half dozen times, and gone for the pseudo club atmosphere a few times too (ok, in fairness, they call it a lounge which is a more accurate description).For dinner, you get pan latin american cuisine.  Like most menus of this nature, you get a nice variety of foods from a larger region, rather than more specific menus (such as Cuban only, or Peruvian only, etc).  The tradeoff is they don't really specialize in any one cuisine.  I've never had a bad meal here, and have had some pretty good ones.Service seems to often be a problem here though.  It can be hard to get the attention of the waiting staff, often because they appear to be under staffed. Friendliness of the staff is hit or miss, with the pattern slightly skewed towards unfriendly--although in all fairness, the attitude seems better in recent times.There is nothing on the menu that I've had (and I've sampled more than half of their menu) that can't be had better somewhere else, but some things are quite good.  The empanadas are normally quite good, and so are the Arepas.  I am a fan of their Ropa Vieja, although you can do better at a dedicated Cuban restaurant.I like the upstairs lounge.  It is done better elsewhere (even by the same owners, such as Chi Cha Lounge), but there is nothing close to this atmosphere without having to take a cab/drive/metro, so I cut it a lot of slack here.  The music style varies, but is typically some sort of club music, and people will dance, but you won't find dancing like you will in a proper club.The drinks are what make me give it three stars instead of four.  They are overpriced and mediocre.  I should state that much of this criticism is due to the poor quality of their caipiroskas.  It is not a hugely popular drink, but it is on their drink menu, and they are a latin themed restaurant, so they should get it right!  There was a time years ago, when depending on the bar tender, I'd get a proper caipiroska, but it has been ages since I've gotten one.  They put sprite or some other bubbly soda in them, which is NOT good.  They taste very watered down, and are expensive.  If you want a quality caipiroska, go to Piola 2-3 blocks down the hill.

by Norman L.

Ugh!  Terrible food and rude service.  Wouldn't go back if you paid me.

by Victoria S.

Disclaimer: This may be offensive to some but it's true. Guarapo is not an all-American type of scene - shocker! I am half Asian and I felt out of place...but when did this place become the new Ozio. Ugh. I just hate that this place is to trying to be Lima. It's a Persian palace/Arab haven. Well at least what I saw from last night. My husband was a minority being non-arab caucasion. OK. I said it - now let me just say that's not why I gave it only 2 stars. I give this place only two stars because regardless of the ethic mix of the crowd this place is another cookie-cutter "club" type restaurant that plays House techno too loud and has the lights too dim. The hookah thing is just gimmicky now...so over it. You have to yell to have a conversation and you must stare at everyone because you can't tell who it is until you are a foot away from them. It's not my scene clearly. The drinks are too pricey and it just wasn't a good place to socialize. I guess if you just want to go somewhere in ARL to dance and spend a lot of money on drinks, you've found your place.

by Gayngry ..

I'd rather be punched in the throat than go to this place again.  The douchebaggery is off the chart.

by Steven h.

Food is great, plenty of coctails, excellent entertainment!  i highly reccommend.

by Michelle L.B T.Maya C.Farzan K.Brendan F.

Guarapo needs to make up its mind. Are you a club or restaurant? If you're a club, put a stop time on when people can order food (take note from Paper Moon), clear some tables and allow for a dance floor. If you're a restaurant, then get an ipod out in lieu of a DJ so people know not to crowd the floor and hold up service. I'm a big fan of some of the Latin Concept restaurants and while this place didn't rock my socks off, it certainly didn't suck, either. Unlike other Yelpers, I actually enjoyed my Dragon Mojito but felt $9 a piece was a bit over priced ($7.50 would have been fair). I'm usually a fan of Mint hookah but I think they totally rip you off with the amount of flavored tobacco they give you. Points lost for their hookahs. With a large group, I usually go through at least 1.5 charcoal pieces. Here, we didn't even go through one. As for the music, the downstairs DJ was really great. He mixed flawlessly and kept the theme of his music the same but was able to mix up the beats so it wasn't boring. The volume also wasn't over powering. However, the upstairs DJ really sucked. How this guy made it into the club scene is beyond me. His tracks were bad and his mixes were off. I can mix better than this fool. In fact, he was the reason why I left the club completely. My spicy chicken sandwich from Wendys had more flavor than this guy. The set up of the upstairs is just as confusing as the downstairs with an abundance of tables but a larger dance floor. I've never seen a club so dark before, either. Furthermore, they only had Corona in bottles. I need bottles when I dance or you'll end up spilling it on yourself and/or others. Egh. The pros of this place were, as I said, the Dragon Mojitos. Throw that in with what I thought was excellent and speedy service and you get an average experience. I'd really like to see Guarpo get their stuff together and figure out a better layout for patrons to better enjoy themselves. That, and stop being so stingy on the hookah!!The drinks were ridiculously weak.  My tolerance is absurdly low - the room typically starts spinning and I say random things after just two or so beers...but I felt nothing after one mojito and a capriana?... The music was not what we expected either - someone said salsa but maybe that was only Fridays... after leaving the hookah and our table, we did a lot of...go upstairs, go downstairs, go upstairs, go downstairs... it wasnt really working either way.Luckily, I came with some great people who I could have fun with just about anywhere.  I regret not staying around for the transition to Galaxy Hut...but I had enough of this Guarapo place.I have no idea what was the hype about this place. Heard of it for a couple of years and last Saturday had the opportunity to go for the first time with my Yelper friends. Came in and saw most tables packed. After spotting some of our friends at the bar we decided to get a table. The host was nice enough to accommodate us in the far corner near the window. I cannot say much for the drinks as I was not drinking...I ordered juice...$4 each glass a bit pricey for juice and ice..... Then I ordered the 3 empanada sampler chicken, beef and spinach with cheese. The order came the three minute empanadas were flaky and very greasy to the touch. I was hungry so I ate the beef...the chicken needed more flavor and the spinach....yuck was a gooey green mess!... We decided to move our group upstairs thinking that the dancing was going to be awesome...unfortunately the music sucked...even I tried to make some moves that did not go with the music! The floor near the bar was wet... not great for Lame dancing even! Temperature in the room was extremely hot. We decided to come back downstairs...the music was better but absolutely no room whatsoever. The poor fans were not enough...after dehydrating we left early by 1:15am with the sour feeling that definitely not a place expecting latin music, salsa moves or even smiles of approval that everyone was having a good time....a disappointment!Watered Down Mojitos.  If I wanted flavored water I would have gone to Safeway.  Not talking about the generic crap either.  I could have bought me a six pack of NAME BRAND flavored water for 2.99.  Shit, I even have a Safeway bonus card- I could have gotten a 2/$5 special!  Why in Allah's name would I pay $9 dollars for a 6 oz. glass of flavored water at Guarapo?!And if I wanted 1997 trance music, guess what? That's right, I would have stepped into my time machine and gone to a trance club back in '97.  Hell, while I'm back there 'chillin like a villain in '97' I would have found a Safeway, used my Safeway bonus card, AND got 1997 prices on top of it all! AND if I wanted to throw away $20 just to smoke hookah, I would have gone to visit my uncle, Abu-Hassan-Mustafa-Jihad-Durka-Durka-Face, in Iran, and smoked Hookah there for free.  With the $20 I saved doing that I would have gone back to 1997 in my time machine, run into a Safeway, used my motherfucking Safeway bonus card, and got $20 dollars worth of flavored water! Mind Explosion.But no, I winded up staying at Guarapo and spent about 9 dollars for each mojito I drank.  Not to say that they tasted bad at all, just way to weak.  There's two floors to Guarapo, a restaurant bar downstairs which was playing some fantastic international music, and a dance club upstairs which was playing some rather shot old school trance.  Word to the upstairs DJ: If the girls ain't dancing then nobody's dancing.  And if nobody's dancing then my review will be 2 stars. And if you're getting a 2 star review from me, then I'm going to be making up weird stories about time machines and Safeway bonus cards.  I don't even like Soviet Safeway, but you're making me go back in time to buy flavored water there. Thanks asshole!3.5 stars. Here I fucking go with the half stars again....Gimme some low lighting, funky lamps, 'ouse musak, cold beer and flavored hookah and I'll be alright. This place has all that shite and the service is great. Well, it's good. I have to remind myself that great service is more than just not sucking. And their service definitely doesn't suck. I think I really like the layout of this joint. It's deceptively big inside and they don't cram everyone around a bunch of round tables like I've seen at other hookah bars. They keep the feel of a lounge but you're smoking fucking hookah. Tiiiight.

by Bassey E.

I present my review in the form a haiku:Hookahs and douches oh myWhy no songs with words?I hate you so much.*********************Huge space but they ruin every inch of it trying to be something bigger than what it really is.  This is Arlington!  You're located nextdoor to the Post Office!  Stop being so pretentious, please.  I've been here a few times and each trip I hate it a little more.  Trash from every corner of the earth throw on their $500 pre-ripped Diesel jeans, then skip on over for a Night of the Roxbury type evening.  Be careful going with large groups--my first time there they charged my card with other peoples drinks--i took forever to fix but i refused to leave till they addressed it.  While smoking hookah can be fun, it looses it's charm in this venue where men inhale while starring at you with squinted eyes, as if to say, "oh yeah, you know you want this."  They give the plastic hookah covers which is thoughtful but it ruins the decadence--like watching an porno orgy with condoms.  The table service is slow (the lady waitresses appear to tend to the men first), but the drinks are solid.  Really, this place is a meh.

by Brendan F.

3.5 stars. Here I fucking go with the half stars again....Gimme some low lighting, funky lamps, 'ouse musak, cold beer and flavored hookah and I'll be alright. This place has all that shite and the service is great. Well, it's good. I have to remind myself that great service is more than just not sucking. And their service definitely doesn't suck. I think I really like the layout of this joint. It's deceptively big inside and they don't cram everyone around a bunch of round tables like I've seen at other hookah bars. They keep the feel of a lounge but you're smoking fucking hookah. Tiiiight.