Sabor Latin Bistro: opening in Hawthorne!

Edit (7/10/2006):  They're open!  Initial impression can be found here.

Sabor is a quite decent, smallish, latin bistro in Edgewater.  We've only been there once, but that was enough to know that their second outpost will be a very welcome addition to Hawthorne.  Yes, in case you hadn't heard, Sabor will be opening a restaurant in Hawthorne where the not-very-good Oakville used to live.

Oakville Grill died a slow (and I might argue well-deserved) death a few months ago, and no one seemed to notice.  Oakville did have a big bar, though.  So we were kinda bummed to pull into Oakville's parking lot (for dinner, actually), and see that they had closed.  But then we were happy to see the sign with Sabor's distinctive logo (that you see above, which I stole from their website.  shhhh) on the door next to the words "coming soon."  It's as if they wrote the sign just for me.

In case your'e keeping score:

Oakville:  not-so-good.  Sabor:  fun, colorful, mojitos, pork.  Yeah, my kind of place. 

This space is much bigger than their Edgewater space, and has lots o' parking.  Given its size and location, I'm guessing we'll be seeing a lively bar scene blossoming at Sabor.  I just hope they can staff the front of house with some good, fun, pleasant people.  If they can manage that, and some decent drinks, and some decent and lively music in the bar area, I think we'll have a real winner.   However, I can easily see it sliding into the Blend (Ridgewood's extremely out-of-place meat-market 8 billion square foot club) side of the spectrum, where it becomes a meat-market catering to way-outta-towners looking for a party.  Eh, it doesn't matter, because I'll be done with my drinks and dinner by 9 pm anyway.

I've been talking with the folks at Sabor and I'm told (over and over) that it will be about 4 weeks from "now" (with the most recent "now" being 5/22).  They're still staffing up and finishing up some of the decorating and interior work.  I just hope they don't rush it with mediocre staff.  It only takes one crappy bartender to put me off a place forever.  Hopefully they're smarter than that.

You are assured that I'll be the first to know when they open, so check back. 

See you there.  Several times.

Sabor's website : 1060 Goffle Road (right off of 208) : Hawthorne, NJ

Image courtesy of Sabor's website

Comments

[Jassman]

I don't know how you can say that about the Oakville. Not only have I never had a bad entree there, but they are very generous portions and a great balance. I will welcome Sabor with open arms but was definitely disappointed to see the Oakville go.... R.I.P.

[tommyeats]

Jassman, what can I tell ya. The place just didn't do it for me. But, you can always go to Pacific Grill and Bacari Grill, which are very similar to Oakville to my mind, if you're looking for that vibe.

I can appreciate that lots of people liked Oakville. And it really was good to have a place like that around. But I'm definitely more excited for the latin twist of Sabor, especially considering there aren't any upscale latin restaurants in that area.

Cheers.

[Robyn]

I've driven by Sabor ... a gazillion times. Never thought about eating there though. Can't wait to see your review!

I remember the first time I walked by Blend and thinking, "Wow, this so does not fit in." I had no idea it was so large inside.

[tommyeats]

Robyn, i've been driving by the place for years as well and always figured it was a flash in the pan kinda place. Finally stopped in a few months ago and we were very pleased (and surprised). Went back about 2 weeks ago and had a very enjoyable meal and some great conversation with an excellent bartender that will apparently be moving up to the Hawthorne location.

I get the impression they're going for that "lounge" feeling in Hawthorne, with couches and bands and what you might find in the back room at Blend. But as I say, that'll all be happening way past my bedtime, so it won't matter to me much. As long as they got some slow-cooked pork product and some fun drinks I'll be happy.

[David P]

Sabor is in my opinion at best a restaurant that offers very good food with a very poorly organized staff and music that is overly loud. The music is to the point that you must speak loudly over it so that your dining companions can hear your conversation. I realize that they are going for the Latin club feel but it is a small restaurant in New Jersey not a Latin New York disco. When Patrons at their tables must yell to carry a conversation I would think the staff would realize maybe they were a little overzealous with the volume. I love loud music but not when I am eating and trying to carry on a conversation. The two drinks we ordered came separately from one another one 10 minutes after we ordered it and the other 5 minutes later. The "tapas" are very tasty however tapas are supposed to be a small taste of food at a modest price. Sabor considers 7-10 dollar appetizers (some can feed two) a tapas. Its not, that again is an appetizer. Service is at best clumsy and inattentive. We purchased sparkling water and while the bottle was on the table the busboy came by and filled our half emptied glasses with tap water TWICE! The entrees were great I got the fried snapper stuffed with seafood and it was big and incredibly good. dessert was also tasty. We were done 15 minutes before the waiter asked if we would like the check. I realize there is an appropriate amount of time to wait to offer a check but 15 minutes c'mon! I think what Sabor must do is decide whether they want to be a club or a restaurant the place is too small to be both. And decide to serve either huge dishes or tapas you can't do both and it be authentic. I never thought I would say this but the poor ambiance and inefficient staff out weighs the great food. I will try it when it has matured a little but if the service remains inattentive I will not waste my time going any longer. There are too many good eateries in this area to compromise with the merely adequate.

[JerseyRED]

We went to celebrate a birthday as we had done last year but at the North Bergen location.
From the tapas to entrees.. did not impress when compared to our experience in North Bergen. And the eservice was EXTREMELY slow, a man could die of thirst waiting for a cocktail.

[L]

Eh, I've given this place multiple tries since I love the one in NB. Though I haven't seen the attitude problems I will say I fin the food overly salty and not really that good. The 'tapas' which I thought meant small plates are huge! After we advised the waitress that we weren't so hungry she suggested we ordered 3-4 plates each. I ordered two plates and my dining partner three and there was so much left over. We could have shared the calamari salad and been full. The decor is nice and the place has potential, but if your food is sub-par you'll only last so long.

[tommy:eats]

restaurants that serve sub-par food last forever. it's the ones that challenge and push the envelope that fold, because people don't get it, and food costs and staffing costs are too high, among other reasons.

can't say i've been back to Sabor much, but really only because a few times that i went it was like "happy hour" or some such nonsense, and that's just not my scene.

the word "tapas" has been rendered useless at this point. restaurants use it because "appetizer" isn't fancy enough. tapas is a type of food, and it's generally associated with spanish cuisine. if you're not in a spanish restaurant, don't expect "tapas", but rather, expect appetizers.