Francisco’s Centro Vasco
“It's always nice walking into a place to see huge lobster shells hanging off the ceiling.”
“They specialize in large lobsters and my party ordered two 7 pounders one steamed and one broiled.”
“They are an old school no frills Spanish restaurant that serves some of the best lobsters for the dollar in NYC.”
Francisco’s Centro Vasco
Takes Reservations: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Has TV: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$$$ Price range $31-60
8 reviews
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Haven't been here in a dog's age and not sure I would go back again so soon.
Service is prompt and friendly but they don't bring you a bowl for your lobster shells we had to create our own, they did clear the shells eventually though.
Dirty martini wasn't very dirty and vodka was rough. Red sangria was good though. Bread and salad are good too but just average.
Arroz con pollo is good and inexpensive at $13.95 but el quijote is better.
Lobster meat in red sauce: no flavor to lobster and cheap thin red sauce.
3 pound lobster at $61.95 was quite pricey.
It was a quick dinner with no coffee or dessert so I can't comment on those.
We heard that el quijote was sold but we
Would try them again before coming back here.
Where else in New York can you get a giant lobster – reasonably priced and perfectly cooked but Centro Vasco?
Consistent from one meal to the next I've never been able to find another restaurant that's quite like this.
My friends have an annual Lobsterfest party here and to a man, all those that attend say that this party is at the top of the social calendar.
I was a bit reluctant to think that this would end up to be such an amazing diner considering seafood is not usually the first thing that pops into my mind when hungry. came here for a friends birthday and not only was I super impressed with the food and service, but I now want to take my lobster-loving-mother here when she comes visit.
I don't know what the lobster in Maine tastes like, but the menu says all lobsters come from there, if that is the case, I don't need to travel to Maine to get them in NYC. the menu offers more than just lobster, but why come here if lobster is not what you are looking for?!
They serve plenty of bread and salad for the table which is not charged, and the plates are plentiful indeed. You can choose through many items on the menu, or just mention you want a 7 pound lobster broiled with liquid butter on the side why don't you! Yes, if you are lucky, 7 won't be the biggest size that night!
I particularly don't need 7 pounds, instead, I was more subtle, haha, and by that I mean, I are about half of the bread brought to the table, and the lobster soup, and the salad, and asked for Francisco's Favorite dish to share with my bf. Francisco's favorite can easily become any cheese lovers favorite, as it has a lobster full of crab meat and broiled Swiss cheese on top!! Who knew?! Haha
Also, I'm a margarita lover, and I have come to notice that frozen margies are not always top quality… Well, Two of the ones here can give a guy quite the swirling you know what I mean!! Definitely a must have when you come… Cause you must come here after reading this review!
I will say, stay away from the flan… It was a bit bland to be honest… But then again, why would you even leave any space for flan?!?!
This is a great place to come with a big group and hungry! Don't let the slightly outdated decor which include dried out huge lobster claws hanging from the ceiling out you down, the food is totally worth it! They do close at 11pm, so come for dinner, don't plan on making this after drinks in a night out type thing.
As always, I will rank this place based on my "date-plan-o-meter"…. this is something I recommend as a third date, but only because of the decor, otherwise, this would hit second date… Only because, who wants to get fingers down and dirty in lobster shells on a first date?! Not in those freshly done salon nails honey!! 🙂
I could easily see this place becoming a consistent place to come to for me!
This place had been on my list for a long time, and I was really disappointed considering the hype and recommendations. This is one of those moment when a half star on yelp would be good so I could give it 2.5 stars. It isn't a 3 star place, but 2 stars is too low.
In general, everything we had was just bland. We started with some raw clams and oysters… both tasted as though they have been throughly rinsed off in tap water. Zero saltiness or brininess that you expect with raw oysters or clams. Just not good.
We split a 2.5 pound lobster and an order of the paella. The paella, which had a decent portion of seafood in it, again, tasted completely unseasoned and bland. The scallops had zero flavor and were probably washed and soaked in that same tap water as the oysters. The lobster was ok, but same as the others, lacked that ocean flavor… like it was boiled in fresh water and not salt water.
While there are not a lot of great lobster places in the city, I had hoped this would have been it, but sadly, it was just overhyped and under flavored and bland.
Ya gotta love a place that still gives you a bib. I happened upon this place because my Sunday afternoon Central Park picnic date suggested it. Now I'm all about those
warm fuzzy Sunday night dinner spots and this place is all it. We strolled in at 630 and were seated at a 4 top right away….points for that. The decor is nothing to notice or remember. I love the fact that all the waiters wear formal attire in a diner type setting. Our waiter was not engaging and actually was not great at all but whatevs. We wanted to order a bottle of wine and their selection is severely limited. Give me the Rueda…what? The Rueda, huh?. The first one please. After that was settled I ordered the lobster bits in green sauce and my date the 2lb'er. I think all the entrees come with a salad bowl and bread. The salad is your standard issue iceberg but the bread is good with surprisingly great butter. I chose the baked potato,meh, no good accompaniments, my date the fried potatoes which were kinda like potato chips. Would I return? I definitely think my go to spot in china town is better for lobster but I'm sure this experience will always hold a special place in my heart.
The service can be hit or miss depending on your waiter. But the food here is definitely worth coming back to. I throughly enjoy their paella. The ambience of the place is soso.
When mom wanted to take me to lunch, my only request was a sit down lunch with some sangria. She brought me to Francisco's and shared an embarassing story about a girls night out here that involved sangria and the giggles.
At first glance, you can miss this place while passing by. The sign on the door "Yes! We are OPEN!" might mean that people take the bars as a sign of closure. But walk in and be transported back to a now frumpy seafood place that looked like it was the place to be in the 80's. The cheesy decor of giant lobster claws hanging from the ceiling with dark walls, dilopidated floors, and antiquated seating didn't deter me one bit. The lingering odor of seafood was in the air but it wasn't the smell of fresh seafood, more like the smell of your hands after breaking a lobster apart with your barehands. Not totally pleasant but not offensive.
There were a few tables occupied with elderly folk. Clearly, these must be regulars.
We observed the seafood heavy menu and decided, based on the looks of the dishes being had around us, that our best bet was to split an entree and enjoy an appetizer.
The lobster bisque was calling my name and you cant really go wrong with paella (correction: paella can go very wrong- but it felt like a safe choice).
They presented us with a huge bowl of salad complete with homemade dressing, warm italian bread and pats of butter. We chomped on our fresh green salad when these huge bowls of soup appeared before us. At least 2.5 cups of soup. At $10 per order, the lobster bisque is hefty. The orange colored soup was creamy and at first bite, its insanely buttery. A buttery safron broth with succulent bites of lobster. After the initial shock of the richness in the soup, we pressed on. It was quite delicious.
The real win here was massive pot of lobster paella that appeared in front of us. Stunned by its size, we are convinced that it is meant to be shared. Perfectly cooked mussels and clams, Huge scallops cooked to perfection, loads of shrimp, a decent lobster tai and claw with perfectly cooked safron rice. We ate 2/3s of the paella. It was fantastic.
We washed it down with half a pitcher of red sangria.
The damage for half pitcher of sangria, 2 lobster bisques, and a huge paella was $60. Not bad if you consider our complimentary salad, and full bellies on the way out.
Judging this place by its looks alone would be doing yourself a disservice. For the manhattan area, this place has great prices and hefty portions.
Lesson learned: Never doubt mom.
Went here one night with my brother and cousin. I've never heard of this place but I'm a lobster lover so I had to give it a try. Great prices on the lobster and the lobsters were amazing! Will be back soon