El Curioso in Broxbourne

Nice staff and friendly atmosphere

We found this little jem a few months ago and have been regular visitors ever since. Amazing food and drinks and brilliant service.

Best Tapas, for us.ok service is slow, the reason, for that is, everything is cooked fresh, way worth the wait.

We have been regulars since we moved to the area and discovered this wonderful place. It is far and away the best restaurant in the area. Delicious food, washed down with great cocktails in a lovely atmosphere with super friendly staff. Try the stuffed mushrooms and mojitos followed by some fajitas. All the ingredients taste unbelievably fresh and wholesome. Very reasonable prices too.

celebrated a birthday. Food varied, hot and tasty. Staff very good and presented a cake we'd taken in.

We like this restaurant very much. We were there some time ago. We came back again this weekend and we were not disappointed :) Good food, nice service and good cocktails.

Very nice restaurant nice food and staff , the waitress was really kind and available. I LL return soon 😍

Been meaning to go for a while, got a bit discouraged when I realised there's no parking but there was plenty on the main road. I had a good mix of tapas and the Valencian paella none of which disappointed. The staff was friendly and attentive. Will be going back with friends.

Highly recommend. Lovely food, great service & great atmosphere

Fantastic birthday meal here. Chicken liver tapas to start followed by pescado. Absolutely delicious. Couldn’t fault the food, service or atmosphere. Well done to all involved!

Food was fantastic, very tasty. Service also very good.

Great food - and plenty of it-friendly staff and cosy atmosphere

Food was amazing ,service was great

How can you not love this place. Our local, our go to, the best tapas around!!!

The waitress/service was great and couldn't do enough for you. Food/Tapas was ok & the portions were very small in comparison with the price's. If the portions were bigger I would look forward to returning when in the area. Overall a nice experience but left still wanting more. 4 people came to £151.

Amazing food and amazing service, I can’t wait to go back. The tacos were unbelievable!!!

A really wholesome first time experiencing El Curioso this evening. The staff are as lovely as the dishes and that is evident with all time and effort put in. I’d highly recommend coming here for quality food along with the soothing atmosphere of the restaurant. Thankyou once again!

It was unfortunate a very quiet night we were the only people in the dining room. The staff were lovely attentive and friendly. Good food and people who tried very hard. We would/will be happy to have another meal/night there again

Excellent, very quiet on a Monday. Good food and service. Cosy venue

As always, delicious authentic tapas. Great atmosphere for catching up with old friends

We had about 8 dishes, if which we oreety much kicked the plates.... The food was devine. We were served by Bella who just had incecibke service skills, she was so ready to help, we really felt taken care of. . Unfortunately we had to move tables twice as we were first places near the kitchen entrance which was bright and noisy, we then were moved to a table in a quieter, more ambient place, but we were then drowned out by the very loud and upbeat piano playing. He played well but it was overbearing and we found it hard to focus on each other. Over all we would definitely go again based on the food and service, but we may go on a quieter day.

Lovely little gem of a place . Nice atmosphere. Nice staff . Good food . Parking and outside seating . Lovely place for just a drink or meal . Like the little places you find on holiday .

Amazing tapas loved the food and the service was great! Will definitely return!

Great delicious fresh food. The steak and the Paella are highly recommended.

Had a great meal yesterday here. Really tasty Tapas and good paella, will be back

I don’t normally write reviews but felt compelled to after my recent experience - After reading the reviews and some recommendations from friends (albeit a few years ago) I Booked for my wife’s birthday and to be honest I wished I hadn’t, although the staff were friendly, the food was awful, where to start. Chuletas De Cordero - for £19 was 6 cube of lamb that had the texture and taste of rubber. £13 for a chicken breast that dryer than the Sahara. £38 for 2 seafood paella’s that were all but inedible, the seafood was that I can only describe as “chewy” at best, majority of the mussels where closed and the dish had no flavour! A chicken burger that I had to send back as I asked for no mayo, which seem like they just wipe off and put back on the grill for a few extra minutes = dry AF Arroz Latino - which was just stingy beef swimming in oil with chilli and a side of rice. Hopefully this review does what I intend it to do and gives this place the kick up the backside so they can get back to the place the prior made it out to be!

The food was great and well priced, nice choice of cocktails as well. The service is a tricky one. The waitress we had was fantastic, and so polite. She waited on us hand and foot however the wait time for drinks etc was very long because she had been left to do everything on her own. It was a quiet evening and no one else was in there so maybe that's why, so I am not going to mark them down for it but one person doing 6 different cocktails while doing the other jobs was a bit of a stretch. Overall it is a great place. Friendly staff, including the owner who we met, fantastic food and decent tapas sizes. All the dishes were full of flavour.

Amazing food, really recommend the steak skewers and the paella. Atmosphere was great and staff were attentive and had some cracking cocktails.

Booked a table staff very helpful food was fantastic will be going back very soon. Best restaurant I’ve been to in a very long while.

Sheila is a fantastic host with at family personal touch. We have had many tapas but nothing compares to El Curuso and always highly recommend to others. Their specialty cocktails are amazing too!

You'll most likely pass this place thinking it's closed , but don't be fooled its a hidden gem! The entrance is at the side. It has some very interesting Cuban dishes. Must try the chicken that gets served in a pineapple!

I can't fault the food but the service leaves a lot to be desired. Drinks and cocktail menus need updating as the first 3 drinks we tried to order not available. Came to take our order but we hadn't been given any menus. Ordered paella but weren't given any spoons to serve it. Food came up and they didn't notice someone in our group didn't have a plate. Lastly credit card machine not working properly, embarrassing as this was a birthday treat but everyone on the table now knew how much the meal cost. It would have been nice if someone had apologised for any of the above but sadly didn't. Not impressed.

Fun place, good sangria but food was a bit bland for me...

The best tapas in area only waiting time is bit to long.

Second time here now but after waiting a long time between visits I'm sure we will now be back much sooner. The atmosphere is great and when you walk in, even though it's an old pub, the decor really does make you feel like you've stepped into Cuba. The Tapas menu isn't huge but there are many other items on the menu that I now want to come back and try, particularly the Paella which we saw being delivered to another table. We stuck to the Tapas this time and every dish was lovely, in particular the Jalapeños stuffed with feta (which aren't on the menu) ask nicely and you shall receive 😁 The portion sizes are good and the prices are fair for Tapas. There were plenty of staff who were all friendly and helpful, in particular our main waitress who I didn't get the name of but had an English accent and was quite young and was super friendly and welcoming. There were a couple of mistakes but they actually only enhanced our meal 😂 All in all a lovely meal and to top it off there was live music from a wonderful young pianist.

This is our second visit after a few years and we were not disappointed. The food and wine quality was still very good. I had the paella and my girlfriend the pineapple chicken, both of the dishes were excellent. Adding to this the friendly staff, this made our evening very enjoyable. This time we won't wait a few years before being back!

We arrived 15 mins early for a table booked at 9. First person who greeted us, was clearly bored. Food arrived, by way of the same unfriendly waitress who slammed a salad on the table, at 9.40. No apology or acknowledgment of the delay. Paella was bland and lacked flavour. Rest of the food was clearly microwaved. The only good part of the meal was the Kurros. This used to be a good local friendly restaurant. Such a shame it is no longer.

Really nice food, great service and the atmosphere or ambiance in the restaurant is great.

I'd struggle to suggest that this is an authentic Paella. The rice is more a risotto type than the Bomba rice typically used. There was no trace of Saffron which is essential in Paella. The chicken and chorizo chunks were just that, chunks of questionable quality thrown in after the rice had been cooked. The quantity was disappointing too. Prawns were also included but there was only 2, although they were of the king variety. Having been fortunate enough to eat real Spanish Paella on the beaches of Ibiza all my life, I can honestly say that this isn't even close. A real paella is cooked with passion, in a heavy pan over a wood fire with a cornucopia of ingredients thrown in whilst the rice is cooking. The flavours should inspire and confuse, with fresh fish and meat taking over from the succulent rice.Scraping the burnt bits at the bottom of the pan is a joy that few will experience. This feels like a commercial attempt to cash in on the popularity of Paella and sadly it has failed. What a shame. Almost £14 for a box of stodgy rice is an insult to the Spanish. There is a market for this, but only if it is done right.

Excellent food and a fantastic atmosphere with a live pianist

Wonderful meal, excellent service and great value

Extremely rude manager ....very bad attitude towards customers....surely it's all about customer needs but not at this restaurant....they are so proud of just being a pub for drinks only then why market themselves as a restaurant when they can't be bothered to serve food like a normal restaurant would .....what a shame the place has potential but the owners need to rethink their staff ....to have a rude manager to customers surely is only detrimental to the business in making losses !!!! .....

Ordered for delivery so limited menu but so delicious. Paella was beautiful patatas were my favourite so tasty. The tagliatelle and meatballs were also yum! Would definitely order again, but maybe next time go to the restaurant to order a wider selection

Awesome food, probably my favourite takeaway ever. Everything I've ever ordered has been amazing.

Bought the 3 paellas for £30 and it just managed to feed 4 adults, 2 teenagers and 2 kids. Hot, tasty and delicious. May need one each for some of us. yummy 😋

Amazing warm and friendly staff,giving a great atmosphere. Excellent well presented tasty food. Can't wait to revisit .....

Lovely paella, large portions. Definitely will be ordering again

One of our favourite restaurants now offering a takeaway menu for delivery during lockdown. Food was excellent, same restaurant quality we are used to at El Curioso, and delivered piping hot at the time specified. Can thoroughly recommend the Peri Peri Chicken dishes and the speciality Burgers. Excellent value for money and we will definitely be ordering again, thank you.

Food was nice, but the service was very slow. Our waitress was friendly but forgetful, but the manager made us feel like an inconvenience.

I so want to love this place. The food, and to be honest I always have tapas, is amazing. But. The service is hit and miss. Sometimes awful, sometimes ok and sometimes good. If this could be sorted this place could be top notch. Such a shame. Tonight we had to ask about 5 times for the house bread. And the Rioja was charged at a pound more than the advertised price. As I said, such a shame. Has so much potential.

Lovely food, very covid conscience at these times, nice evening.

The food was excellent...the service was very very slow.

Love this place!! Fantastic food and staff 😍

Food nice and staff friendly. Sat down at half 6 finished by half 8. Love the decor and atmosphere of the restaurant. Would go back again!

Absolutely brilliant food And generous portions. I will be ordering from here again! Delivery service was also really prompt!

Food is fantastic, great atmosphere friendly staff

had a lovely evening here just before Christmas , Xmas eve to be exact and the food was spot on and friendly service. Great value too ..going back soon

Very nice evening food good waiting staff very pleasant and helpful

I had the fried hallumi with vegetables and pan fried white fish with butter beans and chorizo and it was all absolutely delicious

Fine cuisine, friendly staff and a superb location. Piano music live and I just loved it

staff are lovely food is fantastic and very reasonable

The food was generally good. Service a little slow, though the waitress did her best. She was on her own. It is rather expensive for what it is. Tou pay £6.50 for 2 wings if you go for tapas.

Great food and service, very reasonably priced

Nice tasty tapas. Shame we had to order more dishes as they have a minimum order on weekends

Poor service , expensive drinks

Food was awful no taste and very bland won't be returning here in a hurry!!!

Food was lovely, however the table we sat on was dirty, looks like the waitress forgot to wipe it clean, and maybe we were waiting for the food a tad too long, plus when we ordered a burger the waitress asked my mum whether she wanted any sides with it, so my mum thought it doesn't come with anything so she took nachos, in the end the burger came with fries and nachos which she didnt even touch because she was full, which is a good point as the portions are big and tasty

Great food great staff. I would definitely recommend this place😁😁😁👍👍👍

Had you wait far to long for our food here ,we ended up eating 10 15 at night but they were fully booked and the young barman did keep saying sorry about the delay ,had to keep asking for some one to serve our drinks obviously understaffed poor guys . Won't be rushing back maybe once in a while visit . Food could of been just that little bit better for the price .

A lovely last min find! Thank you to our waitress food was fresh and will defanatly return soon :)

Lovely atmosphere and great tapas, well worth a visit.

Exceeded my expectations. Good service. Food came out on time. Tasty menu items. Only negative is the mojito which was just okay. I would still highly recommend a visit to anyone in the area. Tapas Galore

Lovely food and great atmosphere!!

Good food , good value for money excellent service

Love the pizza's and desserts here, been a few times and never disappointed, great atmosphere.

A unique set of dishes on offer. The staff are fantastic and look after you very well. The tapas portion sizes are better than other places. A foodie fav.

I've walked past this inconspicuous place for years, always threatening to try it and I finally did last week. Was a lovely lunch we had. Generous and tasty portions. Friendly service. Chilled out vibe and unusual decor. I thought it was excellent value for money too. Our bill came to £82 - 3 adults and 2 children. We had starters, mains and 4 alcoholic drinks were purchased. I will definitely be back.

Brilliant food and service. Definitely come back.

Love this little gem in Cheshunt. Service is friendly, and food has been excellent. The paella and the coconut ice cream are to die for!

I’d like to clarify that the staff were lovely and very polite and professional. The chef however needs to be sacked. The bruschetta is not bruschetta at all, but shop bought garlic bread heated in the oven. On the menu it said “roasted vegetable” which apparently to the chef means the world’s amount of lettuce absolutely drowned in some vinigary dressing with one slice of roasted courgette. This is not bruschetta. Our tapas were clearly frozen as they had no fried calamari but did have the “grilled” calamari which came out of the microwave bubbling hot and therefore very very over cooked and rubbery. The Chorizo had a very strange piece of white bread floating in the pool of meat juices, and by the end of the meal it looked absolutely disgusting. I don’t know how the chef thought that that looked good or even that someone could want to actually eat it. The final item, Spanish omelette cane or as two slices of potatoe cake tasting of nothing. Really disappointing. The only thing actually resembling the description on the menu was the potatas bravas, which was nice. At least the chef can cook potatoes. Again the staff were very gracious and professional but I think the business should invest in decent ingredients and ditch the easy cheap cheats.

What a great find in Cheshunt. If your ever driving by give it a go. Food is really good with a great atmosphere and staff very helpful with suggestions and menu.

Great food, super hospitality. Will definitely visit El Curioso again 👍

Nice place, kind staff, simple but good food for affordable prices.

Amazing find of a restaurant. Have driven past so many times and did not look appealing from the outside. The classic saying - dont judge a book by its cover! Good food, good people, will be returning 100%

Been there for the first time. Small and cosy place for family dinner. Great service and lovely atmosphere. My friend said his burger was nice and we liked our seafood paella and chicken Cajun. We think this can be our local pub and restaurant

Great atmosphere and amazing food. The Paella was absolutely spot on and had amazing flavour! Mondays and Wednesdays also offer a great 3 for £10 deal on Tapas.

Wonderful staff fantastic food a lovely atmosphere could not fault this establishment keep it up guys.

Been twice this week pizza today was amazing

People food service spot on a great place...third time I 've been here and still the same quality food and drink..