First time visiting Leon, which recently opened, and we decided to check it out for a girls' night! The setup hasn't changed much from what was previously there, but the atmosphere was lively and busy, with big reservation parties filling the space. Our waiter was fantastic--very attentive--and there was always someone refilling waters, which we appreciated. When we arrived, we were given a little bowl of Esquite, which was absolutely delicious. The cocktails and mocktails were great, and for my main, I ordered the 5-hour Braised Pork Shank. It was so flavorful and delicious, served with beans and 2 corn tortillas. However, 2 tortillas weren't quite enough for the meal, so I asked for 2 more. What they didn't mention was that extra tortillas would cost $3, which we only found out when the bill arrived. Just a heads-up to ask about extra charges beforehand! The apps were beautifully presented, well-seasoned, and tasty. My friends enjoyed the flavor of their dishes but mentioned that the meat and salmon was more well-done than they'd asked for. And the desserts? To die for! A sweet ending to a fun night. Overall, a solid spot to visit, but be mindful of the small details! If there was half of stars I'd give 4.5 . My meal was very excellent. read more

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I attended a presentation here last night and it is not a restaurant that is set up for it. We were sent to the bar area and after sitting in a booth were told we all had to move to be able to see the tv. The salad was okay and we were given 3 choices for the entree. I chose the chicken and rice. I was very disappointed with my meal as there were only 4 inch-square pieces of chicken on my plate and the same on my friend's plate. This was a restaurant I hadn't been to and was excited to try. I hope this is not the portion size that they charge $20+ for. It was maybe worth the $5.25 is cost to park. read more

León which was previously called Birdie Lounge, and before that, was Flora for many, many years. The sign outside said "come on up." After reaching the top step, you are greeted by a mural by Ben Keller. He has created several artworks around Connecticut. The setting is very intimate and upscale. Of course, they are labeling it as an elevated Mexican cuisine. Aesthetically it fits the part. The little details are beautiful! The menu has an abundant set of options as well. I was a little sad they didn't carry Riesling. I was offered Sancerre in its place in a beautiful glass. I tried the crab croquettes where the breading was crunchy, though left an after taste I can't quite catch. The crab itself tastes perfect. I got myself Medio Pollo and I cant forget the buttery flavor and was complimented well by the cilantro-corn jasmine rice. It must've been broth versus water when making this rice. I love it!! Need I say more? Congratulations in opening!! read more

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The margaritas and a lemonade were tasty. Three of us shared flavorful guacamole as well as the quatro leche cake. My beet salad with shrimp was delicious. My friends had tacos and veggie fajitas they enjoyed. We really liked our cheerful and helpful server Alicia. The ambiance is very nice with many booths as well as other seating possibilities. Our only frustration was not enough chips with the guacamole (more were brought when we asked)--likewise only two small tortillas served with the fajitas. read more

This review is only based on the takeout. I've never eaten at the restaurant, which looks like a nice space to take in a meal or drink. Everything was packed neatly in plastic containers. The salmon I got was cooked pretty well, but the accompanying sauce was bland and the bed of peppers overwhelmed all flavors. The small bits of corn I found were pretty good, but again, the peppers were just too much. The braised pork shank was seasoned well and cooked until the meat was very tender. Unfortunately, it was too salty for my taste. The same goes for the charro beans and rice: not bad, but too salty. Considering how pricey the dishes were, I expected a better balance of ingredients. read more

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Food was amazing and artisan, I will be coming back, you get service with a smile and the price is very reasonable

I celebrated my birthday at Leon and 24 people joined me. The chef, Ulises, prepared a buffet ​​ They gave me the bar area that worked wonderfully for the gathering. The food was delicious and drinks from the bar were good too. Friends and family loved the place, food, and service. Ulises and rest of the staff were excellent. I'm grateful for them contributing to make this a special birthday...Thank you !! read more

We ate at Léon and were blown away by the fabulous food and cozy ambiance. The dishes are creative, delicious and artfully presented - fabulous cocktails too! And we had great service. Now that we've fallen in love with it, I'm worried it'll close because it's not getting much traffic, so please give it a try. I promise you'll forget that you're across the street from Whole Foods and will be as surprised as we were. read more

Leon Restaurant & Bar - Mexican Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

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The ambience was so nice dim lit restaurant very big in space different areas where you can sit service was OK. I didn't like my first drink. I never send things back, but I really could not drink it. It tasted like medicine so I mustered up the courage and asked for a different drink And the waiter took it back and didn't charge me which was good. My food was excellent. I love Branzino and it's always hard to find. read more

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We were early for our reservation, but were seated immediately. The restaurant was probably half full. Spanish music was playing, it was very nice. We tried a taco Al pastor, a steak taco, a shrimp taco, a chicken tamale and the Mexican street corn. There is no doubt everything was fresh. The corn had a tiny bit of husk and silk in it, and the pineapple in the taco was not canned. It was all delicious! read more

Excellent place!!! Service was right on point even though a bit slow. I suspect that's because they were cooking everything fresh. Food was absolutely amazing! We will definitely this place and return! read more

This is one of my favorite mexican restaurant! We Guacamole was so delicious, I ordered plato de maricos were outstanding the seafood taste very fresh and the sauce came with so flavorful and service is on point and personal and also nice decorations, highly recommend it read more

Leon Restaurant & Bar - Mexican Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

This place was really disappointing. I was excited because I've been wanting to try this place out and my husband surprised me with a reservation. I had seen them on social media advertised as "elegant" and it was FAR from it. We were seated at the high tops, and they were very busy because they didn't even have available menus for us. It took a while for a server to come to us which was the trend for the rest of the night. Drinks and food took forever to come. Service was awful super slow, and I even saw the server on his phone chatting with his friends rather than checking on his tables. And both tables next to ours had a similar experience. The food was fine but nothing to rave about. I ordered the vegan fajitas with lettuce wraps. The "lettuce wraps" were tiny peces of lettuce I could only fit a few beans in. and on the menu it was under the Vegan options but the beans had huge pieces of bacon in the them!! thankfully I'm not vegan and just wanted a veggie option but that was very surprising. And on top of that they had false advertising. On their socials and website it said one thing but when I asked the server he brushed me off and was adamant I was wrong. At that point I was over it and just wanted to leave. And of course it took over 15 minutes just for us to get our check. Definitely won't be coming back. Their staff is not properly prepared for a busy service night and need to be better. Won't be coming back. read more

Leon Restaurant & Bar - Fajitas (Vegan) - Mexican Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

It was our first time dining at Leon. We booked a 6:45pm reservation and were promptly seated. After a few minutes, we ordered our cocktails. Cocktail menu had some interesting choices but I surprised there were not many margaritas since it was a Mexican restaurant. Our drinks came out and they looked really fancy. We started with the crab croquettes and guacamole with 3 tortillas. We were surprised we only got 3 tortillas with so much guacamole. After asking for more chips, I think they charged us extra. The fried crab balls weren't that great but the sauce was yummy. For entrees, I ordered the salmon w/eggplant and corn. I enjoyed it and it was probably the prettiest dish at the table. The 2 guys got tacos (Baja fish and buffalo cauliflower). They both said it was just ok. My other friend ordered the chile relleno. It was not that much food but it did come with a side of rice. Several different servers cleared our plates immediately after each of us finished and put the dessert menu down. We ordered the Quattro leches cake to share which was enormous but just ok tasting. The server dropped our bill while we had our dessert and kept coming back and then waited for us to put our credit cards in the folder. Keep in mind we had only been at the table for roughly one hour and then the manager came over to tell us to move to the bar. That should not happen at a nice restaurant. We were rushed through the whole service and then kicked out because they wanted to seat a large party where our table was. The restaurant needs to better manage reservations or could have comp'ed us drinks for our inconvenience. The prices were also steep for what we got so we will not be coming back. read more

The food is very varied, the Peruvian ceviche is excellent, the team is very friendly and attentive and the atmosphere is very pleasant and peaceful. read more

Leon Restaurant & Bar - Peruvian Ceviche !!!.. - Mexican Near Me - West Hartford, Connecticut

The food is fantastic, fresh and wonderful flavors. The guacamole is fresh made and delicious, drinks imaginative and interesting. Service was excellent. I highly recommend Leon. read more

We had an amazing meal tonight at Leon! We ordered the guacamole to start which was so fresh and flavorful. For entrees we had the 5 hour pork fish, the ceviche, and tacos. Every dish was so tasty and beautifully presented. We ended with the chef's tres leches cake and specialty cookie. We couldn't get enough! Our server was also attentive and fun. read more

This place is not talked about enough. The food was excellent. The artichoke was delicious and where else can you get a stuffed artichoke? Guacamole was fresh and flavorful. Chicharron was an bit fatty but good flavor. Entrees were very good also. The lychee martini was wonderful and served so nice and cold. Our server was lovely and attentive. First but not the last visit to Leon. read more

Good tacos and a GREAT artichoke appetizer. It was a week night so we enjoyed prompt & attentive service. Hesitate to go on a weekend but am going to try it anyway read more

my boyfriend & I ordered the birria tacos & lomo saltado. both items lacked flavor & seasoning. drinks were decent. will not be returning.

Everything needs to be better. Service was good. Decor and ambience was weird. Music was from 70s and 80s albums...really weird. Why not Mexican music for a Mexican restaurant? Guacamole was great. Pork shank was undercooked, salty and so chewy. Gross. read more

The food was fantastic. Great atmosphere and the service was top notch. Drinks were amazing!

We went without reservations as soon as they opened at 3pm on a Friday. They have a really good happy hour, the ambiance is amazing! Very cozy, they have a super welcoming area by the fire place that feels home! They did a really good job switching the place up. Greg the mixologist was a complete sweetheart! We had mocktails that he made off the menu just by asking us what flavors we were going for. The croquetas de cangrejo (crab croquettes) were delish, very crispy with a well balanced agave chipotle aioli served over a fresh salad with cilantro and jalapenos (highly recommend), we also ordered guacamole that came with 3 big tostadas. Our entree was the Betabel salad with chicken and that was also good. To end we ordered a torta de zanahoria (carrot cake) and that was the only thing I wasn't happy about! Super sweet, kind of dry and very cold (don't get it). At the end of our meal the place was packed! I will definitely be coming back for dinner and drinks next time. Worth the visit! read more

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Last night I dined in your restaurant. As per my credit card receipts, my server's name was Neilely F. At the beginning she addressed to both myself and my companion. Later she totally ignored me. No eye contact or communicating with me. As if I did not exists. Funny, she brought the check to my companion while I am the one paying. Wrong assumption. May I suggest this attitude be corrected. It is very disrespectful. Thanks for looking into it. Food was delicious, though limited choices for my taste. About service, see above. Great ambiance. Beautifully decorated. Comfortable. Web site needs some work. You can't make reservations using the suggested medium. Only pictures posted but no menu. read more

No business that takes up in this location ever lasts long, and based on my dining experience, not so sure this place will have longevity either. Service was extremely slow, ambiance is mediocre and basic. The drinks all tasted weird, like the ice was dirty. A classic margarita just simply tasted off. We ordered the queso dip, the portion was tiny and they give you an even smaller portion of tortillas for dipping and then charge you if you ask for more. Tuna tostada was overly acidic. The baja fish tacos were fine, nothing to complain about there, but I've had better. The buffalo shrimp looked really good but we ordered them and never got them. Absolutely won't be returning. read more

Love this place! The food is spectacular! The atmosphere is cool and comfortable. It was great to sit up high above Blue Back Square and enjoy the people-watching below. And the service was perfect! Really loved the queso fundido, the birria tacos, the ceviche. And the cocktails were out of this world. It also seemed like the prices were a bit better than its competitors around town. This is a wonderful place for Mexican/Peruvian food. We will be back! read more

Food was good. Service was very poor. We had a 7:30 reservation, which we were on time for but had to wait an additional 15 minutes to get seated because the restaurant was 'too busy' Service was slow. After placing our food order, we had to wait over an hour for food, and then everyone's plates didn't even come at the same time. Kitchen was very backed up and seemed like they had no idea what they were doing. Table next to us was a large party celebrating a birthday and they were waiting longer than us for food. Overall bad experience, wouldn't recommend. read more

Excellent food! Tasty and very fresh ingredients. We will definitely be going back. The cappuccino was also one of the best I've had.

Amazing vibe! I stumbled across this gem on accident and i'm not mad at it! As soon as you walk up the stairs you are greeted by a nice young lady who later walks you to your table. May i say it's really hard to find people that care so much about a costumer feeling comfortable. She asked if i had a table preference and later continued to make conversation with me and it made me feel so invited and welcomed. Service: I was taken care of a young man who was very attentive and positive minded. I asked him for his favorite thing on the menu and he didn't hesitate to state it! Awesome job! Food: O.M.G the chef is amazing ! Everything was so good! Perfectly cooked. No complaints. The food was exceptional ! Overall I had the best time there! I will definitely be recommending this place to family and friends. The vibe was nice and the atmosphere was so warm and inviting! read more

If you want authentic Mexican and Peruvian food have go to go to Leon! The guacamole is the best I have ever had! The chicken and beef tacos were amazing. The Esquites were my favorite! The corn is shucked straight off the husk and so fresh! The owner Ulises is great! He is so welcoming and personable! I can't wait to go back! read more

Ok but not great. Very small servings. Great margarita, though! Close to where we were staying, would not go back.

Great find in Blue Back Square! Modern twist on Mexican food and unique ambiance. Ordered the sirloin and my table mates ordered tacos. Everything was perfectly prepared and the service was top notch. Highly recommend! read more

I wish we had tried Leon earlier. Had an excellent meal and very interesting and tasty cocktails. The space is warm and upscale, but not stuffy. We had a delicious tostada tuna tartar appetizer, chile relleno and media pollo with a delicious mole sauce. Service was good. Prices aren't cheap but not crazy either. 100% satisfied. read more