Samantha Lange

6/15/2024, 1:28:34 PM

Favorite new spot in the neighborhood! Super fun and vibey with incredible food. The staff is warm and friendly whether you’re at the bar grabbing a marg & soda or at a table with a spread of delicious food. Musts are the shrimp cocktail, watermelon Chamoy, fish sandwich and SIZzLinG FAjitAS! They also have a nice little outdoor area now that it’s nice out.

Anna Hyatt

12/10/2024, 2:16:45 PM

What an awesome find! The food was incredible, creative and fresh, and the vibe was comfy and cozy and the perfect place for a family-style meal to catch up with friends. The cocktails were unique and very drinkable, and the staff was happy to accommodate any questions requests we had. Portion sizes were amazing, perfect for sharing and everyone left the table full and happy. Can't wait to go back and see what the menu has, lots of seasonal changes and creative dishes to try.

Chloe Fields

7/28/2024, 12:02:51 AM

My fav regular spot in Ridgewood. Corner bar with immaculate bites and beverages- I’ve literally tasted everything from the menu and nothing fails. It’s clean. Music and atmosphere are great. Prices genuinely not bad for currently state of the economy/nyc. Area is calm and rat-free. Service is excellent. Always coming back for more…

August Moehrke

10/7/2024, 5:28:09 AM

Hellbender's flavor execution across the board is excellent. I recommend trying it as the food is very good. But portion sizes to price leaves much to be desired. If food items was $3 less, I (and I imagine many others) would be here all the time. But tacos half the size and double the price of those found in the neighborhood rich with tacos is hard to validate. The lamb chorizo is delicious. The crispy texture with bursts of fat inside were wanting of a second order as soon as we bit into them. The mushroom birria was a delightful take on a classic. The soup sauce for it was rich and added a nice depth to the mushroom base. The churro is tasty, I'm a gluten for fried bread, and this scratched that itch. Airy, chewy, and the right amount of crunch! The salted cream with this edition of the churro (which rotates flavors) was superb. The ambiance is nice and the cocktails were enjoyable and standard pricing for being a cocktail bar. I would not recommend this place for a full meal, but if tapa vibes and catching up over a cocktail is on the docket, Hellbenders is the perfect spot.

Elizabeth Lawrensen

5/6/2024, 5:36:25 PM

High volume on night one. Very difficult to order a drink or order food. There should be a way order food that doesnt compete with people ordering drinks. Beautiful space, great mood lighting and the renovation of the space where the kitchen is partitioned looks sleek. Ordered the lamb carnitas which came with 5 blue flour tortillas, pickled onions and red sauce. Very impressed with with the flavors, and based on first menu, food is appropriately priced. Great potential for dj nights and as a regular dance spot. More small ledges to set drinks on or eat from would help if all tables are full. Food ordering system will likely improve- great first impression. Booths are gorgeously designed. Need coat hooks and bag hooks. Perfect for shadow play, haha. There’s a really big taxidermy kitty! Edit: since posting on night one, drink prices have been lowered to match prices in the neighborhood more appropriately.

Joshua Fields

1/23/2025, 12:01:00 AM

Hellbender is a rising star in the Mexican food scene and blew me away with every dish they had. For starters, the fried cheese has an amazing crispy outer layer, the chips were perfectly baked and seasoned alongside a fresh quality guac, and the kampachi aguachile is unlike anything I’ve ever had before and pairs very well. Following with the tacos, the lamb was some of the best I’ve ever had; crispy seasoned outer layer with a good portion made this my favorite dish of the night. The fried shrimp taco was also very good and like everything else I mention here I would highly recommend. Now the mains, the al pastor ribs were my first and they were incredible! Nice chunks of meat and so much flavor made this so memorable. The NY Strip steak was simply a great dish and preparation. Lastly, the Churros were also some of the best I've ever had, this dish is prepared perfectly and I would get it every time.

heartsofcarnage

11/25/2024, 1:04:31 AM

Decided to treat myself to dinner and went to check out this place. Came in during a dinner rush and was seated right away. A nice dark atmosphere. I ordered the NY strip steak and I gotta say it was amazing. Cooked to perfection, melted in my mouth. Cooked like a real steak a perfect medium rare. So good on its own and didn't any sauce but it came with a delicious arbol chilli salsa. Great service with friendly staff. I can't wait to come back and try the lamb tacos amongst other things. I highly recommend a lovely dinner here

DANIEL CASTILLO

3/2/2024, 2:23:39 AM

Order From Bar Concept! Amazing spot place that brings life to the neighborhood. We ordered the Spicy Pineapple Margarita (favorite), henny colada and cocorac! For the food we tried the Lamba chicharrones, mushroom machete very delicious and the fish sandwich that you must try.

Eric Rosenfeld

5/7/2024, 1:35:18 AM

We had an awesome time at Hellbender. The cocktails were expertly made and innovative. Highly recommend all of the Freezer Cold drinks, as well as the Cactus Prime and the Henry Colada. We loved the dishes we ordered, everything was well executed and perfectly seasoned. We got the Guac and Chips, Fried Fish Sandwich, Shrimp Cocktail and especially loved the Mushroom Machete. Finished off dinner with Churros, which were hot and crispy on the outside, and light and fluffy inside. Can't wait to go back!

Jasmine B

10/22/2024, 2:50:52 PM

Spicy mezcal margarita on point ! Steak was properly cooked. Churros really really good. Staff was accommodating and friendly. Yes it is pricey for neighborhood.

Paulina Kubis

1/10/2025, 1:28:54 AM

The food was amazing and fresh!! The drinks delicious. Great atmosphere and very nice stuff. Definitely coming back!

Spirit Sahriel

8/15/2024, 3:23:58 PM

This is one of my favorite bars but last night I went for Rolos + Hellbender and I am little disappointed with my experience. The best thing of the night was the pork ribs which were excellent. It reminded me of their OG lamb confit which I hope they bring back. However the biggest disappointment were the ribeye tacos and corn ribs. They showed huge pieces of steak in their stories but when we got our $22 steak tacos (only 2) it was like eating a piece of sashimi on tortilla. The meat was so small it felt like a tease. Can’t believe it cost double the price and left me hungry. Now I’m seeing their social media and the tacos look bigger. 😡 why was I served a small portion. Next, the corn ribs were not pleasing aesthetically and neither was the taste for $17. I don’t mind paying for delicious well portioned food but $20 for corn and mayo is not the vibe. The churros were fantastic and I still give them 4 stars because I love this bar and had a great time last week. I just needed them to know how I felt about last night. The portions and flavor need to justify the prices on some of the smaller menu items. It was weird to be $160 in the hole and still desiring food. Updating my review to 5⭐️: I had the absolute pleasure of going back to Hellbender for night 2 of their Rolo’s collaboration and it was perfect. The Ribeye tacos were delicious as were the pork ribs again. We finished with a couple of margaritas and were stuffed after devouring the churros with flan (again). Chef Yara and the waitress Sarah were so fab. I look forward to going back!

David Makris

2/11/2025, 1:40:10 PM

Had a nice meal at Hellbender last weekend & here are the details. The margaritas are PROPER margaritas from a professional bartender and are worthy of an order. Chips and guac were above average but the very salad was totally delicious. Completely unique with some spice, I couldn’t recommend this enough. The lamb tacos were extremely tasty & the shrimp had a great crunch and were well seasoned as well. They are tiny, so if you’re splitting them as an app it’s fine, but as a main, order 3 and a side diff. Ribs al pastor were very tender and flavorful. Churros were excellent as well and an order is more than enough for 2 people. The staff is very friendly (Sara was very knowledgeable & hospitable) and had a welcoming, relaxed atmosphere, especially on a chilly Friday night. Hellbender is a great neighborhood restaurant that features nonbasic Mexican cuisine, so stop by if you get a chance!