Reviews & Ratings for El Malecon Restaurant

02/09/10

Cheap, delicious and filling Dominican food

by Evanismo , Citysearch Contributor

After having lived in the Dominican Republic for two years, I came back to New York yearning for quality, traditional Dominican food. I found it at the first place I visited. Named after the seaside boardwalk found in many coastal Dominican cities, Malecon did not let me down. The mouth-watering rotisserie chicken brought me right back to the Dominican. Enormous portions of fried sweet and green plantains, yuca with onions, rice and red and black beans, and stewed eggplant rounded out the giant, cheap, delicious meal I shared with my friends. Leftovers turned out to be enough to feed us for lunch and dinner the next day.

The restaurant was packed, and the service reminded me somewhat of what I had found in the DR, but our waiter was responsive enough and a manager came over and engaged us in some Dominican banter at the end of dinner.

And what would a meal like this be without beer? At our table we had a big metal bucket stuffed with cerveza Presidente. The restaurant was boisterous, the chicken moist, the check small, and I left a very full and happy man.

• Pros: Like Santo Domingo, but colder outside
• Cons: The yuca was dry

03/23/08

fast food, really disgusting, bad service

by washyheights

wow, just stay away from here!! this place has been shut down many times for rodents, etc, sure its cheap and the portions are huge, but the waiters take forever, and sometimes forget the order, go to el conde right across the block, its fresh, clean, sure it might cost a little more but the waiters are courteous and friendly, and the food is really fresh

• Pros: fast seating
• Cons: rude waiters, closed down several times by hlth department

05/20/07

Really excellent!

by jfores

I ate at Malecon for the first time today and all I have to say is "Que wow!" My girlfriend and I had an amazing (and oversized... we ordered too much. I felt like a tourist at New Green Bo in China Town where you accidentally order enough food for 9-10 people and the people around you snicker) meal of roasted chicken, rice&beans and Carribean soup. The Carribean soup was really good, flavorful and filling. It had fist sized chunks of ox tail and I would definitely get it again... if I could finish that and a chicken that is. The chicken was incredible. Really really good roasted chicken. The service was excellent in my experience but I was there for the lunch rush. We also tried to stick to Spanish whenever talking with the staff. High School Spanish does help! Our waitress was amazingly speedy with our initial ordering, but was a little slow on the ending bits. It was during the heights of the lunch rush so that's totally understandable. I did notice we were given a 4 top despite there being an open 2 top and a group of 4 behind us on line. It was funny. Overall, awesome experience. I'm definitely heading back there.

• Pros: Great food, great environment, great portions, the chicken
• Cons: The mango juice. Don't get the mango juice. Baaaad mango juice.

03/12/07

Great food, awful service

by ilikedarkplaces

I used to live in the area, so we went to eat at Malecon several times. The food was really good and they had good prices too, so we gave it a couple of tries just to see if the service would get any better. Unfortunately, it didn't. As great as the food is, the staff is highly indifferent and rude, almost arrogant. They make you wait too long, they ignore you half the time and they take forever with anything. Too bad because that really turned us down from ever going back.

• Pros: Good food and prices
• Cons: Arrogant, rude staff, too crowded

06/19/06

You can smell the Pollo Horno from the street

by mekit8

Their Dominican style roast chicken is excellent and it's open 24/7. I recommend having it with a side of maduros (sweet plantains) and extra salsa. If you do order your chicken with maduros be prepared to add an extra 10 minutes to your wait. The service is not nearly as good as the food, particularly if you do not speak enough Spanish to order in the language and get the attention of the staff. For this reason I only order take out here. I've noticed that men are attended to first and will often break in front of women in line. Women and people who cannot hold their own in Spanish are often dismissed until everyone else present is attended to. With that said I still visit in spite of the service because the food is so good.

• Pros: The food, the fact that it's open 24/7
• Cons: The service and treatment of women customers is mi

06/14/06

Large portions at good prices.

by kisbelfz

My boyfriend and I are regulars here. When I'm in Washington Heights and I'm hungry El Malecon is definitely an option that comes to mind. The food is great and the prices are just right. The portions of food are ginormous. We go there so often that we request for our regular waitress. She is great, provides us with anything we need, and most importantly already knows what we are going to order. Even though the management is a little agressive at times, they still do a good job keeping the place running. They are clean and very attentive to the guests need.

• Pros: Fast service.
• Cons: You might not get the table you want all the time.

12/19/04

Great Food, Rude Service

by divadiz

I have lived in Harlem/Washington Heights for 20 years and frequented Malecon before it became one of the "in" places. The food has always been a real bargain, however the service, especially the day staff is beyond rude and infuriating. Unfortunately. the staff is very friendly to males first and then to people they personally know. Last on the list is a single female. This is not a one time experience but happens consistently. If you are a female and want to have a pleasant experience, do not visit the restaurant alone. If you are a male, you are bound to have a good time.

• Pros: food, price

10/30/03

fabulous

by lancemanhattan

I have been going to malecon for almost a year now. The food is excellent, prices are cheap. What more can u ask for. The service right. Well that could use a little work, however, you may actually feel like your in the dominican because it can be tough to communicate. Try the rotisserie chcken, Chorriso, shrimp in vinagrette sauce. You can order for 30 people here and only pay $50.

12/31/02

Excellent Dominican Food

by asg749d

This chain of restaurants is a classic already among the people of the Washington Heights area. Each dish, with its simplicity and tasty nature portrays Dominican-ness at the very best.

For beginners, try their Pollo-a-la-brasa with some Tostones (fried green plantains) or white rice accopanied with either red or black beans. You will not be disappointed!

For dessert, feel confident the Tres Leches will take your breath away, specially if you have it with their excellent Cafe-con-Leche. Best of all: their prices will not leave your wallet empty. Prices are moderate, or sometimes below what just about any other place would charge for the same food.

I particularly like their new location in the Bronx, at 231st and Broadway.You must go to this place.

• Pros: Excellent food, Good prices

07/27/02

They do chicken right

by citybear

I don't know where the previous reviewer comes from. I am a recent inhabitant of the Washington Heights area, and was thrilled to have found this restaurant. There are large windows to see whats going on outside. The rotisserie chicken is some of the best I have had. There is a comfortable aptmosphere to the place. The menu is varied but I think it is the chicken which they do best as. If you just want to drink water. They will bring you a plate of sliced limes to add a little zest. The prices are very cheap. This restaurant was recently rated in the top 100 NYC Cheap eats. The sevice was not the quickest, but you'd probably be too busy licking your fingers to notice

• Pros: Inexpensive, Great Chicken, Unpretentious
• Cons: Good to know Spanish, Not quick help, Restroom needs work