Puerto Viejo

“I had the pork mofongo which was garlicky scrumptiousness with just the right amount if tasty pork crackling.”

“Pernil was Fall off the bone, excellent flavors with the pickled onions & yucca.”

“Has one of the cities best happy hours with $1 empanada's & $3 cerveza's. Plus there's wine & sangria on it as well.”

Puerto Viejo

Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes

Price range.

$$ Price range $11-30

8 reviews

  1. Delicious food with a friendly staff.

    The picadera appetizer platter ($18) has a good variety and will feed 4 people. Lots of delicious fried food, beef, sausage, and other goodies. We shared a bunch of dishes and I liked the pernil the most. But try to get it with yellow rice instead of the yuca that it comes with. The mains range from $9-$14, so very budget friendly. The oxtail and fried chicken with the bone were misses for me though. I also had an Arnold Palmer which was very sweet. I had to add water to it and it was still super sweet. Not particularly a bad thing, just took me by surprise. We also didn't like the maduro and yuca fries sides.

    A few other minor cons – the restaurant is a bit small, if it's cold, there will be a gust of cold air when the door opens, they don't seat incomplete parties, and it's cash only.

    But definitely worth a visit for the appetizer platter and pernil with yellow rice!

  2. High marks for Dominican staples.

    Made the trek from Manhattan to take Big Papi's hint on mofongo.  Showed up in time for the breakfast menu – which seemed amazing – but was there for lunch.  Oddly, the waiter refused to offer lunch menus (though the food was available), insisting that the menu was in his head.  Terrific, as it was not in mine.

    Consequently ordered meals off the website.  Two hits, one miss.  Mofongo with pork was excellent when dipped into the red soup; otherwise was tasty but a bit dry.  Pernil was an absolute winner, while the ox tail was disappointing given the accolades it has received; basically, there just wasn't a lot of meat to eat once it was removed from the bone!

    Non-alcoholic drinks are worth ordering, including morir sonado and jugo de avena (oatmeal drink?!?).  Why aren't these things – things?

  3. This place. So much live for the delicious food, the great drinks, and the kind waiters.

    First, it's important to note that this place is cash only. That can be tough but the prices are so reasonable, it's not hard to make $20 go a long way here. Sadly both times I've been, I have just missed the happy hours specials, but even the regular prices are extremely reasonable.

    To start, the berry sangria ($8) is a great buy. Sweet, tangy, and delicious you'll keep wanting more. I promise you. They also have a red and a white sangria, several wine options, and a small beer list. All pretty affordable.

    When you order food you get fried plantains with an insanely delicious garlic sauce. I could bathe in that sauce. Incredible. The empanadas ($2) are fantastic. I've tried the chicken and will definitely go back to give the beef a chance (they also have cheese for vegetarian types!). The biggest pleasant surprise here was the burger ($9). The meat is phenomenal, the coleslaw sweet and tangy and the yuka fries are deliciously addictive.

    Definitely check Puerto Viejo out for a drink, appetizers or for dinner. Awesome spot in the Crown Heights/Prospect Heights area.

  4. This place is really tiny, but oh so delicious! If you're a fan of Dominican cuisine you should definitely give this place a chance. Full of music and flavor, you're getting your money's worth. Just make sure you bring cash, because it's cash only!

    I do have one small complaint and its just going to bug me if I don't mention it. I did find a hair in my food. Yeah, yuck but other than that its awesome.

  5. I came here for dinner last night and service was awful. We waited to be seated, to order, to get the check… and the restaurant wasn't packed, it couldn't even be described as busy. No one asked if we wanted another drink or how our meal was. I had to get the attention of the same server twice and he condescendingly acknowledged me, but still took his time to come to the table. We were intentionally being ignored.
    Food wise, the camarones al ajillo and chicharrones de pollo were delicious. Perfectly cooked and tasty.
    I would give 2 stars but the food here is amazing. I am just baffled at the service. I've been here before and had a wonderful experience, I don't know what happened last night.

  6. Delicious food & very warm and inviting vibe. I had the fish sandwich and tostones. Love tostones! It took a little while for our food to come out (hence the negative one star), but the waitress was very apologetic. Great prices, but cash only.

  7. This is probably one of my favorite restaurants in Crown Heights. Where do I begin? Let's start with the fact that they are authentic. With so many gentrified restaurants in the area, this restaurant's food sticks its Dominican roots and culture. The interior is very cute – youthful, hip, and very Latin urban. The staff is always pleasant and always attentive to your needs.

    I've never had a bad experience with their food. The food is packed with flavor – no skimping off here. My favorites are their empanadas, bistec encebollado, pernil, and rabo guisado. My boyfriend and I tend to over-order every time, since we always have a difficult time choosing only one dish. They also give you these fried plantain chips with a seriously delicious garlic sauce when you place an order. Their hot sauce is also seriously on fire. Did I mention that most of their food is gluten free? Yaaasssss!! How can you go wrong with this place?

    I would definitely recommend Puerto Viejo as an awesome spot to check out for casual dinner, a drink, or a date.

  8. tight squeeze for the large group that we had for NYE but they were more than accommodating and the food was fantastic!

    A very home-y feel to the place, the people and the food which I think is what really got me to like the place.

    And while it did take a while for us to get seated and for the food to come out, I did not mind it at all with the atmosphere (and of the course the ridiculously large crowd we brought in.)

    Would love to try this place again with a smaller group one day!

Rate and write a review

Grand Avenue 564
11238 NY US
Get directions
Monday, 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Tuesday, 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Wednesday, 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Thursday, 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Friday, 9:00 am - 11:00 pm
Saturday, 9:00 am - 11:00 pm