Guayaco Food & Rollas

I’m always down for ethnic cuisine in gentrifying neighborhoods. There’s only so many times you can eat fusion tacos, banh mi standwiches or chinese takeout (long glare towards Franklin and Washington Ave) before you want to impale yourself on a rusty gate.
Which makes Guayaco a welcome addition to the nabe. Guayaco serves Ecuadorean food which seems to be heavy on plantains. I’m normally a huge fan of plantains and ordered the Bolon for a lunch special. It was tasty but a bit dry — just this huge ball of mashed up plantains with bits of pork thrown in. Perhaps I ordered the wrong thing, but it wasn’t a great first meal. Can someone else who is Ecuadorean recommend me a dish here?

Eh it was alright. Very small portions. Also, they should put the salad in a separate container.

Empanadas and tostones are delish!!!
The Bolon was very unique and good.
The ceviche was not my style, tasted really good with the rice and plantains it come with though. Maybe the rice is just so good it makes the ceviche look good.

Way too expensive for the portion sizes and not so great food. I’m from the Bronx where there’s Spanish eateries galore so why am I spending over $ 30 for empanadas rice and beans? I’m calling grubhub for a partial refund asap

What a disappointing experience. I hoped to indulge in tasty Ecuadorian fare, only to receive a bland, warm plate after waiting 50 long minutes for llapingacho.
I should have known it was trouble when I walked into this empty restaurant in the middle of prime dinner time. I suggest you try this place when you are not particularly hungry, have plenty of time to spare and/​or care little for spices and flavor.
:-(

The only reason we order from this restaurant is because the food comes close to home but their food isn’t worth the frustration it bore. The way they treat clients just lost our business. Over an hour late on delivery (this is on top of an hour wait) and we have called the restaurant twice, only to get practically yelled at by two different people. The first let us know the food is on its way, half an hour later the second said it will be on its way. So if we had food to review, we would, forget this place. Also just to note, we are about a 10 – 15 minute walk away, it’s not raining, not snowing…

while this place doesn’t look like much from the outside, it didn’t disappoint with tasty Ecuadorean food!
sure, the décor is a little weird but that’s not the first reason you come to a restaurant, right?
the thing about Ecuadorean food is it’s simple & classic, this was true to the food here.

I’ve eaten in the restaurant several times and never had a bad experience. The first couple of times were within 1 – 2 weeks of their opening (the first time on their first night) and the food has been consistently great. The calentado is awesome, especially with a fried egg as a breakfast/​brunch. The ceviche is definitely the best I’ve had in Central Brooklyn. I love the llapingacho and muchin, and the yuca frita comes with a sauce that is amazing. Contrary to their other reviews, I think it’s a good value for the price, but then I’ve never ordered delivery.
The one thing holding this place back in my opinion is that the menu should play to their strengths. The last time I went for brunch the brunch menu listed a number of fairly generic looking options (eggs benedict) and a few Ecuadorian specialities. For example, the calentado with egg that I raved about above is something that they are happy to serve you for brunch, but it isn’t featured as a combination on their menu. I think that if they more effectively promote their great Ecuadorian cooking this could become a neighborhood institution.

I walk by Guayaco every day from the train, and I’m always bummed to see it a little empty. I finally decided to go today and am shocked that there isn’t a line out the door.
I got the llapingachos and fell in love with all the flavors and textures. Along side the potato patties are perfectly gooey eggs, slightly caramelized plantains, avocado, smoky chorizo, and savory salsas. The portion was also huge (for me), so I got two whole meals out.
I admit, I don’t use Unilocal much, but I loved this place so much that I got home and sat on my computer to write this review. Looking forward to coming back and trying some of the other plates.

Delicious food, friendly service, cozy atmosphere, great prices! What more could you ask for? A wonderful addition to the neighborhood.

I ordered $ 33 in food delivery today. Check out my photo on here. That portion of rice on the left is not an entrée portion. As a Dominican, paying $ 8 for two empanadas would make my grandma rollover in her grave. Please do not order delivery from here. I cannot believe that a Latin American restaurant is gouging their customers so terribly. Please, everyone on here, go to the hundreds of Latin American restaurants in NYC/​Brooklyn that actually provide adequate portions and of much better quality.
Maybe it’s better at the restaurant, but this was the single most disappointing delivery I have received in New York City.

Amazing flavors, but tiny tiny portions for the money. The ceviche is good, but you’d have to order two to make it entre sized.

Oof. Where do I start? Has gentrification blinded us so much that we’ve forgotten what quality and affordable food even looks like. As a disclaimer, I ordered delivery and I understand that food often gets tossed around, and aesthetically isn’t as pleasing from the time it gets packaged, delivered and ultimately reaches the dining room table. Oh wait this is NY. By the time it reaches your couch.
My issue with Guayaco wasn’t so much the food but the amount of money you pay for the quantity. If this an around the way joint I could have easily paid $ 15 max for my meal. Instead I paid double that amount.
I ordered the shrimp salad that appeared to be ordered off of the children’s menu. It was tasty but I pretty much finished it in 5 bites. Also, they tossed it in the dressing so it was pretty soggy on arrival. I can forgive all that but what Guayaco needs to talk to the Pope about is the Muchin. I love cassava/​yucca and I love it even more when it’s fried, so I was super excited to try it out. I got the beef filled patty but unfortunately there was hardly any beef. I mean, I’m talking about half a teaspoon of meat. I’m talking about holding up that patty to the light to see if I missed a spot. I’m talking about $ 12 of all cassava and no meat which would be cool, if that’s what I signed up for.
Perhaps dining-​in would be a better option, but the prices still concern me.

New favorite place in the neighborhood. Not too heavy not too light, just perfect portions. Not overfilling like a lot of other South American food. Fresh meat and fresh juice.
Strongly suggest the Empanadas, lentils and rice, and Naranjilla juice.
The owner is around often and extremely nice. I’ll definitely be back!

So glad they moved into the neighborhood!!! Talk about yum, authentic, and affordable! I went on a Friday night and had steak, beans, and rice– delicious! The meat was very tender and had great seasoning. I also had a yuca appetizer with meat. I will definitely be frequenting this spot!

Had a delicious meal here with friends. I split the eponymous dish and a plaintain stuffed with cheese. I also drank a delicious spiced oatmeal drink, while my friend had naranjilla juice (which our waiter explained he went down to jersey to get the fresh fruit).
Will definitely be going back. So glad this came to the neighborhood!

Me and my roommate came here for dinner the day it opened!!! WE LOVED IT! The food was so delicious and the owner was just sweet as can be!
I had the rice and beans with plantains… it was so yummy! The price for the amount of food you get is unbeatable!
I will definitely be coming back! :)

I took the entire family to guayaco today, the food was delicious. Family friendly great prices and friendly staff. Def goin coming back for more.
I liked the patacones, guayaco and tortilla verde
Good luck

Loved the lentils and the pork cake. The décor is quaint, the food tasty, the service great, and the price unbeatable.

Pros: La tortilla de verde with beef was tasty. The quaker (oatmeal drink w/​spices) was also delicious and not too sweet. The owner was very attentive.
Cons: My friend ordered el Guayaco from the menu, which – as you can see from the image – includes salad and patacones. The «salad» was one leaf. He charged us for los patacones, so she said, «Maybe I misread the menu, but I thought they were included.» Without checking the menu, he replied, «You misread it, but I’ll remove the charge.» That was off-​putting. Also, a side of plain white rice was $ 3.