Cafe Mofongo

easily the best empenadas i’ve ever tried in my life. the inside was so tender and juicy and the outside was perfectly crisped. i only came in for a morning snack and ordered 1 beef and 1 cheese but she gave me 1 beef and 1 chicken accidentally. i wasn’t bothered, both were delicious and only made me want to go back for the cheese and the croquettes. i am definitely going back to try everything else on the menu since its right by where i work.

This gem is located a few blocks from the Jacob Javitz Convention center in NYC and is only open during the day for lunch as well as closed on Sundays. So, get there early and during the week. Trust me! This authentic Dominican kitchen dishes out super cheap but oh-​so tasty Dominican comfort food. On the not 1, not twice or even 3 times that I was there (I was starting to feel like a stalker) I tried the Sancocho– a hearty stew consisting of squash, malanga, potatoes, yuca and beef and an assortment of other deliciousness mixed up in there. I also had the Rabo-​succulent ox tail simmered in a tomato based sauce until tender and served over rice and black beans. The tostones-​fried green plantains were just the right amount of crunchy and salty! And the Roasted Pork Mofongo? Let’s just say I needed a cigarette after that meal… A heaping mound of succulent roasted-​perfectly seasoned-​with bits of crunchy skin layered on top of another perfectly-​mashed-​mound of platanos and drizzled with a bit of a citrus-​y sauce. I was planning on saving half the huge (and I mean huge) portion for lunch the next day but it was so good, SO GOOD, that I scarfed it up like I didn’t know when I’d have my next meal. (I know, my waistline could stand to miss a few meals as much as I love to eat. Don’t judge!) They only accept cash but honestly you don’t need a whole lot of it. For between $ 6-​$ 10 you get to have lunch! What’s not to love about that!

Just visiting NYC. An amazing restaurant & a MUST TRY. Did the stewed pig feet with yellow rice & black beans & was in awe. ⁴⁄₇ Stewed oxtail is next
Has the Stewed Goat with yellow rice & brown beans instead of the Oxtail today, Delish #wow ⁴⁄₈.

One of my bosses is from the Dominican Republic and he is constantly going here in the morning for breakfast and wanted me to tag along for lunch. I was recommended to ordered the pork mofongo and it was amazing! It’s mashed plantains with pork inside, topped with more pork and ask for the sauce to pour on top. This dish is super filling and reasonably priced as well. He said he’s been searching for it the way he likes it back home and says this is by far the best in NYC. I will move this place into my regulars for lunch in midtown.

The food is good and reasonably priced. My only complaint is that I ordered mofongo con los tres golpes (eggs, salami, and cheese) and took the first bite, I realized my food was ice cold!!! I paid $ 6.50 for cold food. The salami and cheese were hard, and eggs greasy, and all cold. I was so disappointed. I say stick with their meat, rice, beans, and soup. Hopefully, they will find a way to keep the mofongo hot, and do the eggs, cheese and salami on the spot, like other Dominican restaurants do…

Great, cheap little place for lunch. Good food, good portions, but, remember to bring cash. They close early (around 630pm I believe), so, it’s really just a lunch spot. Lots of options, very little seating… mostly a takeout place.

Yuuuum! The first time I tried the delicious dish called mofongo was on my honeymoon in Puerto Rico. Ever since then, I craved it on a weekly basis. I’ve tried a few places in L.A. and was let down. I was so jazzed to randomly see this place when on vacation in NYC.
My husband and I got to Café Mofongo at 5:55 pm. Thankfully they were still willing to make food for us. It is DELICIOUS! It was everything I wanted and needed. The chicken mofongo was great, and it was extra nice that they send you packing with extra sauce to put on top of it. My husband got breaded chicken and enjoyed it too.
Also this place is just a few blocks away from Times Square. I highly recommend you get your food to go and people watch at Times Square!

The Bistec Emcebollado (onion steak) was the bomb!!! It had a pretty good portion of meat and rice and it also came with beans. The only thing that I was missing was the Tortillas but it was very very good food!!! It’s also good for take out as the food is served on To Go plates. I didn’t like the fact that there’s not a lot of room to sit especially if the place is full and you come with other people but again you can always take it to go! Also TAKE NOTICE THEY DO NOT TAKE CREDIT/​DEBIT CARDS.

Food was great. Enviro was nice and loved the music :) If ever in town, this will be one of my stops

Walked pretty far for this spot and well worth it. First time having Dominican food and it did not disappoint!

BEST Dominican food I’ve ever had!
I was meeting a friend for drinks on the west side after work but we were both hungry — of course we Unilocaled it. Beth S.‘s review convinced me — I didn’t need much convincing though :).
We weren’t sure if there will be much food left since it was 5:30PM. We both ordered the pernil special for $ 7 (white/​yellow rice with beans) and got big platters, both full to the top. But you can’t be here and not try mofongo so we put in an order for pork mofongo. All three with a bottle of water is $ 25. JUST FOR THAT I WILL BE BACK!
The secret to great pernil is apparently salt and garlic — in a good way. I know that might sound odd/​off-​putting but I guarantee you it’s delicious. And the yellow rice was nice and done well. We didn’t talk much, too busy chowing down. The mofongo hadn’t come out yet because they were making it fresh! I saw the lady going back and mashing it! I didn’t mind the 10 – 15 min wait since we were so happy with our pernil.
The mofongo was amazing. Not dry at all! We did get a side of broth but didn’t even use it. My friend’s fiancé is hispanic so she eats all types of Latin food regularly and she said this might be one of the best mofongos she has ever eaten.
For $ 25 for all three platters (and a bottle of water) — with more than half taken to-​go — I will be heading back soon… like today. Even if I just finished eating the leftover for lunch. Two days in a row… does that make me a fattie?
Nah, just a foodie!

I’ve been here numerous times over the last 6 months since I first stumbled across it. I’ve never been disappointed with anything.
Three times I got the «Dominican 3-​way breakfast» which is mangu (a mashed plantain mixture) served with fried eggs, fried Dominican salami and fried cheese and topped with those delicious marinated onions. The plantains could use a little more flavor but I eat them with bites of the other ingredients and am very happy.
Three times I have had the mofongo — twice the pork and once the beef. When I ordered the beef they asked me again as if I was making a mistake or they had never heard that before. It’s listed on the menu. In all cases it was very tasty. As others have mentioned sometimes the mofongo itself is a little dry but I receive a nice sized cup of broth to pour onto it to handle that. I usually ask for extra broth which I receive at no charge.
They also have amazing empanadas for $ 1 or $ 1.50 and something I’ve never seen before which I crave all the time now — yucca stuffed with cheese and deep fried. It’s $ 1 and it’s stunning. A party in my mouth.
I have frequently been the only person in there who doesn’t speak Spanish and that has been a challenge a few times. I ordered for delivery only once but the woman who answered really couldn’t understand me — she did find someone there who speaks English but I try not to risk delivery since I don’t know if he’s there all the time or not.
I also try not to go in the middle of lunch hour; it’s quick but I hate to be in the way of the long line of hotel workers and construction workers who clearly need to be back to work very quickly.
I do want to try some of the other dishes too, but mofongo is my weakness.
I wish they stayed open later than 6 so I could have them after work some night.

This rating is really ½ of a star. I will NEVER order from this restaurant again. My coworker and I ordered 2 combos with drinks for a total of $ 22. To our surprise, the price upon delivery was inflated to $ 32. When we called to inquire about the price increase, we were told they were under new management. According to the menu in our possession and the menu online, the prices were the same and not the inflated quote given over the phone or on the bill. We kindly asked if they were going to honor the price stated online and on the menu and they said, «No! Send the food back!» So said, so done! (I hope they discarded that order and not serve it to another customer) In addition, I would love to give 3 stars to the delivery person since he was more professional than the manager or the spokesperson, Amanda.

I was looking for a different place to eat & my boyfriend recommended this place. I placed an order for delivery and prayed that it was good. The food here is absolutely amazing and the prices are just as good. Two of my coworkers ordered with me, we all had the steak & onions with white rice and beans. The steak was soooo tender it melted in my mouth and well seasoned. The beans I could’ve ate alone they were that good. I will definitely be ordering from here again; the delivery was fast, the delivery guy was very nice (and handsome) and with the high prices in the city this was well worth it!

Good stuff… The Goatmeat «chivo» was delicious with aguacate and platanos maduros… Good place to eat dominican food around time square… Especially if you dont see this kind of food where you live!

Good homemade Dominican food. Goatmeat soup and Sancocho is a must try! Have a bottle of Country Club too.

This is a good lunch spot while I’m at work. I had the mofongo w/​camarones. It was not dry and it was really good. It was a good amount of shrimp as well. I would eat here again. Oh and delivery was in a timely matter as well.

I second the «meh.» This place is right across the street from my company’s Manhattan branch. Being a fan of mofongo I was excited to try their namesake dish. I was let down by the dry mound topped with one drumstick — for $ 10!
The consommé wasn’t terrible and the chicken itself was moist and tender but the mashed plantain is where the dish failed.
This place is a «one and done» for me.

Meh,
I was craving mofongo for days and when I realized that this place opened I was super excited. I had their mofongo but it was soo dry. Probably the worst mofongo I’ve ever had. The gravy was in a teeny tiny container, didn’t help to keep it moist. I will give them another try some other time but I probably won’t have their mofongo, even though it’s the name of the store.
Also I told them that I will eat in and they gave me a to go container with plastic utensils. Disappointed!

Great food and it’s super cheap!