Rico Pollo

I’ve yet to try this place, but I walk past it every day on the way home (and at other odd times on weekends), and the line is OUT THE DOOR every single time. I wanna try it very soon — they must be a very good sign! It also smells amazing!

Good traditional Dominican food and the service is really friendly. Had the mangu con los 3 golpe, not the best but it did the job. Their yuca was delicious.

Finally Open again and I’m loving the new updated look and feel of the place. Rico Pollo was so desperately in need of an updated look with better placing your order standing room and seating options of which I’m so happy to report they finally got around to the renovations and fixed the place very nicely, the seating area is much larger with nicer dining in furniture, very nice lighting and more comfortable standing room for placing your order to go.
The Food…
Lets just call Rico Pollo the number one Dominican restaurant in Ridegwood for the fresh and hot Spanish rice and beans, crisp thick meaty fried pieces of Chicharrón, boiled Yuca with Pan roasted Red Onions, Pork (Pernil) with the Cilantro Adobo and sancocho soup being among my top re-​orders everytime I come here but really they have so many fresh and tasty food selections to choose from and of course order up if you don’t see it on the menu, you just cant go wrong coming here.
The portion sizes here are huge you could easily walk in here get a big pan of rice and beans, a big pan of pulled Roast pork (Pernil) and any one of the root vegetables or a big pint of red beans and still have not spent $ 20. Good Stuff !
The turnover on food here is rapid there is never not a busy time here and the operating hours are fabulous the only caveat they’re Cash Only, always have been and always will be but that’s how they’re able to to bring you good food a lttle cheaper and with bigger portions.
If your hungry and only have $ 5 to spend on food, I would recommend anyone make this a primary stop if your in the area, your going to eat well and have your hunger satisfied for the whole day having stopped in here for take out or to dine in.
Bön Appétit!

The food is delicious and the customer service is good too, and every time I’ve been to this restaurant there is always a lot of people.

Obsessed with this place cant wait till it reopens. The food is delicious!

Very cool spot. Food was great. Service was good. Very small space you could drive right by it if not paying attention.

The food is good… I cannot lie… my favorite in the area… so I gave them 4 stars. If I had rated then solely on their service they would get no stars. The men and women that work there treat like you are bothering them; if u don’t speak the language, you shouldn’t be calling type of attitude. They rush you off the phone… I get it — you are busy but I’d like you to at least acknowledge that u took my order and got the address since I had to spell «Gates» avenue to them…

The food here is very good. Excellent seasoning and decent portions. You can smell the goodness from across the street.
If you are planning on eating in, beware — it is certainly not the most luxurious place, and seating is very limited. It can get crowded as they deal with the high demand. But the food makes up for it.

I’ve been coming here off and on for the last 10 years. i say off and on because I seem to boycott this place every 2 years because of the service and staff. Extremely rude, unprofessional, and unwelcoming. They have never once said hello, good-​bye, or thank you. Last night, I ordered chicken, rice, and potato salad. She said they didn’t have potato salad. Thinking I was mistaken, I walked over to where the potato salad was and said, «yes, you do.» She insisted, «no, we don’t.» I said, «yes, you do. I am looking right at it.» Rolling her eyes, she reluctantly put some in a container. Why did she blatantly lie to my face? The only explanation I could think of was that it was at the end of the night (10:30) and she didn’t want to bother taking out the tray of potato salad, unwrapping the plastic wrap, and dirtying the spoon she probably had just washed, and then putting everything back. Pure laziness.
So, why have I been coming here on and off for the past ten years? Well, the answer is the food. The food is very good and the portions are generous. However, I am going back to boycotting them again. The chicken elsewhere may not be as good, but at least they treat the customers with respect.

Arroz con gandules, red beans, pernil on an aluminum take out plate. $ 6. The pernil is so flavorful and has that «fall of the bone» texture. The bits and pieces of skin that come with are just icing on the cake. In the winter when it’s snowing and the people are bitter, I pick this up and the food just warms my soul and makes me want to live again. Oh. so. comforting. Can’t go wrong with this place. Favorite take out place of all time. Of all time.

Here it goes!
Holy Sh** the food here is delicious! Holy Sh** the food portions are huge! Holy Sh**, this was very affordable! Holy Sh** this place gets very crowded.
The food was superb, I live in Bushwick and the i tend to walk into random Spanish food spots when I’m craving Latin food (I’m Puerto Rican and can cook but I’m lazy at times). They are by far just many average places where I’ve eaten at but this place here was THA BOMB!!! Just like that. I was ordering for my family, we were 8 deep so we had a lot of different foods to try and I was blown away by them all.
$ 5 tray of perñil aka Roast pork is huge, that alone can feed 2 – 3 people. Roast pork is Booming with flavors and you’ll be licking your lips after each bite. It’s seriously like an orgasm in your mouth. The Standard size lunch plates are huge as well. I had the $ 7 plate of beef stew with rice and gandules, man was i licking my fingers every 2 minutes because the taste is just sooooooo delicious (Notice the emphasis I put on that?) the only thing I didn’t like about the beef stew was the fact that the beef was rough and not soft how it should be, other than that it was so good OMG lol. The whole roasted chickens were also on our takeout list and it was so juicy and flavorful. It wasn’t salty and overcooked like almost all of your typical Spanish food spots. I was actually able to eat the Wing this time. 90% of the time I order whole chickens, the wings are so burnt I can’t even bite into them so I throw them out lol. Now, the sweet Plantains were cut so thick, I think you can pair about 3 pieces with your meal and be stuffed. We stuffed our face so bad and still have left overs for tomorrow.
The service for us was great, we got everything we asked for and the line was literally out the door. We even forgot to order something once we passed the buffet like tables and the worker happily walked back to the food to make our order we forgot to place. I see why people come here though. This was my first time here and I’m definitely letting it be known to others, to stop on by for some great tasting Dominican/​Puerto Rican food! This is the best one I’ve found so this is my Gem! I’ll be coming back again next week lol. You earned yourself a very loyal customer, please don’t disappoint me in the future :-)

Rotisserie chicken was to die for!!! love the sweet plantains as well. huge portions and great prices!

The five stars are for the food only, which is what matters the most. The staff is alright. Not the friendliest, straight business. The place is small and not the most comfortable to eat. They also don’t have a bathroom for customers. The food however, some of the best Dominican food! From the chicken to the pernil, everything is yummy. They also give very generous amounts of food for a good price.

I’ve been going there for over 10 years the best. Food is amazing always nice and fresh never old and dry

Delicious and extremely flavorful food, not to mention huge portions!
After years of walking by Rico Pollo and taking in the wondrous smells and gawking at the line that snakes around half of the restaurant, we finally decided to give it a try. On a rainy afternoon, we had to wait in line for nearly 30 minutes, but it was definitely worth it!
We ordered the stewed chicken with yellow rice, roasted pork, beef and plantains. The portions were HUMUNGOUS. The small portion of roasted pork ($ 5) was enough meat for at least two meals. THIS WAS A SMALL.
Everything was so good, nothing too salty. They also have chicken noodle soup and I can’t wait to try it. They’re cash only and the dining area is pretty small, so be prepared to take your food on the road. Also, yes the service is a little bit slow and spotty, but the quality, portions and cheap prices definitely make up for it! What are you waiting for? This is probably the best Spanish food in all of Ridgewood, so get over there!

Tasty Dominican take out. Not so friendly service, in person or over the phone.
But you get what you pay for.

Cash only. Great prices. Good food. Nice selection. I wish they had that green sauce for the chicken.

They only lose a star for the décor. There are chairs but this is strictly a take out place. There is nothing fancy about this place. It is always crowded, so be prepared. All the food options are all lined up behind a glass in the front for you to see. Good and bad — because I see it and it all looks so good I order everything. Everything I had in this place is has been fresh, loaded with flavor and they give you a very hefty amount. I usually eat off the food for days. Great service too.

The food is amazing. The service was awful. The moment I responded to my server in English she seemed shocked and made a face. She then made my Cuban sandwich and I didn’t see her for another 5 mins. Everyone asked if I needed help and when I explained I ordered a sandwich but wanted more they just said she’ll help.
Anyway the Cuban sandwich wasn’t made properly it was just meat and cheese. A lot of stuff missing but still tasty. I hate to say but I think hat was done on purpose.
I also order the pernil and rice. It was amazing, best rice I have ever had at a restaurant. I’ll definitely just order from the line and skip the sandwiches from now on. I also ordered a raspberry snapple and heard her say it to the guy but got home and saw it was grapeade.
Aside from the mistake food is outstanding.

Yes, yes, yes, yes, yasssssss! Rico Pollo is so, so, SO good! The pernil and gandules are mind-​blowing. Did I mention it’s only $ 7/​plate? I absolutely adore this place! I love living so close to such an indigenous restaurant that really stays true to its roots. If I had it my way, I’d eat there every night. I called my order in for pickup, and when I got there some angry restaurant-​goers were upset that the there wasn’t any more pernil. So they do run out of the good stuff. There are so many other dishes I’d like to try. The line can be a little lengthy, but it moves relatively fast. Rico Pollo is AH-​MAZING!