So happy we found this place. My husband is Puerto Rican and says their food is just like mom used to make. Staff is so friendly, great variety of options, eat in or take out. Prices reasonable for the quality of food. HIGHLY RECOMMEND read more

Been a customer here for 7 years and I've never had one bad experience. The food is always amazing and continued to bring me comfort. The service is amazing and the family who owns the restaurant is incredibly hard working. Couldn't vouch harder for this place. Best food in New Haven easily. read more

Food always fresh and so good. They have the best potato balls. Fast and great customer service.

Driving in the area of Fair Haven, this Puerto Rican place called my attention. Food looks good but I tried better Puerto Rican food in other restaurants. The staff is very friendly. Restaurant looks clean. Prices are reasonable. Lots of space for seating. I gave this place 4 stars just because of the flavor of the food. My beef/potato empanada was ok. More potatoes than beef, the texture of the empanada was soft. The fried pork was good. Big portions of meat. I will try to come back to this place just to try the rest of the food. For now I will give 4 stars. read more

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Great food! The service was quick Workers friendly , Smaller restaurant in fair haven Deff worth a try ! read more

Amazing food and lovely owners. Would definitely recommend checking out this place. Gives a good vibe.

I placed an order for white rice and red beans around noon time, They had no white rice. I was quite disappointed and had to get yellow rice ( arroz con gandules) I paid $30 and I will never order there again. I could had brought the stuff and make it myself for way less. Lesson learned. read more

Top notch Latin specialties at rock bottom prices. You can walk out with a bunch of food for $6. From fried and roast pork to beef stew, plantains, rice and beans, and other latin delicacies, it's all there. Service was fast & friendly, but I didn't dine in. Food stayed nice & hot all the way back to my office. Would return :) read more

El Coqui Restaurant - Latin American Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

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The shredded pork was so moist, perfectly seasoned and overall superb! Loved the fried sweet plantains and variety of empanadas as well. Came here for a neighborhood walking and food tour and learned some cool history about the owners who are originally from China and emigrated to Cuba and then came to the US as refugees. Very cool family to support! read more

My family have been customers for years The reasons we go are for the terrific fresh Spanish foods and the wonderful people who own the restaurant and of course all the employees. This small Spanish restaurant knows how to pack a punch when it comes to serving delicious authentic Spanish foods. I recommend trying the pork with yellow rice and beans but honestly everything we have tried is wonderful. If you are craving Spanish go early they are so popular sometimes they sell out of some items. I sometimes call ahead to have them put my order together early so I don't miss out on our favorites Thank you El Coqui! read more

Pretty close to Puerto Rican food in my opinion. A local friend brought me here to try the food since he knows how much I miss home cooked meals. This spot is very much like a lot of Latin cuisine places I've been to. It is a cafeteria style restaurant. When you walk in the first thing you see is the selection available to your left. Pricing is done based on dish size and how many selections you pick. I got a pretty decent sized meal for under $10. The rice was cooked well and I tried the onion and pepper steak along with a mofongo ball. The mofongo was good, not the best I've ever tried. It needed a little something. The steak was good as well. The seasoning was on point. If I came back here I'd like to try the yellow rice with the roasted pork. It's great to find some genuine Latin meals in Connecticut. read more

El Coqui Restaurant - White rice with onion pepper steak and mofongo - Latin American Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

This is one of my favorite Spanish food restaurants. Its very small and the food is all laid out for you in glass cases. The staff are nice, and this place is usually pretty busy. Its not in the best area, but the food is not disappointing. Parking is usually not a issue, stop by if you are in the area, you will not be sorry. read more

The food is always Good & reasonable ... I love this place so much I actually drive a cross town just for their Spanish rice to go with dinner‍ read more

Love the food here. The best rice and beans around. Get the roast pork, too. You won't be disappointed. Same for the empanadas and the Jamaican meat patties. Oh, and the tres leches cake. So good!!! read more

I was living in New Haven a while back and, cruised Grand Avenue to find a barber shop (El Jíbaro 203-776-7309) When, my barber mentioned having lunch. We went to El Coqui Restaurant and, have been going there ever since. I love the selection and great taste of everything they offer! My favorite since 2012.... read more

Great fast Latin food, they have just about every traditional dish a real latin-food-lover could ask for. We enjoyed rice with fried pork skin, fried plantains, empanadas, yucca, and beans. I also was amused that the place is run by Asian women, but props to them for recognizing a demand and creating a successful restaurant. All of the food is prepared so you just request what you want, which is nice and fast, which was especially nice since we brought our 2 year old. Also the place is clean and the prices are very reasonable. I definitely recommend this place when you have a hankering for a quick bite of traditional Latin fare. read more

El Coqui Restaurant - a plate of mexican food - Latin American Near Me - New Haven, Connecticut

Traditional Puerto Rican food just like abuela makes it. The Chicharrones and empanadas are my personal favorites, but the fried chicken is good too. read more

Good food,Clean and economical, but Could be better. Though I love the fact that it's run by Chinese ladies, and they actually took the time to learn the language to back up what they're selling,lol. read more

For a Spanish style restaurant owned by Asian people, the food is great, they have fast & friendly staff that speaks some little Spanish, prices are fair as well, to be honest, I rather come here to eat than the other restaurant down the road owned by real Puerto Rican, anyways they need some work in las frituras, u know, alcapurrias, beef potato balls, platanos, etc, but rice & beans, cooked to perfection... read more

This place is fantastic! Friendly staff, great food, and value pricing. I've had the pernil and the beef w/ potatoes, both over yellow rice and kidney beans. It's so good! The food isn't salty, which has been a recurring problem for me when eating at Puerto Rican restaurants. The beef patties are average bit the stuffed potato balls were sub par. The medium size plate for like 8 bux is the perfect amount of food. I'm making myself hungry. I think I might have to go there right now! read more

Great take away food. Creole and more. Speaks Spanish with Asian owners. Good value

I don't know to many Spanish restaurants in the area. So my expectations were a little high but I wasn't really disappointed. Unfortunately, the food was a little average tasting. The price for what I got was really great and the portiins were really generous. I'd come here again if I was craving Spanish food. read more

To begin, when we exited our car and approached the entrance of the restaurant, we were hustled for change by a man sitting on the steps of the place. And he was well-dressed and neatly shaven. Not a good "welcome to our restaurant" first impression. (Maybe the Owners / staff should ensure these people are kept off the property. Not really good for business.) Puerto Rican food - traditional style, several choices, assemble your own selections at the counter and take it to a table or out. You get a combo plate of varying sizes. Simple. That's good. The flavors of some of the dishes we tried were OK, but bland and similar - so while they varied in the "names" / type, they all tasted pretty much the same. Further, the majority of our combo containers / plates were simply stuffed with a very large / dominant portion of rice, with only a smattering of the other 2 dishes we purchased - meat and beans. So this makes the "value equation" unbalanced - too high a price for too little of the right mix of food components. In summary, we won't return. Just our unique experience and opinion - no better than anyone else. Form your own opinion. read more

Meh, this place is ok if your desperate. I like authetic ethnic places, so that mean if its puerto rican food i want puerto ricans cooking it not chinese peeps (nothing against them if course). Last time i went there rice was on the salty side. You would think that with all the puerto rican people in fair haven that they would have a good puerto rican spot but ive been living in new haven for 2 years and have yet to find one read more

I see many reviews saying that Asian people cook this food. That, sometimes, is not true. Hispanics still cook the food, and the Asians are usually the cashiers or the people who serve the food; from my knowledge. The workers here are very friendly and welcoming. It's a very small restaurant, but nothing horrible. The food here is amazing, and they give you a large portion, whether you're eating there or to-go. read more

This Spanish place used to be good before the owner sold it to some Asians. The Asians now own it and make Spanish food. The prices are decent. But you could tell the difference when Spanish people cook real Spanish food. read more

It does not get better in terms of value. Good, fresh food for low cost. Don't let the chinese people, plates and serving supply fool you (no fortune cookie tho), this is as authentic Puerto Rican as it gets. I eat here 3 times a week minimum and after 100's of meals, not once have I been disappointed. read more

i love coming and eating here they have good and fresh food and there is this lady on the front who serves the food her name is Micaela she is fast and nice i have been coming for the past five years and she been there with her smile and all ways in a good mood read more