I visited this place because I wanted to eat Peruvian food; and I was left hungry and very disappointed. I ordered Lomo saltado; the steak was overcooked and had no flavor; the sauce lacked oyster sauce and ají amarillo- and it was a bit redish. The steak looked that it had been boiled and then fried. We also ordered Tacu Tacu- and it was terrible; the rice was oily on the sides; the steak way too overcooked and hard. The passion fruit drink was good; but it had a weird after taste; the Chicha drink was the I my thing that was really good. I would not recommend this place,. read more

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Incredibly delicious Peruvian food. We had the lomo saltado. Classic Peruvian dish and it was executed beautifully. We also had the Tacu Tacu with bistec and wow! The Tacu Tacu was exceptional! Highly recommend getting Tacu Tacu. Definitely we will be coming back! read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Lomo Saltado - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

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I was in the mood for pollo a la braisa, so I found this place nearby. It's pretty standard for a Peruvian place. I ordered the 1/2 pollo a la braisa combo. It's 1/2 rotteserie chicken with white rice and salad. I think you can choose from a bunch of different sides, like fries and such. The one thing I didn't like was that you can't substitute fried rice for white rice, not even for an upcharge. There is no option for that. Food was decent to good. The green sauce wasn't as flavorful as other places I've been to, but the service was good and fast. read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Pollo a la braisa - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

The restaurant has been open for a very long time. The food is always good. However, the service and the attitude is so nasty for no reason ( mmgs) read more

Never again will i order from this place again, $26 for this jalea is ridiculous i've never experienced this when ordered a jalea ! smh read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Ordered a Jalea from this place & NEVER AGAIN! $26 for just this is insane. Very disappointed - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

The food is pretty good, not too salty like other pollo a la Brasa. The staffs are nice. read more

Dropped by El Gordo for dinner on a cold Saturday. It's a small hole in the wall restaurant with a few seats, I'm guessing most of their business is take out orders. They brought their aji verde, or Peruvian green chili sauce, first. I love aji sauce, since it's a little salty and spicy. It goes well with my usual pollo a la brasa, which came with a side of rice and beans. It was pretty dry. Surprisingly, they even managed to dry out the dark, thigh meat. It was seasoned well, but the dry, overcooked meat was a turn off. The rice and beans were pretty standard. Not bad, but not great. I've gotten better Peruvian food in more comfortable restaurants for better prices. read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Pollo a la brasa con arroz y frijoles - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Food was good but I have to mention I have tried better. The place is small but looks good the staff very friendly and attentive. Prices r just as any other restaurant in the area. What is horrible and nothing to do with the restaurant itself is the parking, I had to double parked to pick up my order read more

I paid $16 almost $17 for this small meal . Feel ripped off none the less . You would expect it to be enough to feed two people at least but this was disappointing. They act as if it's a fancy restaurant in the suburbs when it's not . Way too overpriced and the portions are small . Never again read more

El Gordo Restaurant - I paid $16, almost $17 for a small plate of lomo saltado that bought a little portion of rice and barely any meat . Never again - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Catered my daughter's baby shower. The food was fresh, delicious, made to perfection and plentiful. I can't wait to eat from there again. The owners are warm down to earth people who are so easy to work with. Highly recommended!! read more

I always go her for lunch since it is only a few blocks walking distance from my job. There are days in which they are busy but i have never waited for a table! Their lunch specials are always different but always as delicious! The usual soup, entree and drink deal for $7.25, who can go wrong with that. And their portion are also very good. When I don't feel like having the lunch special I go for a traditional peruvian dish such as the lomo or a chaufa. I think the best thing I like about this restaurant is that with a 30 minute lunch (which is sooooo short) I can get in and out regardless what I order without having to rush eating my food and it always tastes delicious! The servers are super nice as well they are always making sure you are ok and if you need something else. P.S. They have a card limit of $10 so make sure to bring cash if your only going for the lunch special read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Chaufa de Mariscos - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Ehh, the lomo saltado here is nothing special. Was dry, hardly has that delicious sauce that lomo saltado usually has, and is under seasoned. Overall, not good. Although the pollo al la Brasa with the white rice was good. Three people allowed in at a time and of course all patrons required to wear a face mask. Waited just a few minutes outside until I was allowed inside to order. All orders take 20 minutes so I waited outside until it was ready. Staff is friendly and thorough. Prefer Venus Restaurant down the street for my lomo and chaufa. read more

Came by a couple times and loved the food here. Tried the lomo saltado and tallarin verde con pollo. Delicious! They give you a big portion for a good price. Staffs are super friendly and helpful with recommendations. read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Tallarin verde con pollo - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Another good local restaurant. My mom said that she used to go here for their chicken many years ago when she lived here in New Jersey. Got the chicken. All I have to say is, it was really good. Flavorful. Some parts of it were kind of dry but I'm not that nit picky. Salad that came on the side was refreshing. Good hot sauce too. Tried their chicha and it was absolutely delicious. Tasted like it was just made. You can't go wrong with fresh chicha. Friendly little establishment that feels very welcoming. I rate 5/5. read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Freshly made chicha. - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

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Been coming here for years now food is always delicious the hot green sauce is the best I could drink it lol best chicken love everything

I was there for the first time since it changed owners, ordered Peruvian Chinese rice, 1/2 chicken with French fries and salad. This was not only pricey but tasteless. Worst Peruvian food I ever had. I will never return or recommend this place to anyone. read more

Nice little place. There are 3 people working here so be patient. It's a home cooked meal. Very affordable. Cash only and they only serve whatever is on the menu that day. The soup & entree had a lot of flavor. I would come back. read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

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Great food, great service. They don't serve alcohol but they allow you to bring in from the liquor store next door. The waitress was so friendly!! read more

Horrible customer service. We ordered our appetizer and once we finished the male waiter came to the table and asked what else we were waiting for. Um, how about the rest of our food?!?They charge you for the extra sauce in their already bland chicken. The waitress refilled our sauce and says shes charging for the sauce, after she fills it. How about you tell me before you fill it. This is the last time that I visit this location. Very sarcastic employees and dirty ambience. If you cant handle the demand of your patrons then you shouldn't be in business read more

El Gordo Restaurant - Menu! - Spanish Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

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This place was absolutely awful! After my experience here I am convinced that it's rare to find a decent Peruvian restaurant with great meals. I ordered a pollo a la brasa and the chicken was not cooked right. The meat was still red and the fries were hard as a rock. I couldn't finish my meal because I was so distraught. read more

They give you a LOT of food. I ordered the chaufa and it took me three days to finish. I would eventually go back!

Hands down THE best chaufa around! Flavorful with or without the green sauce - the green sauce enhances it though. Their steak is good as well. read more

This food is excellent. It was through Yelp that we found this delicious Chicken place. We were quite happy with the great service and then the food was quite outstanding. There was sauce that was incredibly savory that I had to put on all of my food. Excellent service and delicious food! read more

Love El Gordon quarter chicken with rice and salad and green sauce! Never a disappointment always cooked perfectly green sauce is so good always have to buy a big tub !! read more

Didn't have a great experience when I came with family. Bread basket not too appetizing. This place is few dollars off with pricing- for what it is. Some of the dishes tasted like they were microwaved. The potato with yellow sauce mainly. There's a good amount of space inside, but it could use some renovations. I think for the price range of the foods, I'd like to feel like I'm eating somewhere that has some fresher decor. On a better note, service was decent, note the few people that were part of staff were pretty efficient. read more

Food is great, staff can use some help in upping their customer service skills.

Got the jalea and so delicious the best Peruvian restaurant in town! My favorite place to go when in town

It was okay. I got the lomo saltado de pollo. I've had better with more quantity for a better price. I dunno. Jaimito's is better. El chévere is good, too. But this place... It was okay, but not good enough to come back. read more

We usually go to the restaurant on Union Avenue in Paterson for the Chaufa especial. This is an affiliated restaurant. The portion at this restaurant is not the same and the food was not as good. The chicken was chopped into huge chunks. The chicken and the steak had slabs of fat. It seemed as if they didn't trim the meat as well. The meat in the Paterson restaurant is usually chopped into bite-size portions and FAR more tender. The shrimp at the Paterson location is usually much more tender as well. The egg was also in a huge scramble chunk and burned on one side. The Chaufa had the same overall flavor, but the quality of the proteins was terrible in comparison. The only reason why we went to this restaurant as opposed to Paterson is because the Paterson one was too busy to pick up the phone.... read more

Food was to salty and hard to really eat because of that. Had the lomo and it wasn't good at all.

Hands down the best Peruvian food in New Jersey. The lomo is great. The aji verde is the best I have ever had. If you are in Passaic you should go. read more

Best Peruvian food ever!! We used to order trays of food for special events in my college days. Everyone used to flock to and rave about the food. I still go there to this day but now I bring my family. The lomo is amazing and the chaufa too (especially de mariscos / seafood). Pollo a la brasa is my favorite. If you have ever had Peruvian you are familiar with green sauce. They make THE BEST GREEN SAUCE I have ever had, it is my absolute favorite to dip just about anything in (chicken, fries, rice, my own fingers... Whatever .... It's AMAZING). You won't be disappointed, trust me. read more

Never going again!!! This place is mediocre at best. And WAY too expensive for being in the ghetto making plain food. Two half chicken meals (with rice and salad) plus fried yuca $30?!?!!?! Do they think they're Gordon Ramsey?! The salad is like two bites and not enough rice. The chicken is always dry and the fried yuca (Yuca frita) tastes OLD. You can't even chew it. Not enough cheese sauce. All that should cost $10 at most. Disgusting and too expensive. Never recommend. Estan loco de la cabeza cobrando tanto por muy poca comida que ni es rico. Nunca mas. read more

Good food and great portion sizes. If you want take out call before you go. It's crowded inside to wait

This is by far one of the best Peruvian restaurants! Great food! Great presentation and very affordable! Their special green sauce is amazing!! Love their papa la huancaina and pollo a la braza!!! read more

The food was delicious make sure you ask for the choros achalaca. The owner was very attentive I'm also a big fan of the el Gordo in jersey city. read more

I. Love. This. Place. As a Peruvian, I am super picky as to where I spend my money for Peruvian food. It has to be authentic, flavorfull, not overdue it with fusion nonsense, and adequately priced. El Gordo checks all these boxes. It's so much better than any NYC Peruvian restaurant you might go to. Now, the place is small, without good light, but you will forget about all of this once you taste the food - which is what really matters at the end. I'm taking off one star because the last couple of times I have been there they did not give me toasted corn (the Peruvian version of bread). The lomo saltado aji de gallina, and yuca frita are to die for. You will NOT regret this if you appreciate good food. read more

This is a little hole in the wall Peruvian that has all the usual specialties. Outstanding pollo a la brasa, lomo saltado, chuleta a la pobre, etc. Their salsa piquante is addictive. We've done take out only. We've tried a number of Peruvians in Passaic and we really like this one . read more

Warning: you will crave the green sauce! This family owned restaurant has savory Peruvian dishes at great prices. My personal favorite is the Lomo Saltado de carne. As of this review you can't pay with a credit card but their is a Chase bank just down the block, so don't let that stop you. read more

It was my first visit tonite (ordered take out). Since I was curious about how their food was, I ordered more than usual. The restaurant got decent reviews & I haven't been fortunate to have Peruvian food in years. I don't live nearby, but I happened to be in the area. 1/2 chicken with rice & salad. Chicken was made the traditional way & was good. They gave a green sauce on the side. It tasted somewhat like a parsley/pesto with a lil kick (reminded me of horseradish). The salad was really small, but I don't think it would be the same if I ate there. The size was about the palm of my hand (iceberg lettuce & a few cucumber slices). Tallarin verde con bistec - Spaghetti with pesto/spinach sauce and steak. Pasta was awesome! I love pesto which gave me more reason to choose this. Pasta was cooked, but not soggy. Amount of sauce was just right. Coated but not drenched. It also came with a broiled potato, skin removed. I used the green sauce from the chicken on the steak. Cau cau - Tripe stew with potatoes. Very tasty! The tripe was cleaned well, so no grittiness. They were cut about the same size of the potatoes. It wasn't even gamey. It was cooked just right... soft, not rubbery. It tasted like it was stewing all day, the "home made style" feeling. I'd definitely eat here again. I would go out of my way to stop by. read more