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Malecon Restaurant - 97th Street

3.5 (363 reviews)
ModerateDominican
Open • 7:00 am - 10:00 pm

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MALECON RESTAURANT - 97TH STREET ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Good for groups
Good for kids

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Recommended Reviews - Malecon Restaurant - 97th Street

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Yellow Rice and Steak with Onions Steak with Onions
R Lanier D.

I've been going to Malecon for many years, mostly late nights at the Broadway location near the George Washington Bridge. It's a dependable Dominican spot that's easy to return to again and again. Recently, I visited the Amsterdam Avenue location. They offer a solid daily special around $14-$15, with options like roast pork, chicken, or beef, served with rice, beans, and sides. The food is consistently good and very satisfying--perfect when you don't feel like cooking but want a real meal. This visit, I ordered two entrées and some bread, and the total came to about $37, which is still a good value for the quality and portion size.

Beans, rice, side salad, picadera
Rosalva C.

This place is ALWAYS full! This is my third time coming here and this time we came 6 deep! All six of us were seated rather quickly and the staff was as kind and friendly as always! They always answer all our questions and offer suggestions that always hit the spot. We ordered a picadera fried, a rotisserie chicken, a side potato salad, a side salad, and rice and beans. We had a feast!!! Everything was so tasty and cooked perfectly! The only thing that wasn't perfect this time around was the morir soñando. It was off and not a creamy dream like it usually is, but I've had it here before and it was perfect so maybe today was just not the day for it. My friends loved this place overall and they have decided they'd come back to this place again if they come back to NYC. The place is a little on the small side for how popular it is but it's spacious for being in New York City. So if your an out of towner give them grace. I always love the wait staff's attitude and they are always happy it seems and I just enjoy the atmosphere. If your looking for some good Dominican food this is the spot. The prices are a little higher but you'll understand when you see the portion sizes you get and the flavors you get. Over all I will keep coming back here and bringing more friends here on my travels to NYC! Try them out for yourself and see what I mean!

Red Beans
Ray M.

I was in the mood for some Spanish food so my friend and I decided to hit the neighborhood Dominican spot Malecon II.. This spot has been there for as long as I can remember. The food is so delicious and they're known for their rotisserie chicken, so that's what we ordered.. Chicken, White Rice and Platano Maduros (Sweet plantains). The chicken was so delicious, rice was perfectly cooked and the sweet plantains were perfectly sweet and soft! The way that I like it! Despite being packed the staff did a great job and were very accommodating and kind. The restaurant itself has a nice Latin vibe. No loud music blasting in your ears.. Just some cool background music, patrons enjoying their meals while chatting amongst themselves.. Overall a great spot to grab some breakfast, lunch or dinner! So if you're looking for some good Latin/Dominican cuisine hit this spot up. I'm sure you'll enjoy it! Have a great one yall! -Ray

Leiry S.

La cosa esta buena! This place is our family Go-to. Hands down the most consistent restaurant for us. The red beans are so nostalgic because it reminds me of my childhood. From the roasted chicken, to their mofongo this place never ever lets me down. This is my happy place. I must also add that their piña colada, to me, is the BEST. It's rich creamy consistency and the rum they use. It's truly heaven. I can't stress enough how delicious and authentic this place is. The portions are also reasonable. They care more about you being satisfied than anything else. The plate of rice they serve could last two full days. I can always take the leftover home. I love it here.

Best Spanish food i have ever ate, The servers were polite and helped me out with suggestions Food is top notch i will definitely be going back again soon

Stewed Chicken, Sweet Plantains, red beans, and rice.
LaMonica T.

Honestly, GREAT FOOD!!!! Like, delicious! BUT the service can be hit or miss. Restaurant is a nice size, plenty of space to dine in.

Khanh N.

We were super hungry upon arrival. The restaurant is kind of small and for 4 people we were seated at a rather small table with tight space. We had asked our server to move us to another table as the other people had exited and they were more than willing to move us. We had gotten the boneless chicken chunks and the churrasco steak with white and yellow rice. The chicken chunks and white rice were my favorite. The steak was okay as it wasn't as thick as I'm used to when eating churrasco. Our waitress was very nice and accommodating. We left with a food baby and that was the best way to end the night!

Tripe Soup
Lulu T.

Love, love, love their modongo (Tripe soup). They always have the best cut of meat! Best flavor. They never let me down when I'm craving this! Also in the photo is their potato salad. Best potato salad in a Spanish restaurant in town! I'll give them 4 stars because they can improve in other areas. But they do some dishes really well. Ordered through Ubereats

Egg, longaniza and avocado sandwich
Mardory V.

Solid neighborhood staple. Malecon is locally known as setting the standard of quality for Dominican restaurants. The food is consistently well prepared and seasoned with flavor. Service is effective although sometimes it appears slow due to their large customer base. Malecon offers breakfast, lunch and dinner and often offer specials as well as catering services. This location is not big at all but pre-covid they packed a good number of tables in the space. I haven't dined in during COVID but will update! I have been frequenting this place for years. Their alcupurria, empanada/pastelitos, etc can get a little dry in the warmer, so be sure to see if they're fresh before ordering. This aside, El Malecon is a great choice when desiring some delicious Dominican food.

Terry B.

We have pretty much given up on Mexican food in New York, but our cousins encouraged us to try this more general Latin American restaurant. We were surprised that, though we had our Excelsior passes in hand, we were not made to prove our vaccination status. On the other hand, every employee was masked, so we did not feel particularly unsafe. Maybe since cousins are such regulars here, we were treated to enthusiastic and efficient service at all times. Prices were in the modest range, and the pitcher of sangria was tasty and enough for the whole table. I avoided classics like quesadilla and tacos and went for a more interesting mofongo con queso. Most of the others got some kind of chicken or veggie dish. I found the mofongo (a creation of mashed plantains) to be a bit dense, but the others in the party were quite enthused about their meaty offerings, and Donna's chicken and vegetable dish was inspired. We went on New Year's Day, so even at an odd time the place was doing quite a good business. It made, on the whole, for a very pleasant holiday gathering.

Steak Sandwich
Spencer K.

The short take: Come here! I was jonesing for Cuban-esque food and my dining companion was game to help scratch that itch, so she steered me to Malecon, and I am thankful for the steerage. The place is pretty barebones when it comes to the atmosphere, but there's nothing bare about the flavour or the people manning the counter. We had the Cubano and a steak sandwich and both were excellent. (Two hours later we keep flipping back and forth over which we liked better -- at this moment I'm saying steak.) The bread has that really great crusty exterior that gives way to a soft spongy interior. We both agreed the temperature of the lettuce on the steak sandwich was perfect -- odd that we both noticed it. Portions were huge (we have leftovers!) and the order up counter service was amiable and helpful. On a whim I decided to try the Café con leche (the woman behind the counter said it was "the best" -- not sure if it was the best in the city, country, planet or solar system) -- I have it without sugar. It was sublime and I'll safely say it is the best in at least a four block radius. Only one sticking point: The coffee cups say "el rey del pollo" and underneath (I assume as translation) "king of the roasted chicken" The question is, are they king of only roasted chicken or of all chicken? We plan to go back next week for some arroz dishes and test this out.

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1 year ago

Food combo was great, the food was delicious especially the chicken. The service was great waiter was very attentive.

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2 years ago

Nice folks but the roast chicken was dry. Pernil was inedible. Hadn't been in 10 years, won't repeat.

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Zoralie Restaurant - Two delicious lunch specials

Zoralie Restaurant

4.3(345 reviews)
2.3 mi•Hell's Kitchen, Midtown West
•$

As a tourist, this is a great local spot. I came here for breakfast and had a plate of mangu…read more(mashed plantains) with dominican sausage, fried cheese, an egg and pickled onions. It was incredible, hearty, savory and simple. I didn't have cash so I zelled them. It's super cheap, delicious, and I love seeing all the locals popping in. Very authentic.

This place is a hole-in-the-wall in Hell's Kitchen, on a quiet street. There is limited seating…read moreboth indoor & outdoor. The staff are very friendly, despite the limited English skills (and we don't speak Spanish). The restaurant takes cash and Zelle. Both of the below entrees came with rice and (a very small portion of) plantain. *Roast Pork: I assume this was pernil. It had a nice balanced seasoning that was gently savory and went well with the rice. Not a particularly "wet" dish, don't expect a lot of sauce. *Chicken Stew: They gave us two large drumsticks of chicken stew. The marinade / sauce is VERY lightly flavored and I wish the seasoning could be stronger / more interesting. This is not the best Dominican food I ever had but I did appreciate the homey charm and the very low prices. For two servings of roast pork and one serving of chicken stew we paid $40 flat!! It was enough to serve our group of four. I don't know how many other places in Hell's Kitchen or other well-visited parts of Manhattan would be this affordable.

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Zoralie Restaurant - Inside

Inside

Zoralie Restaurant
Zoralie Restaurant

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Buena Vista Restaurant & Bar - Customers at the table trying our new Spanish dishes

Buena Vista Restaurant & Bar

4.6(497 reviews)
2.9 mi•Midtown West, Hell's Kitchen, Theater District
•$$$

What a delightful evening!!!! We came here by chance, as we checked in to our hotel and were a…read morebit hungry. Everyone agreed with my suggestion to eat Latin American food and we made a reservation at Buena Vista, not far away from our hotel and also not far from the theater. We came over a bit early, around 5:15 and were immediately seated. We were immediately impressed by the business model. It is a melange of Latin American and Iberian faire with exquisite curation. Their cocktails were absolutely delightful, I had a Pantalones en Fuego, others had an exquisite margarita with passion fruit flavor and a Daiquirí de Fresa, just amazing. Then we ordered interminable Hors d'oeuvres. Their ham croquetas and mushroom croquetas were the rage, as well as the tostoncillos ibéricos and ceviche limeño, The main courses followed, a paella valenciana for two, the magret de pato, a delicious duck dish, and a grilled Argentine parrilla. Not bad for four people. Dessert included churros and tres leches. And of course, a bottle of a great Verdejo. Service was just flawless. We had several staff members all contributing to making our Father's Day evening special. All around us it was festive, with plenty of well dressed Spanish speakers in several tables, and the accents of a half a dozen Spanish speaking countries. Plenty of gringoes too. A beautiful collection of diversity. We left happy, ready to see "Oh Mary" and wanting to return

Stopped by here with my other half to get a quick bite. It's a cute little spot that was around the…read morecorner from the hotel. We got the fries and the beet salad. Both were great to snack on. Our server was friendly and attentive. Will have to make another visit to check out more of the menu next trip to NYC.

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Buena Vista Restaurant & Bar - Looking toward front

Looking toward front

Buena Vista Restaurant & Bar - Plantains were delicious!

Plantains were delicious!

Buena Vista Restaurant & Bar - Empanadas

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Malecon Restaurant - 97th Street - dominican - Updated October 2026

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