My favorite Ecuadorian restaurant in NJ/NY. I have eaten here for over 15 years. They have the best hot sauce in the world. Get a fried fish and a shrimp ceviche. read more

Such amazing food and service. I had am encebollado. Camarones Apandos was good. I never had ecuadorian food before and was so surprised as how amazing it was. Muy rico! read more

Rocio's is a tiny hole in the wall Ecuadorian restaurant. It is right by my work so I often go for their lunch specials. For 5.99 (meats such as pork chops, or chicken with rice and beans) it is a steal. Their homemade hot sauce is surprisingly spicy and deliciously addictive. There are some tables but not suggested for dinner or large groups. I would assume most people stop by for a quick lunch or take out. The older ladies who work here are very sweet but speak limited English. If you're around the area, visit Rocio to try their lunch specials (they change daily). *note: cash only! Tip the lady if you eat here, give generously :) read more

Rocio's Restaurant - Lunch special, all this for $5.99 - Latin American Near Me - Jersey City, New Jersey

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Best Ecuadorian food you can get by far. Always fresh and home made style food that tastes amazing.

Small gem, home style cooking. Traditonal plates and lunch specials. Great offer Monday-Friday. Large soup, entree and drink. $9. Cons, tight location, parking availability and bathroom space. read more

Rocio's Restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Jersey City, New Jersey

Serious cravings for tostones (fried plantains) led me to this hole-in the wall Latin American restaurant.I was not disappointed!Along with the tostones,I also decided to try their lunch special(which comes with a soup and an entree).The beef soup was a highly satisfying broth in generous quantity.It had all the right spices along with plantains and yuca and whatnot. The chicken entree served with rice and salad had fall-off-the bone tender chicken in gravy(though I didnt really care much for the gravy itself).The salad was crunchy and the veggies seemed really fresh.But the star of the meal was the hot(REALLY HOT) green sauce on the table of which I added copious amounts to my soup and rice.It just made everything even better.I am not entirely sure what its made of(green chillies is my best guess) but its really delish(if you are into spicy things). The seating is pretty cramped and this really does not seem to be much of a sit-down place but getting take-out is certainly worth the effort of getting here.I think they deliver too(but havent done that yet). read more

Rocio's Restaurant - Beef soup. - Latin American Near Me - Jersey City, New Jersey

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"Yay! I'm a fan." ok... for several reasons: 1st * -This is only my second Yelp review... but I'm the FIRST to review Rocio's. 2nd * -It's walking distance from my place... 3rd * -It's affordable... 4th * -It's tasty! ...oh! ...and I can bring-in a six-pack from the liquor store across the street! --but the star for that gets cancelled out due to their TINY restroom. Here's the scoop: This little Ecuadorean restaurant is a small (they have 6 tables), hole-in-the-wall, mom-n-pop type place... the kind of place you really only go to if you live nearby. ...but that's only because it's hard-to-find and easy-to-miss (even tho it's on one of the busiest streets in JC... thousands of cars whizz by every day). You almost only know about it if you live in the area. I usually make it into this place 2 or 3 times a month on Sundays to have some soothing comfort food... trying to self-medicate the hangover from an all-night dance party in the city! ...but that's a whooole other story. They have an $8 daily (almuerzo) special that changes... well... daily. Last time I was there, the special consisted of two parts... First they brought me a large bowl of "Sopa de Menestron" (a latin take on minestrone soup). Next...was my plate with a small portion of grilled chicken breast, spanish style rice, and salad. (I posted pics). They have mostly seafood dishes on their simple one-page menu. --ceviches --seafood soups --fish fillets --shrimp dishes --churrasco I've tried several different things and all have had great authentic Ecuadorean flavors and spices. The JSQ area is slowly changing... several new condo buildings and the new Journal Square Towers! ...it's places like ROCIO'S that give a gentrified area FLAVOR and charm, tho... let's keep 'em around. ...sometimes we just need to get off our high-horses (and air-conditioned SUV's --seriously, 'cus you're gonna have to walk here) and try out a place that might be out of our usual taste palate. GIVE 'EM A SHOT!!! -- and put some of that spicey green stuff they have on the tables on your rice! read more

Rocio's Restaurant - "almuerzo" special: Grilled Chicken Breast - Latin American Near Me - Jersey City, New Jersey

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Im so shocked to see that this place has such bad reviews! This is single handedly my favorite Ecuadorian restaurant, it tastes just like you are eating at home. The food is amazing, it tastes like real authentic Ecuadorian food. I have been coming here for years and the ownership has never changed which i love. The service is also great, however it is a small "mom and pop" hispanic restaurant which means most of the employees predominantly speak spanish, if anyone has had issues i solely believe its due to a language barrier and NOT rude customer service. In all of my pasts experiences the waiters/waitresses have been polite and attentive. My favorites are the ceviche de camarones and the pescado frito, I definitely recommend it. Also, FYI if you are planning on checking this place out this is a cash place only!! read more

Wow, the guatita is to die for! Of the several times I've been there is seems to be the favorite dish of all the Spanish guys eating lunch there. Never liked guatita in Ecuador itself (tried it twice) but it was great at Rocio's. Great, affordable, lunch specials and very authentic. If you've never had encebollado give it a try. Encebollado (tuna soup with onions and yuca) is the signature dish of Guayaquil. Personally it's my favorite dish ever and Rocio's does a pretty good job with it. I recommend eating it the traditional way, with some added vegetable oil and chifles! Try something new, try Ecuadorian food. read more

Small Location 2 blocks from the main strip. Ecuadorian food, Cash Only, Mom n Pop place. Prices are reasonable per say on the menu. I ordered a Churrasco w/ Rice Eggs and Fries $12, would of been great if I got a churrasco, apparently I was given a cheap steak cut - in no part the Western hemisphere would this be considered a churrasco - the steak was kind of old and could of been cooked better at home. The rice and Eggs were good though. Am I saying avoid - No, im sure their ceviche is great, but I didn't have a chance to try it out. read more

Hey the Ecuadorian Food here is really good and you can't beat the lunch special at $7 which is soup and a main course. Be sure to try the Quaker drink it's pretty goood! read more

Daily Lunch Specials are always to die for. Delivery is always fast. The waiters are so nice as well. read more

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Food it's good service as well, the lunch amazing the place it's small well, really small now we can live like that. The napkins that's the problem you always got to ask for, and again they give you only one.ask for more they will give you a look like why ask for more in general it's familiar nice place read more

MOLDY RUBBERBAND SALAD ANYONE? Rocio's was actually my favorite Ecudorean food restaurant in the area. BUT!...I just found a RUBBER BAND with green moldy stuff growing on it! It was in the salad! I only realized it because it was CHEWY! (Yes I put it in my mouth!) To make matters worse, I tell the guy about it and hand him a $10 bill (hoping they would do the right thing). But after taking the proof I had put on a napkin to the back, he charged me the whole lunch special! I was grossed out, but most importantly. I was dissappointed that they couldn't see past $8. Things happen, I know, but the least they could've done is charge me 1/2. Especially since I didn't finish my second plate. Because I was too grossed out! They lost a loyal customer, I had been coming here for atleast 5 years and I have refered TONS of people here! I would give them 0 stars but yelp won't let me. read more

1 star. Why? Not for the food, but for the lack of customer service. The goat is actually tender and tasty. But I went in for lunch and my pickup order was NOT ready, the waitress spoke limited English and wasn't friendly, gave no napkins, forks, or picante sauce. The oatmeal drink is too sweet and has a weird texture. Cash only which in itself is highly inconvenient read more

Ummm I used to love this place when you could go in and choose what you want for a lunch special out of a few different dishes but now it seems that they always have the same thing: chicken and if you want anything else you have to order it at the menu price. Sucks. I stopped going even though the food is really good. Let me know if this has changed. read more

The goat was nicely tender, rice cooked to perfection and fish fried crispy. However, we could not get pass the heavy salt use and that is not an overstatement. When we kindly request to dilute the saltiness, the woman became defensive and ignored us. Lack of English does not mean rudeness. Stick with Cejas in Union City! read more

Horrible . It's a corner in the wall, it's like eating in someone's kitchen crowded. Now that's just fine is the food is good? But out of 3 orders she got it wrong 4 times .... like come on!!! My husband ordered 2 chicken empanizada, he gave them steak. I order sancocho, I got seco de pollo first , and then brought me caldo de pollo. We had to get our own drinks out of a broken fridge , like they aren't even trying . Never going back. I love mom and pops places but that place is shit. read more

Solid go-to if you want a delicious meal. Get the grilled chicken, rice and beans, avocado salad or seafood stew. They say they deliver but anytime I try to get food delivered they can't do it. Also the place is super small so it can feel a bit cramped. read more

Had an order for pick up, we ordered 2 encebollado mixto with camarones(shrimp). Besides both soups tasting like water had no taste, it had no shrimp. The other plates weren't good either. We will no longer make business here for it was a complete disappointment. read more

Usually hole in the wall place shave surprisingly good food, but this place just sucked. Food was OK, beef was pretty chewy and I only got 2 thin pieces. Never seen that in a stew before. We asked for yellow rice, lady taking the order said okay. Came out with white rice, then she finally decides to tell us that they're out of yellow rice. Really? If you were out of yellow rice why couldn't you tell us? Why would I stay for something I don't want? Overall food was pretty bland. Many other Latin American food places in JC that are way better for the same price with bigger portions. 2 small thin pieces of beef!! I also think our meal came with a free drink but we wouldn't know because we didn't get a menu read more

The food is good, just make sure to eat it all in the restaurant or ask for a container for you to put your own food to-go in it yourself. I ordered my favorite Caldo de Bola de verde - I barely ate it because I was full from the ceviche and asked for it to-go and came home to a bunch of liquid. They kept the meat and the most important part of the soup the actual plantain ball. WTF?!!! Who does that??? These folks do!!! I'm so disappointed and will not be patronizing their establishment ever again. read more

I've been coming here for years with my parents when I have the jones for authentic Ecuadorian food. Try the encebollado and the cazuela if they have it. read more