Unusual, interesting restaurant with great service and very pleasant owner. Food was excellent.read more

I am always excited to try a Caribbean restaurant's Brown stew with rice and peas and Happy Feet…read moredid not disappoint. The rice and peas were cooked well, the chicken fell off the bone and the cabbage was nice and tender, but the seasoning tho...it was on point! I do wish there was more carrots and potatoes in the dish because they soak up all that flavor The menu has all the staples Caribbean cuisine like Ox tail, saltfish, cocobread and curry. The portion size for each dish will easily be a shareable or enough for a full meal of leftovers. The customer service was great and the food was made quickly and packaged with care. No mess in the car seat! This is a amazing find in Utica and a must go if you love Caribbean food.

The only thing more beautiful than the owner is the FOOD. But seriously, she's gorgeous…read more Do yourself a flavor and go eat lunch or dinner at this " hiding in plain sight " spot on Genesee Street. I've been dreaming about the guava juice since visiting and will return.

This review is for early November…read more I totally would have given it 5 stars but knocked it down because they charged me more than what was on the menu. The red snapper was a set price on the menu but I was charged more than that and I didn't notice until I read the receipt at home. The restaurant is very pretty and homey. The waitress and I'm guessing is the owner is so lovely and attending! Now let's talk about food. I was alone at the restaurant at about 5 pm on a weekday and when I left there was another party dining in and another party taking out. I ordered a red snapper with rice and habichuelas and I freaking loved it! The meal reminded of the meals I ate as a child. The meal here felt so home made! The habichuelas was magnificent and the red snapper was tasty and scrumptious. I really wish I placed a second order of my entire meal to go. I am definitely coming back when I'm in the area. The hospitality, decor and food is an A!

Great food- roasted chicken juicy and seasoned perfectly. Awesome price too. Came with rice and a…read moreside of beans. Shrimp Mofongo was delicious. Also had a side of plantains. Cute mom and pop shop. Friendly and my food was ready for pickup when I arrived. Lots of baseball memorabilia on the walks. Cute place.

First time in... my son and I ordered the chicken and rice for lunch .... WOW... that has to be the…read morebest Chicken rice and beans I've ever had... great spices ... its mild but you can add the spice to it... yes that hot sauce on the table and it HOT ! But very tasty ... loved it ... we'll be back !!!

El Barajo has long been on my list of restaurants to try in the Utica area. We finally ordered…read morelunch from there via UberEats and were very pleased with our meal. We ordered the pollo guisado, camaronfongo, and a vegetable empanada. All three were delicious, but I especially enjoyed the pollo guisado. The chicken--all dark meat, which I prefer--was melt-off-the-bone tender and very well-seasoned. We opted for yellow rice and black beans as sides, which were excellent accompaniments. My kids also loved this dish. I really loved the flavors of the camaronfongo (basically mofongo with shrimp), but only wish that there was more broth to pair with the mofongo. The mofongo was a bit dry, and I needed some more sauce or broth to moisten it and cut through the density. The fried vegetable empanada was crispy and delicious. The portions were generous; our order was enough for two adults and two toddlers, with leftovers enough for an adult's full meal.

The food was cooked fresh and they provided great service. They make Empanadillas with your choice…read moreof filling so it's always fresh. A little bit of a wait but definitely worth it.

Have ordered from there many times. Good comfort food for sure. Just not in the best part of town…read more The good news is they might still have a delivery service. Give them a try, you won't be disappointed.

What a great little hole in the wall. Food is fresh and piping hot! Talk about authentic Dominican…read moreFood this is the place to go. Great empanadas, pernil and rice were on point. Husband and wife duo make a great combo for this gem!!

Hypes: - 5 stars for hands down the best fried chicken in…read moreall of the land. I'm not joking and i'm not biased - it's simply the best and that too in Utica NY - The original fried chicken is great, but my favorite go tos are the hot honey chicken and the lemon pepper chicken. mmm. my mouth is salivating as i write this. It's perfectly crispy, perfectly flavored, and well..perfect - Love their sides also - there's a good variety to pick from - collard greens, yams, cabbage, and mac and cheese. their cornbread is so soft and yummy. - I have heard their brunch and their shrimp and other dishes are good but they can't get past the chicken to try anything else yet. it's too good. Gripes: - You might think a meal of chicken and two sides is pricey but it's really worth it for what you get and worth the satisfaction in your content smiling belly.

This is a Great Example of Black or African American Food taste like and providing business as…read moreProfessionals. They also do a lot of catering its sucks when you can't order on those days they are supposed to be open for the public. But nonetheless, I haven't eaten my own cultural food in years because of pork, but this right here brought it back to the Roots! the Food Here!

My friend and I decided to check out Piggy Pat's tonight and got a seat on their deck. Our server…read morewas attentive and very friendly. We started with an order of hush puppies and fried green tomatoes. The hush puppies were delicious, and the cinnamon sauce it came with was the star of the show. We weren't huge on the fried green tomatoes; I think it needed a little more seasoning. My friend got the Alabama chicken sandwich and enjoyed it. I got the pulled pork plate with salt potatoes and mac and cheese. I thought the pork was good, but the sides were great! I liked that the sauces were on the table so I could sample several of them (I ended up liking the Texas sauce best). We ended the night saying we'd love to come back on a night with live music! Check it out next time you're craving some barbecue!

Be aware that there is an extra charge for rocks (ice) with your drink(s). Initially I ordered a…read moreGuiness. Out of Guiness. For food I ordered the fish tacos. No fish tacos today. And then I receive the bill. Ice should be part of the price of the drink - not a seperate charge. Something so simple will likely dissuade us from visiting again. I figured the total bill with tip and deducted the ice cost.

Amazing experience…read more Food was really good. I'd recommend for two sharing a combo boil. It's a lot of food. If you've never been to a seafood boil before, please ask your server any questions you have. Extremely helpful. We had Amy as our server. She was the best!! Lisa as the owner was an amazing support to tables around us. Definitely a team effort. Really good coordination between management, kitchen, and servers. We had the Utica Bag with all sauces. Definitely worth it. We used Uber and it tried to take us to the back of the building. The driver was kind to listen to our "no it had to be the other side of the building." Extremely clean. So many places don't wipe things down anymore. We'll be back!

Food was fantastic and service was exceptional. Started out with the raw oysters which were clean…read moreand delicious. Then had the lobster, snow crabs, shrimp and clams in a steamed pot. The seasoning was amazing as was the seafood. Will definitely be coming back.