El Palacio Resturante y Cafeteria — Restaurant in Bound Brook

I've been here three times I can distinctly remember, but surely more than that. The first time was to see if the food and atmosphere was good enough to host a reunion lunch with an old coworker friend. Everything I ate was great, everything I drank was delicious, the staff were friendly and the atmosphere was comfortable, family oriented warmth, SO I decided to host it here. The coworker disappeared and it was cancelled.

Months later, I wanted to go back, so I brought a friend and was astonished when they started berating and talking down to the waitstaff, so I began defending the staff, which lead to a loud and angry fight in the dining area. We were disruptive, but the staff was so friendly and kind that they managed to split our table up and ensure we got the right food and could eat it in peace. Social workers or police couldn't have done better than what these waitstaff did, during that calamity.

Many MORE months later, I wanted chicken soup because I felt unhealthy, and it's my tradition to eat that as a remedy, so I went to The Douglas Diner down the block, but they did not have chicken soup, so I walked down the block to try El Palacio. They had a great chicken soup, but also delicious tamales, atol de elote, and hot chamomile tea. All of the food was perfect, like how everything else I ever had ordered there was perfect. The waitress put much effort into speaking to me, even though my Spanish language skills are lacking, and I prefer when waitstaff patiently talks to me, meeting in the middle of the two languages, because there is a type of kindness a friendly patience shows which can be rare in today's world. These folks are very kind.

Lastly, when I was sick, my girlfriend had food delivered to my house, to help me recover without having to go out, and without ever talking to me, she picked this place's food, so I think that's another vote...

Worst customer service ever, I rarely leave a negative comment regarding to the service because I might be understanding of the circumstances, I arrived to the restaurant an hour before it says that they will close, as soon as I sat down with my family, 2 waitress come, one asking what would we like to drink and the other hands us the menu and tells us to hurry up since the kitchen is about to close, I would understand if it was 10-20 before closing, but it was a whole hour, I couldn't even take a look at the menu and see what they had to offer ( It was my first eating in the restaurant) and I felt so pressure by the waitress I just ordered whatever, then I asked if I could replace the remolacha with fried beans, and her reply was like they couldn't replace that, and then my mom (a regular customer) told her that she always do that and no one has given her a problem, she agreed to change it with an attitude, we ended up taking the food to go since what the other's in the table wasn't offered to eat there just to go, which I found absurd, long story short, I come home trying to finally eat after all that just happened, to find that she didn't do what I asked, if they were going to give me whatever they want then that's awful, I would never come back to this place, you lost a future good customer, and I will take my business somewhere else where I feel appreciated and I can be heard about what I'M...

Thanks to a great recommendation from friends from Costa Rica, I finally had the chance to visit this hyped eatery, and boy, did it deliver. As we walked in, it was buzzing with laughter and chatter from the tables, there’s a coffee and juice bar, and a bakery section that made my inner carb-lover do the happy dance. Despite my Spanish skills being limited to 'hello', 'thank you', and 'a beer please', one of the owners took pity on us and helped us order. We went for the Peruvian beef stir-fry and pueblo-style fish, both of which were ginormous and packed with flavor. I chose sides for my meal plantains and black beans. My friend enjoyed a refreshing batido mango which he loved, I had a tamarind drink, so delicious! The staff were super friendly, attentive, and provided top-notch service. I’m stoked about the early opening hours on weekends for soccer enthusiasts like myself who need snacks while yelling at the screens! The live soccer matches were on today, that added to the electric ambiance. I recommend this restaurant, which serves up a ridiculously diverse and authentic range of traditional Costa Rican, Peruvian, and Salvadoran dishes, among others. With prices that'll make your wallet do the happy dance or in this case...