La Roca Restaurant — Restaurant in Elizabeth

I recently had the chance to visit this restaurant, and unfortunately, my experience didn’t live up to my expectations. As a fellow Ecuadorian, I was excited to support an Ecuadorian establishment in the area. I ordered the seafood cazuela, which I intended to share with my husband. For those unfamiliar, a cazuela is a plantain-based dish with seafood, typically broiled or baked to create a golden, slightly crusty top. It’s served hot, and I was looking forward to enjoying this classic dish.

After letting it cool for a few minutes, I took my first bite and found it extremely salty. I asked my husband and two friends at the table to taste it, and they all agreed—it was simply too salty to enjoy.

After debating whether I should return the dish, the server approached our table and noticed I was not eating. I explained my concerns politely, emphasizing that I was embarrassed to send the dish back but felt it was inedible. She was understanding and reassured me that I had every right to voice my dissatisfaction. She took the dish back to speak with the cooks and mentioned that she was certain that they would offer a replacement. However, a few minutes later, she returned with a very different tone. She told me, quite firmly, that all the cooks in the kitchen had tried the dish and determined that it was prepared correctly. There was no apology, no offer of a replacement, and no attempt to make things right. Instead, the dish was returned to the table as-is.

I was shocked by the lack of customer service. I paid $25 for a meal I couldn’t eat, and there was no effort to address my concerns or find a solution. If they had offered to replace it with something simpler, I would have appreciated the gesture, even if I didn’t have time to finish my meal since my party was already wrapping up.

This experience was incredibly disappointing. I was hoping to love this place and support a local Ecuadorian business, but I left feeling dissatisfied and out $25 for a dish I barely touched. The inflated prices don’t reflect the quality or service, especially when there are better, more affordable options in the area. Sadly, I won’t...

I am a pretty hard person to please when it comes to restaurants. I will intentionally take it easy on any criticisms, as I grew up in the restaurant business. My father was a cook in a lechonera. His food was perfect every single time.

With that being said there is no need to hold back any criticisms here as there aren’t any. We ordered more food than we needed because I wanted to try the entire menu.

The caldo de bola will make you cry because it’s so good. It makes you feel like a tremendous madrina is doing the cooking in the kitchen. I close my eyes and forget I’m in New Jersey. It was so savory with a hefty amount of choice meat that was perfectly tender.

The llapinggacho meal had a perfect egg over medium on top and the potato was perfectly seasoned. The sausage included in the plate was not overly fatty which made it perfect for me.

The encebollado had hearty amounts of fish and shrimp and they did not overwhelm the dish with red onions. It was a perfect balance.

For dessert, the Ecuadorian cheesecake was perfectly sweet and melts in your mouth.

Finally, the service was phenomenal. Carolina & Antonella were very attentive to all our needs. If we had any questions we would catch someone’s eye and they would immediately come over to see how they can help. Please keep in mind that this was a Saturday early evening and they were packed. The staff was being pulled in every direction. If they got caught up in something they would immediately get back to our needs so we never waited a long time.

The DJ they had at this time just made it an overall good time. He started singing at one point and he was pretty good!

I’d rate this place a 10 out of 10 if I were to score it and it will definitely be my go-to spot as a local in the community. I’m definitely going back to try the humitas which is one of my favorite...

🚨Avoid La Roca Restaurant at All Costs – Worst Dining Experience Ever🚨

I rarely leave negative reviews, but what happened at La Roca Restaurant was so outrageous, I had to warn others.

From the jump, the service was shockingly rude. I asked our waiter for an iced coffee — fully understanding it wasn’t on the menu — but instead of simply letting me know they couldn’t accommodate, he sarcastically snapped, “This isn’t Dunkin’ Donuts.” Excuse me?

It gets worse.

We asked for a chocoflan and were told they were out. Fine. But when the manager came around and asked how we were doing, my dad asked again if they had any chocolate desserts. The manager went to check — and surprise! They had both chocolate cake and chocoflan. We ordered it, obviously.

When our original waiter returned and saw the chocoflan at our table, he literally laughed and said, “Oh, I was saving that for me, but I see you beat me to it.” WHAT?! Who says that to a paying customer?

Now let’s talk food — or rather, what not to eat:

I ordered the Bolón de Verde meal, which is traditionally savory, but this version was weirdly sweet, clearly done to cover up how old and bitter it was.

The meat was sour and inedible.

My dad’s seafood soup had meat that was brown when it should have been white. Totally unappetizing and questionable.

Between the attitude, lies, unprofessionalism, and the awful food, this was hands-down one of the worst dining experiences I’ve ever had — and I’ve had better service at fast food chains.

Moral of the story: Don’t waste your time, money, or appetite. La Roca needs serious retraining and a...