Villa de Colombia — Restaurant in Hackensack

Craving a taste of Colombia without leaving New Jersey? Colombian food embodies a sense of delightful magic that’ll have your taste buds tingling at the first bite. This South American cuisine is woven from a rich blend of cultural influences reflecting the heritage of the indigenous and the Spanish. Some common favorites are bandeja paisa, chicharró (fried pork belly), black beans, rice, plantains, avocado, and an arepa.

Located in the heart of Hackensack on Mercer Street, this establishment has been at the former site of OG of Colombia since 1990, where my partner, our friends, and I decided for lunch. Just ask any local, and they’ll tell you that Villa de Colombia is one of the best and most authentic BYOB restaurants for Latin cuisine in Bergen County. The reservation was easily made by calling into the restaurant for a party of 5.

Upon entering as first-timers, we were greeted by the staff and got a table right away in their comfortable, clean, and cozy-vibe interior at their main dining room.

The menu features authentic Colombian cuisine. But as evidence of the ever-expanding community, they have integrated other Latin American and Spanish recipes—something for everyone.

As an appetizer, I decided on the beef empanada. For the main meal, we opted for Pechuga De Pollo En Salsa De Champiñones, Tamal Colombiano, Quesadilla Mixta, and Quesadilla Colombiana.

Complimentary warm arepitas with hot sauce started our meal.

The food was served hot, well prepared, full of flavor, tasty, and delicious. The quality and amount of food one gets for the price is unbeatable. The service was professional, friendly, and not rushed, and our server was Esteban.

This was a real treat where all the boxes were checked, which we...

I’m local resident of the Hackensack area and have visited the restaurant before, although it had been a while since I had gone back and sat inside. I was be on dissatisfied with the service (food & waiter). I went with my wife, mother, 4 year old and 3 month old and I mention this because I guess the waiter thought it was ok to automatically add a 15% gratuity on the check. Now to the food, my wife and I both order the “Tres Mosqueteros” dish ($24 each). The dish was comprised & advertised as skirt meat, stuffed clams, shrimp, mash potatoes & ASPARAGUS! When the dish came, after a few minutes, we realize the asparagus never came so I got off my seat because the waiter just wouldn’t come. I politely asked about missing asparagus and his response was...”it’s for decoration”. I looked at him and said, then why is it on the menu as part of the dish. He said he would check and to top it, came with a dish with 2 sticks of asparagus. I didn’t want to get in a shouting match in front of my family but could not believe that was what he came out with. Then the automatic 15% just topped the entire experience. Sad to say, I will never go back. (Nunca mas volvere por el mal servicio - Una lastima que no les importe la clientela durante tiempos tan duros para los...

The food was good but not impressive. The meal started out nice with the fresh little arepas(yellow corn cakes)and butter. The juice was fresh. We ordered a meal that had skirt steak, shrimp and clams. We ordered the steak medium but it still needed to be cooked a little longer. A chimichurri came with it. It was not tasty and too oily. The shrimp were good and the clams were stuffed with seafood stuffing(tasted like it was mostly stuffing). My daughter had the quesadillas. The guacamole that came with it tasted like it came from a jar(not fresh). The "pico de gallo" tasted like salsa. The saving grace was the desert...some type of mora/maracuya spongecake. The service was good and the waitress that was helping us did everything she could to please us. Another thing that threw me off was that they automatically charged me a 15% tip...never had that unless the group was over a...