El Gordo MONTCLAIR — Restaurant in Montclair

I want to preface this review by saying that I am Peruvian and grew up in Peru so my standards of Peruvian food are very different than other people who may not have tried or may not be Peruvian.

We came here on a Friday night and this place was very quiet, but they did get a lot of takeout orders so maybe that is their main business which is great for them ! They have enough seating despite being a fairly small place. The service here is definitely much better than your usual Peruvian restaurants in New Jersey so that is the main reason why I am not giving them a one star. We got their passion fruit juice, which was very good and so was the cancha they put for the table. I ordered their tallarines verdes and my boyfriend ordered their jalea. Again, both of these dishes are what I grew up with and have tried not just in Peru, but also at other Peruvian places in New Jersey and, unfortunately, what I tried at this restaurant was not Peruvian food. The tallarines verdes tasted just like pesto sauce, which is not what it’s supposed to taste like, tallarines verdes has a very specific taste because it has not just basil but also spinach, queso fresco, evaporated milk, etc. all which gives it said Peruvian flavor - what I ate here was not tallarines verdes, it was pasta with pesto. The steak was OK, I got it medium rare and that’s what they served me, but I do have to say it was a bit salty. Now onto the jalea - this was basically just fried seafood, which is very disappointing. Jalea can look like fried seafood, however, it tastes very different, because we use different seasonings and sometimes even a different flour. On top of the food tasting just like Italian fried calamari rather than a traditional jalea, it did not come with salsa tartara, which further cemented us, knowing that this was not a true Peruvian place. I think it is good that they are trying to put Peruvian food out to other cultures, especially in the area of Montclair, but this is not a good attempt at it. It really breaks my heart to have to write a bad review for a restaurant that serves my country’s food, but that is unfortunately what I have found here. There are good Peruvian places in surrounding areas and even a good Peruvian restaurant in Montclair as well that gives a better alternative to what this...

Very impressed. Very tasty and almost sophisticated take on Peruvian classics. Our server told us they were her grandmother’s recipes and they’ve been in business since 1996. We’ve had some great Peruvian food in NJ but never this close to home. While the dining room is small it’s still light and airy. We were told this was originally meant to be a take out location, but so many people wanted to sit to eat, they put out tables. With this in mind, the only bathroom is in the kitchen. Food is fantastic, we had the Lomo Saltado and the Rotisserie Chicken, both very delicious and somewhat sophisticated in their simple, refined presentation. The green sauce was a touch spicier than other places, but more flavorful and so we ate less of it than normal which is not a bad thing! The service was very friendly, welcoming and accommodating. We showed up Friday night at 8:30pm and they closed at 9:00 so that was not what we expected, honestly. A wonderful surprise in nearby Montclair. Happy to know...

It’s been so long since I’ve had Peruvian food so very happy that this place opened up in Montclair. As familiar as I am with Montclair, it was in an area I’ve never been to. In any case, the food was delicious and the service was attentive. It’s a a small place with 4 small tables and a barstools on one side. It seemed like a mostly takeout place but it was rather nice to stay there and enjoy our meal. The ceviche was wonderful with so much seafood along with corn and sweet potatoes. The moderate spiciness ended up a bit a tad spicier than I prefer so I’ll make sure to order it as mild next time. My partner had the breaded chicken that reminded me of Milanese chicken. It was tender and tasty. Plenty of rice and fried plantain. I had the steak and wow, so flavorful. No need for any condiments. I had the yellow rice which was delicious and the fried plantain, which was crispy on the outside. We had their freshly made juice (I can’t recall what it was) and also quite good. We plan to...