Flor de Mayo — Restaurant in New York

I’ve been coming to Flor de Mayo (1977) on the upper west side, since before I could talk. The flavors hit every sensory nerve, and I’ve been hooked ever since. This is a family business, a true NYC staple, where they seamlessly fuse Chinese and Peruvian cuisine. The Pollo a la Brasa is the dish I keep coming back for—the 18-hour marinated rotisserie chicken, paired with red beans sent from heaven, yellow rice, and sweet plantains. And the kicker? What Dennis, the owner and his family, calls “spicy chicken sauce”—a vinaigrette and hot sauce fusion that I swear he should bottle. I’d keep it in my pantry, a secret weapon for any meal.

The menu options are endless, and there isn’t a single dish I’ve ordered that hasn’t blown me away. Flor de Mayo has always been part of my NYC experience—every Christmas dinner, every bad day turned better, and every good day made great when it ended here. I can wholeheartedly say it’s my death row meal. I’d eat it every day if I could. It’s the perfect reason for bringing people together.

Supporting institutions like this is what being a New Yorker is all about. Try it for yourself, send a friend, bring your family—whatever you do, the wait is worth it. I fully support the culture of no reservations. It’s like a rollercoaster ride of flavor, comfort, and pure happiness, and when you’re in it, you feel alive.

Thanks again for having us, see you next...

I came here on a Sunday afternoon with my best friend. After a quick search on google, we realized this place is marketed as a Peruvian place and has great reviews so we were excited about it. We were definitely disappointed when we sat down and inspected the menu.

We were both confused. Like I mentioned above, this place markets itself as Peruvian but their menu also is heavily Chinese. There is also paella and a Cuban style dish?? We were overwhelmed and super confused. This menu was doing too much!

My friend decided to order the shrimp asopado and I went for crispy shrimp with rice and beans. Once again we were disappointed when the food arrived. The asopado was very bland. Absolutely no flavor. The shrimp was clearly fried but not crispy. The rice was good but it was definitely Chinese style rice and the beans had a sour taste? My friend barely touched her asopado and I got about halfway through the shrimp. I probably should have gotten the chicken, which seems to be very popular.

A huge disappointment as the asopado was $27 and the shrimp was $32. Overpriced for sure. We hope it was just a bad day for the chef because our experience did not match the positive reviews. But we probably will never go back...

I have been a long-time fan of Flor de Mayo and have always enjoyed my visits. However, during my most recent experience a couple of months ago, (it took me a while to come to write this review as I didn’t want to write anything negative about one of my favorite places to dine) I encountered a situation that left me deeply disappointed. As I was finishing my meal, a rat, with a trap stuck to its paw, ran across the restaurant. The incident understandably caused a great deal of alarm, and many guests, including myself, were visibly shaken.

Despite the unsettling event, the server proceeded to present us with the bill. I requested to speak with the manager to discuss whether the meal would be compensated for such a disruptive and distressing experience. Unfortunately, the manager only offered a small percentage discount on the bill and did not address the severity of the situation in a manner I would have expected.

Given the circumstances, I ultimately chose to leave without paying. I wanted to share this experience with you in the hope that such an incident will be addressed and that future guests will not face a...