Taino's Kitchen Downtown — Restaurant in Newark

First and foremost please beware...this restaurant has an 18% service fee for tables over 4 people. They also charge a credit card fee of about 4 to 5%. I find this to be a bit steep compared to other restaurants. On a bill of $304.00 expect to pay a $54 dollar service fee, a credit card fee of $13, plus the tip.

Service was a bit slow but per their warning on the menu "Good food takes time". They were out of some of the dishes and only had 2 chuletas cancan.

Now, for the food. The mofongo was authentically prepared with chunks of tocino. The portion was perfect for one person. I had the mofongo with the shrimp and garlic and it was the pefect combination. However, I wish it would have been served with a bit more of the garlic sauce to match the amount of mofongo. The churasco was also pefectly cooked to order and flavorful. We also had the oxtail with white rice and and beans. It was also delicious. The chicharrones de pollo were crunchy and juicy as they should be. The chuleta cancan was juicy and crunchy and the texture was just right. However, everyone agreed it needed just a little more salt. But, that can always be added at the table. Alcapurrias were yummy.

Drinks, they had a coquito that was creamy, with great taste, and the right amount of rum. The sour sop (guanabana) juice was a refreshing delight. The piña colada was a hit as well.

Dessert, the flancocho was more the texture of budin to us, but the flavor was good. The tres leche was rico (delicious).

Atmosphere, small and quaint. Thankfully the music was at the right volume. No high chairs for toddler available.

Bathroom - it was very clean. Does not have baby...

I've ordered from the Halsey street location a few times... a minor problem here and there but never like today... we ordered our lunch ahead so we have enough time to get back to the hospital and eat... when we get to the restaurant I asked the host if she could separate one of the orders (4 in total) and charge the other 3 together... she said yessss with out any issue... my coworker pays for her food (the 3 orders) and when I went to pay for mine she stated she charged it with my coworkers because I did not tell her to separate it... strike 1... after we pay we had to wait because even tho we called in our order ot was not ready... strike 2...at that time I then ordered a can soda and 2 coffees... my coworker and I step aside to wait for our food and coffee... we notice the host not making the coffee however taking care of customers who had just walked in (btw they got their food before us)... we ask one of your servers how long before our food got there and she said 6 minutes... about 20 minutes later our food FINALLY gets to us.. Strike 3.. had we not paid ahead we would have canceled and went elsewhere..

The food is amazing... but your staff is definitely not trained in how to actually serve... your host doesn't even have basic knowledge on what your menu is... a customer asked what cut of steak was being used and she said just regular steak with peppers and onions... your server had an unpleasant and bothered look everytime she passed us even tho we didn't ask her...

Heard good things about this place so here we go. For appetizers my wife and I each ordered Alcapurrias. She had the cassava and I had the green banana. It was very good and filling. I liked mine better. Then we had our main plates. I had the Pernil Asado (Roasted Pork) with arroz con gandules w/maduros. It was very good and tasty. I asked if I can get cuero (skin) and she wasn’t sure if they had anymore. Lucky for me they did and it was nice and crunchy. My wife had the carne asado (roast beef) with white rice and maduros. I had a taste of her dish and must say the meat was soft and tasty. We drank it down with mango juice and she had the lemonade (2 of them and they charged us twice for this!?). Most places we’ve been too they DO NOT charge for Lemonade refills. But it is what it is.  for dessert I had the Flan/Vanilla and it was ok, I had better. My wife had the tres leche and it was not soggy like it should be. All in all It was a pleasant experience. Would I go back? Not if they don’t give refills on Lemonade (the least they can do). For that I took...