Makondo Latin Restaurant & Bar — Restaurant in Norwalk

Wow! We went here on a lovely day, enjoyed the big, free parking lot in the back and walked in easily through the back entrance. I have celiac disease and our server took this very seriously and let me know what she knew with certainty was gluten free. She checked on everything else and came back with a detailed report on the ingredients. I ordered lengua with the criolla sauce on the side, with sides of rice and beans, very fresh steamed vegetables and arepas. The lengua (beef tongue) was delicious - beefy tasting and tender. Huge portions of everything for $16. My guy got a massive fried rice dish with chicken, beef, shrimp and vegetables for about the same, with the ones without shrimp for a few dollars less. They have fresh veggie juices for $6, and we got one with cucumber, celery, ginger, pineapple that was delicious, refreshing and fresh. I discovered aguapanela and our waitress had me sample it different ways which was fun and very cool and we got some cold with lemon to go. They have a good variety of South American dishes and some fusion, including what might be the best guacamole I've ever had. It was fluffy, creamy, tasty and just wonderful. The kitchen messed up my order initially but the waitress recognized the mistakes right away and took care of it graciously. She really understood that celiac is real. So that was a minor issue in my book because it was made right and we had a fantastic meal in this clean, pleasant restaurant. It's simple tables with no real booths, so I wouldn't call it cozy or upscale, but comfortable, clean and pleasant. We're totally going back, even though we live 20 minutes away in Bridgeport and have lots of good places here, but this is also a cool area (SoNo) to walk around and we think the cute, empty storefronts will be full of cool shops within the year as it gets safer to go out. They have a bar and happy hour, although it's kind of brightly lit and doesn't have a bar room feeling. They also have French fries, empanadas, other fried foods, baked potatoes, and probably plenty of more American style foods to appeal to people with less international taste or anyone looking for snacks. Go there now - it's a great place, and take advantage of the big, free rear parking, because we saw tickets getting left for cars at the...

I have been only three times to this restaurant. The first time my husband and I had pandebonos, buñuelos and coffee and it was delicious! The second time (before covid) we had lunch on a Sunday around 1:30pm. They took a lot of time to bring the food to our table. It was almost cold when we tried it but we thought “Ok, maybe it is not a good day.” The third time (during covid) I went to buy pandebonos and buñuelos. While waiting, I noticed that the same person that received the money, cash, credit cards, was the same person taking the oranges and putting them into the orange machine without washing her hands. She also dropped a plastic cup on the floor, picked it up and left it there next to the machine, again, didn’t washed her hands and continued taking the oranges. When I wanted to pay and because I couldn’t hear well the lady, took her mask off to talk to me on top of the food (?!). I canceled the order and explained the reason. She graciously asked me to change the bag and pandebonos for ones that were not exposed. That was kind.

I would recommend them to have much better protocols while making the orange juices. If you want a natural orange juice, be careful to let them know if they don’t wash their hands in case you don’t feel comfortable. I mean, we are learning to “live” the new normal but it is not completely “safe” yet.

I called to explain what happened and talked to Stephania (she said she is the owner’s daughter). She said “I am sorry she took her mask off, but just to let you know, starting next week restaurants will not require masks,” justifying what the lady did. And it is true, in a week the state will not require masks inside and in public, but in a week, not yet. I didn’t mention the situation about the orange juice when I called. I hope they can do better with that.

I need to mention that I have tried other Colombian restaurants in the area, and so far, in my opinion, they have the best pandebonos...

I have been to Makondo's several times and every time they didn't serve with a napkin. What is up with that? Second, this time i sat at the bar. The waitresses behind the bar, there were two, why 2 when it wasn't busy, who knows, this was at 9pm on a Saturday night. One took my order, a different one brought it out and neither one brought a napkin and neither one offered me any of the salzas after being served. They never came back to my area until i was almost done. I noticed one guy ordered the same thing I did and I wanted to try the salsa in the bottle he had but there was none next to me. I finally had to wave one down to get some attention. When more than one waitress/bartender attends to the same customer, then they each must think I'm not their responsibility to attend to me after being served. Then at check out the waitress/bartender ran my card without stopping for me to add the tip. Wake up management, do some training on basic...