Mi Buenaventura Restaurante — Restaurant in Plainfield

So I love this restaurant. Having a Colombian mom I’m very picky about where I get my Colombian food from. I’m from Elizabeth and I’ll be honest most places fall beneath my standards. One all the women in my family can throw down in the kitchen. Including the og mamita, rest her soul. My grandma was a home maker but she ran her kitchen like she were Gordon Ramsey. There’s an older Colombian woman who runs this restaurant and she just reminds me of my grandma, watching like a hawk over quality control of the cooking. The plates are pricey but you’re getting huge portions of food. I love the fried snapper, shrimp with rice and anything coconut based. I’ve seen the cooks actually scrap the coconut flakes from an actual coconut. That’s the way to do it, and I respect that this restaurant tries to keep that tradition going instead of just buying the flakes. I joke that they’ve got a coconut tree growing in the kitchen bc it tastes so fresh. For me, this is the closest I’ve seen a restaurant get to trying to keep the ingredients fresh in terms of cooking Colombian food. The empanadas are great here...

Well the place was move to a new location and I think is a plus but the fish was our reason to go back after 12 years, the fish was not hot and crispy as it supposed to be (both, two customers) and the food they served with the fish wasn't that good either. For me the this time my trip to this restaurant in particular wasn't that good like before. The prices I really don't know if are okay or not but we payed $84.oo for two fish (red snapper)each fish cost $35.oo and they charged $14.oo for a coke in little bottle and a Colombian soda in can , I guess is to much for this food in particular, even if you know that this restaurant is not the first class place. Only thing I can say about this restaurant "Mi buena Ventura" is that is out of my list of places to visit in future time. You can try it and taste and compare everything and please tell me about it...

We had a nice time here overall. We almost couldn't come in because reservations were needed during the pandemic and we didn't know - so call ahead. The hostess was kind enough to sit us though. She also brought us a few pieces of coconut brittle - and it was so good that we bought some to take home. Our entire table (5 of us) ordered 3 fried fish dishes. The portions were huge (granted, at $30 per dish for a small, homey restaurant - they should be huge). It was enough to feed another 2 or 3 people. Each dish had about 1.5 huge fishes and we packed up exactly a plates' worth. As Colombians ourselves - the food reminded us of what we would have. It was delicious, but nothing special. Come expecting a home cooked meal and humble hospitality, complete with scratched and chipped walls and out-of-place table cloths with dressed chairs, and you'll...