Guiradelco — Restaurant in Town of North Hempstead

This restaurant is a block away. I figured I should try it at least once. ONCE was enough. Filipino men and women came in AFTER ME and were served AHEAD of me. I had considered eating there, but any available table hadn't been cleaned. As in another review, I was charged a dollar more for each take-out item. Only one person would even look at me. They said, "What you want?" I pointed to 3 different items and asked what they were. NO response. For what I ended up getting, the food was edible, and Luke Warm, which I understand is a violation of Board of Health regulations, which requires hot food to be hot and cold food to be cold. I got the impression that they didn't want me as a customer. So, atmosphere dreary, service indifferent, manners non-existent, and lastly, at least the food didn't kill me. I don't understand how they got even ONE five star review. There are six other restaurants within 3 blocks, ALL of whom are courteous to everyone, serve excellent food, service with a smile, and if you are a regular customer, will even remember your name. This includes a Chinese restaurant, a Mexican restaurant serving breakfast lunch and dinner, a Deli (takeout only), and three Italian restaurants, one of which is world-class and, yes, expensive, but worth it. I have been a Westbury resident for almost 14 years, I eat out quite often, and the ONLY restaurant I have NO intention of revisiting is GUIRADELCO! If it were possible to give a restaurant only half a star, this would be the one. Nowhere in all of Westbury or the surrounding towns and villages is there another restaurant of such low quality that has the temerity to charge exorbitant prices, AND added cost for takeout. The Chinese restaurant I mentioned is far less expensive, friendly, has excellent food, and never charges for takeout orders. Think of GUIRADELCO as an overwhelming oddity, as John Lennon once said. Frankly, I have NO idea how they have managed to stay in business all these years. They were here before I moved here, and considering their attitude (distant) and their food (unexciting, barely edible, overpriced), it's a miracle they are still here. If you look over their menu, very few dishes are individually priced, the majority aimed at catering. The one gentleman's review that mentioned catering said he placed an order in advance, confirmed it the day of the pickup, and it still wasn't ready when he came to get it. The opposite of win-win must be lose-lose, and they're the poster child. If fingers were part of the rating process, I would give it two thumbs...

Today, March 26, 2022, Saturday, my wife and I craved for Halo-Halo. Went to Guiradelco in Post Avenue, Westbury. I went down to order to-go as dining is not yet allowed. We'll it them in the car. To my surprise, as the male attendant retrieved a couple of prepared "halo-halo" plastic cups from the display refrigerator, I noticed right away that the "halo" (ingredients) barely lift from the bottom of the plastic cups. After the "halo-halo" cups were done, I paid and brought them to the car. My wife and I started eating the little scoop of ice cream on top of the crushed ice and a little cube of flan. Then we dipped the spoon through the crushed ice, yellowed with evaporated milk and started stirring and scooping what was under. To our dismay, there was almost nothing in it. Just a few cubes of jello a couple of cube sweetened hard bananas, one piece of kaong, one piece of sweet bean and a smear of halaya on the side. That was it! We literally paid for crushed ice with evaporated milk and sugar and a very little of what supposed to be "halo-halo!" I called just outside the store and waved to the guy at the cashier and told him about the "halo-halo" scam that I just bought. Shortly, the male attendant who perepared the "halo-halo" came out and offered to return our money. I said, "I don't need the money. I need the Halo-halo." The guy turned away and went back inside the store. NEVER AGAIN. BEWARE MY FELLOW FILIPINOS who are fond of Halo-Halo. DO NOT BUY from Guiradelco. It's their new cash cow scam!! Oh, just so you know, it's $6.50 each for crushed ice with evaporated milk and sugar with a little bit of "halo" as if counted deliberately. DON'T SAY I DID...

I think this filipino spot has the best selection and price of all the filipino food restaurants on the island. It's always impeccably clean. The service is great. Very friendly and helpful. I think if you are weary about trying filipino food, this is the place to get your footing. The food looks approachable. The have clear labels on what the food is. And it is always fresh. I come here on the weekends to pick up filipino bbq, which is an absolute MUST have. Both the pork and chicken bbq are so delicious. Whenever my brother is in town from the Philippines, he always wants to come here to pick up the bbq particularly. The food store is small but has the common wants. Plus they are priced just right in comparison to other places. For some reason these place doesn't show up whenever you're trying to look up filipino places in long island, which is weird considering it's one of the OG filipino spots. It's truly a hidden gem and shouldn't...