Coracora - Elmwood — Restaurant in West Hartford

A friend and I went to Coracora with the highest of expectations following the announcement it had been named the best restaurant in Connecticut (and in the Hartford county!) Upon arrival, we were amazed by the decorations and how taken care of everything looked, but that is when the spell was broken.

Service took too long and we, sadly, had a server who could not care less about the job he was doing nor providing a small explanation about the dishes to either of us (despite us asking politely and, in Spanish).

We both ordered Ají de Gallina (which looked abysmal upon arrival) and Yuca Fries (which looked eh). The Ají de Gallina arrived barely hot and looked as if somebody had thrown up the Indian food they had earlier that day onto our plate. The flavor of the dish was nowhere to be found, with the pecans, boiled egg and Kalamata Olive serving as the only hint of flavor once in a while. The potatoes were on the harder side and the sauce, whilst mean to be thick, was a very heavy glue adjacent mess. The chicken shone for its absence from the plate, which despite being the main star, it was barely present. The highlight of this plate was the white rice, which was cooked to perfection and had a rich flavor, more flavor than the main dish perhaps.

The Yuca Fries were, without a doubt, the negative highlight of the evening. Lukewarm since they arrived to the table, some of them were crispy and golden, while most of the yuca fries were soft and slightly undercooked. Please do not advertise this as Yuca Fries, and do so as merely, Fried Yuca. And, if you are going to use PRE-PACKAGED Yuca, make sure to fry it properly and serve it when it's hot—no one likes a cold fry, or cold fried-anything. I had read the most recent complaint about undercooked/underwhelming yuca at this restaurant and thought it might have been a mistake but no, seems to be a recurring issue.

In total, nearly $75 for subpar food that we did not finish. We chose to take it back home as we do not believe in wasting food, but this dish (and the yucas) might become the side to a good batch of white rice or might be injected with actual flavor.

Coracora, named as the best restaurant in Connecticut, stands in my list as, perhaps, the most disappointing restaurant in Connecticut as the appraisal and fanfare do not match the dismal lack of care from servers or cooks at the...

My husband and I made a game time decision to eat here to celebrate our wedding anniversary. We met in CT (working in restaurants) but haven't lived here in many year and were just up visiting family. We had been hemming and hawing over where to go and he mentioned he had seen a place that was a James Beard finalist and then says "it's over by A DONG market"... my mind went blank trying to picture what could be over there. Let me save you the question mark bubble in your own mind and help: it's unassuming and honestly I think the building used to be a McDonalds(?? - I grew up in the south end and I swear I remember that! - can someone confirm!?) and kind of tucked up and back... GO LOOK FOR IT! The decor (I decided) is a visual representation of what my taste buds were doing! Jhosimar took care of us and made great recommendations. I told him I had never had Peruvian food and he had a knowing smile when he told me about a special they had which was like a sampler platter of all of their specialities. "It's a really nice experience" he said. Sold me. And it was a REALLY nice experience! I couldn't stop eating the jalea (it was the barramundi) - sooo delicate, so nice and flaky and massively flavorful but also low key somehow, it was really special. Ceviche was also 10/10 and I've eaten a ton - it's one of my favorite foods. The fish was so fresh and you could taste it over and through the lime which is not usually the case with ceviche! Very much the type of place where you can trust the servers to guide you if you are unsure. [Post-script: I'm glad we came here instead of going somewhere "safe". We left the area in 2017 and it was becoming annoyingly cookie-cutterish on the restaurant scene in West Hartford and surrounding towns. I am SO tired of all these painfully boring Max Group restaurants and others of that ilk popping up everywhere. Go and try something new in the culinary world and keep places like Cora Cora open for a long time so we can have a taste of...

Cora Cora used to be great. However, recently their management and staff are terrible. I once picked up my food and the person who took my order messed up the order. I called management to ask for them to fix the order and provide me with a discount for waiting so long and for the inconvenience of having to drive back and pick up a new order. They told me it was their employees fault and he messed up the order. They ADMITTED it was their fault but they wouldn't provide me a refund and only a $10 discount on my next order. When I asked about getting my order corrected and getting a new meal. They asked me to drive back and bring back the food I picked up....Who does that, what possible reason could they have to want the food back except for if they were going to just give it to someone else....which is terrible, what kind of business operates like that. The food is cold and how do they know if anyone has done something to it? I asked them for a refund and told them that they would lose a customer who purchases from them on a weekly basis and recommends their restaurant if they didn't provide me with a refund. They didn't care though, I guess this one sale was more important to them than recurring sales and the recommendations I provide.

The worst part is that this was their second chance after I stopped going their for a while because the last time I dined in there I saw a mouse go under another customers table. And when I told the server about it they didn't do anything. They didn't tell the customers or even care. They just ignored it. I swore them off for a while but when they came back under new management I was hoping it would be better, but it wasn't. Their management is terrible. I understand employees make mistakes, but if they don't even want to try to make it right then they will lose a customer and all my recommendations about them... but I guess they don't even care....