Came here on a Friday night at around 6 PM and we were seated pretty quickly despite being a party of six. The place isn't huge, but they manage to accommodate as many guests as possible. I order the rachi and pancita combo, and my boyfriend ordered the pollo saltado. The pollo saltado came out incredibly quickly which can be good sometimes; however, in our case, the rest of the plates for the other five of us took another 15 minutes to come out, and we're a family that waits for everyone to have their food to eat. The pollo saltado was a very big portion, but it wasn't the best one we've had in the area - it had more of a homemade flavor rather than a restaurant one. The rachi and pancita were good but a bit burnt for my liking. If you go to Peru, the places that sell, this would serve that not as "well done" so this wasn't great in comparison. Overall, the bill came out to around $220 which to me seems a bit excessive . The service was your usual Peruvian service, so not great . We did get dessert. We got their dulce de Leche cake which was pretty flavorful. My only thing though is that Peruvian's called this manjar blanco, and not dulce de leche, so it never sits right with me when a Peruvian place call something by the name of Peruvian wouldn't call it by. read more

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Food was great! Only reason not a 5 rating is because we (7 diners) were subjected to seating in front of a very loud speaker in the middle of the room, room was not that big. We requested to be relocated but given excuse that musicians were about done.... 4 songs/~20 minutes later of trying to navigate ordering through piercing music w/waitress. A suggestion to management is to be considerate with paying customers & accommodate reasonable requests. A tranquil dinner was ruined by exposure to unnecessary noise, it's not fun - especially for children. Either relocate speaker or patrons - a slightly lower volume for a small room will help too for patrons to enjoy dinner & acoustics read more

Passaic is the Spanish capital of the world with a variety of Spanish cuisine awaiting a yelpers pallet. The rice chaufa is all the rav as is most of the food on the menu. Byob is a must. Pervian cuisine has always been a staple in Passaic NJ. There are 3 El Chevere restaurants in Passaic and all 3 are equally as good. read more

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Great food! The waitress took her time and explained the menu. A great place to be and have a great family time.

The food is delicious. Great service. Always polite. Multiple options to pay. Apple Pay available too. Large portions as well.

My family's favorite spot !!!! Always go there for the best Peruvian food !!! I recommend this place to all my friends and family to go read more

The customer service here is pretty awful to say the least. The waiting area stinks like they have a problem with the sewage system. We had gotten a chaufa de pollo and it was extremely greasy and inedible. I would not recommend this place. read more

Always come here when I'm craving peruvian food. Very family friendly spot, the waiters are super nice. I got the pollo a la brasa and vegetable chaufa which is always so tasty. Their green sauce of course is great too and just adds to the dish. read more

Muy mala la comida , pedimos arroz chaufa de pollo y carne , arroz súper cocinado, encontramos unas tiritas de carne e igualmente el pollo , no tenía nada de sabor . Pedí pollo a la plancha y me trajeron pollo a la brasa súper secooooooo. Esperamos más de la cuenta por el chaufa porq se habían olvidado . No es recomendable Lo único bueno el choclo con queso . 0 estrellas read more

This is a usual stop for me and my family when I'm in town. Ambiance is pretty noisy and where we were seated felt very hot. We all ordered pollo a la brasa with one side. The pollo comes with a complimentary side salad. The chicken is pretty tasty and we used the complimentary sauces to intensify its flavor. The papa a huancaina (from what we were told) is usually served cold-however at your request they can serve it warm--which we did and enjoyed. I would've ordered the chicha morada to drink but waitstaff told me it was a bottled beverage vs. one made fresh in house. They also offer fountain drinks but I stuck to the Peruvian soda, inka cola. Service charge (tip) was included in our bill--normally I find this convenient however this time although the service was not terrible it also was not stellar or above average--perhaps because tip was included--tough to say. Im. It saying I wouldn't return, for the most part food is good and service is not bad. read more

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Absolutely horrible. Chicken was chewy and uncooked and given to us. The jalea was overcooked that we needed to return it for something else. We had to wait 30 min for the chicken. read more

El Chévere - Peruvian Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Ordené hoy dia domingo 16/10 1 1/2 pollo a la brasa via doordash, el pollo que recibi estaba muy seco, y recalentado. Llamé para hacer la queja y me dicen que por seguridad no hacian eso despues de mencionarlo como si yo estuviera inventando. Y me dijeron que yo mismo trajera el pollo para cambiarlo, despues que pagué por el servicio de delivery, luego me dijeron que llamara y reclamara a doordash para devolución de dinero, como si Doordash fuera el restaurante y preparo el pollo. Si tienen sobra no recalienten y lo envien como delivery. Mi perro que le gusta pollo a la brasa ni lo toco, asi que el pollo se fue directo a la basura con $45 que pagué incluido el delivery. La persona que me atendió por teléfono necesita un poco mas de conocimiento como hable con clientes. No nombres por esta vez. read more

More please ! Everything is good except I don't like soft empanadas Chicken and cheufa was excellent read more

Good Chaufa, Roasted Chicken and Lomo's. The service was a bit slow, but the food and company was worth the wait

The chicken here is like ( flavor ) at any Peruvian resturant , very moist and tasty The rice is also good I ordered a side fried platanos ( tostones) They were so good and they give us a lot of pieces , I been to certain places that will only give you about 3 pieces . The bathrooms are in the back , clean but it's freezing back there so bring a jacket ladies . So the food is a little above average but tasty and fresh . Not for a date night ,unless you have gone out for a while Great for lunch , but you will leave very full . read more

El Chévere - Carne Salteada: Always served with French fries under the meat with a side of rice - Peruvian Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

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do yourself a favor and go get pollo a la brasa somewhere else. For $16 they gave me a rotisserie chicken from shop rite with an 8oz container full of lettuce, two little containers of aji that tasted rancid and one for the salad that also tasted rancid as hell. I swear to you that the chicken tasted blend as hell, no flavor of peruvian pollo a la brasa at all. That chicken was insulting to the peruvian cuisine. nasty! read more

Since the location on Lexington closed because of the fire, everyone moved here. The food is still delicious as always. This space is also bigger, so it provides more tables and less wait time. Get the pollo a la brasa if you are a first timer and then go from there. My family and I have gone to El Chevere for over 10 years and there is no other place like it when it comes to Peruvian food. read more

El Chévere - Peruvian Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Good food good service! Price is right! I recommend "rachi con pancita" pollo a la brasa" if youre into steak try the churrasco and to finish try the raspadilla! Mango and coconut are my favourite ones! read more

El Chévere - Disfrutando de la rica raspadilla! - Peruvian Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Food is delicious. The chicken is moist and juicy. The decor and ambiance is family-friendly. The majority of customers are either Ecuadorian or Colombian. It was a lovely Easter afternoon with my family. The only downside is the lemonade. It was sour and super concentrated. The yucca friters were ok. The green sauce was delicious but very spicy. Otherwise, the service was good. I would recommend this place for Sunday brunch. read more

El Chévere - Grilled chicken, rice, beans and salad - Peruvian Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

Modern Peruvian restaurant with a delicious menu. We had pollo a la brasa and a hamburguesa a lo pobre( poor man's hamburger). Everything was cooked to order and came out quickly. This is an ideal spot to try Peruvian if you are not yet familiar with the cuisine from Peru. There is a metered parking lot across the street and they have plenty of seating. Overall yummy ! read more

They're so disorganized and the service is absolutely horrible. We ordered side dishes for our main dishes and received it first and then received out entree 50 mins later. Complained about why would I receive sides first instead of together with my food, the waitress said I should've specified I wanted all of my food together? Who eats sides alone? (Fries & rice) NEVER AGAIN. read more

The food is usually good, and consistent but customer service definitely has to improve.

La comida es rica. La atención es buena pero el tiempo de espera por la comida es increíblemente ridiculo. Fuimos dos personas a comer mi orden llego primero termine de comer y la segunda llego cuando yo ya terminaba la mia, es decir mientras uno come el otro mira read more

Slow, Overcooked & Unorganized A large group of us (11) went here for Mother's Day dinner and it was a disaster. First off, our "30-40 minute wait" extended to 80 minutes with no apologies. When we sat, the waiter did cone right away and we gave our order of appetizers and entrees. When the food finally started to come out, three of the appetizers were forgotten! (Turns out our big seafood appetizer was given to another table!) When the dinners were delivered, 10 of 11 came out. Apparently, the waiter forgot my Lomo Santaldo because, when it finally did come out, my meat was burned and dry and my white rice was crunchy. We won't be back. read more

My family and I have been coming here for years and always ordering out as well. The service is really good and the food is delicious. Great place to get some good Peruvian food. It gets really busy during lunch time so make sure you get there a little earlier. read more

Horrible service. Ordered a jalea for pick up and I picked up burned fried fish and mussels. No calamar or Shrimp AT ALL. I sent them a picture of the dish they sold me and asked for store credit because I live far from them and the girl that took my order said that she couldn't do anything about it with a NASTY attitude. Never again read more

El Chévere - This is the jalea they served. Expensive and it only came with burnt fried fish, a crab leg? and MUSSELS ! This is definitely NOT PERUVIAN - Peruvian Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

I used to live near a Pio Pio in NYC and have been looking for a similar place in NJ for some good Peruvian rotisserie chicken. I found it here at El Chevere. The chicken is moist and flavorful and they also have the green spicy sauce that adds a kick. I also recommend the Papa Rellena, stuffed potato with ground meat and other goodies, then deep fried. You can get a whole chicken and Papa Rellena for under $20. This is on my top cheap eats list in the area. One note, the neighborhood is a tad shady but we don't mind it. read more

If you have a craving for Peruvian BBQ then I suggest trying this place for your fix. I try different Peruvian restaurants to find one of my favorite dishes, pancita and rachi. Currently, this is my go to due to convenience as well as their pricing. The marinade is spot on. At times, the texture could be better but sometimes it is a matter of preference. I prefer mines to be cooked with crispy parts. read more

I just want to say that I have eaten here for years, and for some regulars like me I can recognize they've "revamped" the place. And the to other reviewer, I absolutely agree. I used to eat here when it was so much more than a bad paint job. The service WAS AWFUL. But maybe I came on a better night, because the food wasn't half bad. Just ok. The new waiters are un-attentive. They just kind of throw you things on the table like your utensils, and gripe when you ask for salt and ketchup (which they now have from glass bottles, to ketchup packets?!) but whatever. I really liked the food, the place may look different from what it used to, but at least the cooks in the back are the same I feel. I had chaufa, 1/4 chicken that came with salad, but the dessert was weird. Some flavored cheesecake? Still same great taste but NOT price, it all came out to $40 for two people. so I give the place a 2 star, minus 3 for customer service. P.S. I ended up spying a ketchup bottle one of the waiters had (there were only two very sassy guys there) behind the counter. What kind of customer service is that? Why make me go through hundred of ketchup packets, when you have a neat little ketchup bottle?! I like ketchup. Ugh. read more

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One of the better looking places around the block. It's Peruvian I think...never had it before but surprisingly has a lot of similarities with Asian cuisine. We had a few different apps, the beef empanadas were great and not fried which is a plus and the chorizo was nice. I had the chaufa especial which is a fried rice dish with chicken, beef, and seafood. Pretty good! Especially with their house green sauce. Overall the food is good, homemade, cheap, friendly service, and byob! read more

This is what I got today! Boyfriend picked up half a chicken from Chevere in main .. this makes me wants to vomit! read more

El Chévere - Peruvian Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

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Personally El chevere is the best place with the best chicken and the best chicken sauce (green sauce) hands down! I cant eat my tostones either my chicken without that green sauce. The service is really good and they are full full full on weekends. 10 stars!! read more

The portion of the food is great for the price but it wasn't anything that blew my mind. I just had a full chicken with fries and the appetizer that was just plain corn but the corn wasn't satisfying at all. The dips were great though. The service was great, bet friendly overall staff. I would def come back here again to try other menu items and maybe give it 4 stars in the future. read more

El Chévere - Peruvian Near Me - Passaic, New Jersey

I haven't been here in a long time. But i was really surprise for two things: the quality of the sevice and the speed of how the food came out. The quality of the food was definitely on point. We all enjoy our food. But I will recommend the rache and pancita, the flavor is awesome makes me feel like what I used to eat back in Peru. El choclo cpn queso was also good, not much to add to flavor but it was available and we went for it as appetizers. The pollo a la brasa was also very good as always. But the flavor on the papa a la huancaina was as always excellent, i remembered why I always get it here. You have to try it with yuca. I approached the manager and lrt her know about my experience she thanked me but about the speed of service she mention that if I come during the weekend to have patience because they are very busy and I sure know why. The location is small so now you know During the week is easier to get a table fast. Thank you again! read more

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Really sad to see this place go down hill. It's been my FAVORITE Peruvian eatery in the area, however after my experience tonight I probably won't go back. My boyfriend and I try to go out to eat every Monday, tonight we took our date night back to El Cheveres. We walked in and were told to grab any table we'd like. We sat and waited 10 minutes and WEREN'T greeted. Within that time another family of 4 came in and sat directly behind us. That family was greeted immediately and offered menus. They even had a chance to order before us. Now I ordered half a rotisserie chicken with white rice, and the other dinner was a beef chowfa. My meal came 12 minutes (timed) before the other order was placed on the table. The chicken was smaller then usual, and the rice was room temperature, with a lot of hard crust covering the outside of the scooped out pile. Now hence the beginning of my review, we were out for a "date night" ... why would I eat before both meals were on the table. The second meal finally gets to the table and the order is wrong! We received a chicken chowfa.. NOT what we ordered. Now I'm upset, not only was the service poor, our server got the second order wrong. Serving is fairly easy, especially in a restaurant as tiny as this one. As a server you write down verbatim what comes out of the guests mouth, and we were a party of two with 2 SIMPLE orders. Unfortunately I will not be back to this location, and if your craving a good chicken spot I recommend you try the other location in Passaic, or a mile down the road in Wallington a new chicken spot has opened 'Chicken Bullet'. I encourage you to try something new and don't bother with the hassle of this specific establishment. Especially with all the bad reviews!! read more

Good Peruvian grill !! Not to mistake with the "Chevre" in another street near by Grill is good,served royal style, You have to go early cause is very popular,and is always full So if you want to sit down , be patient Patience is a virtue !! Lol A lot of choice of meat and poultry,if you like hearts and guts and all those stuff, so this place is your paradise Very cheap for what you get,but I repeat get there early cause Latino eat and a lot,and is easy to don't find your favorite dish cause is already sold out from 7 pm !! Parking just up front,and all around You know New Jersey have it's "charme" If you too picky then forget about this place,and where is located read more

I don't know why they have bad reviews I always enjoy the food and the service is good $7.50 lunch special is on point you Can't ask for any better than that !!!! read more

Great lunch specials and usually not busy but the place is always freezing in the winter. Usually get one of the lunch specials. Last time the wait was long and they weren't busy but the usual waiter wasn't there. Great Peruvian food. read more

I'm a chaufa and aji de pollo (the light green sauce) fan and this place does it right! Def coming back regularly!

I love the food that this place offers. It is all very well seasoned and the sauces that they give is a perfect addition to the meal. I especially love the salad dressing! The only downfall to this place is the waiting time, its always sooooo crowded but hey, people wait so that alone speaks for itself. I wish that the would expand there location. read more