June 2026. Last night was our first time at El Marino and everything we had was delicious. There were four of us and we shared four entrees and an appetizer. The ceviche and fish stew were absolutely amazing. five stars for food and service. Decor is very basic but clean and nice so 4 stars for that. read more

Came here for the lunch special on the weekday. Came with a soup, a drink, and a giant entree! We ordered the green spaghetti with fried fish, and a lomo saltado. I would say they are pretty solid options, and the portion sizes were big. I wouldn't come here if you were in a rush though as our orders took a while for it to come out. Very spacious store, with plenty of parking in the back. I would say it's definitely worth it for their lunch price. read more

Popped in for some lunch and was seated immediately. This restaurant has been one of my favorites for getting Peruvian food. Staff are very friendly. I usually order tallarin verde con carne (pasta with green sauce served with beef) or Arroz chaufa con pollo. Green sauce in the tallarin verde tastes similar to pesto. Today, I ordered arroz chaufa con pollo. The portion sizes are huge here and are big enough for 2 people. The taste was bit different than I usually get. Another popular dish here is the lomo saltado. I tried and recommend all 3. read more

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Excellent food, atmosphere and clean. I rate them a 10. My situation was a different one. My son had ordered something and it wasn't what he asked for but the dish that they did make because I think it was miscommunication on both parts smelled so good that I ended up buying it. read more

Cozy Peruvian restaurant. We stopped in for lunch, everything we ordered was delicious. Relleno de papa, tostones, chaufa rice and baked chicken. Perfection....the service was excellent. read more

During inflation, a restaurant either ups their prices to keep up with the quality of the food or simply makes less profit for the time being. Once you start lowering the quality of the foods, meats/fish, people will stop coming. That's what's happening here. My wife and I will now be one of them. This goes for their other location too. Peruvians have built up such a GREAT reputation over the years for their cuisine and in comes restaurants owners destroying this reputation with low quality meats/fish and products. read more

This review is purely based on the food. No, you don't come here for the ambiance. If you do, you are going to be disappointed. This place is kind of a hole in the wall but hey, at least it's BYOB! El Marino is definitely one of my favorite Peruvian restaurants in the area. The food here is very authentic and the portions are HUGE! Prices are very reasonable which is always a plus for great food. Make sure you're going home right after you eat because you will have to take some food to go lol. If you try to eat your entire entree, you will have massive food coma. I usually like to order a few things and share it with everyone else family style. Everything's too good not to share. I highly recommend the Ceviche Mixto, Lomo Saltado, Chaufa, and the Picante de Mariscos. Everything I've ever tried here has been amazing and is always bursting with flavor. Also, don't forget to try the purple corn drink as well! I like it and sometimes they make their own too. If they do have the home made drink, drink that instead because it's better :) Service here has been good every time I went and there is no language barrier. The menu also has descriptions of what each entree is which is really helpful especially if it's your first time. I've been to other really authentic Peruvian restaurants that didn't have that. Tip: Please come here with some cash!! They do accept credit card but after you swipe your card, there is no tip line! This is a huge problem if you don't have cash. Or before you swipe your credit card, just tell the staff the amount they should charge including the tip. Definitely try this place if you haven't yet and I hope you like it as much as I do :) read more

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Hidden gem. Right on 46, has parking in the back. Ordered the beef chaufa, papa huacaina, and lomo saltado. Portions are large, and flavorful. Service is not the best but the food makes up for it. The check is calculated by hand. read more

Food and portions are excellent, authentic Peruvian cuisine service is fantastic, you will definitely enjoy the food

A few months ago we ordered Ceviche, lomo saltado and milanesa de pescado, when we got home we found that instead of getting the limanesa de pescado they gave us something called Macho fish. We called and they promise they will give us the limanesa de pescado on your next visit. We live about 35 minutes away. Visited them yesterday and they refused to honor and asked us to go to another location to discuss the problem with the person who promised us the dish during our next visit. Well we placed an order of the same plates as before, this time they asked if we would to upgrade the lomo saltado meat to filet migon for an adittional $10. We agreed, when we got home to eat, it was a mess, the ceviche with so spicy my wife could not eat it, the lomo was dry and tasteless, the steak was NOT filet mignon. $70 dollars down the drain. One of the worst dining experience ever from that restaurant. I would recommend this place to anyone. read more

El Marino was my first experience with Peruvian food. Coming from New York City, the food mecca of the world, I was shocked that this cuisine had been missing from my life. I guess I had never thought to differentiate between cuisines in Latin America and South America. I made a mistake. Having the lomo saltado was what some might call a "moment of clarity" or a life-changing experience. Where was this glorious meal all my life? I was a meat and potatoes kinda guy. This was literally steak and french fries and veggies. It included everything I loved and then some! Sometimes I dream about their lomo saltado. It's an unexpecting, unassuming restaurant. You've probably driven right past it. Next time, slam that e-brake and go in. Since eating here I've opened my world to include all types of cuisines. Lomo Saltado is made monthly (or semi-weekly if I can slip it into our menu in my house now. Go and find out why! read more

The food is EXCELLENT. And I mean EXCELLENT. Sooo delicious and their portions are generous. However, the service is very mediocre. The restaurant itself is a very tiny place-- I'm talking the size of a studio apartment-- with about 7 tables. So we usually call ahead of time to pick up the food. The girl that works there does everything herself. Packs up the food for the call-in orders, answers the phone, waits the tables, works the registers.... everything. So I feel like the poor service is not really her fault. I feel like it is a lack of foresight by management. and I feel like they really don't care. It seems unfair to her that she has to do everything by herself. and WORSE--it's unfair to the customer's who have to sit there and wait while she plays every position like that Bugs Bunny baseball cartoon. With that said, the food is AMAZING. Flavors are exquisite and the food itself is very well cooked. read more

So my wife and I were looking for a new restaurant to add to our go to list. We found this restaurant and it isn't much to look at. It's a very small place on the corner of a thoroughfare and side road. It is rather unimpressive to look at and the parking situation is a bit difficult. However the staff was friendly enough. But the food, the food was delicious! My wife had the chicken fried rice and I had the chicken tomatoes and onions. The portion size is huge and everything is very flavorful. Definitely worth trying out. read more

Seriously don't know how this place stays in business with the amount of food they serve. The gf found this place on our trip to the Poconos via yelp. Located in the middle of town, far from the highway sits and roadside restaurant with not even 6 tables. There was one waitress and the kitchen looked like it was sitting outside. Regardless, she was very welcoming and made us feel comfy. Everyone there seemed like they're family or they've eaten in the restaurant so many times, it was like they were eating at home. After perusing the menu, we opted for the Churasco a lo pobre, to share. We heeded the yelp warnings and didn't order too much food in case we couldn't finish it all; best decision of the week! The platter was massive, almost took up the whole table. There was hot dog, steak, salad, fries, egg, just amazing quantity. Surprisingly, quality was not missing at all! Great tasting meat and sides, very filling, very satisfying. Looking around, massive plates of food seems to be the theme for this restaurant. Any other time we're around here, we'd be sure to hit up this spot for some great filling food. read more

El Marino - Churrasco a lo pobre! So much food!! - Peruvian Near Me - Dover, New Jersey

Big portion plates - cozy spot and friendly servers! Will go back for sure! Food was very flavorful.

I fell in love with the food, I won't be able to go to another Peruvian restaurant unless it's this restaurant. Love it!!!!! I approve as a Peruvian, this food brings joy to me and yes I drove an hour or two to taste the food. Worth it. read more

I have visited this restaurant a few times. There are items I love and some which I will pass. The tallarenes verdes is amazing, the portions are awesome. The rotissere chicken I will pass on, too dry. The service is awesome. We will be back. read more

The service seemed to lack attention, didnt give us napkins or utensils. After other people got their bread who came in after us, We finally got ours after we requested it. We ordered appetizers and as we were eating them, She put our meals on the table without giving us time to finish the appetizers. One of the entrees was lomo salteado chicken, with fried rice, which the rice tasted and smelled burned. The other entree was good with white rice. We are kinda disappointed. Its been out favorite place since we found it over a year ago. The server really seemed more concern about the regulars customers and told about specials and seemed to just worry about them. Not worth the money we pay for the lack of attention we recived and half bad food. read more

Small Peruvian restaurant in Dover NJ. Cute humble interior with Spanish music playing off of a large flat screen TV. One bathroom and not sure if handicap accessible. The food was delicious. Started with some bread and Peruvian picante-it was spicy yet had good flavor We both had a seafood soup and it had mollusks and large pasta noodles-interesting. Again spicy but not enough to kill the taste buds. My dish was bits of chicken mixed with tomato and on top cooked french fries. I believe it was sautéed. Wife had a fried breaded whole chicken breast. Both dishes came with a cup and half of white rice ( a little dry) which we moistened with left over soup broth. Overall a good lunch and in retrospect that soup was delicious Thought it was reasonably priced as it was around $20 for both including tip. Nice find based on Yelp reviews read more

El Marino - Spicy mollusk soup with noodles and cup of Peruvian picante - Peruvian Near Me - Dover, New Jersey

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Awesome spot. Good food portions. Friendly staff . The patio is absolutely amazing. I will definitely come back and dine here read more

El Marino - Patio area - Peruvian Near Me - Dover, New Jersey

I was almost hesitant to write this review because I'm selfish. This is a very small place. Don't go here if your in a rush. The food is amazing! The staff are very friendly. Portions are huge. I went on Friday night. They have about 10-15 tables and two servers. I've driven past this place a million times. After a friend's recommendation and him certifiying the food as authentic I had to try it. I was very presently surprised. read more

Talk about authenticity! Wow, our meal was drenched with flavor from the first bite to the last! I always order the chicken soup and the plantains. One of my favorite is their fish (something pescado I think). So much flavor!! I do have to deduct 1/2 star for the slow service and 1/2 star for the decor. But honestly, you don't come to a place like this for the ambiance. You come here for the food! I heard from a buddy that they moved a few blocks to a larger place. This can only mean bigger and better things to come! The "old" restaurant was a BYO. Make sure to stop by a liquor store to pick up your favorite adult beverage before hand =) read more

Parents were raving about this restaurant so i had to come out with them and check it out. Im glad i did!! The portions are huuuugeeeee. Bigger isn't always better but the quality is good too! We started off with papa a la hauncaina which was just okay. We ordered anticuchos. They were ok. I would of liked the beef hearts to be well done since two of the pieces were too rare for my liking. I ordered the pescado a lo macho which was excellent. My mom ordered a trout with shrimp and seafood sauce. She enjoyed it very much. Dad ordered jalea which was huuuugeee. Its enough for two people. It was great. Brother ordered saltado de mariscos which was on point!! All 4 entree's were great. Service was good. They didn't have much for dessert but they did have tres leches cake. That was also very good. I will definately come out here again. The place is about 35 mins away from me but its well worth the trip read more

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They have an older and newer location. The new is at Belmont and Rt 46. It is a much larger restaurant. The older one is mentioned in profile as 130 Mt Hope. It is more quaint with about 10 tables, and I think has a reduced menu, but as far as I can tell, has my favorites so doesn't matter. The menu includes seafood choices. It is also a convenient location for take out. The food is awesome and staff very nice. The only reason for loss of a star is ambiance. Both places are very simple. I prefer the older location because I like the smallness and found the acoustics strange in the newer larger location. If you haven't been here before, the lomo saltado is a must have, with incredible flavor. read more

This is the place that says "Latin Lunch and Dinner" on a yellow sign by the side of the road as you're on your way to Rockaway mall; it's not well marked as El Marino. I came here for lunch with my mom, who is a newbie to Latin American food. The staff is friendly, and welcoming to non Spanish speakers, although the menu might be a bit hard to decipher if you don't know anything about Peruvian food. We tried the chicken soup, which was phenomenal- some of the best chicken broth I've had; it would be worth the trip to El Marino for the soup alone. We also had the mixed ceviche, which tasted great, but the shellfish and calamari was so chewy that it wasn't very pleasant. I would recommend getting the ceviche with fish only; it's cheaper, and the fish ceviche was tender and tasted much better. Prices are in the $$ range, but portions are generous. We asked for tap water, and they insisted that only bottled water was available (the water was only a dollar, but still...) Plenty of parking on the side street. The big screen tv in the restaurant was playing a recording of an Adele concert while we were there! read more

A hidden gem in this area. The food here is great and as good as what you find in Elizabeth. The ceviche is amazing (I ended up using the juice in my churrasco. and portions are very generous! It may not be pretty but the clientele knows whats a good Peruvian food is. You will enjoy it. The price is good, the servers polite and costumers mind their own business. You're missing out if you only care about the pictures and furniture and not the food. I've been to a so-called Peruvian place in Rutherford, beautiful place but the food taste like doodoo. Would easily recommend and would come back to this place. read more

El Marino - Churassco a lo pobre. Holy shit that's half a cow! - Peruvian Near Me - Dover, New Jersey

Ceviche mixto is fabulous. The Peruvian equivalent of Paella is better than any found in the best Portuguese restaurants in Ironbound because the ingredients are fresher. Lomo saltado is luscious. Portions are generous. The tab for two is $27 - 40, the latter if you eat the highest priced things on the menu. Service is quick, helpful, and courteous. The only minus is that the room is noisy. Another than that this place can't be beat fir quality and value. read more

Another terrific Dover restaurant. This one is located on Route 46. Try the Beef Stew (it has a Spanish name which escapes me). Beef simmered on the bone with a ragu of beans and rice. We also enjoyed Lomo Saltado and Peruvian version of shrimp fried rice which had a heavy basil seasoning. The help was very nice and spoke English real well (sometimes hard to find in Latin restaurants). Also, try the take out. Well prepared and huge portions for the price. Highly recommended as is my other favorite in Dover, El Tapatio. read more

I will start off by saying that the atmosphere here is lacking and that's the reason I knocked off a star. Other than that though, no complaints. Everyone here is friendly, prompt and eager to explain the menu. It's also one of those places that's so unique in terms of flavor and you just have to try it. Go ahead, get out of your comfort zone a bit! In terms of portions - very big. You will not leave hungry if you try. The prices are reasonable and the food is delicious. I will leave you with two words - Lomo Saltado. read more

Their roast chicken definitely has good flavor, but the breast was very dry. The green sauce was excellent on the chicken. If you must have the chicken, then be sure to order the dark meat. The seafood rice was excellent. The plate was large enough to feed two and it had plenty of squid, shrimp, muscles and crab. The rice they served it with was fried rice. It added a nice smokiness from the wok it was cooked in. read more

Went here on a Thursday night with two friends. Never had this style of cuisine before, couldn't make out menu. Make sure you go with someone who speaks spanish, because your not going to understand the menu. I had some kind of steak with spaghetti. It was OK. My friends both had some form of ceviche and they ate it like they were going to the electric chair. I guess I would go back again read more

El Marino moved to a new location in Dover. It's now called Marino's Cafe located at 90 Belmont Ave. Dover, NJ. It's a much bigger restaurant and still as yummy as before. read more

El Marino - Peruvian chicken soup and side of sweet plantains. So yummy! - Peruvian Near Me - Dover, New Jersey

Wow, I never realized what a hidden gem this place was... Been driving by it for years... saw the "pollo" sign but I never knew it was a Peruvian seafood place until I saw the Yelp write up. So we tried it tonight and were very impressed! It's a small place, only a few tables, very unassuming. Don't expect amazing service-- this is a small family run operation, but do expect excellent food, prepared with loving care, and friendly casual staff. The ambiance is casual. Clean but simple. We had the ceviche mixto and a half chicken with the attendant side dishes, (tostones, fried rice and beans) and a chaufa mariscos, which is like a fried rice plate with seafood on top. All excellent. We brought a bottle of wine from home and thoroughly enjoyed the entire experience. Try it, you won't be sorry. read more

I'll start off saying that I love Peruvian food, and I've always loved the food here, although the food hasn't always been perfection. I've even catered some holidays at my house with their food. Last Friday 4 of us decided to go here for dinner. The waitress came and took our drink orders. Came back 15 mins later to take our food orders without writing anything down. Some people have the talent to do so, this girl did not. She also asked us to remind her what the drink order had been. Soon after the drinks were placed in front of us. Time passed, people around us ate, and the waitresses started to turn off decorative lights, clean, and sweep. We notice that our waitress was arguing with other waiters. I'm wondering how long we've been sitting there, until the waiter followed by our waitress approach the table. He apologizes and asks us what we ordered. We are all starving at this point. After about another 20 mins the food starts coming out. He brings me ceviche with shrimp and fish. I remind the waiter I asked for only shrimp ceviche and he informs me we ordered two. No we hadn't. He looks at my plate unwillingly and asks me to pass it to him. A friend felt bad and decided to keep it along with all his other food. The food was a bland ...ok. The frustration of sitting and waiting ruined the night. We should have gotten some sort of retribution for our time wasted and the terrible service. ...anything like "dessert is on us", "we'll take the mixed ceviche off the bill", or "all the sodas are on us"..... but nothing. Owners who care about having good customers make amends to show they care. We paid the $93 and left and $18 tip. I won't be returning. read more

As others have stated, the portions are HUGE. We had Lomo Saltado to go and got a large aluminum tray (not plate) filled with tons of food for each order we made. Each order is enough for at least two people. I'm from Peru and know good peruvian dishes. This place was pretty spot on in terms of taste. Their price for dishes are very reasonable considering the large portions. I highly recommend it. read more

We arrived at our lunch time hour. There were four of us and as we sat down, the waiter came to our table to write our order. Here's where things got messy, I asked for a "Arroz Con Pollo" and then the waiter told me they didn't have it anymore. So I order something else. My friend had already ordered her dish but the waiter, 5 minutes later, comes and say, they no longer have the dish in the kitchen. At this point, I'm kinda frustrated at the service, I'm receiving. 30 mins later, there comes my dish and I'm expecting all this hassle was going to be compensated by an excellent tasteful dish. I was wrong. The food is bland and oblique. Tasteless, far from an authentic peruvian dish. The steak is overcooked and lacks seasoning. I won't be returning. read more

Possibly the best Peruvian food I've had. The portions are huge! We asked for spicy for our ceviche mixto and it was super spicy! I think next time I would just ask for non-spicy to fully taste the flavor of the seafood. I LOVED my picante de mariscos. The flavor was spot on and it came with a lot of seafood. Would definitely return of I'm ever in the area =]. read more

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Excellent caviche, we also had an empanadas which was also good. Nice little place but as cheap as I expected. read more

El Marino - Peruvian Near Me - Dover, New Jersey

This place is great for lunch because it's $8 and they give you the "juice of the day" a small appetizer and a meal. However, BEWARE if you go when it's not the lunch special, because the plates are pretty pricey and if you order the wrong plate or want a change, THEY WONT take it back and change it. Which I think is AWFUL customer service and this was the owner who did this to me. So again, if you go here, it's only worth it to go during lunch special. read more

We always get parihuela and alternate other dishes. We tried everything, all mouth-watering good. They really know how to do sea food! read more

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