Came here on a Friday afternoon with a friend. I had been here once before, but I honestly don't remember what I ordered. One thing I do know is that I definitely didn't get the chicharrón or the pernil. Once we walked in, the host seated us at an open table. The restaurant is pretty spacious, with music playing in the background. I also noticed a DJ booth, so I'm guessing it gets pretty lively at night. I ended up ordering the daily special, the Pernil al Horno ($15), which came with white rice and beans. The pernil was topped with crispy pork skin, which I really appreciated. It was juicy, flavorful, and the crispy skin added the perfect crunch to every bite. My friend ordered the chicharrón, and it was awesome. It wasn't overly fatty, just the right balance of meat, fat, and crispy skin. Every bite had the perfect combination of crunch and flavor. I'll definitely be back for the chicharrón, as a snack or a full meal. If you're a fan of chicharrón, I highly recommend giving this place a try. * Parking on premise * Outdoor dining available read more

See all

This place gets some bad reviews, and I can see why some people may say they didn't like their experience there. However, every time I visit this place I can clearly say I truly enjoy my meal. You also can get a cold beer for about 6 dollars which is reasonable compared to other places. The issue is they make some things really well and maybe others not so great. I always eat a few things I know they make well. After all you don't order a filet at a fried chicken joint. Today I visited after being disappointed at the Freakin Rican spot on Cedar lane. See that review for details. I went by Elsa's and ordered some Mofongo with their famous Chicharones and it was delicious. Perfectly seasoned and paired with some delicious sauce that was perfect. My wife had oxtails with rice and beans and they were delicious too! We enjoyed a couple of really cold beers each and our bill was only around 60 dollars. The place has a really relaxing atmosphere and the service was good. I had to battle with a couple of knats but it just added to the entertainment, lol! The place could use some remodeling and cleaning but at least they consistently serve me good food at a great price. If you go there just temper your expectations. It reminds me of a roadside eatery in the islands which always serves good food but you have to battle with some bugs. Lmao! read more

See all

What can I say Elsa once again our savior after having their doors closed (Freaking Rican wants-Teaneck) we landed in our best choice of food. I had the stewed ox tails, rice and beans (delicious). My hubby ordered mofongo de chicharrón soo good. The service always top notch so making you feel like familia. Music tridimensional bachata dancing melodies. I have to say they are not scarce with their food had enough to take home yay . Gracias read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - Chicharrón mofongo - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

See all

Automatic 20% for a party of 4 is a big no no. The chicharrón was amazing but then it was down hill from there. The Mofongo with chicharrón was dry and didn't have enough plantain. The bbq ribs were awful my mother in law only ate half of one. If you go only stick to the chicharrón and ask about the tipping policy. read more

t was an okay spot. The plantains were more on the chewy side--definitely missing that crispy crunch we all know and love. The chicharrón had good flavor, but it was a little too well-done--let's just say it spent a little too much time in the fryer. The ambiance was nice, and the waiter was attentive, which helped the experience. But would I go back? Probably not. I think there's a better spot out there with crispier tostones and chicharrón that doesn't need a fire extinguisher. Dissatisfied big time. read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - Chicharon De Seldo - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

See all

By far the worst restaurant ever. All the food was inedible...every item was burnt to a crisp! As soon as the very forgettable sangria was served, the fruit flies made an appearance. When the meat arrived, so did the gnats...it was like one big extended family reunion of flies. Now I know how the Egyptians felt during the biblical plagues. And oh yeah, wait servers were clueless and inattentive. This place is an entomologist haven for sure. read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - Simply gross, ribs. - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

The Food was great i have been here a couple of times food taste fresh the chicharon taste super crunchy My Mondongo (tripe soup) was delicious . Customer service is a bit slow they need to in prove was 15 mins for drinks. I will be ordering take out next time read more

See all

It use to be good , no more all burned up chicharron, service is bad plus they need some over night cleaning daily.

The Queen "La Reina" lost her touch when she crossed the river. Every bite was a mouth full of oil that tasted old and burned meat lacked more brining. A far cry from the Bronx location that still puts out amazing Chicarrón. My waiter inattentive or simply inexperienced I had to ask for utensils. Served me finger food and I had to ask for napkins. If they put as much focus on the food as they do the nightlife aspect of this location it could live up to the hype of Bronx location. Bronx location is simply food no hype. If you are ever near Bronx location that is worth stopping for. The Teaneck location should list TUMS as a dessert item. Dine with caution. It appears to have a decent nightlife, I'll be checking that out with friends and family after dining elsewhere. I'll be posting on that as well. read more

Tired of trying to get someone to speak English to order food. Food is good but time consuming to get someone to understand what I am asking for. read more

I picked up a Shrimp Mofongo & a soda - To Go. First, the sauce spilled all over the paper bag since it was filled to the top and overflowing. Luckily I had some rags in my car to lay down for the ride. Great taste and plenty of shrimp to go with each bite. However, at $35 for the meal, that in my opinion should t go over $20 at best, I doubt I'll be going back unless i win the lottery. read more

Food is not that good too dry and salty and very expensive. You could find better and cheaper food somewhere else

where do you start when the food is authentic and delicious staff is friendly place is clean and ...yeah that sums it up for me if your in the mood for the real flavors of "home" and your grandmas not around to cook for you lol ...try them out read more

I'm so upset to leave a comment here but look she has gotten more and more expensive the least her employees can do is follow costumer order Ella esta cobrando para todo y sus empleados asen una mireda de trabajo y cuidado si trata de regresa la comida que no te devuelve el dinero para tras al menos que te pongas firme ya no soy cliente de nigunos de sus negosios y tanpoco lo recomiendo la comida cara ya mala horrible!!!!!! read more

I ordered the chicharon pollo and was told they are sold out. I asked for other dish with chicken, the lady says arroz con pollo. So i asked are there chicharon pollo with the dish, she says yes. I paid $24.99 for a dish full of yellow rice and with 2 tiny stripped chicken at the bottom of the to go container. Before picking it up, i asked the man who pepared it "where's the chicken? He says under the rice. WHAT A RIP OFF!!!!!!! read more

just now New Save your money and DO NOT GO HERE ! . The food is not good. Where do I begin upon arrival the music was super loud. Atmosphere was very loud where you had to yell for others to hear you. Then to top it off the owner came to tell us to keep it down when all around was very loud. We were a table of 14. The owner of the restaurant was super disrespectful and approached us in the worst way possible. Elsa the owner asked us to leave and did not want to return or money although she had kicked us out. Very unprofessional and not what expected. Will never go here again read more

Went for dinner tonight to celebrate my husband's bday (5 adults 2kids) and it took almost an hour for us to get our food. There may have been 8 other tables being waited on some of no more than 6ppl some with as little as one person. I complained to one of our waiters about the service and didn't even get an explanation from him as to why it was taking so long. When the food came it, everyone got their food at separate times which caused everyone to eat separately since we were sitting outside and food would've been cold(er) had we waited for everyone. I've been here several time for take outs never to actually dine in. I would absolutely never recommend this place to dine in. read more

First of all.. the Staff was so sweet.. that alone encouraged me to go back. I'm a stickler for Good customer service and the lady at the counter was sweet, funny and very applogetic when my guy couldn't get the dish he wanted. It was late so no big dishes for us so I got a little soup and white rice. They're want alot soup so I ended up with alot broth, dinner pieces chicken and carrots. Perfectly fine. He had yucca w/ onions and side maduros. I'm going back with my work friends cause apparently I'm the only one who didn't know about this nice local place with Delicious! Food. Ill let you know how my next visit goes. read more

Childhood memories when she started at her Bodega in the heights! I remember my mom going every weekend when we will visit our cousins! I'm glad to see that she opened a restaurant in NJ! We came here for the 1st time! I could smell the chicharron from the parking lot! I knew it was her! The food was delicious! The sancho too! Great service! read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - the entrance to the restaurant - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

See all

Very rude, no customer service also the owner talked to the employee rude in front of the customer.

As a New Yorker now living in South Florida I have gotten used to getting my chicharrón fix at the Colombian restaurant. While visiting relatives for the holidays I got introduced to a delivery of Elsa's chicharrón in uptown Manhattans, it simply blew my mind! Every pice was consistently delicious and crunchy! Even my wife, who doesn't eat chicharrón had to take a bite, and then could not stop there! On my last day we went to visit my Brother in New Jersey and asked what I wanted to eat. I said in jest that I wanted chicharrón from Elsa one last time. Imagine my surprise when they i formed me there was a second location near by. We jumped in the car and headed over there. Parking was easy and the place was full. There were people sitting comfortably on restaurant side. There was a line on the to go side. The staff was friendly, even while under the pressure of helping so many customers. Elsa was there helping get the line taken care of. When the time came for our order, they allowed us to select the pieces of chicharrón from a big tray. We got home and enjoyed our food. The chicharrón was excellent once again. The name "La Reyna del Chicharrón" (Queen of Chicharrón) is very well deserved. My only criticism is that the tostones, while good, are not on part with the chicharrón. They were not as crispy, which was surprising considering how crunchy the chicharrón is. No chicharrón in South Florida has come close. I don't know what I am going to do! read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

Love the food but customer service is awful. They have no real system on how to place an order and how to pickup an order placed over the phone. Wait time even on a phone order is way too long. Then they're rude. They have some many people who can help and no one even bothers. I keep trying to give them a chance and I'm always reminded why I shouldn't return. read more

not only the food is not as it used to be!! how are they charging you for a shopping bag? um how are you supposed to carry all that food come on!! read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - fried yuca - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

See all

Muy decepcionada con el trato de este local, no tienen respeto ni consideración por sus clientes. Tratan a las personas como si no pagaran por el servicio y no dan razón al cliente. Soy clienta de varios años, Eh ordenado mucho, pedidos grades y pequeños y siempre fallan con la calidad de la comida. Y seguía leal por que es un negocio hispano y comparado a otros locales es mejor. Pero al cliente se le valora y se le respeta. Las veces que e tratado de comunicarme con el encargado me niegan comunicarme con el/ella y se hacen que no comenten errores. Si hace falta algún producto te ignoran y cobran igual. Tienen información del cliente y aun así me negaron hacer un pedido para recoger y pagar Cash. Saliendo del hospital con un bebé recién nacido me negaron hacer el simple pedido; ignorando la situación cuando pedí hablar con el encargado me colgaron varias veces. No solo pierden clientes con el mal trato pero pierden el respeto como local de nuestra cultura. read more

Food was good was small portion of food for mofongo de pernil for $18. Nothing I would rush back for. General manager was just arrested for drugs and driving and I've seen him interact with people which wasn't pleasant. Ample parking and outside seating. read more

Just ordered from here and their food has just went from ok to horrible!! I'm done giving this place too many chances!!

Not as good as it used to be. They changed the chicken rub and didn't give dressing for salad

Update your website with the correct prices. I get to the location and it's so much more. Horrible and rude people.

Food wasn't great. Wasn't authentic Dominican flavor wasn't there at all. Rice was dry and steak didn't have the onions I was looking for

I went to Elsa at the suggestion of my hair dresser. I got a take out order of red beans and rice. It was delicious. The staff were quick and courteous. I'll be returning with intent to try other items on the menu. read more

Went there for breakfast and had the 3 golpes it was good. The place was empty because it was early in the morning so the service was good and didn't have to wait long. Also, had the beef soup, it was tasty and filling. read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

Ello dan asco, el servicio es terrible. La comida no es fresca y no es cocinado bien. Me da pena decir esto porque yo quiero sel parte de mi comunidad latina pero este restaurante no vale la pena no vallen! Extremely disgusting! The service is terrible. The food is just disgusting every time I order here something is wrong I ordered sancocho it was just liquid with no taste to the broth and they didn't even add chicken meats and so on it was just pure liquid. Then I tried the white rice, Guandules and rabo and yuca. The rice tasted like hard left over rice from the day before that wasn't warmed up probably. The guandules was just pure disgusting. The rabo and yuca was extremely hard like there was no way to bite into that. The seasoning for the rabo was just pure oil no flavor and not to mention the meat was harder than you can imagine didn't get to eat it as per the yuca as well. The yuca wasn't boiled sufficient it was so hard you couldn't enjoy it. Makes me really sad because I wanted to support my Karin community but this restaurant ain't it. Beware! read more

We were looking to grab dinner tonight and since there is a lack of new restaurants (that we are aware of) in the area, we decided to try Elsa's after 3 years. We entered and sat ourselves down. The place is a but run down from how I recall but they created a bar which was a nice touch. Sundays nights from 6pm in they have a dj playing Latin music and drink specials. I noticed the same server from years ago but glad I got a different server. Our server was delightful, quick and attentive. He has other tables to tend to yet he always made sure to check on us and bring things to our table without asking. We ordered grilled pork chops, chicharron de pollo without bones, maduros and a few alcoholic drinks since they had drink specials. The food came out in a timely manner and boy were those dishes filled! They reminded me of the uptown , Wash Hgts venues. I was surprised to receive such good service, to see lively people, hear nice latin music and to enjoy the food. The food had a better presentation than in the past and most importantly had a better taste! It was not greasy and seasoned just fine-not too salty at all. Needless to say we were glad to pop in again. Will definitely try again when we feel like having some Dominican food and don't want to troop to the city. Thanks again to our server for an awesome job. (Don't recall his name but he was middle aged, not tall and did not have a full head of hair (most likely bald). read more

El chicharron parece que es de hace 3 dias de viejo. Demasiado seco el aceite no lo cambian. Tuve que botar mi orden completa platter de chicharrón con yuca de $70 a la basura. read more

Elsa's food is delicious. but the waiters need to work on their customer services. Every time I go they look miserable and the customer has to constantly try to get their attention. I went on Monday and Sat by the hosted table waiting to be seated and no one would come or say "hey! Sit where ever you like or someone will be with you shortly". Otherwise, the place would be a hit. I like that they have a liquor license and can get some alcoholic beverages and karaoke night is a lot of fun. Work on the waiter's attitude and this would be a 5 star. read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - Mofongo with Chicharon - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron's Sunday-only all you can eat brunch buffet offers tasty fatty home-cooking style Dominican fare for only $12.95!!! You get a wide variety of solid quality Dominican dishes, and even comes with a dessert! One of the best values in the area! Me gusta!! I came to this casual no-frills Dominican eatery for the first time with my Hispanic friends including a Dominican friend today. They were very accomodating to set up a table for more than 15 of us without any reservation. My Hispanic friends love this place, especially their chicharron. Although I opted for the buffet , I got to try my friend's mangu, which is not included in the buffet. Mangu is a typical Dominican breakfast dish made of mashed platano. It was too heavy for me, and wasn't too impressed with the flavor - definitely not my favorite dish. However, I highly recommend cafe con leche which is not included in the buffet. It's only $1.25 and so tasty!!! It's different from cafe con leche of Spain, Dominican version has "canela" (cinnamon) in it which gives a nice exotic aroma and flavor. These were the highlights of the buffet: 1) Arroz - you can choose from 4 different kinds of rice, but I liked arroz con habichuela y gandules. 3.5 stars 2) Sancocho : 4.5 stars!! This Dominican soup with chicken and platano was excellent! So flavorful!!! 3) Pollo al Horno : 4 stars. I like how they marinated the chicken, tasty! 4) Bacalao : 3.5 stars. I usually don't like bacalao because most places serve it too salty. This bacalao wasn'r overly salty and was properly seasoned. 5) Chicharron de pollo: 4 stars. Elsa lives up to her name, she's "la reina" indeed! This twice-cooked crispy deep-friend chicken is yummy but this is definitely not helping me lose weight! I feel like I gained 4lb in 1 day! This place is definitely not for diet-consciout folks, or those who don't appreciate Caribbean food or Hispanic food in general. But for those who do, you've found a gem! Check it out! read more

See all

Initially, I would've rated this closer to 3.5/4 stars but our experience got worse the longer we were there. Waiter came promptly when we first arrived and took our orders, but people started filtering in after us and the service got progressively worse. Our food took a little longer than expected and both churrascos were overcooked, much closer to medium well than medium. The portions were very generous but even at other Latin restaurants I've rarely seen a churrasco priced at $31.99. The flavor was good for the food but tiptoed the border of overly salted/seasoned and being okay way too closely. We have enough for leftovers which I'm trying to use to mentally justify the price for each steak. Once we had finished eating as much as we could, our waiter essentially disappeared. It's obvious they could have used some extra help on the floor and I'm trying not to fault him too much being that many people came in just minutes after us, but we sat for a good 25 minutes minimum waiting to get his attention to get boxes and then another few minutes again after to try and pay the check. I can't say I'd come back to this location specifically as I truly dislike waiting like that without even an acknowledgment of our table. Had the service been better I'd be willing to give it another shot but sadly, that wasn't the case. Also, please note there is an automatic gratuity charge of 18% regardless of the size of your party FYI. read more

The food is everything here. It is too good to be true, but its true. Arroz con pollo was delicious!! So much flavor in the rice and the chicken was super soft. The mofongo with chicken was delicious also. I would only do take out here because the service when you dine in is horrible. You have to hunt for the server. read more

Elsa La Reina del Chicharron - Chicken mofongo - Latin American Near Me - Teaneck, New Jersey

See all

The chicharrones & mofongo I just had for take out are so salty, & so full of fat - I'm sitting here just having a heart attack from 1-2 bites (nbd). I've ordered trays of food for parties in the past & there's always 1 thing that's off (wrong size tray for an order of tostones, overcharged for using card instead of cash, given a diff price in person than what was quoted on the phone). I keep telling my parents to stop ordering from here & let's give other places a try.. but they just go bc it's so close to home. Maybe's it's just this location; I've heard good things about Elsa's on Broadway. read more

I love Dominican culture, the people, the music, the pride but most importantly the food. I was so happy to find an authentic dominican restaurant in Teaneck, NJ and completely and utterly disappointed in the food. Simply put, it did not taste good at all. I went with a group of friends and we all agreed that we will not be going back. We tried the appetizers and entrees. The only thing we liked was the bottled beer (hard to screw that up). I wish there was something good I could say about the service, but I cant because that wasn't great either. I am not sure if they were good at one point but with the cost of eating out what it is not, unfortunately, I would not recommend them. Sorry guys. read more