I've visited Cantera Restaurant twice over the past week, and unfortunately my experience with…read moremanagement left me extremely disappointed. First, I want to make it clear that the waitresses were wonderful -- attentive, kind, and hardworking. My issue is not with the staff, but with the way management handled the billing and gratuity situation. Both times, my bill should have been around $66, yet I was charged about $85 because gratuity had already been added. I didn't realize this at first and was also leaving an additional 20% tip on top of it. I feel this is misleading to customers, especially for such a small bill where automatic gratuity is uncommon. When I questioned it, the owner came out and explained the gratuity policy in a very confrontational and dismissive manner instead of handling the concern professionally. I tried to explain that either the servers are not receiving enough directly, or customers are unknowingly overpaying because the gratuity is not made clear enough. At the end, I adjusted my payment by removing the extra $17 tip I had intended to leave and kept the automatic gratuity charge of $12. I also placed an additional $5 cash tip in the envelope specifically for my waitress because she truly deserved it. What upset me even more was seeing the owner immediately take that cash and place it into the general tip box. Again, the servers were excellent. My disappointment is entirely with management's handling of customers and gratuities.

Friendly staff, nice atmosphere, and was terrific. Glad I found this place. Will definitely go back…read morethere again.

This was our third visit to El Familiar. Today was Father's Day 2026…read more First, my daughter had made reservations for 15. They didn't hesitate. We showed up at 12:30 pm. We were seated almost immediately. The restaurant had just a few tables occupied. The restaurant was clean, quiet and our seating was spacious. We were promptly attended to. Second, we were given a Father's Day menu which was a very abbreviated version of their usual menu. Our server was quick to point out that if there was anything we wanted that was on the normal menu that we remembered, all we had to do was ask. We were delighted. We placed our drink orders. We were given plenty of time to review the menu and discuss what else we might want from the regular menu. We placed our orders. The wait for our meals was commensurate with the number of people. The food arrived piping hot. Everyone was served within minutes. The food was absolutely delicious and the portions enormous. I ordered 2 appetizers thinking they were going to be reasonable. I fed most of the table while still having enough for myself. Needless to say, to-go containers were necessary. Last, I want to say again that this was my and my wife's third visit. Each time we were served and attended to by Danna (?). I can't say enough positive things about her. She was attentive, friendly, warm, patient and very happy and helpful. She was very accepting even though I was doing my best with my high school Spanish. For my wife and me, I will ask for Danna to be our server and will be as much of a regular patron as possible. I would highly recommend El Familiar. You can't beat the ambiance, food quality and service.

Visited this restaurant with my family and we all loved the food. There were so many options on the…read moremenu and all were delicious. They even have a drink menu with fruit juices that are a must try. The service was great, waitress was very kind and patient especially with my newborn being there. The ambiance was nice, families were present. I'd definitely come back.

My fiancé and I came in for lunch! Nice atmosphere and friendly and welcoming staff. We had Nilse…read moreand she was so very sweet! I recommend the empanadas and the papa relleno! My fiancé had a delicious and generous portioned lunch special! Over all great experience!!!!

First time at a Colombian restaurant with a couple friends who like to explore a different foods…read more We tried empanadas, chorizo, and then got a large meat platter, which had steak, chicken, pork and chorizo along with french fries and baked ground potatoes, it was four people, and the three of us could not finish it, and would feed5. Overall, the food was OK, the presentation of the fish at another table looked very nice, but the style of food is not really seasoned and so it's a relatively non-gastronomic meal but you leave feeling full. Maybe I expected more because I like Mexican and Thai food, but went into it with an open mind. It was clear that a lot of local Latinas went there, and that is a good sign that it fits the cultural expectation. So if you are Latina and know what to expect it is a good restaurant to try

My family has been raving about how fantastic these tacos are at Taco- Tastic!!…read moreSo tonight we ordered to go dinner! Got to admit it was Taco -Tastic Fantastic!! Fresh ingredients! Lots of flavors and textures! Definitely recommend!

Last time we ordered I should've stuck to saying I'd never go back…read more We ordered several orders of tacos. The guy even confirmed upon pick up that the Al pastor tacos had no cilantro or onions. I guess this is their interpretation of that. I had to pick it all apart. Also there is no pineapple on 2 of them. That's the entire flavor point of these. And I asked for red salsa and got green.

Won't be back! I arrived to meet my husband for lunch - we had passed this place many times and we…read moreboth had meetings that way so thought let's give them a try. Hubs wasn't there yet so I headed to the restroom to wash my hands - I didn't even get to push open the bathroom door yet and a woman came rushing out from the kitchen area to tell me that I couldn't use the restroom unless I buy something.. let me say they are not in an area that has no restrooms, everything else in that strip mall, even the gas station next door as a bathroom it's not like anyone would come in purely to use the bathroom. I was taken aback I said I was planning to have lunch but my husband is not here yet so I wanted to walk my hands, are you saying that I have to pay for my lunch before I can wash my hands.? She said well my boss said no bathroom unless you buy something. On that note, I left, told my husband to meet me next door at Lenny's and we spent $50 there on lunch and ate it down by the waterfront instead of eating at Ortega's. I'm a business woman, in my fifties, who was planning to enjoy lunch at your place, not someone looking to just use your bathroom and not spend money in your establishment. Poor customer service makes people feel unwelcome, even if you did have good food people are going to remember in unwelcoming attitude over anything you may serve.. can't recommended them and that's a shame for the business because you had the opportunity for some great advertisement and blew it. Good luck to you.

Delightful employees, great food at very reasonable prices. BYO…read moreGreat menu selection, no matter what you feel like having.

This place is by far the best-roasted chicken I have ever eaten. You all have to try it and see…read morefor yourself. The staff is wonderful and charming. I crave this chicken all the time and, I don't live in Brick, I come up from down south NJ. Thanks for letting me brag about it Sincerely DGConte

We wanted something different while visiting the shore and decided to check out this place, we…read moreordered 4 empanadas 4 half chickens w/ rice and beans, an order of chicharron w/thick sweet potato chips as well as tostones and sweet plantains, the food was flavorful and good but the chicken was a bit dry, the service was decent, it took them a bit to come and take our order but they were nice, the place is somewhat small but clean, we will come back and maybe try some of their other dishes.

Awesome fresh food. Great staff. Inexpensive and clean as a whistle. Well worth a visit.read more

First time here at the Spanish little diner that used to be a checkers and let me say for nine…read moredollars it is not lacking anything clearly you can see his platter big chicken quarter rice and beans with vegetables for nine dollars you get exactly what you want and while the chicken could be Maybe an extra minute or two on the rotisserie it is nothing short of flavor. This is a feast I definitely give this a 3.9 out of five and the lady was super friendly knowing it was my first time.

I could not wait for Margo's to open Since it is so close to…read moreus and I love columbian food . And the wait was worth it Started with beef empanadas Chichharron San cocho soup And dinner mixed grill which had sausage,chicken,steak,pork rice slaw columbian style Muduros arepas Lots of family ,service was excellent music Watched football(soccer) while we ate Loved it We will be back as regulars

Sorry to say that it wasn't as good as previous visits. My food wasn't hot, and the restaurant was…read morenot busy. My paella was supposed to be with shrimp, scallops, calamari & sausage but it had mostly a fish that was a terrible consistency. Avocado fries were still awesome.

Everything was just like back at the island we've been looking for a Puerto Rican restaurant near…read moreus ... amazing

Small restaurant. Friendly customer service. I ate two beef empanadas there and they were…read moreincredible. I grabbed a platter to go and will update review. I drove 90 minutes to get here.

Excellent food- freshness and service. Everything I have…read moretried has been amazing!! I always over order because every thing looks and smells so good- but it's great because I have leftovers ti take home!!

I love this restaurant. The food was amazing and I cannot wait to go back!! Everything was freshly…read moremade. The waitress was great and the environment was great as well.