El Negro De Oro Restautant

Authentic ecuadorian food. Really good and abundant. I love they’re lunch specials. They first come with the soup and then your
Meal. Today they had lentil soup and I ordered the carne asada with rice beans and salad. All for an economical price. The waitress very friend and towards the end of the meal the owner asked us how everything was. Was very impressed with they’re customer service! Will be coming back

El Negro De Oro (Black Gold) is a new Ecuadorian restaurant at the corner of Sewall and S. Broad in Hamilton, New Jersey. It is easy to find because it is painted the colors of its name and stands out in an otherwise drab urbanscape. Street parking is required, but the side streets around there offer plenty of space for a short stroll to the entrada.
Walking in, the color combination grabs your attention immediately. Black and gold floors and walls. The house has been open only three months and the atmosphere is clean and bright with a small counter near the kitchen entrance, and an area for entertainment off to the side. They did a very good job turning a small grocery/​deli into an attractive place to dine.
Service was warm and informative and we had no trouble understanding each other though all accents (including mine) were thick as homemade salsa. The menu is bilingual which is very helpful. I ordered the Special Lunch of the Day, Catfish/​Yam Soup and Quarter Roast Chicken with Red Beans and Rice. A couple of dishes of salsa tagged along, one a traditional Green Sauce, and the other a more unusual thick Yellow Grainy Sauce, which had an unusual flavor that mixed well with the chicken and rice. Think Adobo.
The Soup contained a tender chunk of Catfish, bone in and with skin. It was very tasty. The orange color of the soup base came from the Yams in which everything simmered for many hours. There was some spice thrown in for good measure. The sweetness of the tubers was the most obvious flavor, and cooking the fish in it was an excellent approach, as the mild white meat of the Catfish had nicely picked up the Yamminess from the stewing process.
The Chicken was smaller than the typical clucker found in most restaurants, and had the look of a Cornish Hen, although the taste was not gamey. I was able to pull it apart with knife, fork and fingers and suck the meat off the bones. Liked it a lot. The White Rice absorbed the juices from the bird and Red Beans and was a good companion to the rest of the plate.
While eating, the owner/​chef came out to check on my satisfaction. I learned that his nickname was «Black Gold,» and that he was also a trained Italian chef. As if to prove this point, he came out with a piece of Tiramisu prepared in his kitchen. While this is not my normal tea and crumpets, it was soft, rummy, creamy and sweet. I suggest he consider adding a few of his best Italian dishes on the menu to broaden the appeal of his shop. There are not many Ecuadorian/​Italian places around here (or anywhere).
El Negro De Oro is another of the first rate Latin kitchens sprouting up in Trenton and Hamilton. It is a variation of what we know as Mexi/​Guat/​Salvador/​Puerto Rican/​Dominican/​Cuban restos, and well worth a visit.
The cuisine and the hospitality are the real deal.