El Kallejon

Espectacular! De las mejores cenas que hemos tenido y sin duda el mejor seviche que he probado nunca. La atencion maravillosa, el sitio acogedor y bueno, permitanme que lo diga… El primer baño limpio y hasta bonito que he visto en NY. Gracias de verdad!

Splendid, unpredictable, el Barrio. The only thing that wasn’t surprising was the food: consistently excellent. Hospitality top notch, cans of Modelo ice cold, and live music & dance if you’re lucky.

My first Unilocal review, brought on by the service at El Kallejon :) I sat at the bar for a quick bite and had a chance to talk to the owner about the cozy vibe and good food he was trying to bring to the neighborhood. I loved the Maria Sabina (a tasty mushroom flatbread) and also got the Naked Mini Albondiagas, which were great too! Definitely an adorable spot to check out in East Harlem — awesome food, great décor, fantastic service.

expensive but great. Beautiful little back patio. One night there was a guy playing an accordion at the bar. the sangria here is amazing.

Tonight was my first time here, and Nestor, the owner was incredible! Every dish he brought out was amazing and he was genuinely so kind. Will def be returning!

Great food and the staff is so nice and accommodating. Will be back soon. The jalapeño Sangria is a nice touch.

Very nice place with excellent food! Too bad it was quite empty on a friday night, because I think it deserves more.
The food are small plates with a mexican background and a modern twist that makes them delicate and delicious

Wow. So happy that I found this place. Looked on Unilocal for a place near East Harlem since we were taking a shuttle from there to Randall’s Island, and stumbled across one of the best hole in the wall places I’ve ever found. Walked in and right away, the atmosphere was great– live little band, cozy dark atmosphere, and made me feel like I was in Mexico or somewhere else outside of East Harlem area.
I was happy with everything we ordered, right down to the jalapeño cilantro drink, named «El Kallejon» that had spicy red jalapeño peppers and just the right amount of kick.
The food was outstanding, and really great homemade sauces served with tiny adorable wooden spoons. My mind was blown away by the jalapeño raspberry sauce on our dessert. Truly an inspiration to my own cooking. The owner was so nice and generous by giving us a complimentary dish and a complimentary dessert. The Hamachi tostados were so delish. Every single tapas dish and drink was made with LOVE.
It’s a shame this place is so far from me, otherwise I would go back much more often. Absolutely deserves the full amount of stars.

Excellent food and service. Surpassed my expectations. The ceviche and tacos are top notch. A very welcoming staff and cozy atmosphere.

Great food. Everything we ordered was tasty. Guacamole was on point… and the Maria Sabina mushroom flatbread was Amazing!!! So good. Also had the calabasa/​squash flatbread which was also good but I wished we had ordered 2 of the mushroom because it was the bomb! We also ordered a grilled fish special (Bronzino I think?) and it was tasty… only thing is the portion felt small for the price. Overall, we felt maybe the portions could’ve been bigger… that was really the only gripe. Service was awesome! Everyone was great and the server was super attentive and nice. We live in West Harlem and definitely will be back!

For the area, it is a very good restaurant. Fun, quaint interior for Spanish Harlem. It is certainly not 4 ½ stars (averaging now). Every dish was good (and even creative, just not outstanding compared to other Unilocal 4 star restaurants). I would lean towards the tacos. The guacamole was made with real avocados, but average. The escargot was decent (made with a black bean sauce?)
My only quibble is the tasty sangria (medium size glass) was 90% ice, maybe 6 ozs of fluid. Ask for EASY ICE or you’ll feel ripped off.

My friend and I ate in El Kallejon last night for the first time. Nestor, the owner, was polite, charming, endearing and he and his staff provided great service and great original Mexican tapas in a rustic, romantic, quiet, yet upbeat atmosphere. This is a perfect date spot or a great venue to throw a party. The sangria was deliciosas! A true neighborhood find. Even if you live in a different neighborhood, come and check out; you’ll be back! I know I will.

Amazing cute little fusion Mexican place in my neighborhood of Spanish Harlem. Really good unique tapas with great homely ambience. Will definitely come here again and again. Make sure to try the goat cheese cake with passion fruit topping with chili raspberry sauce, it’s to die for! Nestor the owner makes you feel so welcome and is really nice. You’ll get great service here!

The owner was AMAZING with our large group!!! The food is delicious and I highly recommend the cilantro jalapeño sangria. THANK YOU NESTOR!!!

I just left this place after having such a wonderful experience that I couldn’t even wait to get home to write this review.
The place is so beautiful and cozy and unique and festive all at once. And this hidden gem has a back garden that’s bigger than most you will find in Manhattan. The best part is, the décor! Every table is different from the next. There are various Mexican chachkies that make it feel so authentic and festive both inside and out.
We walked in and were immediately greeted by Nesto, the owner. He was so incredibly friendly and humble. We chatted with him for a while about his establishment and how he started it, etc, and realized he’s one of the hardest working men we have yet to meet in the city.
His vision of Mexican tapas is unlike what you may have seen in the city. He uses unique ingredients and favors which really makes the food stand out from others. We tried so many dishes and really loved them all for their unique flavors. The Madrid Torta, Campesino, and El Corral were just a few we loved!
I could keep going on, but you’d be better off just going and seeing for yourself! You can thank me later!

Very nice place run by Nestor, its owner.
It has a beautiful backyard/​garden to have a romantic date night or even to escape the city’s madness for a while. It’s a truly gem found in the middle of East Harlem.
The food is great, small tapas to share, maybe one or two per person to get your belly quite full. We were two and we ordered three plates. It was enough since we weren’t that hungry.
The choices: tacos de pescado, three mini baja style fish tacos with a delicious chipotle sauce, an amazing albondigas (meatballs) served with tomato sauce and green tortillas and lastly but not least, the gringa coca which is a flatbread. Everything was great, specially the first two. I think the cocas would be a blast if the bread wasn’t that toasted. It felt more like a crostini or chip, kind of dry. It lacks moisture in the bread. That would have been incredible, but the rest of the ingredients on top were perfectly paired: shrimp, pineapple, chimichurri… yummmm
The service is quite poor, there’s the owner and the chef and that’s about it so I guess if the place is packed you better start playing cards or do something to wait for your dish. There wasn’t too many people at the restaurant and we got our order in time so I can’t complain, but I would say the attitude of Nestor is just not as «happy» as I thought.
Great getaway and good food!

As previous Unilocalers mentioned, family run place with Nestor at the helm of FOH. Very friendly. Very non pretentious. The Pulpo and Salmon ceviches had lots of flavor each. I especially liked the Yuzo on the Salmon.
The Himachi was good and my wife had the jalapeño sangria which she said was great
While the food is good and there were no issues with service, sitting in the back courtyard was a main incentive of going here. A little oasis rucked away behind the building.
There may be only enough seating for 14 or so back there which allows the space to remain intimate. This is a great date spot and there are plenty of more items on the menu that need exploring (pigs brains & shark) so we will be back!

There is a lot of good to say about this place and its owner Nestor — which has basically been covered in other reviews. Not only is the food amazing, fresh, and of great quality but the atmosphere and staff are top notch. This is the type of place you go to over and over again, because its just that good.
Nestor takes pride in what he does and this is clear the minute you walk through the door. I cannot recommend it enough.

As a Mexican woman from Los Angeles who makes authentic Mexican food I was blown away by this restaurant. The food, atmosphere, and service were incredible. By far the best Mexican foods and michelada in the city. The outdoor patio feels like you are in someones back yard.

If you are looking to really experience the East Harlem neighborhood, El Kallejon beautifully demonstrates the soul, flavor, and hospitality of El Barrio itself. The menu is not just ‘what you see is what you get, ’ as their food is fresh and inventive. They allow themselves to be inspired by locally available ingredients, their patrons’ tastes, and the ever changing seasons.
In the summertime, their outdoor space is a comfortable place to grab beers with friends or have a candlelit taco with your date.
Do not overlook this gem! It’s in the middle of the block on 117^th and doesn’t get much foot traffic, but it deserves to be seen!

When the 8 of us were there on a Thursday night… it was just us. There was one waitress/​cook/​busgirl/​matress d’ that’s all. She was great. Took care of our orders, mixed the Sangria (both normal and «white wine,» and made each dish. A one-​woman show, and it was a good one. The owner/​chef others talk about was nowhere to be seen.
We agree with the comment on the pulpo cerviche. We also shared the shrimp cerviche, another good one. Then there was a kind of Mexican pizza, also very good. The only disappointment was that we had heard there was a strong Japanese influence on this Mexican food. That we didn’t see. But except for that, it was a great one-​woman show. –Drink Club NYC is a roving group of NY drinkers, a different bar/​restaurant every week