Grini’s Grill

I can literally stumble out the front door of my apartment and into this joint, but even if it was out of the way, I would return habitually.
Buffet style Dominican food, not self-​serve, but I honestly prefer that. I’ve FEASTED here twice for a flat $ 10. Even the small salad could be a meal on its own – it has an entire hard boiled egg.
(As a certified brown person) I can vouch for the food’s authenticity (of which they feature a hefty selection). The pernil tamales are calling to me next.
In short, this place owns.

The food here is amazing! Theres always a line but well worth it. Everything is made when ordered which is a good and bad thing. It can take up to 15 minutes just for your order to be made and thats after standing on line to place your order for about 10 minutes but at least you know it’s fresh. What I do is pre order so once I get there my food can already be done. Pack your patience for the long wait and a napkin because your mouth will definitely water when you see and taste the food.

Consistently tasty good ol’ hood spot. It’s a staple in the neighborhood. It really doesn’t matter what is said about them here or anywhere else, they’re still going to get business and people are still going to wait in the food. The flavor is authentic.

I love this place. The food is very tasty. I love the rotisserie chicken, the grilled shrimp, the grilled chicken salad and the salmon. They will make you almost anything if you can find a way to pass the language barrier since most of the people who work at Grini’s speak spanish as there first langue. I would recommend going into the store because if you order for delivery they don’t always get the order right and it could take a while for them to come. Honestly, most of the time they don’t even answer the phone. I live 2 blocks away so that’s not a problem for me. Overall if your looking for good, cheap dominican food and you live in the Harlem area, this is your place.

The chicken, yellow rice and beans, salad combo tastes very good on a consistent basis and is affordable. I look forward to my take out from here.

I have lived in the neighborhood 4 years before I tried the place. I LOVE their Cuban sandwich– the roasted pork is amazing! they put it on a huge cuban roll which is basically 2 meals!
I work from home so when I am craving one, I walk over and stand in line, $ 5.00 for a huge delicious sandwich-it’s worth it!
I can understand the delivery issues, in this neighborhood there are delivery issues with any place that does deliver. Just go and pick up the food!

I don’t give a fuck how good there food is… U can be starving nd these mothafickas take 3 hours to bring you a piece of fuckiin chicken. I called at 2:46 nd it is 4:50 nd i still ain’t get mah fuckiin food. Do you kno how mad i am? No yah don’t so ima deliver 3 dicks to grinis nd smack all them bitches nd niggas with them… Ppl of your hungry DONT CALL GRINIS you will die… Thanxs for reading my message
They Get A Negative Star

Yummy food! This is my new spot… fast delivery times, nice staff and delicious food! I took a star off because my food today was not very warm. Besides that, everything is great!

YUM!

When I first moved to NYC, I lived right across the street from Grini’s. My bedroom window overlooked the front entrance and every delicious smell that came from that place wafted into my open windows. While frantically looking for a job that first month, I was home for a good chunk of time and was definitely on a budge — so Grini’s was very much utilized and appreciated.
For basically a whole dollar you could get a full meal, which for me was usually a chicken/​rice/​HEAVEN wrap the size of my face. If you’re around, or living nearby, do not pass this place up.

When I remember that I sometimes enjoy Latin food, I thank god for Harlem. I’ve never had dessert here, but that’s only out of fullness from the rest of the food. And that should say something, because I can eat. In my playing days, I used to eat 4000 calorie lunches. That’s a lot of McNuggets! (No, I didn’t eat them exclusively… unless dared. That’s a story for another time.) For $ 5, you can get just about anything on the menu, and almost everything on the menu comes with a side of some sort, usually beans and rice. And believe me, it will be hard to finish it all. But you’ll really, really want to. The only reason I’m docking a star is because it can get a bit crowded at lunch and the crowds aren’t always handled appropriately/​expediently.

I would have given it zero stars if that’s am option. My experience with this venue is just awful.
I found a menu left outside my apartment and decided to try it. It was really hard to get through the phones. When someone finally picked up, they sound annoyed. Maybe they are really busy. I spent ten minutes screaming and got the sense that they are not even listening. So was I surprises to find they messed up my order once it was delivered? How do you mess up a salad? Instead of providing me with oil and vinegar on the side, they gave me two cups of oil. How am I supposed to eat my salad with two cups of cheap oil? When I called back, they were not apologetic. They didn’t even care. They were so frustrating that I eventually hang up. I feel like I should demand a refund but I would have to paid to talk to these people again.
O. The salad is terrible. It has no taste and they don’t believe in giving you dressing except for oil.

HORRIBLE customer service! Their lame attempt at delivery is deplorable and the fact that I’ve patronized this biz for so long is downright annoying. I ordered food today at 12:02 pm and only after I called at 1:22 pm did I get through again (the line is constantly busy). The person who picked up told me that they were very busy today and the person who I spoke to before should have told me that. Well, they didn’t and I said that I wanted a discount for waiting almost an hour and a half. This jerk told me if they gave me one, they’d have to give everyone one. WELL GOOD! DO IT! Why they hell would I wait that long for food? During lunch time, at that! Shortly after the man told me he’d call the delivery person, the delivery person rang my bell. When he came upstairs I asked if his mgr called him and he said no. I explained the situation to them and he started to back away (dismissive, annoying). Then I told him to call his mgr now and he tried but had no service, so I sent him back with the food. I guess no payment at all is better than a discounted one. BE WARNED: while their food is amazing, they can’t speak English well and don’t have the intention to learn NOR do they intend on running their business properly. If you want food from them, walk yourself over there and be prepared to wait long there, too, but atleast you’ll probably walk away with something. The one star is because Unilocal made me pick a rating and because the food is still good.

If you’re strapped for cash and HUNGRY go to Grini’s Grill. You can get a full meal for $ 6 dollars. Smoothie or a shake for $ 3 dollars. Dessert between $ 2 to $ 3 dollars. This place is always packed by the locals and cops by a nearby precinct. I suggest the roasted chicken with garlic sauce, rice with red beans, mango shake, and tres leche cake.

$ 6 won’t get you much in New York. Harlem is it’s own little word of amazingness. Grini’s, in such a world, has got to top the list. I ordered rice, red beans, and stewed chicken (on the bone), and I can’t even begin to describe the flavors! The staff are friendly, and the prices seriously, cannot be beat. Ever. Anywhere. If you like flavor, you have to eat here. The meat melted off the bone, and the gravy was so perfect. You wouldn’t expect a large quantity of food for the price either, but they cram their containers full.
They use take-​out dishes, so if you’re in a hurry you can pack up and go, or if you’re staying there, you can plop in a chair at a table and have-​at-​it. I only ate about half before I realized I wouldn’t be able to move soon due to food-​coma, so I packed up and went for a walk. I saved the rest for later, scraped the rest of the meats off the bone, and stuck my left-​overs in my purse. Dinner was just as delicious (as it was the same thing) and reheated very nicely.
DIG THIS GRUB!

Best kept secret in Harlem. Well, not really as it is a popular hang out for the local police officers and bus drivers. Neighborhood people know that this place is where you go when you have $ 5 burning your pocket and you are starving for some real home cooked food. They have one table mostly Spanish (Dominican?) specialties and the other table usually has roasted chicken, stewed chicken, rice beans and other offerings. It’s pretty hit or miss as to the days that they offer skirt steak, pork chops and shrimp but if you see those you’d better get them when you can. Let me tell you, everything I that I have eaten from Grini’s has been good. They are friendly and of course the line can get very long in there as is the case with places that serve good food. Most people take out but there are quite a few tables in the place that are usually occupied by the civil service workers in the area.
Again, the portions they dish out are generous and the prices are right. If you have a sweet tooth they make wonderful fruit shakes for $ 2.50 using evaporated milk and real fruit. They also sell cakes and desserts. Try their tres leches cake $ 3.00.
If you are watching your waistline get the grilled chicken salad. The best in the neighborhood. They really hook it up and you’ll eat get full from it or have enough for 2 meals.