Karini II Restaurant

Leslie was so sweet and attentive. The chicken soup I had and salad he had was delish and it was on the house so that made it that much better. Tostones was the best I’ve ever had with the homemade secret sauce… omg. We had stewed chicken and the garlic chicken with yellow rice. So amazing and won me over as far as Spanish food in Amboy.

I’ve always heard great things about this restaurant. Saturday was the first time I decided to give it a try. I ordered 3 simple entrees 1 mofongo with rice/​beans, beef stew with rice/​beans and roast pork with rice/​beans with 2 empanadas. They advised me it would be ready in 50 minutes. Turns out it took 1 hour and 45 minutes to be prepared. I still didn’t complain, however once I get home… 5 minutes later the food was cold! No warmth to it at all. Talk about disappointing. The pernil was dry, small portion of white rice… Beans were good. The beef stew was tender but lacked in flavor, too many potatoes and little meat. The mofongo had a nice appearance however it was very dry as well. $ 40 later, left disappointed and hungry!

The food was GREAT! We had the canoa, two alcapurrias, two orders of rice and beans, two orders of roast pork, and shrimp stew, three small chicken soups and three sodas, all for around 48 bucks. Not bad! The chicken soup tasted just like my grandma’s, it was great. The servers were so nice and very attentive. This place doesn’t look like much outside but wow!
The only minus was that there was some guy putting YouTube videos on the big TV and playing raunchy music videos, while there were kids in the restaurant. If I want to hear/​see Rihanna’s top less gyrating and crap like that I can see it at home!
Don’t let this deter you, though. This place is definitely worth a visit!

Went to Karini for an early Sunday Dinner We entered the
Restaurant and were seated by a very pleasant young man who was also the server. We noticed the air conditioner was off and there was only one other table occupied. We decided to go to Karini because of the great reviews so we expected the food to be great. Being Puerto Rican we knew what we were ordering. I ordered the Beef Stew (Carne Guisada) with yellow rice. You get Chicken soup with your meal. It started bad when the server brought the soup and his thumb was on top of the bowl’s rim touching the soup. My beef stew consisted of three large pieces of potatoes and three small pieces of beef. I looked for more meat in the sauce but that was it. The server said that was all they had so he wasn’t going to charge me. He offered to make me something else. I said no and my wife offered to share her Pork chops. It became so hot in the place we had to ask for the A/​C to be turned on, which they did. Now The Food – The soup was tasty but Salty. The beef stew was extremely salty and the pork chops were like leather. So. The moral of the story is Don’t Believe Everything you read.

Went here last night, enjoyed the food. Tried the fried pork and tostones, both great. The kids got the chicken soup, just like my mother-​in-​law makes it! Chicken empanadas were yummy. Will definitely go back.

Tasty meal and the staff is super friendly. Ordered take out and got the pork chops, grilled skirt steak, and some empanadas. Can’t complain about anything that we ordered. Everything was good. When we’re in the mood for Hispanic food again, we will return

This place is so awesome. The best service. Home made desserts. Terrific seafood selection. Authentic authentic authentic! Go on Karaōke night for added fun or just enjoy the food.
Read the other reviews – it can make you insane if you don’t start driving there right now!
It’s the single most compelling reason to visit Perth Amboy.

I’m born and raised Puerto Rican… the food here tasted just like in PR or better! I had rice and beans, tilapia in salsa criolla, an alcapurria and a bit of mofongo with garlic broth. I also had relleno de papa. Service was family style… she even gave me a kiss on the cheek upon departure. The food was exquisite! I want to write more but I don’t want to bore the reader… bottom line, you should go!

I love searching Unilocal for adventurous ethnic restaurants. Karini is one of those great finds. The food, service and value is excellent here. The fish mafungo is a great meal and I tried Seybano for the first time. Anyone that would like to break out of the chain restaurant rut should give this restaurant a try. I’ll be back.

Karini II «…What can I say… had a wise man who once taught me that «First impression is everything» but in this case it does not apply. This place has GREAT Puertorican food like Grandma’ use to make. It will take you back home.
The service is described as ‘Family’.
Don’t be fooled by the inside of the restaurant. The ‘Décor’ is not to enjoy but the «whole in the wall» is a great place to eat.

seems like good and authentic puerto rican food. octupus mafongo was delicious. the octopus was served on the side with a bunch of veggies and olive oil, which seemed different from presentation of my previous mafongo experiences, but taste was great! service was good, friendly people, a casual Sort of place. there is a tv at the bar.

Big place with a bar and giant flat screen tv. Bachata playing in backround. Soda is can only so I opted for bottled water. Bathroom is old school! Long standing stall. But still plenty of room to handle your business. Everything is made fresh. So be prepared to wait. Got the tostones as appetizer and bistec cebollado. Soup was included it was seafood not bad. Steam tables were in front but not sure what for cause they were not lit or connected. Just an eye sore and waste of counter space. This place probably rocks @ night. If you go to amboy ave there is a cigar shop so stock up prices good. Anyway speakers are everywhere so it is the spot @ night. Décor wise plants in window sill, artificial on the table? Not sure what to make of it yet… When food comes I’ll know. Ok so the house sauce is amazing mix it with everything!!! Four stars the owner is nice she came over twice and the girls that work there are adorable… Five if there was parking so the food came threw and the service was what made it. Go try it out now!!!

This place is AMAZING!!! The food is absolutely delicious!!! The staff and owners make you feel like family and they even entertain you!!! We went tonight as a family of 12 (5 of the kids are 6 and under) and they made us laugh and we had a blast!!! The owners are just sooooo friendly… It was THE BEST service I’ve ever had at a restaurant!!! I’d give it 10 stars if I could

I live in Bergen County but was attending an event at the Perth Amboy High School. Afterwards, four of us decided to stay and eat dinner in Perth Amboy, Through Unilocal I discovered this restaurant and based on the reviews we headed there. The place is a good size with plenty of tables, doesn’t serve alcohol but you’re permitted to bring your own. Now for the food. I’m Puerto Rican and have eaten in many Latin eateries. This one is exceptional. The food exceeded our expectations. The salad was ordinary but the seafood soup was delicious, so delicious that I ordered a pint take out. The four of us basically ordered two different entrees. The bacalao with viandas and the talapia stuffed with crab-​meat. The talapia was large and «meaty» and rivaled any of the best restaurants without exaggeration; this is a can’t miss. The bacalo, or codfish was very good as was the viandas or Spanish potato family vegetables, which included yuca or casava. We had tostones and salads, both which were good but ordinary. This restaurant is now bookmarked on my Unilocal list and is worth going out of the way first. By the way, for four entrees, four appetizers and three sodas, and one takeout seafood soup, the bill was very reasonable at $ 69.00. We gladly left a 20% tip which brought us to $ 20 person, an additional big plus for coming here.
w

Outstanding Puerto Rican food and homie atmosphere. Feels like your visiting family for dinner… Not much to choose from in this Central/​Shore area when it comes to spanish food, but to all the Puerto Ricans in this area, this is the place.

Home style Puerto Rican food!!! Soooooooo good!!!