Sabor Latino Bar & Restaurant

Met a bunch of my friends here tonight, food was delicious and drinks were yummy too. Not in the best area, but don’t let that deter you. The food and service were great.

F and I went here last night for the Trenton Social Restaurant monthly outing. However, we were 2 weeks early. Realizing our mistake very quickly, and being so warmly welcomed by Giselle, the hostess, we decided to stay for drinks and dinner.
It was also happy hour. $ 15 for 6 beer bucket
$ 5 tropical drinks and sangria.
I had a lime mojito and F had passionfruit. Both were yummy.
We ordered an appetizer of chicken empanadas 3 for $ 5
I ordered fried pork and yucca, F had Arroz con cuerdo with tostones and garlic sauce on the side. Everything is fresh and so good.
Giselle was attentive enough to ask me if I wanted the fatty skin with my pork (the best part).
While we were there I tempted a friend to join us. He loved his mixed empanadas and tostones.
As we were hanging out this place did a brisk business on a Wednesday night.
Plenty of parking, but next time we would just walk or ride our bikes there .
We will be back on April 7^th. Or maybe sooner..

You would be forgiven if you approached the corner where Sabor Latino Bar & Restaurant is located, and decided not to park, nor go inside. It is a particularly dreary intersection in the depths of Trenton, with a few boarded up houses, and war torn streets. Yet, it you summoned the courage to open the door and walk in, you would thank yourself for bravery being well rewarded.
Sabor Latino (Latin Flavor) is a Dominican house with a kitchen familiar with the cuisine of Puerto Rico, Guatemala and Costa Rica. The bar room also serves as the dining area, and the staff is friendly and attractively bilingual. The broad menu offers lunch and dinner with prices below $ 10 and $ 16, respectively. A few HDTVs on the walls broadcasting futbol en espanol, and gentlemen at the bar and high tops conducting business.
My server recommended the Pernil special, and I accepted her suggestion. A few minutes later I was presented with a large plate of Roasted Pork, White Rice, Salad and a cup of Red Beans. There was also a table rocket filled with a mix of spice and mayo for use on the greens. The Pork was soft, juice and tender with a nice taste of mild BBQ sauce. The skin took the fire well and it was crunchy to chew with a stronger flavor from the basting and flames. The Rice and Beans were solid accompaniments. The Salad was just some Iceberg and Tomato; not bad, but more of a garnish than a side dish.
I was checked on several times by my waitperson. She clearly was concerned that I be satisfied with my meal and overall experience, and was pleasant in her relief that I enjoyed my lunch.
Sabor Latino is yet another of the strong effort coming from the Central American community in Trenton. It may not yet have the well earned reputation that was Chambersburg for Italian joints in the last century, but this and the other casas are definitely on their way toward that recognition.

Randomly craving ceviche at 10 pm on a Thursday night, but don’t wanna, or can’t, drive somewhere? Then this is the place for you.
The menu for the joint was stuck in my door one day, and I just shoved it into a drawer. A few weeks later, on a starving but lazy night, I decided to give them a call. There was definitely a language barrier (it’s a Spanish restaurant in a now predominantly Spanish neighborhood with a Spanish clientele, and I’m… rusty) but once my food finally came, I was NOT disappointed.
The tostones were hot and perfectly fried. The ceviche was super fresh and full of seafood. I ordered something else, but the ceviche hit the spot so well that I’ve forgotten what it was.
I’ve also done take out a couple of times when I was close by. Seems like any small, neighborhood bar in the Trenton area. It’s a little dive-​y, but in a good, cozy way. I’ll have to go in for drinks and a meal one day.

I would’ve never attempted to go into this spot as a single female because let’s face it… it looks shady as hell! Thankfully it was highly recommended by a native Trentonian. At first glance it just looks like a dive bar from the outside, and and you walk in to find it still looks like a crappy dive bar inside too! Thankfully we were greeted by this extremely awesome lady who probably leads her church’s choir, to change the ambiance a little.
The menu is a mixture of Latin food, every plate more delicious than the next and all ranging around $ 8-​$ 12!
Oddly enough drinks were not well prepared, the bartender was maybe 17, my margarita came in a martini glass… so after that I stuck to just plain coronas.
Appetizer:
Tostones rellenos de camarones (Fried plantain cups filled with shrimp) — these were amazing! Smaller than I anticipated, but the plate brings the perfect portion for an appetizer for 3, although it’s listed as an entrée. They are tiny little fried cups overflowing with chunks of shrimp in garlic sauce. My mouth is literally watering over the thought of these.
Entrees:
Chuletas de Puerco (fried pork chops): You get two nice and thick pork chops fried to perfection so that they aren’t dried out; sides included: avocado salad, moist white rice and AMAZING Dominican red beans.
Plato Grito: This is basically a sampler plate of all the amazingness of the kitchen. You get your choice of meat, I had steak with onions & peppers that I seriously could eat everyday, it’s garlic or maybe parsley or crack that they season it was perfection. The sides included: potato salad, a giant sweet plantain, moro (rice with black beans) and fried cheese (yes random… but not really if you know Dominicans).
Needless to say we were both extremely happy with our meals, rolled out of there and thanked baby Jesus for our car still being outside in one piece. The one star off is really for the creep factor of the place, other than that, I will be returning!