Rancho Mofongo Steakhouse

Visiting this cozy restaurant in the heart of Union City is always a pleasant experience.
Delicious menu, friendly and very welcoming staff.
Elvis makes the place a definite spot to come back to!

Food is not worth the price. I will not come back again. Waiter left out my son’s order and took him 20 mins to bring it out.

Firstly, take note, the tip is always included in your bill here. No need to tip if you feel the service is just OK. Which it is. Just OK.
We went on a recommendation.
The hostess sat us next to the front grill, which was not being used that night. The heat seemed broken. We realized the grill vent must be left open because a cold breeze was blowing past us, slowly making us colder and colder. We asked to be seated at a new location, commenting how cold it was and they mentioned that they knew the grill vent was stuck open, interesting, since they sat us next to it.
We waited for our food. And waited. And waited a little more. Meanwhile the folks working there where chatting amongst themselves. And waited. Finally it came out, as stone cold as the rest of the place was. But by that time it was too late, we had an appointment to run to, so we had a cold dinner. Clearly nobody was paying attention that the cook had put the food out 10 – 15 minutes earlier and it sat on the pickup counter, chilling on it’s delayed arrival.
You get a sense that this place could be great. But not yet.

It hurts me to give this rating because I had such high hopes for this place. The food was very mediocre. This place tries to bring typical Dominican meals to a higher level, similar to Mama Juana, but it doesn’t deliver. The seasoning and cooking is just not there and therefore the prices don’t justify what you receive. I think it could turn around with a better chef.

Great Unilocal deal paid $ 25 for $ 50. Ended up paying $ 65 (with BYOW $ 17) all in all total for 4 people. Food display was decent, food was on the dry side for all dishes… Hmm… I’ve had better mofongo in NY.

Waitress didn’t speak English. She confidently listened to our order with-​out writing anything down. Of course she brought out the wrong steak. I guess there’s no need to speak English or get the order right since 18% tip is automatically added to the bill anyway…

Decided to try after buying the Unilocal deal. Giving an overall 3 to average my thoughts. Atmosphere is struggling and would probably be a 2. Only a handful of people at 8pm on a Friday. Good music from a Dj but restaurant part (which had a candle and flowers on the table) could use a divider from counter area. Also thought charging a weekend corkage fee in an empty restaurant didn’t quite encourage a return visit. Now the food and attentive staff earn 4 stars. Mini mofongo were a good appetizer pick with 3 types of meat. The churrasco came out perfect and was really good. We also had shrimp and garlic which was fresh and tasty. Overall may try again if a deal or coupon and want casual atmosphere.

Food is amazing if you are looking to eat Hispanic food. Great Customer service and very nicely renovated. And it’s right around the corner from where I live which is a thumbs up lol. Keep up the good work !!!

I liked the churrasco but it seems to be a little overpriced. Chimichuri was to be served next to it but i had to ask for it. The kids’ chicken tenders with fries were served with sauce that was not asked for. So our kids weren’t able to eat it. The service otherwise was very good. The waitress was very nice.

Came here on a wim with the family. We were the only ones in the restaurant, but we benefited. Great music and the food was hands down amazing! I had the churrasco and my husband ordered the mofongo with shrimp… OMG…outstanding! We also had a pitcher of Sangria that was shared amongst the family… great! We will be back for sure!

From the previous reviews it looks like Rancho Mofongo is trying to find their footing.
Aside from a bridal shower party (about 10 young ladies) we were the only customers at 7pm on a Saturday. My fiancé said that was a bad sign but we were already there plus we purchased a Groupon.
Instead of bread and butter we got mariquetas with tiny cups of chimichurri and a spicy tomato sauce.
The waitress seemed overwhelmed. We each had an appetizer… he ordered the shrimp cocktail and I ordered the avocado with shrimp. She brought my appetizer then looked perplexed when she came by a few minutes later and saw that I hadn’t started eating. I was waiting on my fiancé’s appetizer to arrive. The owner came to our table and reassured us that the shrimp cocktail would arrive shortly which it did, along with an extra order of avocado with shrimp which was on the house (we had it wrapped to go). I thought the avocado and shrimp had a nice flavor but my fiancé thought the cocktail sauce was bland.
The paella I ordered was sooooooo good! Nice, hot and perfectly seasoned with lots of seafood including a lobster tail. My fiancé had the pork chops which were grilled to perfection and accompanied by a generous serving of white rice and black beans. We couldn’t finish our entrees and had the leftovers wrapped to go.
It’s a lovely restaurant with a trendy vibe and prices to match. Without the Groupon our meal, including one soda each, was almost 70 dollars not including tip and transportation to get there and back from upper North Bergen (we don’t have a car plus parking is very hard to find). Add that to the fact that there’s at least one restaurant on every block in the area serving large portions of good Latin American or Caribbean food at cheap prices, it’s no surprise that the place was practically deserted on a Saturday night. Rancho Mofongo might do better at a different locale with less competition and more parking.

Not sure why we were the only diners there because the meal was wonderful. Service too. We had excellent skirt steaks with chimichurri sauce, frozen mugs for our BYO beer and even the coffees were great. The price was very fair too. We’ll be back — even if there’s a wait.

The place is super cute inside it has a caribbean feel. The waitress was so nice as well, the place was very empty and I do not know why because the food was great and the portions were big… not to mention the Unilocal deal. Everything starting from the bread they give you is well seasoned, mofongo is slightly crispy, fried chicken portion is huge, and churrasco (large portion) was really tasty and very tender for a skirt steak both entrees were served with a side and salad– everything could do without a balsamic glaze. I left satisfied with a doggy bag did I mention the portions were large.

Visiting back home in NJ went with friends to this restaurant and was pleasantly BLOWN AWAY with their churrasco. Living in Miami for 3 years now, I was under the impression the best churrasco was in Miami but this one is way up there! The service was OUTSTANDING as well!

The mofongos were great, and churrasco. Staff wasn’t as friendly as they should, especially for a new establishment the staff should be top notch to make sure customers returns. A dining experience is more than just great food.

Wonderful place. I had the seafood stew. There was so many shrimp and at least a whole lobster tail inside. The fish inside the stew was so tasty. Service was excellent, everyone was so nice.

Came into this restaurant with my husband on a Saturday for an early dinner. First off, the place was empty on a Saturday at 5pm which I usually take as a bad sign but I thought, «maybe the dinner rush hasn’t started yet». The server was friendly. They serve bread with butter in the beginning of your meal. My husband and I opted to try their mofongo since its in the name of the restaurant, hoping it’d be great… it wasn’t :(. The mofongo itself was not that bad but the sauce they served it with lacked flavor. My husband got his with carne de res which I found to be a little cold and I got the shrimp one and I thought the shrimp has a strange taste to them. Luckily we came here with a groupon so we didn’t spend much but I didn’t leave happy/​satisfied. Won’t be coming back. There are many more better restaurant on bergenline avenue.

Came here with my fiancé and another couple for dinner (celebrating a late bday) around 8:30pm on a Saturday. I didn’t know the place had just opened a few weeks ago but it was not too packed. The parking around the area is a little bit of a hassle so I recommend car pooling if possible.
The atmosphere is a cool piano bar/​latin/​carribean vibe. We were seated in the back near the restrooms and were able to speak freely. The music was a nice touch playing trendy electro and latin mixes and it wasn’t loud. I was told this place is known for their mofongo (duh) and their skirt steak. We started off with the mofongo cups stuffed with shrimp in a delicious garlic sauce and we also got the plantains topped with skirt steak and a nice onion and pepper garnish on top (my favorite). The apps were flavorful and were brought out to us 10 minutes after ordering. For entrees we all ordered the churrasco steak and somone ordered the lobster mofongo. The steaks were cut pretty large and cooked medium-​well .they were very tender. They were topped with a chimichurri sauce (with a lot of garlic) on a hot plate still sizzling. The mofongo lobster looked delicious and the girl who ordered it really enjoyed it. For sides we all got the white rice, black beans and platanos. The beans and the platanos were flavorful and plentiful (lots of left overs).
For dessert we ordered espressos and the tres leches (recommended by Elvis the owner/​manager). The tre leches was delicious and I wish i had ordere another one to bring home.
The best part aside from the food and service. it was BYOB. Elvis (owner) was very social and was talking to us about his grand opening, his wine tastings and some cool events he plans to do. He also let me play the piano located in the middle of the dining area. I will definitely be coming back here soon.

un gran restaurante para compartir con la familia y comer divino, recomiendo la carne a la parrilla muy buena.

My fiancé found a Groupon for this local restaurant, so we decided to check it out. It was $ 16 for $ 30 worth of food. We started eating healthier so we ordered the following… We ordered the shrimp avocado appetizer, garlic chicken, and a «baked» potato. The appetizer tasted more like a ceviche and literally only came with 3 shrimp. The garlic chicken was more like garlic sauce with the toughest chicken known to mankind and for the «baked» potato… It was a boiled potato sliced in half with a butter topping. The service was horrible and it took about 20 minutes for us to get our food, appetizer and main course came out all together. To be fair, we didn’t order steak, rice and beans because I’m sure it would of been banging! But the healthy choices were just bland and boring. I ate half my food and left the rest

The atmosphere was fun with music and candles to liven the mood. The food was delicious, exactly what I was craving at the moment.
Elvis, the owner, was incredibly hospitable. Introduced himself to the table welcomed us to the neighborhood.
We had a lovely time — can’t wait to be back for wine and cheese nights one Wednesdays.