Alvin & Friends

Excellent, and what a find. Our friend invited us to his birthday celebration here and what an evening. The food is spectacular, fresh with serious southern, soul flavors in every course. Started with the jerk and naked chicken wings, corn bread muffins the best, delicious and moist, my one issue was the romaine salad a little listless for the season but good homemade dressing, crab cakes with aioli out of the park. For dinner the buttermilk chicken with collards cooked in smoked turkey and mac and cheese… the best! We finished with the tres leches cake and let me tell you… light, fresh with peaches in the cream. The place was packed our table of 15 and several other large parties in the room. Food served on time, waiters #1 on top of things. They were attentive and of course Alvin came to our table during and after our meal to greet and say goodbye and thank us for our patronage. Yes, would visit again!

Stopped by for a Saturday lunch at this handsome, comfortable restaurant.
Once seated you receive a basket (4) of small corn muffins. Expected the muffins to be warm, moist and fresh — neither on any as they tasted boxed.
Selections ordered were the «Jerk Chicken Wrap» — a spicy flavorful selection with spinach, onions and sweet plantain — recommended. Also — The «Buttermilk Fried Chicken» Entrée with two sides — braised greens and macaroni & cheese. There are two pieces of chicken (dark & white) — no grease whatsoever. The greens (good) and mac & cheese (very good) made the selection filling — perhaps a bit too much as the meal lingered throughout the day.
Service was prompt /​efficient. With the owner entertaining friends nearby how could one expect less.
Note: One may want to give extra time when traveling to «Alvin & Friends». New Rochelle can get congested around Main Street and parking lots — while around — may be full.
TRUE RATING ***1/​2

Every bite was delicious from start to finish. Went for brunch today and we had the shrimp and grits, buttermilk fried chicken, and the fried chicken with waffles. All so great! Service excellent and the jazz music as well. We are already planning a return for dinner. Alvin Clayton came out and greeted the tables. You don’t see that everyday or often which means he cares about his team too.

This is one of my favorite restaurants went there last night and had another great experience. Started off with the rum punch which is a twist on the typical version of rum punch. The crab chowder was another typical soup with a Caribbean twist that was fantastic. I ordered the jerk duck that was simply amazing came with the bread pudding that was moist and complimented the duck wonderfully. I had a side of Mac and cheese that had a zesty Caribbean flavor to it that topped the meal off. Left full and completely satisfied.
My only complaints were the ticket time was awfully long and my dates pasta didn’t look too great… I’d stay away from the pasta.

Me and my man went here for dinner last night. It was our first time. We just lived a few blocks away. good ambiance and cozy. We liked our corner booth table. The service is great. Our waiter was attentive to details. I had a Kale and Quinoa Salad and my bf had a spinach salad and we just shared the Grilled Skirt Steak. The salad is good. The only reason is why i have four star because the steak was cold not warm or hot. So i hope next time they will serve hot. But overall we had a nice dinner on a friday nighy. They have live jazz music too.

First two times it was good. Third time all hell broke loose and everytihing went wrong. Bad food… horrible service. …overcharged on the bill. Worst part was being insulted by the owners. I would never come back again and wouldn’t recommend this place. I wanted to like it i really did

My husband and I came here for lunch on a busy work day. The restaurant is gorgeous. The staff are kind and friendly, and the jazz music is a nice touch. I ordered the turkey wrap with fries and my husband got the fish of the day: catfish laid in a bed of mixed greens. We really enjoyed our plates. We will be back another day for dinner.

Decided to go for Brunch a few Sunday’s ago. They had a pianist playing relaxing jazz (very nice). The mimosas were good, the food was full of flavor and delicious. My husband had chicken and waffle, I had the grilled salmon, and my friend had the eggs platter. As we were done with our meal, Alvin himself came to our table to greet us and ask us if we enjoyed our meal. This is what makes a restaurant, «a touch of class». That customer care that brings smiles to patrons.
We will be back again, this time in the evening. Thank you for the great food and service!

What a wonderful brunch! My three teenage daughters and I went to Alvin & Friends for brunch today. We ordered shrimp and grits, chicken and waffles, steak and eggs, and buttermilk fried chicken with greens and mac and cheese. Every single entrée was delicious. We shared pineapple upside down cake and white chocolate bread pudding — both were incredible.
I loved the service from the hostess to the servers, the décor and the beautiful live music. I will definitely be back!

Stopped by here with a group of friends for dinner on a Tuesday night. Decided to sit at the communal table near the bar since I like the space there more, plus it was closer to the bar. We ordered the tamarind pork, fried oysters and jerk chicken wings. I got the jerk duck breast, which was really tender. My other buddies got the braised short ribs, oxtail stew, fried chicken and creole seafood linguini. As for price, the restaurant is definitely on the higher end in the area, but the food here is very good and the service is ok.

Holy wow… I’d heard about this place and it lived up to its hype — I wish I hadn’t eaten at all that day because there were so many things I wanted to try… The oxtail was incredibly flavorful, tender, and well presented. I had a hard time restraining myself from the corn muffin basket, but I exercised some self restraint since I knew I had oxtail on the way. My husband’s buttermilk chicken made me want to jump up and clap — crispy, flavorful, and juicy. I still think about the macaroni and cheese and the collard greens… we enjoyed every bite of our meal, and Alvin HIMSELF came out to greet us. What a warm and wonderful touch. We look forward to our next visit.

Five stars! I am very surprised to see bad reviews on this place. The fried green tomatoes were delicious. The trout was the best I have ever had and the plantains were top notch. Good job Alvin and friends. I will see you again.
Note… Luckily we did not have reservations and their was a table available. Twenty minutes into our meal and the place was packed! It might be best to make reservations in advance.

If you love southern/​Caribbean cuisine, you haven’t lived unless you’ve done 2 things. Eat jerk chicken in Jamaica, and go to dinner at Alvin & Friends. Wow. I could just end this review with that last word. Wow. The food is just so good. Everything is made with love. The Shrimp and Grits? Um, Alvin & Friends makes not only the best Shrimp and Grits in Westchester, not only the best Shrimp and Grits in New York, but the BEST Shrimp and Grits I’ve ever had. If you’ve been here, you probably met Alvin by now. He’s the definition of a gentlemen. His generosity and talent is something to marvel at. He’s given so much to our city and he really deserves the success he has gotten. I can’t say enough good things about this restaurant.

Nice comfy atmosphere for dinner or relaxing by the bar. They have live jazz too… Soul of New Rochelle. The interior décor and lighting is warm and staff are friendly.
I stopped by when they were in the last hours of closing but still felt welcomed… found my Friday night spot for sure :)

Great atmosphere with live Jazz and VEGAN options!
We enjoyed the spicy tofu, crispy kale and yucca. Really well spiced.
I wish there was also a vegan dessert. I will def come back, hubby loved the food too! We want to try the bean dish next time.

Alvin & Friends, if you read my review thoroughly and clearly, you would see that I called in my reservation days in advance and the woman I met in the restaurant was the one who called her reservation in that night…
The situation was not handled well… And… At the very least, someone should’ve called me by now rather than just respond via Unilocal.When I made my reservation, DAYS AGO, I left my name and telephone number.
Perhaps you all should look into a better management system to track reservations and customer service to ensure this situation does not happen again… And if someone like myself is left so unhappy, on a milestone/​occasion, that it is rectified immediately!
This situation was UNACCEPTABLE. period.

Alvin and Friends is great for «visiting dignataries.» Meaning: Because of the shortage of seemingly upscale soul food restaurants in Westchester, this is the place to bring family and friends from out of town.
The décor is grand! However, I had issues with the food and cocktails. The fried chicken dinner that I ordered, (though the sides of Coconut rice and Collared greens were remarkable) the chicken had a soiled taste. It was the kind of taste that you get when you’ve eaten spoiled meat. However, once I alerted the bartender the problem was rectified with a catfish. Thank you! And to speak to the cocktail, their version of the «Dark and Stormy» tasted more side than alcohol. Perhaps the cost savings on the liquor were to pay for the beautiful interior of the place. Perhaps.

What a fun restaurant! Got to meet Alvin because we came in with the lady about town and she knows him. The food was exceptional! We shared the calamari and ordered a ton of food. It had a caribbean flavor, but it was light, with a hint of pow! The shrimp and grits was my favorite. Lovely place to hang with friends or hide in the corner like a few of the couples were doing. THEN, you can walk around and see all of the artwork on the walls, designed by Alvin himself. Such a hip, cool atmosphere with really great entrees. Will be back and will bring more friends!

Alvin & Friends initially wasn’t the place we were going to have lunch but the outdoor seating with white table cloths were inviting, and as well, Alvin himself opened the door for us and welcomed us to say yes we can eat on the patio and the «food is delicious»
He was right. We had a great lunch break because of this classic southern style restaurant with lovely service. Spacious on the inside, decently spacious patio space.
FOOD: ⁵⁄₅
AMBIANCE: ⁵⁄₅
SERVICE: 4.5÷5
VALUE: 4.5÷5
OVERALL: 4.5÷5
First, and very important and memorable was the basket of fresh mini cornbread muffins that appeared on our table within seconds. When you are this hungry, this is the most wonderful thing.
Plates ordered among our group: fried catfish wrap, grilled shrimp remoulade wrap, arugula salad with southern style fried chicken (instead of grilled chix).
All of us loved each of our items. My friends said they would go back in an instant to eat it every week. Mine, while I realize was a special request, I thought that the chicken would be in strips to be more easily consumed. Rather, I got a drumstick and a white meat thigh with leg. The chicken was delicious, juicy, and perfectly breaded and fried. However, I thought it was a bit odd that the chicken did come in these large pieces clearly not suitable to eat with a knife and fork easily, so I ate with my fingers. Anyway, eating fried chicken with your hands always makes it taste better ;) :P the arugula salad was heavily dressed with creole mustard; if I order it again, I would ask for a lighter hand on the dressing. Would come back for happy hour or dinner when I could. it is a bit pricier ($$-$$$)
Looks like a lovely place to have brunch, where everyone will take care of you.
Only other tip I would have for them is to speed up the service (post meal), since we had asked 3 times for the check and we were in a hurry.

A decent restaurant right downstairs. So convenient and the food is good. Not many people in the restaurants so you feel spacy. Will come again soon in the future.