La Dinastia

Lunch Special was amazing Crackling Chicken. I ordered Lunch Specials For my Managers at C21. They Loved chicken and pork chops is savoring.

Very nice place with Unique spirit. The design is very simple, somewhere between American diner and Chinese restaurant. The menu has a strange combination of Latin and Asian food, including Chinese waiters that speak Spanish! We were in mood for Asian and we weren’t disappointed.
The soup was full of fresh vegetables, and the entrees were simply good. Asian taste that feels like the streets of Beijing.
What I liked here is the simplicity. Good service, fast served dishes and totally satisfying for mid-​week dinner.

I love old diners. I consider them a NY institution and whenever I find one remaining in the city it instantly grabs my curiosity. Little did I know when I picked La Dinastia for a weekend dinner one night that this Chinese-​Latin Fusion restaurant would be situated in an old diner-​like space. Walk inside and you’re instantly greeted with a bar lined with round stools, the kind you barely see much of nowadays but where once ubiquitous. My girlfriend and I were greeted by a pleasant host and we were quickly seated at a comfortable booth (big enough to seat 4).
The décor is more Chinese than Latin, and the entire staff appeared to be comprised of Cantonese speaking Chinese. Once we looked at the menu it became obvious La Dinastia heavily favors the Chinese part of its Chinese-​Latin fusion. Most of the dishes on the menu were Chinese (a bit of traditional Chinatown style mixed with take out) while the Latin side was represented by dishes like Serrucho Ajillo and Lomo Salteado.
We were quite hungry so we skipped appetizers and went straight to two entrees:
PORK CHOPS (with rice and plantains)
While La Dinastia does offer fried pork chops, I opted for the broiled ones as I like how they come out better. The pork chops were cooked to perfection. Most, juicy but with a beautiful char on some of the edges and the bone. The sides were tasty and helped absorb some of the saltiness of the pork chops themselves. These were not thin, tiny pork chops. I actually only finished one! These were good sized, butcher shop style pork chops.
BROILED SEAFOOD PLATTER (A combination of shrimp, scallop, calamari & filet of sole, served with salad & fried plantains)
This was an unexpected delight! The seafood was all broiled on a hot platter and came out sizzling a bit. The parts that were a tad charred actually added a nice, smokey flavor to the dishes and once again, there was so much food that we wound up taking the dish to go.
Service was okay, I’d say one level above «Chinatown style». It took a couple minutes to get the attention of someone to get me more water when I needed it, but that’s a mild complaint.
Side note: as we were eating, plate after plate of their fried chicken kept coming out of the kitchen so it seems that’s a favorite that I must try on my next visit!

Love their crackling chicken! Their food is really yummy and their service is impeccable! They’re very friendly and quick. I will definitely recommend this restaurant to family and friends :)

This place is not what is all cracked up to be. My cousin and friend recommended it, said it was Amazing food, and that I should try the chicharron de pollo (boneless chicken cracklings) it was under flavored, I ordered that with the moro , Omg the moro was the worst had no color, mind you it was made with black beans. I was very disappointed. Tthank god we went for the Lunch Special. I would have been highly upset if I paid full price for this meal .So not worth it. not good. My fiancé had the Pepper Steak with the moro, also big disappointment for him. My step son had the General Tso’s Chicken that was the only thing on our table worthwhile. If you want amazing Cuban /​Chinese go to Sabrosura in the bronx. By far the best out there. They have 2 locations in the bronx Castle Hill and Westchester Ave. Both locations the food is AMAZING !! MOUTH WATERING.

Long before David Chang and his Momo-​what-​not empire and Danny Bowien and his Mission Whatever chain, there were restaurants like La Dinastia that serve hearty, tasty, no frills, Chino-​Latino food that warm the heart and soothe the soul. In fact, these restaurants were so ahead of their time that they could rightfully be regarded as one of the first Asian fusion joints before Asian fusion became the rage.
Just walking in here brings a smile to my face. A throwback to my beloved restaurants of the 70s. Spacious and you don’t hear your fellow diners’ conversations or pretend their ass is not in front of your face when they squeeze between the tables to get up and leave.
As for the food, of course I had the boneless fried chicken cracklings with rice and beans. The chicken was tender and the breading was crispy and not greasy. It could have used a little bit more salt, but some hot sauce and lemon juice added just the right oomph. Look at that pic. You bet I had leftovers.

Well I am not sure why I am surprised at how disgusting a Chinesixan restaurant would be. I have had less gamey wild boar than those ribs (animal unknown). The sauce on the chicken was more like a bottle of soy sauce had been poured over deep friend cod which is what the chicken tasted like. The egg roll was decent if you wrap it in paper towels and draw the grease out of it but I think it’s just stuffed with shredded cabbage. The prices are in line with other places and the portions were fine but most of it went into the trash.

They don’t have everything on the menu, we went there to try Cuban pot roast but they don’t have it so, we end up getting Boiled pork chop, it taste pretty good. But it will be nice if they have what we want to try. The Yuka and plantains are pretty good as well.

I love when 0 star guests expect 5 star service. It is befuddling how people have every expectation in the book about service but haven’t the faintest grasp on how tipping works in Chinese restaurants in this country (hint: it works like it does at other restaurants).
This is not a fancy place. The waiters cannot give you a run down of each dish unless you speak Spanish or Chinese. And frankly if they hired a bunch of English speaking Americans to serve the food, the place would lose a part of its essential character. Understand that service varies from place to place. I expect good and precise service at certain restaurants and at others, it’s very transactional. That’s why a 20% tip at Per Se can run you over the price of a decent meal and 20% tip at a place like Dinastia is less than the cost of a happy hour drink.
With that said, this place is the bomb. There are not many places that deliver food at such consistent and reliable levels. I started eating here regularly five years ago (it would be embarrassing to admit how often because I almost always get the fried chicken) and I’ve never been surprised by any changes to the food. And I know the place has been around much longer than that. The crackling chicken is beyond reproach to be honest. I’m usually vehemently against eating white meat but you’d be a fool to overlook the all white meat boneless chicharone. You can forget Fuku or the new Shake Shack chicken sandwich if you want a good piece of fried white meat (obviously if you live your life for Instagram geotags and likes it’s a different story).
The calamari, broccoli sautéed with garlic, hot and sour soup, sesame chicken are other personal favorites. Oh the fried rice that comes with the chicken is also delicious.

We had sesame chicken and it was AMAZING! Lo mein was pretty good, but that chicken is worth coming back to NYC for.

If you’re looking for Chinese food in the area and are VERY hungry then this is the spot! They have many different options and are accommodating. I ordered the shrimp with lobster sauce combination platter. The wonton egg drop soup was flavorful. They gave about eight jumbo shrimp in the main dish. They were cooked right and the sauce was tasty. Their fried rice has pork, shrimp and chicken in it. I really liked the fried rice. Also, open till about 11 on a Monday!

I don’t know what to say about this place other than the fact that it’s FANTASTIC! One of my absolute FAVORITE Chinese-​Latino spots in the ENTIRE city.
The food is fantastic — I’ve had the Chicarron de Pollo con hueso and sin hueso, Sesame Chicken, Bistec Encebollado, Chicken wing and Ribs and they cook each of these to absolute perfection. Their pork fried rice and shrimp fried rice are amazing.
The portion sizes are huge by the way, if you’re looking for a great Chinese-​Latino place — this it it!!!

Ohhh this place SUCKED!!! The service was HORRIBLE!!! We waited 15mins for someone to come over and take our order and that was only because we had to call someone. We had to ask for the complimentary bread, napkins, straws etc… I should of just had gotten up and cooked the food myself.
I had the palomilla (beef round steak) which was good with fries which weren’t good.
And they charged me $ 3 for Snapple!!!
No tip was left. They really sucked!

I have been coming here since I was a kid, and this place has not changed one bit. If you have an appetite and are on a budget and want good Chinese food with a Latin taste then this is your place to come to. Plates are huge and tasty.

Local spot that doesn’t disappoint. The fried chicken is excellent and isn’t oily. The homemade ice tea is very good. The prices are very reasonable. Lunch specials are under $ 10. I would definitely come back.

Alright! Alright!
Man, this place knows the inner fatty in everyone.
This place tickles every comfort food inkling you may have. Fried chicken… check! Fried rice… check! Chicken and Rice… check! What an amazing concept of chinese and latin food. And, they be doin it well here!
Friendly, Chinese staff… sounds like an oxymoron, but we saw smiles on our servers faces to boot.
The cracklin chicken is where its at! You have to come hungry too because they give football player sized portions, and with the decent prices… order away, but leftovers are a coming.
Seriously, if you are in the area, or are craving chinese or dominican or cuban and cannot decide, its conveniently located near the 1 train.
Totally get your grub on here and roll home happy!

I don’t eat Chinese food too often as my taste buds don’t have a liking for this cuisine. But, wait, before you call me an Asian hater, I can explain. I am not one of those Chinese Americans that’s too snobby for my own people’s food, that’s hardly the case. It’s more like I am a health nut, and well, Chinese food is basically heart attack on a platter.
But after an extremely grueling Bikram class right upstairs, me and my homegirls needed desperately to restart our engines. Bikram yoga will kill you, but you will appreciate it later.
So all the glowing reviews for this place is for the Cracklin chicken and well if you eat birds of the fowl family, you have got to get this dish. It comes with about 5 to 6 pieces of LARGE chicken pieces fried to perfection. The pieces are seriously as big as a small bird. On top of that, it comes with fried rice, soup of your choice and salad. And all this food is for $ 16.
Since I don’t eat meat, I got the Tofu Szechuan style, served with a side of fried rice, an order of plantains and soup of your choice. And all this for $ 16.
My other friend got the General Tso Shrimp, with side of yellow rice. This was $ 17.
I’ll have to tell you, when the waiters brought out a dish of egg noodle chips with a side of duck sauce, I just couldn’t stop smiling. It just brought back so many good memories of when I was a child and going out to eat with my family. Those were some of my happiest moments.
We ladies enjoyed our meals, chatted about life, catching up and enjoying our adventure into a time warp. The restaurant looks like it’s right out of the 80s, with a diner top in the front of the restaurant with the coolest stools (that’s right, Hipster is in), and they have a few tables with booth seating, and of course, very tacky wall art. That is a quintessential Chinese restaurant ambiance, which I took in with fondness.
The waiters were very nice, smiling all the time, and speaking three different languages while working quickly to serve everyone. We came in at 10pm and despite them closing at 11pm, they allowed us to enjoy a most relaxing meal and the waiters never rushed us and let us take our time.
I will definitely come back again for other Tofu dishes served with plantains. This is my go-​to now after a crazy-​ass Bikram class. Never mind that I also thought the waiters were exceptionally cute and adorable, wink wink.

When I come home to NYC (moved 20 years ago) I want three things: pizza, bagels and Cuban food. The latter comes from Dinastia more often than not because it’s consistent and established and close enough to deliver. My favorites are the Cuban beef stew (w/​yellow rice and black beans), fried plantains (sweet ones), and yucca with garlic. Never been disappointed. Oddly enough I was reading these reviews and realized I’ve never had either Chinese food here or the fried chicken. Creature of habit I guess. Anyway, good spot, always glad it is still there when I come to town. Very large, share-​able portions.

The place isn’t bad although the rice w/​chicken was either wet or very greasy not to mention a bit sticky. I also had some garlic shrimp and some teriyaki chicken which wasn’t bad. Not a bad place to go and eat. I would come again for sure.

I come to La Dinastia on nearly every trip I make to NYC. A friend introduced me to the place 12 years ago and I have ordered the same thing every time from the Lunch Menu; Boneless Crackling Chicken. You have your choice of yellow or white rice. I recommend the yellow. Now, if you know this place you don’t come here for the service. It could be slow but not terribly so. They might not be the most attentive but you will always get what you want and the food is ready fast. This is a Chinese/​Latin place so it is a true mix of culture and cuisines. It’s good quality food at very reasonable prices for real people. I just wrapped up my meal and all I can say is that it was on point again. 12 years of consistently good food for me and many more for La Dinastia.