El Cid

Me an my fiancé was given a gift certificate so we decided to try this place out ! We heard very nice things about it and already knew up front that the place was known for their delicious steaks so we had to order some steaks. For appetizer we had the spicy tips which were good but definitely filled us up before our dinner came. I orderd the Skirt steak which I was very disappointed about and in my opinion was not worth the 80 $. I asked for Med well and it came out medium rare but did not complain. My fiancé orderd the RibEye which by far was the best we ever had and was well worth the 40 something dollars it cost sorry can’t remember the real price lol it comes with yellow rice an Chips and I had a Salad and my fiancé had their soup of the day. A white bean soup which he said was very good. He had 2 beers I had 1 glass of red sangria. No dessert because all that steak filled us up lol Of all the whole experience was great and I would recommend this place to my friends! But I have to be honest have ur credit card or check book ready for this place cause it’s pricey lol

I had their NY sirloin steak medium rare and my boyfriend had lobster and shrimp in crispy garlic and both were so amazingly delicious! The steak was cooked to perfection and the lobster and shrimp were both tender! We also had a small sangria which was tasty. Will definitely return soon!

Always a good experience here. Always take my lady there. The waiter we had was really awesome, he made the experience for us unforgettable by treating us with the upmost respect. Food there is incredible making my lady and I regulars. Order the prime rib and lobsters a must.

Saturday night dinner for a group of 8 made it difficult of the bat. Our friends had arrived early an we were immediately seated when we got there. This was a huge bonus, because the line was out the door when we arrived and the bar was packed.
Our table was in the corner, which was good, but it was an awkward size. We had a round table attached to 2 smaller tables. This made it difficult for everyone to engage in conversation together, so we were more like 2 separate groups of 4. It was also quite loud during prime time.
Onto the food… bread was warm and hood. We ordered 3 garlic shrimp, a spicy beef tips, and clams as appys. We loved them all. Each had a nice sized portion and I felt full after round 1.
Onto the main event. .friends ordered surf and turf. That looked amazing, beautiful piece of filet and a gorgeous lobster tail. I was definitely envious of the lobsta… 3 of us ordered the shrimp with garlic or green sauce. Definitely 4+ star. One ordered seafood paella and one steamed lobster. All of the food was great, especially the lobster, which was amazing. Sides were spanish potato chips and yellow rice.
Overall, we had a great meal and a great time at about $ 100 per person. I don’t think that I would go back on a Saturday night, as I prefer a more subdued atmosphere and less traffic.

Make sure to come HUNGRY! Portions are huge and prices of some of the entrees are on the higher side. Also they don’t take reservations, so on a weekend be prepared to wait about an hour or so. Staff seemed to be attentive once they came to the table but there was a delay when we first sat down.
Appetizers to go with here are the garlic shrimp, chorizo and spicy beef tips. Entrees come with salad or soup. If your a blue cheese lover make sure to try their blue cheese dressing… YUM! Dinner for me here has always been the paella or the mariscada verde. They make some of the best green sauce I’ve ever tasted! As for desert, I have a weakness for flan and have to order it whenever it’s on a menu.

If you like big portions, Spanish food, sangria, and don’t mind a 1 hour + wait, this is a good place to try. From fish to steak to chicken to lobster, they have it all.
The area to wait is tight so plan to stand for awhile and get a drink at the bar. As long as you go in knowing this, it will be less stressful. The parking is also tight so expect to take some time to park.
The food: The garlic shrimp were good but I hate that they don’t devein the shrimp. It took away from enjoying it. The chorizo was good too, just greasy as expected. These appetizers were not huge portions like the entrees. Your entrée comes with salad or soup and rice and chips. The chicken dish (there is only one) was good, the sherry was very strong, but I still enjoyed it. You get 4 pieces of chicken, plenty to share or take home. The sliced tenderloin came in a brown sauce, like a mushroom type of sauce, but it doesn’t say it on the menu. Be very clear when ordering and ask questions if you have any. The rice pudding and flan were said to be very good too.
The drinks: The sangria was really a good mix between dry and not too sweet. One glass is $ 9, a small pitcher is $ 17 and a large is $ 30. The large was enough for 6 – 8 glasses.
I would go back, but wouldn’t have the shrimp again. The steak tips looked good, I’d try that in the future.
Its worth going if you like prime rib, its just too large for me so I didn’t order it. The whole lobsters come with 3 not 2… I guess as a nice surprise ?!

Love this place. Definitely a bit pricey but with it for special occasions. I always get their prime rib special when I’m there as it can probably feed for people fairly easily.
Staff is super friendly too. Come by here for some good food and some nice ambiance.

The food was delicious. The surf and turf was to die for. The garlic shrimp appetizer, the sangria and the steaks. Loved everything. Very pricey but worth it.

El Cid gets three stars for being completely mediocre across the board for food and service. Right off the bat the menu is bare of details or additional information about the dishes. I’m a sucker for detailed explanations of food, which is how I choose what I want to eat. In the end, I pretty much closed my eyes and pointed.
The table ordered white sangria, prime rib, seafood mariscada in spicy red sauce and a shrimp/​scallop dish. We ordered sides of rice and chips as well. Unfortunately, the food did not blow me away and I actually think I spent more time chowing down on chips than anything else (although, now that I think about it, this may be due to my weakness for potatoes).
After finishing our meal it took ages to flag down the waiter for the check, which wasn’t a surprise bc the waiter had been ghosting the entire meal.
All in all – unless you live in the area and want that quick fix for a specific craving, go elsewhere.
Tip: a few years ago I went here with my family Mother’s Day and the prices were inflated a ridiculous amount. Keep that in mind for the holidays!

Went there for our Holiday party and was pleasantly surprised! The place was filled with MEN!
I guess It makes sense… MEN LOVE STEAK… If you’re single and you like KOBE steak… Go to El Cid… Make sure you look cute! All kidding aside food was amazing!
Currently Married, but called all my single girls to let them know!

Some colleagues and I enjoyed a lunch here on a recent business trip. El Cid was highly recommended and it did not disappoint.
We were sat quickly and the service was prompt. Before ordering we were given some delicious home made bread and potato chips — odd combo, but each were very good. I started with the house soup. It contained pork (I think) and vegetables. The soup has really nice flavor to it. Very enjoyable.
For my meal I ordered the marsala filet tips and Spanish rice. Stellar. The filet was cooked perfectly (medium) and the rice was great as well with just the right amount of spice. Surprisingly the masala sauce complemented the steak well. I usually like my steak without sauce as I think it hides the flavor. In this case though it worked perfectly.
Overall a very pleasant experience. Food was great and service superb. I found the prices to be very reasonable given the quality of the food. Highly recommended when in Paramus.

I met some friends here for dinner on a Friday night. They don’t take reservations so we had to wait about 20 mins for a table, which isn’t that bad.
When we were ready, we ordered a pitcher of sangria, the scallops with lemon sauce, and the rib eye steaks. The sangria, food and drinks were all pretty good, but the reason why I’m giving them only 3 stars is that they ran out of prime rib steaks (which is the reason why my friend wanted to go to El Cid in the first place). So if you want to get their prime ribs, make sure you get there early. Also, the chocolate lava cake wasn’t that bad either.

I was treated to a dinner here and ordered the chilean sea bass. I thought the whole menu was overpriced but when my meal came out and I realized it was enough food for 4 full meals, I no longer thought it was overpriced, just wasteful.
No one needs to be served that much food. No one.
The fish was good. It was definitely fresh. The appetizers we had of chorizo, clams casino and oysters were also good. I just don’t get the portion size. Why not make it a bit smaller and charge less? Does anyone ever finish a meal here?

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This is one of my family’s absolute favorites ! When they are open you can find half of my family there around 6 at the bar … Spicy tips, surf and turf, scallops, crab meat and that steak ! GINORMOUS shrimp cocktail. The food quality here is above and beyond I’ve had everything that they have to offer at least twice… and if I could give them 15 stars I would.
Excellent bar service, very rarly do we eat at a table unless everyone is at dinner. But even when we do servers are always on point and a step ahead …

Ok I love El Cid, but something was off. My brother and I sat at the bar to grab a beverage, but the 90 yr old bartender was extremely slow. It took us 15 minutes to get a drink. There were so many customers with empty glasses.
The food overall was good. But I have a suggestion for the kitchen manager. Since this is the third time you have ran out of prime rib, maybe you should increase your pars.
Our server was super friendly!

This is my favorite restaurant for Prime Rib (ever since Joe’s American Bar & Grill stopped selling prime rib). Their portions are HUGE!!! Prices are a bit high, but for the quantity of food they give you, I think it’s fair. Their Prime Rib is probably enough to share with 3 – 4 people.
I can’t say much about their other dishes because I always end up ordering Prime Rib when I go there. But my friends who have come with me, have always been satisfied with what they ordered.
Though I do like their fish soup appetizer and their paella.

I know I’m not alone when I say god damn that is some good surf & turf!
Mondo sized lobster tail with a thick cut of filet mignon. Extremely simple and delicious. The sangria was perfection too. The rice is full of flavor and compliments the meat very well. We had the stuffed scallops and spicy tips for appetizer. They were both good, but we probably didn’t need it considering all the food we got. Oh and the meal comes with a salad or soup. The salad was nice a fresh. The Italian dressing was very good and I tasted the blue cheese too and that was amazing.
The service is superb and I love the classic Spanish restaurant atmosphere.
We came here for lunch on Father’s Day (thanks dad).

I was surprised when I saw that this establishment had 4 stars, since I would give an earnest 2.5 stars.
The décor and ambience is gorgeous, classic, and perfect for a date, family dinner, etc. The service was excellent, as we were well-​attended from the start: all hard earned stars. But as for the food…
Not breathtaking. Mediocre, normal, okay. Gambas al ajillo, something we eat in my family for years, was subpar. The shrimp were not properly cleaned, as in it still had «veins», as in poop. The garlic was great, but the shrimp was not.
The wine list was unimpressive. The wines by the glass had zero variety. Well, they offered various varietals, but ALL by the same California winery. The wine we selected was, meh. Not many options to choose from. The veal madrileño was, again, meh. The spicy beef tips were yummy thank goodness. Only 2 desserts were made in house and not spectacular. I question, how Spanish is this Spanish restaurant? Where my Spaniards at? Hola? Cid? Oigo?
Nope. No where to be found.

One of our Favorite Spanish Resto
Me and my finance always a regular, servings are huge, must get the paella and lobster

OMG YUM this place is unreal. To be honest this is why almost 70% of americans are obese, and I seriously will be proud to join them after eating here.
Not super fancy when you walk in, but still a bit historical. A bit confusing when you walk in with your children through a huge bar to be seated. Doesn’t matter… all that matters here is size.
Sangria pitcher was delish, enough to get you drunk and your party on while you feast like you’re in medieval times on a huge dinner.
Just remember guys… PRIME RIB and TWIN LOBSTERS (plus one)
Execution style, bring enough people who are hungry and want to eat, split everything, don’t fight over the rib, there’s plenty to go around.
Also ask for them to slice it for you, makes it easier to share.
The lobster, we ordered one steamed and one broiled, both delicious and when I say both I mean 6.
The potato chips are the most addicting things in the world. Get two, one for you and one for the table.
Escargot, get two, one for you and one for the table. They were in the shell too.
I can’t even tell you how massive the size was here. No one spoke, we weren’t allowed to interrupt our chewing during this meal.
And the one thing I love is that the prime rib here is the same as my restaurants company which is snake river farms, super marbled flavorful american wagyu… slamming!

Easily my favorite restaurant in the area. Huge portions, excellent sangria and authentic Spanish food.
El Cid has been a favorite for many birthdays whether it be friends or family. With the combination of excellent food and a great wait staff why would we come anywhere else?
I tend to always order the surf and turf. though it may be $ 50 it is well worth every single penny. The filet is served with a large tail and the steak alone is the size of your fist. Tender meat with a bit of crisp char from the grill served along side a beautiful lobster tail with drawn butter for dipping.
Each entrée comes with the choice of soup or salad. The salad dressing here is really tasty and I love dipping bread in it. The soup is usually a house special soup, haven’t gotten it so I don’t know how to describe it but everyone who gets it seems to be pleased with it. El Cid does daily specials one of my favorite they serve is the stuffed lobster as Kristina has mentioned.
Can’t wait to come back.

I went to El Cid for dinner recently. I expected a delicious, huge meal, after all the ranting and raving about this place. Huge-​yes, delicious-​not quite. My boyfriend and I were seated upstairs. It was a bit jam-​packed up there but tolerable.
Food:
We ordered the clams in wine sauce for an appetizer, filet mignon (med-​rare) and the lobster special (3 of them!). Each entrée came with either soup or salad. He got salad, I got soup. I asked what the soup was and I was told «fish soup.» I was puzzled and said «.fish soup?» He said «yup» and didn’t give much detail. Reluctant to try this fish soup, I ordered it anyway.
Clams– big clams. wine sauce a bit spicy. the wine sauce is thick– great for dipping bread in. tasty overall.
Salad/​Soup– Salad was good. He didn’t lie, it was definitely «fish soup» and it sure was fishy. I didn’t eat the chunks of fish but did eat the other things (tomatoes, zucchini, carrots). it was also good for dipping bread in.
Filet– yes, it was enormous, however it was completely tasteless. one of the worst I’ve ever had. came w vegetables on the side that were cooked to death with garlic thrown on them
Lobsters (broiled) — just your regular, tasty lobster. no complaints here
I’m happy I tried El Cid but I won’t be back for a while. Unfortunately this isn’t a place I’d voluntarily want to go back to. Positive-​huge portions. Negative-​not the tastiest food

LOBSTER LOBSTER LOBSTER. Yes LOBSTER. $ 39.99 for 3 lobsters and we ordered 30 of them. How about that for being a seafood lover? We sat down, ordered sangria by the pitcher, mussels with red sauce, NY steak and LOBSTERS.
I wanted to try something else on the menu but our fearless leader who was picking up the check insisted that we order the same things to make the ordering process easy and simple. I am NOT complaining but I wished I tried something else also. Perhaps next time with another group of crazy LOBSTER lovers.
I heard about their Gigantic Steak and would not have mind if we shared that together.