Ramaraya Cafeteria

Love this place! The plates are like $ 4 and $ 6 I believe and everything is amazing! Their chicken empanadas are the absolute best ever!

of all the sit-​down Dominican places in PVD, this is definitely my favorite – came recommended by some friends at work awhile ago and i can’t stop coming back! it is cafeteria-​style, cash-​only, Spanish-​speaking preferred per usual. a little further south of the DR Broad strip just off 95, which i like since street parking is easier and dining in is quieter as people tend to get their grub to go. service is consistently impeccable, w/​the same two friendly women behind the counter day in and day out w/​a smile and an English «thank you» when i leave~
i always get mofongo, tostones, bistec encebollado, beans and rice (white is just as good as yellow here don’t worry) and my FAVORITE dulce de lechosa!!! they have imported malta and flavored sodas of course. flan is good too though i’m not a flan guy – the chicharron, while still delicious as fried fat always is, seems consistently cooked too dry for my tastes so i tend to pass on it more than at other places. you can eat like a king w/​4 other people here for less than $ 30.

Alright, I have no idea how my roommate’s girlfriend found this place but she did. And I’ve been listening to him rave about it for long enough. So yesterday we drove down to Broad street and checked it out. Ramaraya is seated in an old-​school diner that has been converted into a tiny cafeteria style Dominican Restaurant. it’s a bit divey and crusty but don’t let that scare you. As soon as you walk in there is a cafeteria counter to your immediate right. The basic idea is that you get a plate which as far as I could tell (I could easily be wrong) is one flat price. I think $ 6 or $ 7.
The staff and the majority of it’s customers are all Domincano, and the main language spoken here is Spanish however they do understand english as well. The diner itself is has a bout 4 tables and long bar style table that faces a large window to the street .
You go down the line and pretty much tell the lady what you want on your plate. Basically you get a bed of rice and whatever you want on top of it. I got a plate of white rice (I wish that I saw the Dominican yellow rice first) and had it smothered with a chicken stew type of dish that contained onions spices veggies and olives. And a side of beans that was mix of pintos and white beans. This food is fantastic authentic home cooked goodness… and you get a lot of it. My only word of caution is that the chicken is cooked with the bones… so you’ll hit quite a few and especially be careful of the olives as they contain pits. (ouch).
When all was said and done we ordered two plates a diet coke and two chicken empanadas for the kingly sum of $ 16. And then i came home and had a loverly siesta.
I hear that brekkie/​lunch on the weekends is where it is at. Mashed platanos and yucca as big as your head.
keep and open mind and check it out.