Melly’s Cafe

This is another little hidden gem tucked away in the less hipster-​y part of Astoria/​LIC. It’s super inexpensive, and they offer lots of authentic and flavorful Dominican dishes. My mouth is watering thinking about their chicken/​rice/​beans. The people who own it are awesome — wish I was seeing more reviews here!

This place is an awesome hidden gem in the heart of ravens wood. If you can get over the tough neigborhood surrounding the restaurant and you want some good old fashion pollo rice and beans, this beats anything around. Latin cookin is what makes this place gold.

Pacheco, do you remember me?
I worked at a school right next to this hole-​in-​the-​wall restaurant, and a lot of my colleagues went here for lunch. I didn’t really even know it existed until a coworker of mine came back with delicious-​smelling food, and she told me it was very affordable and very delicious. This became my go-​to place every single day for lunch. The workers knew my name and face and always had my plate ready before I could even order. On the odd days they had no chicken available, they’d try to figure something out so that I could still get some protein out of the food that I ate.
This place is run by a Dominican-​American man and his wife, and they keep the business all in the family. Even the daughter serves food to their guests! There are few dine-​in tables, but if you desire to dine-​in, you can. The plates are so cheap, you’d be surprised at how far you can make a single dollar go if you go to this place.
And the sweetest part of it all? It’s actually named after Pacheco’s wife!

This tiny hole in the wall is easy to miss, but the experience was so positive, I will not be missing it again!
The rice, beans and fried plantains made my heart skip a beat. The waitress (perhaps Melly?) was super friendly and serves up the food with a smile in this no frills café.
Fine dining, it is not, but for a lovely taste of Dominican fare in an authentic setting, Melly’s is the place to be!