La Pollera Colorada

Pretty close proximity to my place of work. So when I want to stuff my face with some goodness, the Mountain Platter is my go to dish. Steak, Egg, Avocado, Fried pork skin, plantains, beans and rice. The hot sauce is on point and their hen soup is absolutely delicious. Except when they add a little extra organs. I’m not eating heart or liver bro. The staff are friendly and attentive and the place has a very casual relaxed vibe.

The only reason I am taking the time to write this review is to warn innocents. They answer the phone in spanish and appear dissapointed when spoken to in english, perhaps I should have offered to pay in pesos. We ordered 5 main entrees and 2 apps for delivery. I wanted 5 hot sauce packets (1 for each entrée) and was told, no, I could only have 2 hot sauce packets, I would have to pay 25 cents extra for the each of the other 3. Apparently their customers have been abusing their little hot sauce packets and now they have to be rationed. The food arrived cold and one entrée missing. When I called to say it was missing she mumbled and hung up, I had to call back and find out if it would be delivered and she said yes. We had dinner and dessert and had to go back to the restaurant and beg for the chicken. When we got to the restaurant they said our chicken was «out for delivery» (except it never arrived) and said they would give us someone else’s chicken. Guess what? the chicken was cold. BTW– the yuca and tostones were dry and bland. Def not worth the agro.

After reading some reviews it’s true that the place is going down, the picada is a plate full of plantain and the price is raised, yeah not ordering from here any more

I’ve been coming here for years & can honestly say it’s one of my absolute favorite restaurants. Their food is delicious! My bf always gets their skirt steak (even though we noticed their sauce has changed over the years) soo good! I get the grilled chicken breast & it’s like, how?! How is this so tasty?! Love this place!
Btw, I prefer this location over the one on Northern. The one time I went to Northern it took them about four times to get my order right. Not kidding.

Their Picada is going downhill: just don’t add chicken wings instead of chorizo, the amount of chicken in this dish is not the way is used to be and why you would fry a baked potato, it seems ilke you are adding leftovers to the tray.

This place has managed to stay in business for about twenty years while every single business around it has opened and closed time and again. Their chicken is delicious and their sides are fresh.

Food is good but when you want to take leftovers home they charge you for it. I never go there to eat again. I believe that is very classless way to service your customers.

Although others give this place glowing reviews, I just can’t. I’ve had way too much damn good Colombian food to compare this to. I split the Arroz Con Pollo and the Plato Montañero (aka mountain platter or Bandeja Paisa) with a friend who I introduced to Colombian food years back.
Although I ordered a beef empanada, the house brought out two complimentary mini chicken empanadas instead. I was more than cool with this. The empanada was fine, but the aji could use some improvement. Maybe it’s a preference thing, but I’m accustomed to a thicker salsa.
Onto the meal, starting with the better of the two — the Plato Montañero. It’s essentially grilled steak, chicharrón (pork rinds), white rice, red beans, avocado, an arepa, plátano (plantain), and an egg on top. The steak and beans were both good. The plátano was mushy and off somehow. The arepa was too hard, and almost tasted stale. Luckily I had some Manzana (really good apple soda) to wash it down.
The Arroz Con Pollo (chicken with rice) was really disappointing. Although it was full of the same basic ingredients, it was lacking in flavor and was absolutely bland. If you order this BYO cumin, cilantro, onions, garlic, or whatever else you want to add some flavor here.
Comida auténtica colombiana, pero la comida de ese restaurante es mediocre.

I CAME TO THIS PLACE ONCE BEFORE. MY SISTER WAS PREGNANT WITH HER FIRST CHILD, NOW 17 YEARS OLD AND GRADUATING HIGH SCHOOL. I have returned! This is where she craved liver with caramelized onions. She loved it… But she was pregnant…
I didn’t remember how the food was, but the service was good… today, I was in the mood for Colombian food, just like my mama use TO do, yellow rice with chicken, it could have had more flavore. The peas and carrots for color added nothing to the dish. I have made this dish way better. It seemed as if they restructured this dish for a population of bland tastebuds… my Bandeja Paisa… how can you go wrong… Well the beans were the only thing wrong. No flavor… I added salt, but still… beans were creamy, rice perfect, platano maduro, perfect. Steak, perfect, chicharron, OMG! Perfect! The arepa, which I never liked, I actually liked. Shhh, better than my mom’s. The service was awesome, great people. I wanna come again but for the chicharron. yummy, yummy!

I won’t come here again. Ordered a mountain platter and the beans came out cold. The egg was overdone and I could tell the fried plantain had been already fried hours ago (it was tough and cold).
Service was not receptive — explicitly asked for no rice on either plate, but instead got two mountains of rice.
Complimentary coffee had some ground coffee in it.
Finally, it’s overpriced compared to the other colombian places in the neighborhood.

Hearty, savory, filling Colombian food. Nothing to complain about there. My favorites at La Pollera Colorada consist of the Mini Bandeja platter (steak, fried egg, rice, beans, maduro, avocado, and chicharron), or the amazing cream of chicken soup served with a plate full of Atkins worst nightmare – CARBS. The soup is served with fries AND rice. Why, you ask? Because it’s delicious.

They speak pretty much zero english. They couldn’t understand their most popular dish «mountain platter» I can’t understand how they don’t have at least 1 employee that can speak English…

Good food and portions at real good prices.
Got the mountain platter and loved it.
The homemade pork rind was awesome and the beans were great.
Make sure you ask for yellow rice or you get white.
The orange unmarked sauce on the table is special hot sauce… Pour it on everything.
The steak had a great seasoning on it and was cooked pretty well. There were a few tough pieces on it.
Overall it was a great meal for someone with a big appetite for $ 15 after tax

I’ve been back a couple of times — not ordering the chicken and have been very pleased. The bandeja paisa (tipica) and the lengua were really good!

Came here really early (like 11am) which is maybe why I didn’t get the best food?
We had the mountain platter, chicken, yellow rice, and chicken soup based on Unilocal recommendations. The white rice and beans were great, but the yellow rice was kind of greasy and flavorless.
The mountain platter was good, and the chicken was only OK.
The famous creamy chicken soup tasted like it came out of a can, but maybe we had leftovers from the night before since we got there so early? It was nothing special, which was a letdown after hearing such good things about it.
I would go back and try other things on the menu!

My bf found this place on Unilocal and we decided to give it a try. We both ordered the typical dish because we want a little bit of everything but I got mine with yellow rice for $ 1 extra. It came with steak, fried pork belly, avocado, beans, egg and sweet plantain. The pork belly was extra crispy and the steak was very flavorful. The portions are huge for the price. I ate the leftovers for lunch the next day. I also had a cup of red sangria for $ 4. Delicious. Def recommend this place and I will be going back for some more.

To the point: the food is average but very good. The food is not highly flavored, it’s all natural tasting in a delicious but more so filling if you order the right dish like what I always go for The Mini Tipica or Mini Valluna (only difference is in the type of beans). You get a whole soft fried plantain, flank steak, chicharrón, egg, a tiny arepa, and a slice of avocado over rice and the beans on the side for $ 10.
The avocado salad is fresh.
Colombiana Soda is on the menu and is a nice light flavored, light fizzy soda.
I can also recommend some of their smoothie drinks. One worth mentioning is the oatmeal drink, it’s thick and very filling if you like something that goes down solid.
Been coming here numerous times over the years for dine in and take out and have been coming back and ordering ever since. The décor is just basic painted orange inside with minor decorations and all is basic with plain seating. It is a cozy place for a small family or friends to enjoy a simple meal.
Though the prices have gone up by a dollar or two from a few years ago, it is still a good value for the food one gets.
Don’t be surprised if someone answers the phone who doesn’t speak English but that’s fine it make it more authentic!
Never had any problems with staff.

I been ordering from here for years. The food is always good and the portions are huge. They have daily specials and soups.
My favorite dishes here are Pandeja Paisa (typical Colombian dish with steak, beans, rice, fried pork) and pollo al limon (chicken in lemon sauce).

Late Saturday afternoon I was sitting in my room and an overwhelming desire for food emerged. I remembered I forgot to eat breakfast and lunch. I did not eat well the past couple of days due to stress (yes I do not eat when I’m stressed; I’m an oddball) so the search for something cheap, close by, and filling began. What food came to mind? COLOMBIAN FOOD. I usually go to Jackson Heights for Colombian, but I would have collapsed and died of starvation if I had made that trip.
I found La Pollera Colorado through Unilocal and ordered #16 PLATO MONTANERO (Mountain Platter) to-​go. After 15 minutes, I received the food, anxiously went home, opened the package in 3 separate containers, and gorged on the plethora of food — grilled tender uncut BEEF, 2 inch PORK RIND, crispy on the outside and chewy in the inside, fully cooked fried EGG removing the yolk (dislike yolk), white RICE, BEANS, and ½ cut fresh AVOCADO. This dish could satisfy a CARNIVORE, despite the limited selection of meats, and consisted of enough food to feed 2 grown adults.
+ Portions are huge and FILLING.
+ Menu has over 100+ ITEMS of breakfast, soups, main dishes, chef’s specials, meats, seafood, salads, and more; a burden of choice for the customer.
— Wait was 15 minutes.
— Lack of vegetables in the PLATO MONTANERO. Be sure to order a different dish with a salad if you would like to feel healthy.

In a hood where good Latin food is serious business, this spot marks a turning point in Queens where pollos a la brasa (aka Latin rotisserie chicken) joints begin appearing every couple of blocks. La Pollera Colorada, aside from being a fun name to say, is among the very best.
Named after the one of the popular costumes (dresses) in Latin America, this original location easily trumps that of its sister spot in Jackson Heights (
). Chicken is the name of the game here, and this Colombian restaurant has many tasty pollo concoctions that chicken lovers can appreciate.
There is an admittedly cheesy chain feel about La Pollera Colorada (the fast food looking staff uniforms, the the über nice takeout menus, the automated computer /​credit card friendly register, etc.) but this little restaurant is a popular spot for Latin families almost every night. Despite all of the steps they’ve taken to make the establishment more gringo friendly (up-​to-​date website, accurate menu translations, etc.), the super nice wait staff will almost always prefer conversing en espanol.
Without question, the rotisserie chicken is a must have. Moist and tender to perfection, the chicken pulls comes apart from the bone easily, and the wonderfully seasoned skin is so smooth, so delicious. Combine this with some of their house dressing and the chicken is on whole ‘nother level. It is their signature item, their best selling one, and roasted right near the window for all to see.
Another show stopper is their cream of chicken (crema de pollo). Yes, it’s listed on the kid’s menu portion, but I promise it will is one of the most reasonable ($ 6.50 for a large tub) and most importantly, tastiest items on the menu. The soup is very creamy, the stewed chunks of chicken is really fantastic, and can be eaten on it’s own though I prefer it with the rice. It is such a good dish that I’ve actually brought it to parties and have gotten high fives from people ever since. True story.
Folks ordering from the «native dishes» (platos tipicos) portion of the menu are going to find solid platters in the $ 10 – 14 range. The platano montinero (mountain platter?), consisting of grilled/​ground beef, rice, avocado, chicharon /​pork rinds, and beans is a hearty pick. Same goes with the chuletta a la parilla (grilled pork chop), which in its own juicy wonder is delightful all in itself. To all vegetarians currently reading this review with a sad face, I’m pleased to report their salads are solid and their money-​tasting arroz amarillo (yellow rice) has some good veggies embedded in the rice, albeit probably cooked in butter (sorry vegans).
It may go without saying, but all of this food is best enjoyed fresh. Unlike cold pizza, the leftover preservation doesn’t have much staying power and the delicious chicken that was moments of out of the oven, will be significantly less appealing even 2 hours at room temperature. Come for a feast, watch some soccer or MMA on their two large LCDs, and enjoy some of their wine, which sometimes gets offered on the house. Lastly, we all love deals, so print this coupon (
) from their website and save 10% when dining in.