El Parral

Never get tired of their Mariscada.
Ignore negative reviews.
Complain?
Find somewhere else that can be so consistent for 40 years!

We have been going there for years and I can say that this time was the biggest disappointment. Tired of their same house salad dressing so we asked for oil and vinegar. The bread was very good, as usual. My wife’s veal chops with onions were really poor. The veal was raggy and they would have been better off with one good veal chops than two raggy ones. My mariscada with green sauce consisted primarily of shrimp with just two small scallops three clams and two small pieces of lobster. The sauce was very hot but I recall it being tastier.
Great water coverage!
I think it’s time to move on.

My favorite restaurant for over 30 years. My parents brought me here as a little girl and now me and the hubbz bring our little girl here. The staff are fantastic and wonderful people. The food is amazing and since the portions are generous, they make great leftovers.

They have excellent service. Everyone is so friendly! The food is delicious! The bread is fresh! The salad dressing was very tasty. We came to celebrate my sisters birthday and we had a great time! We will defiantly come back. I recommend this place to everyone.

Ever since the ownership changed I’ve tried their food and it’s changed flavor less quality and they always get the order wrong. I just paid $ 70 for a paella without chicken and chorizo and barely any seafood. Time to find a new local place. What a shame.

A large group of us went on Saturday and it was a disappointment. Maybe because we are used to really good Portuguese food in the Ironbound section of Newark but this was terrible. The sangria was practically just juice, you could not taste wine at all. The baked clam appetizer was fishy and nasty. The garlic shrimp appetizer consisted of super tiny, probably frozen, shrimp — pathetic. The fried zucchini was just okay, not too hard to mess that up. Then the entrees were worse. My boyfriend had a seafood combo and for $ 32 it was suppose to have lobster and it had langoustines instead, nice trying to swap that without mentioning it. And it was in a pool of butter. Eww. I had shrimp in green sauce and it came in this large pot and had about 10 small shrimp in it. I ate them all and typically you cannot even finish the food when you eat at a Portuguese restaurant. There was a small bowl of rice or a vegetable served with each entrée. Very disappointing portions for the price. The owners need to go eat in the Ironbound to see what good Portuguese food tastes like. We didn’t have the Italian food so can’t vouch for that. Maybe that would’ve been better but my suggestion is do one or the other, but do it really well. The service was great and that’s the only reason it deserves a star. We were baffled as to why there was a slew of people waiting to get into this place.

My parents had been going here since before I was born and I am now in my 20s– El Parral will forever be my Sunday night ritual. They have had the same staff since Ive been there and everyone is always so friendly– owners, wait staff, busboys and bartender, even the other customers are all friendly toward one another.
I have been getting the chicken park for eternity with brocolli sauted in garlic and oil on the side. My dad is a big fan of their creole dish (he crafted his own so you can go and ask for what Steve gets, theyll know) but only if you like it spicy. My mom is also a big fan of their shrimp parm– vegetarians! The bread they give you before the meal is legendary, we have stocks of it at all times in my freezer, the salads you get with your entrée wouldnt be anything without their dressing– its like 1000 island on crack. My boyfriend loved is so much we sent him back to MA with some to go containers and their CHIPS oh my my myyyyyyy the chips– I’m drooling.
I also made my own chicken parm: instead of red sauce, I put their ajio sauce (yellow sauce I think used for shrimp) and there is nothing like it in the world.
Also, if you dont get their sangria, you’re doing it wrong.

I have been going to El Parral for at least 20 years. Good Spanish restaurants are not easy to find and this one never disappoints. My absolute favorite dish is the clams possilipo, which is a marinara sauce heavy on the garlic. I’ve even taken home the leftover sauce, it is that good. Prices are a little high but they include a side dish and salad. The salad dressing is excellent, as is the sangria. El Parral is an old world Syosset gem.

Little gem tucked away in a small strip of stores. Have been going here for years… Really excellent food and the décor has now been updated! Chicken Francais is great… get this in take out all the time! They have great Sangria if you are eating in.
Chicken parm also excellent. You really can’t go wrong with the food here! Highly recommend!

First of all, they are listed in the «Tapas» category on Unilocal.Don’t be misled, they do not have a Tapas menu at all!!!
Second of all, the food was mediocre at best. I ordered the paella. It was tasteless rice and small frozen shrimp with tiny clams. I think there was also one tiny scallop in it. No taste at all. No chorizo. It was basically a big pot of all rice.
We also order a baked ziti/​eggplant/​veal parm combo. Also not impressed with this. Their sauce was extremely salty and the veal parm was cut up into tiny pieces!
I very rarely leave bad reviews on Unilocal,but I will not be returning to this place.

I have been going to El Parral for 40 years or more. I love it. they are not afraid of garlic. I’ve sampled almost everything on the menu, the shrimp ajilio appetizer is my favorite, my husbald likes the chorizo. the steaks are good, the chicken marsala or francese also favorites but most of all I come for the paella. The’ll make it any way you like — they are not afrain of special orders and they actually pay attention ! I am not sure what the house salad dressing is, but sometimes I crave it so badly that we order extra to dip bread in. Safood is always fresh and the wait staff is great.

This is a successful business. Great food, great drinks and great service. Our waiter was spot on with recommendations and went out of his way to accommodate us. He is the definition of good service. I ordered the paella with lobster and wife ordered the chicken pizzaola. Both were perfect, I wouldn’t change a thing. The Sangria was made PERFECT!!! Strong and worth the $ 26 for the pitcher. If you dine here and don’t like it, then there’s something wrong with you. We are going to return.

Been coming here my whole life, the food is delicious, dependable, and consistently a favorite of mine. Must haves: the chorizo appetizer, shrimp francese entrée with rice, and flan for dessert! Other faves: mariscadas in green sauce, clams in green sauce, the house salad dressing!
Tip: Order the red sangria, sans extra sugar.

All I can say is try it you will like it

I have been going to El Parral since I was in elementary school. My family an I absolutely love it. Even though I don’t live in the area anymore, no weekend visit home is complete without a dinner at El Parral.
The service is great, the owners are always there and willing to accommodate any request you might have. The inside of the restaurant is cozy and simple, nothing over the top.
We always start with the chips and chorizo. Then, a simple garden salad with yummy french-​type dressing comes with your dinner order. In all my years coming here, I have ALWAYS ordered the ziti with chicken and broccoli for my main course. It is simply the best — crispy bits of chicken mixed with tender broccoli and lots of ziti. Oh, and don’t forget to order a pitcher of sangria to wash all this delicious food down!
Can’t wait to go back soon!

Chips!!!

My family has been going here for years. Unfortunately we won’t be going back.
Lets start with the bread they put on the table. It was stale, bad, supermarket Italian bread. They do not refill sodas and laugh at the thought. I never understand places that don’t do this, its so cheap and makes customers so happy. My husband ordered the paella as it is a Spanish restaurant. It was a box of bland rice, with a few frozen shrimp and scallops in it. There was supposed to be andouille sausage as well… it was more of an overcooked sliced ham. The dish had no flavor and zero spice. The only thing that I have ever liked is #25, which is a combination of shrimp, lobster tails and baked clams in marinara sauce of spaghetti. The sauce is still delicious. The lobster was overcooked and not fresh. The best part of the meal was the salad dressing.

Went here for dinner. It has been in the town for a long time. The food seemed to be good. I had chicken with rice, it was tasty with the sausage mixed in. The staff was pleasent and attentive. I felt it was a bit pricey though.

We last ate at the El Parral in the roaring early 90’s, a time when every restaurant was filled with people and the money was flowing. In todays economy we don’t eat out often and so when we do we try to get it right and I have to tell you, the El Parral got it wrong.
We both– my wife and I– ordered the seafood paella and it was hardly anything to talk about just a package of yeloow rice with peas that were still frozen and a few shrimp, mussels and clams. Where was the flavor??? I could have made this for $ 5.00 at home. To me the place has more of an Italian restaurant feel and not the Spanish one that it used to have.

I really enjoy sharing the paella with seafood… and a glass of wine — It can be a bit heavy. so one paella. and something else light.
Don’t overdo it here with the paella.