Charcoal Chicken

I can’t say how much I love this place. Great service and great flavor
A coworker brought me a few years ago and I’ve been going back ever since. Lunch is great, but we also get takeout for dinner. I recommend the chicken — I usually get a half or quarter — the vegetable rice, and maduros.

Chicken was absolutely amazing but I have to say I was disappointed. I ordered a lunch special which turned out to be $ 10 and some change. I only got 2 small pieces of chicken and 4 plantains. what the heck am I going to do with that?.. still hungry right now ughh

Came here on the recommendation of my girlfriend and the positive reviews of my fellow Unilocalers. I have mixed feelings to go with mixed food results. I got the charcoal chicken. The taste was fine but it was the smallest 2 pieces I could have gotten. It was more like charcoal chick. The plantains (maduros) were well made and the salad was fresh but my girlfriends pork chops were dry and tough although well seasoned. Unlike my chicken the portions were more generous. I’d come back but not on a special night marked for celebration.

So I asked the waitress if I can order a side of chicken and white rice. What did she say, no! No??? I am so stund that she didn’t offer to ask the chef if they can do that for me. I am a very dedicated person when I like a place and will brag and bring an army with me. There loose. I will never come here again. The only reason I wanted something small was because I ate a couple of hours earlier and I was still feeling it. Shame on them!!!

The service is amazing and the food is exceptional. I heard that they were serving breakfast at the restaurant, and I had to try it.
I came in and was impressed by the variety of breakfast menu, but there was one thing that caught my eye in particular. The bolon mixto, I even asked the waitress if she can bring me a side of bistec de carne to pair with the bolon and they were happy to make the accommodation for me. The food was great, it definitely hit the spot that I was looking for. But what took it over the top was the batido (Shake) of lulu. I had to order two.
Again I have to say that I was pleasantly pleased with the food and service. I will definitely recommend this to my friends and family.

I came into Connecticut from MD to visit friends. They brought me out to this place to try their Latin American breakfast and they did not disappoint. I tried their green plantains balls with cheese and pork and it was amazing. I felt like I was back in Ecuador eating out of my grandma’s kitchen. I paired the green plantain balls with a bistec a la criolla.
Later that day I had to return because I had to try their dinner dishes. I tried their Ecuadorian shrimp ceviche and once again I was astonished. I was overwhelmed with awesomeness of this dish.
The service was great as well. Very attentive and friendly. Great experience!!!

Good service and amazing food. Their chicken is to die for and the price is even better. Ive been going here for years and sometimes they might forget some of your orders, but just double check before leaving. But over all this place is a MUST!

Charcoal /​Lighter Fluid Chicken. The front room staff is very courteous and very attentive, but the kitchen staff is difficult. If you want only dark or white meat the wait staff is afraid to ask the kitchen because «they don’t like to do it.»
Finally, got home on New Years Eve and part of the order was missing. I called and the woman who answered was very kind and said I could come back but it was too far, late and traffic was in full force.
$ 48 for 1 ½ chicken, 2 orders of tostones and 1 order of plantanos. And two pieces of a very very sub par flan. Even if they packed the rice and beans it still would not have been worth it.
This has the potential to be a really good place. I’ve had the chicken before without the lighter fluid taste and it is good. The owner of this place really needs to get the kitchen staff in line. Maybe they should take a trip to Fair Haven or East Main Street in Bridgeport to see how Charcoal Chicken should be done.

Oh man, this was certainly a «GET IN MY BELLY» moment!
I’ve been searching for a spot that makes decent patacones/​tostones (or how ever your region refers to them) for a hot minute. This is my new spot.
Tried out one of the lunch specials. $ 7.99 plus tax got me a quarter rotisserie chicken seasoned to perfection, tostones made the right way (if you love platanos, you know what I mean) and a salad. What a bargain! Could have used more tostones though.
Go me! Go me! Can’t wait to go back!

Nice surprise! Not what I expected. Not a hole in the wall. Safe enough neighborhood by daylight. Nicely decorated with pictures of South American scenes on the walls. Salsa and meringue music with a bar in the back. Cool inside, A/​C? It was empty except for us 6, but a steady influx of take outs.
We started off with Presidente/​Modelo beers, cream soda-​like Inca Kola, papaya shake, mango shake and I ordered passion fruit with water instead of milk shake. Mine was the tartest and thickest of them all. Tasty though!
We decided to order a couple of whole cut up chickens in Equadorian spices. Delicious and tender with crispy skins. We also ordered the currasco yummy but salty, flat-​pounded fried steak with fried egg on top with sad, wilty avocado salad on side. Very similar to the steak in La Cazuela (P.R.) and Cora Cora (Peruvian cuisine).
Ordered a bunch of sides like too hard yucca frita with a mustard-​like, picante sauce (aji), fresh avocado slices, rice and red beans (reminded me of improved canned pork and beans), maduros (sweet plantains), and tostones (too dry fried green plantains) with awesome queso slices.
It was odd for the server (who doubled as cashier and busboy — a one man show!) to serve us sweet plantains and tostones before the main dishes. But I guess he put out what was readily available first.
We were stuffed as usual. But who can leave without trying dessert? So we tried all three choices: higos (figs) in some rich sweet sauce with queso again, delicious homemade flan in caramel syrup, and coconut flan (not our favorite — too coconutty). Then he surprised us with tres leches cake which we instantly recognized as it hit the table. That was not even on the menu! It was even better than the flan: milky smooth and spongy cake. I forgot to mention, in the midst of all this gorging, that all the dishes are big potions. The regular (not large) portions are not skimpy either.
I still think the tres leches cake at Oaxaca Kitchen beat this one and this place did not blow me away, but this place deserved four stars because he did an exceptional job of serving us and was very friendly despite our poor attempt at menu Spanish!

My wife was out of town with the baby so it was time to gather up some of my professional eating friends and head out for dinner. I have had my eye on Charcoal Chicken for the last several years but had yet to pull the trigger on the place. Tonight we decided to try it out.
HOLY JESUS IT WAS AMAZING.
Yes, amazing.
Clean, well lit, full of south american families (always a good sign when eating at a south american restaurant). Turns out our waitress was the owner and she was so sweet. She even humored Andy’s lame attempts at Spanish, telling him he was doing a great job.
We got appetizers of sweet plantains with cheese and tostones with cheese. Then roasted chicken, ceviche — really good ceviche btw — and I ordered the chicken rice. Let me tell you about the chicken rice, I really had my heart set on the bistec a lo pobre because Im a sucker for a fried egg on a steak but I always get that when its on the menu. I was thinking about something different and when the owner told me the chicken rice was her grandmothers recipe I was sold. Yellow rice, chunks of chicken, green olives, pigeon peas, onions and raisins. Wonderful.
The fruit shakes are good, as good as any Ive had anywhere but the food portions are so big I may stick with water next time…
We allowed her to upsell the four of us on a shared piece of home made coconut flan, easily the best decision of the night. It was good enough that Brad brought a piece home for his studying fiancé.
I will be eating there again. Soon.

What a surprise this place was.
I met my girlfriend & her husband there and I was pleasantly surprised. The place is adorable inside, the service was great and the food was even better.
Very reasonably priced with a nice menu & ample serving sizes.
Although I didn’t try a milkshake, I heard they are out of this world!
You have to park on a busy street, but don’t let that stop you — try this restaurant — you won’t be disappointed!