Coco Roco - Brooklyn

This restaurant was recommended by a colleague, so since we often grab coffee nearby, we decided to give it a try. The food was pretty good! We particularly enjoyed the empanadas, especially the beef ones, which had a nice kick to them. Ajii de Gallina is one of my favorite traditional Peruvian dishes, and I loved it here as well.

The restaurant felt larger than I remembered: bright, busy, and quite noisy. The service was notably slow for most of the evening; it took a while for our waiter to check on us. Fortunately, we occupied ourselves with two dishes of plantains and sauce while we waited. The menu is diverse, with main dishes averaging in the $20s, featuring seafood, pork, chicken, as well as appetizers and sides. Now, about the rotisserie chicken: the menu listed it as a half chicken for $9.00 but didn’t include any sides. Most sides averaged around $7.00, which struck me as odd. I expected the chicken to come with rice and beans, as my experience at the Boerum Hill location always included sides. I opted for a quarter chicken breast ($7.00) and a warm quinoa side ($7.00). The meal was decent but not remarkable. Aside from the quinoa, I found most of the food to be quite salty, particularly the dipping sauces for the plantains. I didn’t have any drinks this time, but I do recall the cocktails being quite good in the past. Overall, it was just okay.

We also ordered fried sweet plantains and fried yucca as sides. The plantains were fantastic, but unfortunately, the yucca missed the mark; it was quite dry, and we didn't enjoy it at all. One highlight for both of us was their homemade sauce; I could happily consume bowls of it—it's that delicious! Overall, the atmosphere was lively, and the service was commendable. We had a great experience and are definitely looking forward to returning to try more of their classic Peruvian dishes.

We have been coming here for a few years now, this being my SOLID SECOND choice for Peruvian in Brooklyn. Having said that, I do not think I will be back. Here is why: Service was always super slow. I didn't mind because while slow, it was good. Last night it was terrible and all over the place. And slow. And everything (3 appetizers and main course) came out at the same time. The food is just not what it used to be. At all. Like, at this point I would rather go to Pio Pio. How do you mess up ceviche? And yet, here we were. The only redeeming quality still is the atmosphere. I enjoy sitting outside. However, I would not want to pay for a meal there again.

The food here can be good depending on what you order. For appetizers I got a chicken soup which was okay I added some lemon to it which helped a bit with the blandness. For the entree I loved the lomo saltado it was nice and saucy, they also gave a good portion of meat. We had also gotten a half pitcher of sangria. I am not a fan of sangria in general, so I can't give any other input other than to say I disliked it. Anyone know of a good spot? My friend got the steak with eggs (forgot the actual name) this one did not amaze as much as the lomo saltado. The steak was pretty dry and tasted a bit salty. From my many experiences at Coco Roco I can say you should be safe with the lomo saltado, anything else could be a hit or miss. Also another tip, make use of the crayons while waiting for the food a game of tic tac toe or hangman will help pass the time.