Cafe Cello
“Rest assured, I'll never make that mistake again, the roast pork sings a siren song, and I am helpless to resist.”
“I suggest you put some cilantro sauce on your sandwich as well as hot sauce.”
“Lunch was under $10 pp came w. rice and plantains (which weren't so impressive).”
Cafe Cello
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
3 reviews
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The name of this place will make you pass by and assume its a mom and pop deli but they have a ton of Latin food steamtables.
The roast pork is tender and they give you a HUGE amount, pork skin and fat to boot. It's fast, cleaner than Margon, but I can't vouch for the other food. The rice and beans is a little dry.
It's basically two lunches for 8 bucks. So you can have a nice heart attack two days in a row…
note, sometimes the pork is a little dry so i knocked off a star. still worth a try if you're in the area though!
Cafe Cello, it sure does look a bit dark and intimidating from the outside. I have to say that the first time I walked by this place, I kept on walking because shady places usually are not so trustworthy on the stomach. But I finally had the courage and curiosity to go with a friend for lunch. As soon as I walked in, I felt a lot better that it was not as dark and dingy as it appeared from the city street. Along to the right in the narrow corridor is the steam table serving 7-9 daily specials. I've heard a lot of good things about the Roast Pig and Fried Chicken. I looked at the Fried Chicken which looked decent but the Roast Pig was glistening and looked so tender and juicy. I decided to order the Roast Pig with yellow rice & beans, and some maduros (sweet plantains) were thrown on top. The guy behind the counter asked if I wanted some skin, which I gladly nodded. He took a pair of shears and cut off a 2"x2" piece of skin. I brought it to the Korean cashier, and she rung me up, $7.95 (tax already included). She also threw in a small plastic container of hot sauce and a lemon wedge wrapped in a plastic sandwich bag. After we paid, we took a walk to the back to see if there were any seating. The place was pretty dirty, with about 5-7 tables, and a bar-like metal table running along two sides of the wall. We decided to take our meal to the Rockefeller Concourse.
As soon as we found a seat, I opened the aluminum container. The food was still pretty warm by the time we found seating at the Rockefeller Concourse. The portions were more generous than expected, with a heaping handful of roast pig, 2-3 large scoops of rice & beans, and about 5-7 pieces of maduros. I took a couple bites of the roast pig, and indeed it was tender and juicy. The skin was not as fatty and juicy as I had imagined, rather it was more of an effort to chew this rock-hard skin. Somewhat good, but definitely not the best I've had. I threw the hot sauce on, which tasted more like Red Devil hot sauce, but nevertheless, complemented the roast pig and brought out the flavors more. The yellow rice & beans were not that flavorful and ever so slightly bland, though cooked perfectly. The maduros tasted a day old, it was a bit firm and far from moist on the inside. I like for my maduros to be crisp on the outside and slightly moist on the inside. These maduros were more dried out on the inside. My friend also ordered some sort of chicken cubes that were fried/grilled with seasonings. The chicken was overly dry and almost unbearable. After taking a couple bites into it, my mouth was looking for something juicy, mmmm, roast pig!!
In all, the roast pig was pretty delicious though not out-of-this-world. The rice & beans, and maduros are nothing to rave about. Would I pay $7.95 again for this? Most likely not, but it was a good meal that did not leave my stomach hungry.
quick, fast, cheap and delicious spanish food in Midtown for lunch.
The maduros are on point. the rice and beans are delicious, real caribbean flavor. The pernil (pulled pork) is pulled in front of you before serving, the pollo horneado very good taste.