Rincon Criollo
“The desserts are great also , the coconut flan and the tres leches , even the rice pudding.”
“ANYONE should be able to come to Queens because is less than a block away from the 7th TRAIN on Junction BLVD.”
“Apart from the amazing food ( my particular favorite would have to be el rabo encendido ), is the service.”
Rincon Criollo
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Came back to try the paella & my God is it delicious!!! We ordered it about 45 minutes before we got to the restaurant because it does take quite a bit to prepare. We got to the restaurant & we were sat within a couple of minutes. The bartender greeted us immediately & put a Hutuey Cuban beer in each of our hand. The paella was served within 5 minutes of us sitting down at the table & is served literally in a pot; it's a lot of food. This meal can easily serve 4 people, so we brought home a gigantic amount of leftovers!! I absolutely love this gem in Corona!!
This is excellent Cuban food…we walked over here from a house we were staying at and found everything about this place to be top notch…it's not in the best neighborhood area but you need to look past that because once inside forget about this place is the real deal. One heads up though if you want the signature Paella I would call ahead of time because this rookie didn't and we had to wait for an hour but lesson learned that just gave us some time to hang out and drink some wine and try out some of the other things on the menu…
First off the plantain chips with garlic sauce….my kids loved these and even the garlic sauce with a little kick was a huge hit. They were sooooo good! Next sweet and green plantains hard to choose but both were again delicious…on to some more wine and some more of the bread as well they bring out.
Need to throw in all of the servers here are awesome and walk around checking on people…one of the waiters even walked over to a table with a fussy baby and asked the mom if he could walk the baby around so she and her husband could eat their dinner…you don't see this kind of service. I asked him he knew them and he no just want her to enjoy her food as he is showing us the cute little baby.
Now after the anticipated wait out comes this huge steam pot of Paella and you can smell all of the deliciousness coming out with all the fresh seafood…time to dive in and watch out this has been cooking for an hour it is very hot, but OMG so delicious. The amount of seafood that is packed here is impressive with fish, shrimp, scallops, clams and crab…hands down one of the best dishes I have ever had. My girls ordered their grilled chicken and stopped eating theirs just to help polish off all of this Paella it was that good. If in this area don't miss the opportunity to eat at this special spot….
This was tough, was going and forth on 4 stars or 5 because I'm really a 4.5 stars. 5 stars won.
First of all, this place is in such a busy part of town but really close to the 7 train which can be convenient as parking is scarce. You walk in and you literally walk into a different country, which is a nice actually. Nothing fancy, just friendly. The servers and awesome and super friendly and welcoming.
On to the food:
Toasted bread for the table – alright, kind of hard but butter helped.
Red sangria – I've definitely had better but why not order some as you wait for the paella.
Paella – delicious and huge. It takes 45-60 minutes, but you have to get it. It has everything from lobster, shrimp, sausage, chicken, mussels, and other good stuff. This is also huge, probably good for 3 people.
Roasted pork with white rice, beans, and plantains – plantains were nice and sweet, rice and beans were magical, but the pork was slightly overcooked.
Ox tail – came with rice, absolutely delicious. It came tender and flavorful.
For 5 people, we had 1 order of paella and 2 entrees and ended up taking home 1/2 of the paella bc we were stuff. The food, in flavor and quantity, was great for the price.
Highly recommend, I'll be back.
I've been here several times (the last time being in September 2015) and it never disappoints. The food is very fairly priced, the portions are a good size, the service is pretty quick and everything I've tried is delicious. It is very authentic food so you feel like you are eating a home cooked meal. My favorite appetizer is the yuca rellena. Any meat you want to try with rice, beans and tostones is delicious but the thin steak they do with onions, lechon asado and picadillo are my faves. YUM! Also you have to try the coconut flan!!
Yum! My coworker told me that there is a scarcity of good Cuban food in Queens. She's from Florida, so she knows. So we met a co worker and her hubby here to try good Cuban food, for a weekend lunch.
We ordered 2 apps, and 4 entrees (includes 8 sides- 2 sides per entrée), to share family-style. We devoured thinly sliced chorizos, Cuban tamal, ropa vieja (shredded beef in tomato sauce), oxtails, roast pork, and liver with peppers. We wolfed down black beans, fried sweet plantains, fried potatoes, yuca with garlic sauce and fried plantains. After all that, we still had leftovers. K had a refreshingly cold passion fruit drink.
My favorites:
If you love garlic, you have to get the yucca with garlic sauce. Soft, starchy cassava boiled to a soft sweet-potato-consistency with this sweet savory garlic sauce. So good! I've never had yucca like that before!
The shredded beef with tomato sauce was so good! Tender fall-apart-under-your-fork juicy beef in a sweet homemade red sauce. Yum! Everyone loved this dish.
The oxtails was wonderful! Stewed soft cartilaginous oxtail in an tomato-spiced stew. I wish I had ordered two of these.
The roasted pork looked dry but wasn't. It was tender and the pork juices in the sauce was excellent! Drool worthy savory pork sauce. My co worker loved the sauce more than the meat.
Verdict: Definitely coming back to try more dishes! Everyone loved the food. I want to eat that beautiful breaded steak! And more oxtail please!
Transport: This lovely Cuban restaurant in Corona, Queens is easily accessible via the 7 train or by car.
I don't know what the fuss was about. Basic food. Basic service. Nothing great, but nothing bad either. Stopped here on the way to the Beyonce concert. Service was quick and efficient. Food was average. I should have known Guy Fieri would come here. Extra .5 stars for an extra cute waiter. 😉
After reading so many wonderful reviews about this place I had to come and check it out, so I came here on a Saturday for an early dinner. I had a hard time choosing a meal, but ultimately ordered the pollo empanizado con moros y cristianos, as highlighted in one of Amy C.'s pictures. The food did not disappoint. The piece of fried chicken was huge. I asked for an extra helping of grilled onions and this definitely did the trick. They were sliced thick and buttery. A great complement to the chicken, which doesn't come with a sauce. I also ordered some plantains, and they were nice and crunchy on the ends.
To drink I had a glass of sangria for $5, which had the right balance of sweetness and alcohol.
The decor was inviting, as many others have said, it takes you back to Cuba or perhaps a Spaniard restaurant. My only critique is that the waiter was a little cheeky when I asked him about the menu and I'm not sure that this was entirely appreciated; a straight-forward answer on what dishes were most popular would have worked just fine.
My party of 15 invaded the place for a not-so-small reunion during dinner on a weekday. It is a small homely spot and super lively. We are here for the infamous paella and we got not one but two! In order to enjoy the paella, you will need to call ahead of time on the same day.
We started with red wine sangria – refreshing, fruity, and the best drink to accompany any Spanish meal. Let's keep that pouring! Various of sides started to pour in such as their sweet plantains, tostones, and rice and beans. Tostones was my absolute favorite side of the evening. They were so smash into big pieces and the texture was just the perfect crunchy and soft in the middle.
My companion and I shared the Oxtail dish together. The oxtail meat was so tender and falls off the bones effortlessly. The sauce is tomato based and filled with various spices. Since it was a big dish, I saved a big piece to go with white rice the next day.
Seafood and Meat Paella made a grand entrance to our table. The pot was a lot bigger than what I imagined, not to mention how deep the pot is. After our server lifted the lid, the smell of seafood and saffron hit my nose leading to my mouth watering. (I hope no one saw that!) I see lobster, clams, mussels, shrimp, scallop, and chicken, all in there! Flavors of the paella was amazing! I did wish that the texture of the rice was mushy like it was but other than that, it was muy bien (very good)!
To my surprise, this spot is a great host for dinner parties for it has a very lively atmosphere. If you have a birthday boy/girl, a staff member will wear a funny hat and glasses dancing to loud, exciting music while bringing a plate of dessert to them! It was very entertaining and I already figured out who I want to surprise! So watch out!