Pao & Cha Cha
“The one caveat is that the food can take some time to make so I recommend calling in advance to order before arriving/delivery!”
“The wife and I absolutely ate up the coconut crusted fish, 2 empanadas, one of their homemade tropical juices (papadon con limon?)”
“Playeros came smothered in cheese and sauce and soo crispy and delicious.”
Pao & Cha Cha
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Outdoor Seating: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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Super cute place and couple hand making us empanadas with cheese inside.I think we had a pork and a chicken both were awesome, I have to try the breakfast one, the pics look so good. This is a nice addition to the hood.
Pao & Cha Cha sounds better than it tastes. Maybe it's because my boyfriend's mom always cooks me bangin' authentic Venezuelan food, but the food here was just okay.. definitely not rave-worthy. We tried the Caracas Way Rice Box, Domino Empanada, and Playeros Tostones. The salsa for the Caracas Way Rice Box was lacking flavor and we felt like the plate was missing something. We were pretty excited about trying the Playeros Tostones but the green was too sweet and the tostones were too thick. The Domino Empanada was my favorite of the three. Not worth the trip to Astoria.
This small place is getting a big reputation, and after eating here a couple of times it's easy to understand why.
Simply put, the food here is beyond outstanding. The pulled pork empanadas were wonderful and tasty. Their cerviche, served on Fridays, was the best I've had since my trip to Costa Rica. I've also loved their salads.
Others have already said this, but it bears repeating, the cilantro green sauce is AMAZING!!! I couldn't have enough of it. If the owners are reading this review, you should really look into bottling that sauce and selling it at groceries/supermarkets. You'd make gobs of money!
Just a few things:
One, there is one table outside, and a small two-person table inside, but this is not a sit-down restaurant. Basically, this restaurant is take-out or delivery.
Two, related to number one above, since this is a small operation, service can sometimes be slow, especially since Pao & Cha Cha's has been gaining in popularity. I was last there on a Friday night, and there were already a number of people ahead of me. Be patient, because they will get your food to you as quickly as possible, and it is definitely worth the wait!!!
Three, the owners are very friendly. Don't be afraid to ask them any questions or to make any recommendations.
My recommendation: definitely try this place out!!
Empanadas made fresh to order! Delicious crispy and hot! And they even have a picnic menu where they'll deliver to you at the park! How awesome is that though…so glad we decided to come here! I wish they had more seats but ill take what I can get !! Will be back and would most definitely recommend!
Extremely disappointing. I'm shocked this place has received such positive reviews. Yes, they are really nice. Yes, they have an intriguing menu. But the food is greasy, heavily fried, and simply not very flavorful.
The best thing I tasted were the empanadas, and even those were just okay (the cha cha sauce was the savior). The fried fish and potato wedges were soggy, and the roasted chicken was flavorless.
I really wanted to like this place–I could have used a good takeout place like this. Unfortunately, the food did not come anywhere close to matching the kindness of the staff and owners. Yelp is typically fairly accurate, but this place is very overrated.
I really wanted to give this place 5 stars however them making me pay extra for some green sauce to take with my food is just bad business.
I came here with a few friends and the food is delicious but this is more of take out restaurant since they only have one table. I tried the shrimp in garlic sauce, coconut fried fish and tostones. Everything was delicious and the portions are plenty. Everyone that works there was super nice and the food was made to order and tasted very fresh. They give you three different sauces to pour on your food-cilantro, duck and hot sauce. The cilantro sauce its so damn good I couldn't stop pouring it all over my meal.
I couldn't finish all of my food so I took the rest to go, I asked them if they could give me some cilantro sauce to go and they charged me .50 per sauce. yes its not a lot of money but its more the principle. After having an amazing meal I was really disappointed.
What a gem for take-out asian-inspired south american food in Astoria. We only tried the empanadas (chicken and beef were both amazingly seasoned) and dumplings (cheese were good, skip the veggie), but it was enough to want to make me come back. They have somehow found a way to do a wonton-like outside, with just a bit more ommph to it – but not too bready or dry as too many empanadas that you've had in the past. Make sure to sample the sauces – the green is great for empanadas, the wasabi-tamari is good, and the ginger-scallion is a nice offset.
oh my gosh the food being delicious was not even the best part of my experience… incredibly attentive staff, well-traveled, easy to chat with, super knowledgable, fun and approachable… they have a real passion for food and ingredients… i swear to you this food was cooked with love and i ate that stuff right up and went back for dessert!!! 😀