El Chevere,

2000 3rd Avenue, Manhattan, New York 10029

"I was looking for cuchifritos, Puerto Rican fritters because I wanted greasy food, went to a place called El Chevere in Harlem 2000 3rd Ave and found Hay Bendito! Instead not sure if they changed the name but it didn’t look as clean as the pictures I saw for El Chevere. Anyway I ordered food and must say the pastelillos were good. The Bacalaito was way too oily, alcapuria was okay but they don’t make alcapurias de guineo. The pionono was okay. Not sure if I would come back. I felt bamboozled by the name."

"Absolutely love their food , I always get white rice with sausage , red beans and red onions . I’m In love with their alcapurrias ! I highly recommend this place !"

"My experience at El Chevere was average. I was in Spanish Harlem and heard of this place thru a YouTube video. The food was good the empanadas and stuffed plantains were good the tamarindo juice was excellent. The prices are some of the best in the area. However the restaurant has no A/C and it is extremely hot. The lady working there was polite enough. The restaurant also didn’t look very clean."

"El Chevere Cuchifrito is a small Spanish eatery in East Harlem, serving up meat over rice platters and a variety of fried foods. it’s a small space with stools at a counter—no tables inside but they do have tables outside rn. the space is pretty clean. the hot prepared foods are on display through a glass display. didn’t see any menus so basically you need to ask how much everything is. there’s a $5 minimum on debit/credit. stopped here and wanted some quick bites to go. got some bacalitos and papas rellenas. was totally satisfied as those fried eats hit the spot. the fried codfish was season well and the batter was crispy and yet soft on the inside. the papas rellenas was really good—fried potato ball stuffed with tasty season ground beef. perfect amount of food when you get those afternoon hunger pangs. the papas rellenas and bacalitos were ~ $2 each + tip. service is fine"

"I’m reviewing the bakery shop next door to the restaurant. I walk by all the time and it’s always busy, often with police officers congregating (in a good way, eating and chatting, feels like a nice presence!). Thursday night we went in to pick up a cake to bring to work in celebration of the upcoming Easter holiday. The choices were vast. We ended up with two big Tres Leches cakes, thanks to the help of the sweet women who worked there and two cops who weighed in on our choices while assuring us we couldn’t go wrong. The cakes did not disappoint, nor did the single serving of the pineapple cake we took home for personal consumption! Friendly staff, lots of selection, reasonable prices, delicious cakes = great bakery."