Rocio’s Restaurant

Order from here all the time to my job and everyone loves it! Encebollando is amazing!!!

The food is good, just make sure to eat it all in the restaurant or ask for a container for you to put your own food to-​go in it yourself. I ordered my favorite Caldo de Bola de verde — I barely ate it because I was full from the ceviche and asked for it to-​go and came home to a bunch of liquid. They kept the meat and the most important part of the soup the actual plantain ball. WTF!!! Who does that??? These folks do!!! I’m so disappointed and will not be patronizing their establishment ever again.

The goat was nicely tender, rice cooked to perfection and fish fried crispy. However, we could not get pass the heavy salt use and that is not an overstatement. When we kindly request to dilute the saltiness, the woman became defensive and ignored us. Lack of English does not mean rudeness.
Stick with Cejas in Union City!

Serious cravings for tostones (fried plantains) led me to this hole-​in the wall Latin American restaurant. I was not disappointed! Along with the tostones, I also decided to try their lunch special (which comes with a soup and an entrée).The beef soup was a highly satisfying broth in generous quantity. It had all the right spices along with plantains and yuca and whatnot.
The chicken entrée served with rice and salad had fall-​off-​the bone tender chicken in gravy (though I didnt really care much for the gravy itself).The salad was crunchy and the veggies seemed really fresh. But the star of the meal was the hot (REALLY HOT) green sauce on the table of which I added copious amounts to my soup and rice. It just made everything even better. I am not entirely sure what its made of (green chillies is my best guess) but its really delish (if you are into spicy things).
The seating is pretty cramped and this really does not seem to be much of a sit-​down place but getting take-​out is certainly worth the effort of getting here. I think they deliver too (but havent done that yet).

Ummm I used to love this place when you could go in and choose what you want for a lunch special out of a few different dishes but now it seems that they always have the same thing: chicken and if you want anything else you have to order it at the menu price. Sucks. I stopped going even though the food is really good. Let me know if this has changed.

I’ve been coming here for years with my parents when I have the jones for authentic Ecuadorian food. Try the encebollado and the cazuela if they have it.

The food here is great! The churrasco is authentic! The traditional Ecuadorian churrasco consists of a thin piece of steak, not a thick piece like the Brazilians or Argentinean have. This is common misconception!!! You have to try the encebollado and the sopa marinera. I can go on and on with the list. I will say that the food is always good, have been going there for nearly a decade.

Small Location 2 blocks from the main strip. Ecuadorian food, Cash Only, Mom n Pop place. Prices are reasonable per say on the menu.
I ordered a Churrasco w/​Rice Eggs and Fries $ 12, would of been great if I got a churrasco, apparently I was given a cheap steak cut — in no part the Western hemisphere would this be considered a churrasco — the steak was kind of old and could of been cooked better at home. The rice and Eggs were good though.
Am I saying avoid — No, im sure their ceviche is great, but I didn’t have a chance to try it out.

Hey the Ecuadorian Food here is really good and you can’t beat the lunch special at $ 7 which is soup and a main course. Be sure to try the Quaker drink it’s pretty goood!

«Yay! I’m a fan.»
ok… for several reasons:
1^st * –This is only my second Unilocal review… but I’m the FIRST to review Rocio’s.
2^nd * –It’s walking distance from my place…
3^rd * –It’s affordable…
4^th * –It’s tasty!
…oh! …and I can bring-​in a six-​pack from the liquor store across the street! –but the star for that gets cancelled out due to their TINY restroom.
Here’s the scoop:
This little Ecuadorean restaurant is a small (they have 6 tables), hole-​in-​the-​wall, mom-​n-​pop type place… the kind of place you really only go to if you live nearby. …but that’s only because it’s hard-​to-​find and easy-​to-​miss (even tho it’s on one of the busiest streets in JC… thousands of cars whizz by every day). You almost only know about it if you live in the area.
I usually make it into this place 2 or 3 times a month on Sundays to have some soothing comfort food… trying to self-​medicate the hangover from an all-​night dance party in the city! …but that’s a whooole other story.
They have an $ 8 daily (almuerzo) special that changes… well… daily.
Last time I was there, the special consisted of two parts… First they brought me a large bowl of «Sopa de Menestron» (a latin take on minestrone soup). Next… was my plate with a small portion of grilled chicken breast, spanish style rice, and salad. (I posted pics).
They have mostly seafood dishes on their simple one-​page menu.
–ceviches
–seafood soups
–fish fillets
–shrimp dishes
–churrasco
I’ve tried several different things and all have had great authentic Ecuadorean flavors and spices.
The JSQ area is slowly changing… several new condo buildings and the new Journal Square Towers! …it’s places like ROCIO’S that give a gentrified area FLAVOR and charm, tho… let’s keep ‘em around.
…sometimes we just need to get off our high-​horses (and air-​conditioned SUV’s –seriously, ‘cus you’re gonna have to walk here) and try out a place that might be out of our usual taste palate.
GIVE ‘EM A SHOT!!! — and put some of that spicey green stuff they have on the tables on your rice!