Ajo y Orégano
The food comes to the table in metal pots under painted lids.1 The walls behind them are palm green with pink shutters.1 Order the cuerito, which is the crackling skin off a slow-roasted pernil.1
Why go
Mofongo is the dish both writers land on, at two different doors. Ligaya Mishan describes a goblet of mashed plantains with shrimp tails flaring out of it.1 The sauce tastes of whole heads of garlic.1 Willa Moore picks the same plate in Belmont.2
Order this / avoid
- Order: the mofongo with shrimp, at whichever door you reach.12
- Order: at Belmont, the pollo al horno and the ceviche Dominicano.2 Moore describes that ceviche as chunks of fried pork soaking in lime juice.2
What locals & experts say
- Ligaya Mishan, The New York Times, ranking it 42nd of a hundred New York restaurants on 11 May 2026:
This may be the city's most ebullient dining room.
1 - Willa Moore, The Infatuation, on the Belmont door, 11 October 2024:
Groups crowd into this Belmont restaurant every night to share fried red snapper, tender pernil, and steaks smothered in chimichurri, plus lots of cocktails.
2
Good to know
- Booking: walk in. There are two Bronx doors. Mishan's list prints the Parkchester one at 1556 White Plains Road.1 Neither source gives a street address for the Belmont room.2
Verdict
should-visit — Mishan's warning about the stews is that they are heavy going and that you will be too. Split one across the table and stop before you order a second.