Cafe con Leche

In preparation for an afternoon lunch on the Upper West Side with a good friend and her infant granddaughter, I selected several possible destinations from Menupages. Looking for a place that was reasonably priced and stroller friendly, we decided on Cafe con Leche: Great choice! Although the restaurant is a bit narrow, we were given a comfortable table in the back room, right next to a window. Our waitress was charming and attentive, and our white wine and strawberry margarita (Happy hour starts at noon!) , salad, and bread were served promptly. We both selected the arroz con pollo lunch special and shared a side order of maduros (fried, sweet plantains). Although the arroz con pollo was a bit skimpy on the "pollo", the rice was plentiful and delicious as was the accompanying bowl of black beans. Nobody rushed us, and since the baby was snoozing comfortably, my friend and I were able to enjoy a long conversation and a delicious homemade flan and expresso. The fact that I was able to have a brief chat with a well-known (and much admired) actor seated at a nearby table put a final flourish on an already memorable meal. I will definitely return to Cafe con Leche.

Been a favorite for over ten years...my 7 year old daughters's first restaurant and a must go to after Museum of Natural History or Central Park...Ingrid and Felipe always made us feel at home...new staff not experienced; over charged during happy hour; doubled charged on credit card (couldn't explain why or rectify) Jesus, owner/manager for 18 years, apologized, fixed the problems and welcomed us back... Thanks, Jesus...we remain loyal patrons but miss the old crew!

I've been here many times. Recently something has changed: owners? management? chef? I don't know. My last two times have not been pleasant experiences. I had the seafood soup and found it tasteless. And then had the special asopao con pollo and it did not even come close to asopao; more like a sad chicken soup. Too bad. This was a favorite.

Cozy neigborhood place. Authentic food? (meh) Tasty and good for the price? (yes) Drinks are heavy poor. Atmosphere - charming. Service, well, make sure you like who you show up with -- you'll be chatting a bunch before dining.

Is the service like what other reviews say? I probably wouldn't be so harsh. Took them a while to come over to us, but the food came out pretty quickly. The coffee was awesome, and my cuban eggs benedict was great. Their homemade hot sauce is incredible. Overall, I'd say it was a terrific brunch, and I'll definitely be going back. Just what I was looking for on a sunday.

Delivery was relatively fast but the food is not good. The sweet plantains were dry, too thick and not sweet, the chicken was leathery, beans were insipid & tasteless. Even the flan was old & lacked smoothness. I will never order from here again.

Picadillo was cooked ground beef, dry, with olives and raisins tossed in at the end. Empanadas are more like giant wontons, with the same filling. In one order, 3 items were incorrect, possibly because the person answering the phone did not understand Spanish and did not know the menu, I had to spell the dishes. The rice was so soggy and overcooked you could squeeze liquid out of it. the "maduros" were hard and dry, and not ripe. They should have stated that they could make tostones only, but these weren't even prepared in that way. There was not a single dish in our large order with any seasoning. Unfortunately, this has been true for the last several times I ordered, so it's not just an off night for the kitchen. There is nothing authentic about their recipes or preparation, and even if you wanted a simple neighborhood meal, this would disappoint. Any home cook could do better.