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I "discovered" this Venezuelan restaurant during my last stay in NY. Sympathetic restaurant with an atmosphere, great food, friendly waiter. It was my first but certainly not last visit there.

My husband and I go there pretty often. I love the Sangrias here yummy yummy. The waiters and waitresses are very friendly specially Marcelo & Marisol, they make us feel at home. The food is Fantastic!! If you like Latin Food, you will find the food quite delicious there. Some of the dishes, for example, the appetizers I find to be a little expensive because they're small portions. I believe the owner can do better on that, but then again the place is located in Chelsea so that can explain the prices. But overall is fair, I love the Patacones, Arepas, Ayacas, etc. Very good food good service.

my SO has a friend that told us about this restaurant, Being that my SO is from Maracaibo, Vz. as are the owners of El Cocotero, I had to try it to see if it made the grade. Having visited Maracaibo recently and experiencesd arepas, empenadas and mendocas at restaurants in town, along with down home cooking, there is no comparison whatsoever. the seasonings are more mexican that venezuelan. I will say the place is cute and authentic looking but that was all. longing for some authentic Maracucho cooking, i was disappointed.

We went there tonight, because someone recommended it. It must have been good at one time, but this wasn't the time. Though it was crowded, I must say the food was pretty bad, abnd not good value at all. I ordered the Pork Chop (one, to be specific!) and it was overcooked, very tiny and not worth the $14 I paid for it. If I had owned this restaurant, and was serving one pork chop it would be a good one, one that was thicker than a quarter inch, and certainly when cooked, was not hard. One side of the pork chop was tasty, the other side was doused in salt. A total waste of money. Side salad was good, but not overwhelmingly great.. oh yeah, and if you want fried starches, this is the place.... it's what they do best... fried yucca fried arepas, etc. I do not recommend this place to anyone... we had to go out to Nathan's afterwards for some hot dogs! Plus, the waiter brought us 4 meals, we were 5 people, and one of the people in our party had to wait a very very long time for her meal, in fact, we were finished eating by the time she received her meal. I never got my lemon for my iced tea, either. Other people eating there were almost sitting on our laps.. overall, not much of a place at all.ll

My boyfriend and I eat out quite a bit. So needless to say we have high standards. We decided to try El Cocotero on a Friday night. The place was packed and we waited for about 20 minutes the tables turned fairly quickly. There was only one waitress and she was spread thin. But she was very pleasant when she arrived at our table. We ordered empanadas, tamales, salad, and the roast pork dinner. EVERYTHING was absolutely delicious. I recommend trying the pesto sauce with the empandas. Amazing! And the best was that our entire bill was only $45!

The citrus dressing on the Palmito Salad was very fresh and unique. I was happy to not be overwhelmed by the chopped red onions and of course no South American dish is complete without hearts of palm. Although the Pabellon Arepa may not have been the best choice for a dinner date it was delicious. The beans, sweet plantain and steak d a great combination, but be aware it requires quite a few napkins to keep your hands and face clean. One arepa and a salad was more than enough food for one person. Check out this great small spot when looking for a new place to eat. High five for this one.

Fantastic! Great, flavorful, and totally satisfying...a hidden gem.