Mancora

So many medium to bad reviews of this place and I just don't understand it. I have no idea if the food is authentic Peruvian or not but I'm Italian and my wife is Colombian and we're always surprised at how good it is, especially considering how reasonably-priced it is. The things we tend to get are the shrimp and avocado app, the fish stew (a real standout) and the half/chicken with boiled yucca. And we get a bottle of Spanish wine that they charge about $30 for. Seriously, we eat at Mancora about once every 4-6 weeks or so and have never had a bad meal or problem with the service at all. Not even close. And we've never spent more than $60-$80 for a complete meal for the two of us. Again, I can't imagine what there is to complain about this place.

In the interest of full disclosure my wife is from Peru and I have been there half a dozen times, but I am USA born and bred. Here is our review, the tables are packed together, so close in fact that the guy next to us was almost in our lap, and his elbows kept hitting mine. The wait staff and anyone else knock into your chair because there is no other way to get around. The bathroom is right next to the food prep area. The decor is plain brick wall with a couple of Peruvian plates hung from it, along with an upsidedown picture of Machu Picchu. Its about one step above a truck stop along the New Jersey Turn Pike, not horrid, but not nice. The food is Peruvian in name only, and its really is a disserivce for this place to call itself Peruvian. The other comments on here got that correct, and the quality is on the low side as well. The ingredients are not fresh, the portions are small, and somethings on the menu are not what they claim to be. The service is so-so also. You won't pay alot here, but you won't get alot either. Its really just a place to put something in your mouth, walk a couple more blocks down the street for something better.

I am Peruvian & i went to eat with my family yesterday to eat supposedly Peruvian food at this restaurant and what I found was totally different from Peruvian food. I ordered beans and they where stale. We also ordered fried yauca and it also was stale & cold. My daughter ordered arroz con pato and it mostly seemed like indian food with moist rice it didnt even seem like a peruvian dish.The service was bad and there was no manager. Overall I wouldn't go back & eat here again nor would I recommend this to anyone.

I look forward to coming back to the east coast for some traditional Peruvian food, took some friends and family here last night and what a disappointment. I should have known when I had the papa a la huancaina as a starter and had to drown it in aji and sal to get some taste. Then all of our entrees came served with instant rice - what the heck is that about? I had a side of tacu tacu and I'm still trying to guess what it was. Good service, nice ambiance, even nice food presentation - however the only Authentic Peruvian taste was the inca cola I had to drink...

Not sure how authentic everything was, but the meal was excellent. Lots of flavor and a great wait staff. I had the seco norteño and it was just an excellent lamb dish. My mother had the seafood parrillada and she loved it as well. Definitely would come back to Mancora in a heart beat.

The food here wasn't just unsatisfying. It wasn't fresh, and it was bland and flavorless. I could have thrown something better together on the fly. I couldn't get the taste of the food out of my mouth for an hour. I heard this place was good a while back; if this was the case it has certainly gone downhill. We couldn't finish our meals and had to eat again afterward. Paying for food here is throwing money down the toilet.

I ordered the green mussels and the mixed ceviche and was very disappointed with both meals. It did not taste like authentic Peruvian food. The ceviche tasted like they used imitiation lemon juice rather than fresh squeezed lemons and limes. The food did not taste anywhere near like my Peruvian Grandmother's cooking! Very Disappointing!