Coco Rico

Chicken and ribs were so good and cheap!
(we even snuck in some Schwartz’s take out from next door for an insane meat fest without the crowds)

This place is okay, the chicken lacked in flavour but was cooked nicely. I think the thing that makes me give this a 3 star was the employees. They seemed not to care about the customer. I felt uncomfortable.

We have been going for lunch for many years, their food is fresh, good quality (their chicken is delicious) and we have never been disappointed, consistently good & fresh. Value for the quality. Not a fancy place yet excellent food.

I was in vacation in Montréal, in the plateau area. I passed in front of this restaurant many times, the smell is very good. So I solved to check… I ordered a chicken sandwich, with potatoes and a coleslaw. The sandwich was too dry, even with the sauce. In my opinion, Romados is better…

I was passing by trying to go to another restaurant last night when my eye caught these multiple chickens on a rotisserie turning over looking so yummy — the aroma of roasting chicken was also drawing me closer. We went in and read the blackboard menu that sells Roast Portuguese style chicken, ribs, ham & choriço. You can go all out and get a plate of food that comes with roast potatoes, & choice of salad; creamy or vinegar coleslaw, or macaroni. You choose the size of chicken ¼, ½ or whole. I had the ½ chicken dinner with hot sauce (not hot at all). I also had a pateis de Nata– good (a bit too sweet to me) but pastry was great. My son had the ¼ rib plate (side ribs are used here), decent flavour & texture. If you want a cheaper option they have bifana (pork sandwhich) & chicken on a bun instead.
The place is really set up to be a takeout shop with limited bar stools against the other wall. Casual basic place. Since this was my first Portuguese roast chicken restaurant in Montréal I was pleased. My chicken was a generous portion size and tender. The chicken flavour is kept simple, the skin was crisp, the potatoes were good too. I enjoyed my meal overall.

Do Not Eat Here!!! $ 40 in the trash. Dried out inedible chicken breast, you can’t call yourself a chicken rotisserie place if you can’t cook a good chicken. When I went in with 4 plates of chicken, they wouldn’t even change it. All the lady said was“in all her time she has never seen chicken breast that wasn’t dried out”
Her solution was to add sauce.
If zero stars where possible, Coco Rico would get it for food and customer service.

we had more than a few places marked must have while in Montréal for the race, and one of them was the other infamous,… Portuguese chicken.
we tried another place a few days later, but the best for me was cocka-​doodle-​do. every bite was just shake your head goodness. the dark meat was super moist, juicy,… and that garlic sauce slather… one brush is never enough. the potatoes were also something else, caramelized and full of the chickens fat drippings. combine both and its one of the two food things in Montréal i wished we had in Southern California.

Simply the best BBQ chicken in town. I don’t mind walking there from downtown just because it is so delicious. Takeouts only.

I ordered a half chicken with potatoes and pasta salad.
The chicken breast was somewhat dry, just like St-​Hubert chicken. It was poorly flavored and the skin was completely dried out. The spicy sauce did not taste much of anything.
The chicken leg was moist, a tad tastier than the breast.
The potatoes were a bit sweet, and I didn’t find its combination with the hot sauce very pleasant.
The pasta salad was greasy and tasted too much mayonnaise.
The 40¢ bread was really dried out and salty, at least Romados gives them for free.
As for the natas (egg tarts), the pastry was soggy… so I wouldn’t recommend buying them.
If I gave Romados a 4/​5, I’m going to have to rate this lower.

It’s not Romados, but it’s not bad. And definitely less of a line.
Chicken sandwich was decent but pretty light on the chicken.

Pretty good place right next to Schwartz’s. The food is not very fresh but pretty tasty.

My husband and I rented an apartment not far from this place a couple of summers ago and it’s now become a required stop every time we visit Montréal (along with stocking up on Fairmount Bagels). The crispy chicken with the spicy sauce in the middle of that soft roll are just heavenly. We don’t always get the side potatoes, but they are delicious as well. I’m a fan of the creamy cole slaw; my husband likes the macaroni salad. I got one of their natas (the custard cakes) this last visit, too, and they are just as good as the originals I had in Portugal. On top of the good food, the service is fast and friendly. It’s a teeny bit pricey for what it is, but still very reasonable. Skip Schwartz (over hyped!) and come here instead. I really wish they’d open one in NYC!

A late review but the experience still saved in my mind. That speaks almost everything.
I don’t want to compare Coco Rico with Romados, yet they are very close by geographical distance. However personally, Portuguese Chicken tastes more juicy than Poulet rôti Québecois by average.
I ordered 2 slices of ribs and ¼ chicken combo, that came with the famous potatoes. Ribs were a surprise coz it beyonded my expect, their homemade sauce was ideal mate for the ribs. Chicken was exactly what I thought, typical Portuguese flavor. Slightly less interesting maybe because I didn’t order the hot sauce. Potatoes were lying on oils, not cooked on perfect time, inside was a bit tough but still tasteful, which i could not complaint, have to say. Above the foods, those guys and girls are very friendly and pleasant.
A huge plus was after the horrible experience in Kazu and cold fresh oysters in Maestro SVP, I did need that hot, tasty, juicy chicken and ribs for the damn snowing freezing winter night.
As some other reviews said, I do think that Coco Rico should have reached a higher success if they decide to move to somewhere else in Montréal. Romados and Jano are too strong to set the price range down. And Schwartz’s is not a good companion for sure. Coco Rico deserves a better place and a further improvement.
The Goods: The unfamous ribs! The outstanding smell. The above average quality of pre-​cooked food.
Not good not bad: Selections are limited. Maybe it’s the stra of the restaurant but it’s more suitable for take out not dine in. Chicken is there, not far but still distance from perfect.
The cons: Bar stools are the places only offer if you want to dine in. And half of them suffer the cold wind if someone enters and leaves. You can not even find a place to hang on your winter coat.

Had lunch here with a friend! We decided to get half a chicken with salad and potatoes. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the spicy sauce they add gives it a nice kick. The coleslaw was average and the potatoes were flavorful but did get a few that were not cooked all the way through. Was a bit perplexed when the woman behind the counter charged me 50 cents for an extra paper plate? Overall not a bad lunch if you are craving Portuguese chicken but i would still choose ramados given the choice.

Parfait pour un take out.
La sauce piquante faite avec la graisse de cuisson est top!

Wow! Grandiose! La chair de poule juste en repensant à ces frites poivrées et ce poulet… ah ce poulet… Juteux, goûteux, épicé à souhait…
Bref, le prix à ridiculement bas pour la qualité du repas. Je vous le conseille fortement 1−2−3−4 fois

I came back last week after a first visit in 2009 and promising never to come back. The unpleasant rude girl is gone, probably for a long time, and has been replaced by another one with shaven head, a few tattoos here and there and a very friendly and courteous attitude. I bought a pork roast sandwich, potatoes and pork ribs to go and the food was very good, the pork was juicy and the ribs were crispy outside and tender inside. I ordered a slaw that looked curiously and overly green (I wonder if it glows in the dark, maybe the cabbages were imported from Fukushima) and did not taste natural, so I am staying away from it. I am updating my review and giving it two more stars because I am fair with my ratings and they deserve them… and yes, I will be coming back

I live 3 blocks from this place, and I have to admit it is a bit addictive, especially the potatos, they cook them right under the chicken, so all the amazing taste falls over the potatos and then crisps out as it gets cooked. mmmm…
In addition to that it is really cheap, and for what i’m paying, it is really good food.
Why not 5 stars, its because it is really unhealthy, and it feels really heavy, so great place for lunch, where you still have time to digest it all day, not great idea for supper or dinner.
Definitely worth a try… anyway if you walk right across it, the smell will drag you in :)

On avait pris ça pour manger un soir où nous étions 7… on recommencera c’est certain ! Le poulet est bon et bien grillé (même si ce n’est pas du poulet fermier), les petites patates cuites dans le gras, un régal et finalement, le jambon braisé, top !
Et en plus de ça, les prix sont très abordables ! Merci mon voisin de bureau pour la bonne adresse ;)

This is a solid bet for Portuguese chicken.
The chicken is similar to Romados, in the sense that it’s moist but just a little tasteless as the flavour does not reach the inside of the chicken, but the skin and top layer is awesome.
The star attraction here is the potatoes, melt in your mouth, tender warm and swimming in oil, nothing beats them. Romados offers a ton of fries so it’s better value since Coco Rico gives about 8 – 10 potatoes. I normally buy extra potatoes and ask for spicy as they are worth the extra calories.
The interior is very sparse, there is a counter along the wall and that’s it.
It’s understandable that there are no formal tables as there are lineups most of the time and there’s not much room.

If the line-​up at Schwartz’s is too long, come here instead. Seriously.
The rotisserie chicken here is amazing, the skin alone is super-​crisp and the meat inside is juicy and not dried out at all. That’s a sign of chicken-​done-​right. Make sure you ask for the spicy sauce to be brushed on as well. I’ve brought friends from overseas here and they still rave about the chicken and the roasted baby potatoes.
Ribs are so-​so and I haven’t tried their ham or roasted pork but the patrons I do see order those items always clean up their plates.
The creamy coleslaw is also quite stellar. If you still have room, their egg custard tart desserts are also worth it!

For under $ 20 my gf and I got two quarter chickens with potatoes, coleslaw, macaroni salad, pop and a portuguese egg tart. My gf got the mild sauce and I got the spicy sauce, the spicy sauce had a nice kick to it however the chicken did not have much flavour. The chicken was pretty moist and tender but not as good as Romados like others have mentioned. Got only a few potatoes which were soft and hot, once again not that much flavour with those as well. The macaroni/​coleslaw salad was decent and my gf said the tart was good but did not taste fresh.
Overall I give this place a 3.5÷5, food was just okay and the same goes for the price.

Small, no frills place with very tasty chicken!
First time going there, I ordered a quarter chicken and was given the breast by default (50 cents more than leg), came with delicious mini potatoes and macaroni salad (around 7 $ a meal)
My companion got a combo meal with chicken, ribs and porkchop (12 $) however he said the pork was too dry.
My chicken was nice and moist although I wish there was a bit more sauce. I opted for the non-​spicy alternative.
They also have cherry cola which is one of my favorites. A nice touch!
Service is excellent. We were there a bit before 7 and there were continuous lines of people but everything was moving quick. Staff makes the effort of greeting and thanking each one.
Overall great chicken and value for portion size. Just wish this place was a bigger and had actual tables to sit down and eat, instead of a counter and stools.

Stable depuis des lustres cette rôtisserie fait de tout, mais la vraie spécialité: sandwich au poulet sauce épicée avec patates personnel aimable. prix doux

Les restos portugais sont réputés pour la qualité de leur poulet. Et bien Coco Rico né fait pas exception à la règle ! Voici donc une charmante petite rotisserie située en plein coeurs du quartier portugais de Montréal (voisin du légendaire Schwartz’s).
Coco Rico se démarque de ses confrères nationaux par le mode de cuisson du poulet. Ici, la volaille est cuite à la broche, et non sur charbon de bois comme la tradition portugaises l’oblige. Cela n’empêche pas le poulet de Coco Rico d’être tendre et succulent, au contraire ! Non seulement le poulet est une réussite mais les portions sont généreuses.
J’enlève une étoile car l’endroit est surtout un comptoir pour apporter. Il y a bien une série de chaises hautes alignées le long d’un petit comptoir pour manger sur place, mais le confort est limité. En plus, le va et vient des clients enlève au plaisir de relaxer en mangeant.
Je recommande le spécial demi-​poulet avec salade de choux et patates pour moins de 10 $. Un très bon prix pour un poulet de qualité supérieure. N’oubliez pas d’accompagner votre repas avec un petit pain portugais pour un supplément de 0.50 $. Il est croustillant et délicieux.

Situé à coté du légendaire Schwartz’s, Coco Rico est en quelque sorte dans l’ombré d’un restaurant qui n’a rien d’un rival, puisqu’on né sert même pas de poulet à côté. Si les sandwichs à la viande fumée font la réputation de Schwartz’s, ce sont les sandwichs au poulet qui font celle de Coco Rico. Le poulet y est juteux, et les pains, faits maison, sont frais et croustillants. La sauce piquante mises dans les sandwich fait du tout un vrai régal, qui né coûte que quelques dollars. Aussi, on y vend les petits pains utilisés pour confectionner les sandwichs pour quelques sous. Lorsque je passé devant Coco Rico, j’en achète systématiquement un, pour le manger en marchant ou lors du prochain repas.