ME Casa Restaurant

Loved this place! Authentic Puerto Rican food comparable to that of food in actual Puerto Rico. I just came back from a trip to PR and wanted to try some authentic food here in the states. This place is it! The server was very friendly, but might have been overwhelmed with our large group (12 people). Nevertheless, the food was amazing. I shared empanadas and Latino sliders with a friend, and had my own fried sweet plantains (maduros). I had the vegetable and chicken empanadas — liked the vegetable one better. The chicken slider was great! The fried sweet plantains were amazing! All in all, the food was perfect, but service could have been a little bit better. Side note: no parking lot, BYOB limit of 1 wine bottle or 6 pack of beer per couple, $ 6 to split plates which we got away with because we ordered our own meals and just passed around food.

BYOB authentic Puerto Rican cuisine. We had a big group and they were able to accommodate us with reservation in the small dining room. Service was on point. I think it is difficult to juggle a big table and he handled it well.
As for the food, to be honest, PR cuisine is not my go to latin cuisine, but this place is doing it right! I ordered the drunken chicken. Cubed chicken cook with onions and beer. It came with a a side of your choice. Which at $ 6 on its own makes this meal a great value. I was able to eat dinner and have two lunches for the week. I had the whit rice and bean stew for my side and it was delicious. We also ordered the shrimp ceviche and that was the best part of the meal. My only complaint is that all of the food came out at once apps and entrees. I like to eat leaisurely so this was a lot fo food at once. A good choice for a BYO meal in Jersey City

We had made reservations for 13 people on a Saturday night and they were able to accommodate us.
Cute little place! I liked the intimate feel to it.
BYOB– a bottle per couple or a 6 pack per couple.
I got the Shrimp mofongo with the rice as a side. IT was very delicious.
I tried the calamari which i wasnt a fan of– too crispy
The fried plantains were really good too.
Prices were decent as well, however, some things were overpriced like $ 6 for a small side salad.
Overall, i really liked this place

A true JC staple – when you can’t handle yet another «new american» place serving «new burgers» and a «new take» on «american»… forget it. Come to ME Casa, delicious hearty puerto rican food. Nice and intimate environment. Calamari was perfect, not heavily friend. Shrimp mofongo is very satisfying, as is the chicken dish. Thank you ME Casa for giving JC a break from yet another «new american burger» place.

I was excited to go here given all the fabulous reviews however I was highly disappointed! Even my boyfriend was and he’s not picky at all.
PROS–
*the staff is very nice and friendly.
*the presentation of the food is amazing (although 3 of the 4 items were disgusting. I’ll get to that later)
*the place is clean
*the empanadas were AMAZING! It’s the BEST DISH ON THEIR MENU.
*their meats and shrimp were clean seasoned and delicious m.
CONS–
*they ale very long to get your food. Although we were the second ones in the restaurant our food took forever.
*the food was disgusting. We ordered the shrimp wrapped in plantains and it tasted like we were ONLY EATING CILANTRO (YUCK). We ordered the infamous mofongo everyone on here raves about and it was NASTY! I mean it was Burnt and smelled and tasted like the bottom of the oven. I’ve eaten mofongo in Puerto Rico twice and I’ve fallen in love with it however what they gave was not mofongo. The plantain didn’t even taste like plantain. The steak shrimp and chicken was good however so we just took it out of the burnt whatever n ate that alone.
I really wanted to love this place but after ordering 4things on the menu and liking 1, I must give it 2 stars which I hate doing since I don’t like tainting a companies image however I don’t want anyone to end up like us and wasting a Saturday and money.
I’ve provided pics. They look 100% delicious in the photos but don’t let it fool you. I promise it was disgusting!

Mofongo was out of this World! Some of the best I have ever had. The place is quite quaint, hidden in the basement level just off the beaten path near Grove Street. The food was authentic Puerto Rican and you could tell by the preparation. The food came out quick although they did have a large catering order being prepared. The chicken was good but my girlfriend asked for all-​white meat ($ 1) extra, but was served some dark meat as well. The salad was also fresh and on point. I would consider going back if I am ever back in Jersey City.

I’ve had this place bookmarked in my Unilocal for a long time and finally got to try it about a week ago. My husband and I went on a Sunday afternoon, it was past lunch time though being 3pm at the time we got there. As we were about to go in, we couldn’t since there was a man taking out the trash thru the front door. It kind of sucks that right before you go to a a restaurant to have to smell the yukky garbage which is stored right on the side of the entry. We still went in and were the only table so the service was good. We ordered the Alcapurrias which were pretty good and the sauce we got was also good but a bit salty. I had the Asopao de Camarones, it wasn’t what I was expecting as far as texture (i thought it would be thicker/​less watery) but it did have good flavor. My husband got the Pernil, rice and beans and his dish was all good as well except for the beans. I am surprise no one has commented how the beans have absolutely no taste. Either we went on a really off day for beans, where they forgot to season it accordingly (onion, garlic, cilantro, salt, etc) or many of the patrons are not that familiar with the way beans should be made.
Despite the bean fiasco, overall the food was good (with some meh in between!). I don’t think I will go again, there are too many Latin food places in Hudson county where the food is better and cheaper. The price would be fine, had the place looked nicer (also the garbage was a turn off). The restaurant is in a basement, not even a cute one at that, so if the food is just okay, then I should be paying for the ambiance, but that was lacking too, specially as the area has changed.

Slow service. Mediocre tasting food. All the appetizer were great! The main dishes were dry, tasteless, and very disappointing for Puerto Rican food. I should know, I’m Puerto Rican. Never again.
Do yourself a favor and don’t order the Bistec encebollado. It was as hard as a belt.

Best mofongo I’ve ever tasted! This little place is a hidden gem in JC. Our waiter seemed new but was friendly. Came in for lunch and the place was pretty easy empty. The shrimp empanadas were delicious. I ordered the shrimp mofongo and it was delicious! My friend ordered the pernil which was good but I’ve had better. The yucca was undercooked and a little on the hard side. I would definitely come back though for the mofongo!

I have to say ME Casa sets the bar high for Puerto Rican food. Upon entering the restaurant I was greeted by the chef Eddie, helping out on a busy night. He greeted my boyfriend and I and sat us right away. The space is small but works well for small or big parties. The music is awesome and the string lights on the ceiling set a very relaxing ambiance. We ordered the appetizer sampler, the alcapurias was the best part about it! Although, everything was phenomenal. For our entrees we ordered the pollo a la brass, Bistec encebollado and maduros. The chicken fell off the bone and had so much flavor. The cilantro sauce is such a perfect addition. The rice was amazing. Cooked perfectly and fresh. All of the food was amazing. My favorite side was the sweet plantains though. We were able to try the beef stew and we would definitely order that next time. For dessert we had the tres leche cake, also a treat from the kitchen! This is the way to make your customers happy and keep them coming back for more. Of all the restaurants I have tried in Jersey City, this has been the nicest experience yet.

My husband and I ventured over from Hoboken to try something new. I definitely came in with too high of expectations. The food was good Latin American food but not spectacular. We ordered the empanadas sampler, mini mofungo appetizer and the penile with maduros. The maduros were the best part. The mufungo was the biggest disappointment. Just blah. I am sure the mufungo appetizer would have been better. We had to ask for extra au just because the penile was dry. It was really good drenched in au jus though. I always enjoy empanadas and these were no exception. The chicken empanadas were my favorite. My husband preferred the shrimp. The service was good minus the super awkward server. Needless to say we won’t be coming back.

The food here is absolutely delicious and authentic!
The owner is great and the staff is friendly and attentive.
The shrimp empanada is amazzzinggg and the mofongo is out of this world (seriously, it isn’t dry like most restaurants.
Its also BYOB so, you can’t go wrong!

Super cute, intimate atmosphere. Came here for dinner on a Thursday evening, around 6. It was empty.
Our waiter was Mitchell, he was super amazing, gave us the 411 about all the dishes.
We ended up going with the mofongo with chicken & pollo guisado.
The mofongo was delicious, it comes with a ton of sauce, so it was super moist and amazing. His side was the yuca con mojito, which were amazing. They were so moist and flavorful.
My pollo guisado was good, however a little on the salty side. I loved that it came with vegetables, and that they were still crispy, not like the usual soggy ones. My side was the white rice w/​beans, which pair well with the stew.
Overall, I definitely would come back. Super friendly staff and great food.

*shrimp ceviche (yes!!! The ceviche was delicious! Super fresh and the acidity was perfect. Loved how this came in tostone cups… and the tostone. Omg. Soo good!!! Salty, chewy and crisp. Would definitely get this again!)
*pernil asado (The pork was so good! juicy and tender… and that dipping sauce which I’m assuming is the meat drippings… yas please! I could have just drank that sauce and called it a day. There is a huge mound of meat on the plate so you get plenty for your money)
*maduros (Absolutely fab! super sweet, and it was almost as if there was honey glazed on the outside)
*white rice and beans (the rice was kind of hard and some of the grains got stuck on my teeth which is weird for rice; the beans were decent but this is probably my least favorite thing I ate that night)
*mofongo with beef stew (yes to this mofongo! the stew was great and gave some additional moisture for the mofongo so it wouldn’t be dry.)
How adorable is this place?! Tiny spot but quite cozy. Kitchen produces delicious food at reasonable prices. Each entrée give you a choice of one side, so be sure to try them all. This place is BYOB so bring something if you want. Loved the food and will be back to try that pollo a la brasa!

This is a super cute Puerto Rican restaurant in Jersey City. This place isn’t super big or super fancy but it’s welcoming. The waiter Matt B. was extremely attentive and friendly. They have pictures of Puerto Rico all over the restaurant and they play salsa, merengue etc. Overall its a nice setting suitable to go along with the food.
Now onto the food. For starters I had the shrimp empanadas and the beef empanadas. I thought that the beef and the shrimp were good but the outer shell was a bit flakey and dry. The 3 sauces that it came with were all really good. My favorite was the «money sauce.»
For my entrée I had the Bistec with rice and beans. I thought this entrée was good but I wasn’t wowed by the steak. The rice and beans were good and the salad was very fresh but I cant say much about the steak. For dessert I had the flan which I enjoyed.
In a nutshell I would come back here even though I wasn’t as wowed as I wanted to be but it was good. This place is also BYOB as they do not serve liquor. That’s definitely a nice option to make up for the lack of liquor.

Sigh. I really wanted to love this place. The reviews raved about the food, the service and the location but this place just didn’t do it for me.
For starters, the place is very small and quaint. I counted 5 tables for two, and three tables for 4. Very cozy and intimate but this place is definitely not a place for groups.
The server was very friendly but he was very pushy in the beginning to get our order in, only to turn around and let our drinks run out later on.
The food… Sigh. This was the biggest let down. We ordered the empanadas, which were OK but lacked the authenticity I was looking for. We also ordered the pollo asado and the chuletas fritas. We chose maduros and arroz con guandules as our sides. The chicken was pretty good and came with a sauce that complimented it well. The pork chops were edible, although overcooked.
The rice was the biggest disappointment of the night. As a native Puerto Rican, rice is eaten with almost all of our traditional meals and is a staple in our culture. The rice served at Me Casa didn’t reflect that. The texture was off, and it was cold. I didn’t taste the flavor and I could tell it was rushed. Because I am from the island, I respect PR owned and operated establishments and do my best to support them. However, the rice which should be a specialty lacked authenticity and I’ve had much better at cheap hole in the walls. So obviously, this left me disappointed.
I wish I would have walked out of here jumping up and down excited to go back, but that simply wasn’t the case. Probably won’t be returning.

I came here for my friends birthday. We got seated pretty quick, especially for a small place like that. The music is pretty loud where you can’t hear each other talk sometimes. My favorite dishes were the beef monfongo and beef empanadas. I would definitely come back to try more of their options.

I had so much good food here!
Although the place is very small, it is definitely worth the wait and its BYOB. They have a rule for a bottle of wine for every 2 people or 3 beers a person, which is really weird.
Appetizers:
–Mini Mofongos (Beef & Chicken) so yummy!
–Empanada Sampler (Beef & Chicken) delicious! The beef one is better with the spicy ketchup sauce on the side!
— Los Latino Sliders: I had the one beef & chicken with fried plantain since they didn’t have garlic bread, but its ok it was still delicious! I ate it with the spicy ketchup dip and it went perfecto.
–Calamari Frito was ok. I had better calamari and think it didn’t capture the must have taste or savory taste. It wasn’t bad, but it was nothing special.
Entrée:
Beef/​Chicken Mofongo: A larger size of the appetizer if you fell in love with the app. It comes with a side of rice and beans.
We can here with a group of 8 and right away the chef who was help seating was so nice and welcoming. He apologized for the wait and sat everyone as much as possible since it was busy! When you walk in don’t be turn off by how it’s a random place on the corner or it’s so small because sometimes those are the BEST places and this is definitely one of those locations.
Definitely come here and don’t forget your beers or bottle of wine!

I’m ecstatic that I have finally tried ME Casa — it’s been a long time coming. I’ve only ever had empanadas off of the food truck, but have been itching to come into the actual restaurant for a sit-​down dining experience ever since I moved to JC.
On a Friday night at 8 it was pretty packed out. Luckily, we were able to score one of the last tables. Given their intimate space and stellar reputation, I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see a crowded dining room. They were out of roast pork that night which was unfortunate, but luckily the menu has a ton of other decadent options to choose from.
We split a couple of things and loved it all. The calamari was perfectly crunchy, topped with pickled onions and came with a tangy horseradish dipping sauce. The shrimp ceviche was also A+, and I loved how it was served in mini plantain cups. Although the roast chicken was a little more basic than some of the other entrees, it was tender, flavorful and cooked to perfection. Plus, dipping it into their signature money sauce added even more of a complex flavor. The side of rice and peas also had a rich flavor and perfectly complimented the chicken and the sauce.
Although we were pretty stuffed, I ordered flan. When there is flan on a menu, it must be mine. I have an obsession. I’ve had some so-​so flan before, and at ME Casa it’s on fuego. It’s perfectly creamy and is smothered in a sweet caramel sauce.
Our server was outstanding and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention how friendly and accommodating he was. If only I could remember his name!
Bring the largest bottle of wine that you can find, and come to ME Casa for dinner. I can’t wait to come back and try other menu items, because I have the feeling that this is the type of restaurant where you literally can’t go wrong with any item.

Friday night and this was one of the only highly rated places that had no wait around 8pm — woohoo! We were seated after waiting for 5 – 10 minutes for the staff to set the empty table… which is kind of a long time for a table that’s already empty. That’s kind of how the whole night went — long waits for food.
The environment is cozy and seems like it would be a decent date night (not a first date) — my friends and I were discussing the music — it sounded like 90’s love making music the entire night — they play some soulful slow R&B here… very interesting for Puerto Rican food…
The service, though very slow, was impeccable. Hats off to the very, very friendly staff here at ME Casa. We shared some giggles and laughs with them and they were some of the nicest waiters I’ve met at a restaurant. They also pay close attention to detail.
We ordered quite a bit of food here and it was only $ 35 per person after tax and tip of 20%:
— Appetizer sampler — empanadas, etc — a good assortment of fried and unhealthy meat-​filled items — comes with all 3 house sauce
— Calamari — mediocre, but my friend liked it. Comes with spicy mayo.
— Shrimp gumbo — more of a thin soup than a gumbo, but this was probably my favorite dish of the night. At $ 18 it’s a bit steep in price, but a good shareable item — they even split it into 3 bowls for us! It’s actually quite spicy, but very, very flavorful. Thumbs up all around
— Beef stew mofongo — mofongo was really good, but the beef stew was just standard beef stew… nothing special
— Bistec with onions — probably something you could easily whip up at home, but still tasty
— Tres leches cake — it took forever for this small piece of cake to come out (you’d think it’s just slice and plate, right?) but it was delicious! Might be a bit sweet for some people, but I loved how soaked in milk this was. Would definitely order again.
— Fried sweet plantains — a must!
— Yuca — skip this. We ate probably like 2 bites… probably a very acquired taste or something.
Obviously, we were all stuffed by the end of the meal and had leftovers to take home. ME Casa is a good place for some food you might not frequently find other places, especially mofongo and that delicious shrimp «gumbo».
PS: to the waiter we ran a lottery ticket run for, we remember your face and if you win, we want part of the pot!

Great place to grab dinner with a few friends! I came here on a Saturday night around 7:30 pm with my two friends. We were seated immediately, but they didn’t have any menus for us. There were two large parties of 10 or more that just arrived before we did and they all had the menus. I thought that was a bit crazy. Every restaurant should have a menu for each seat they have, right? Luckily, there were two menus that were available within 5 minutes of us being seated, so we didn’t wait too long.
To start, we ordered the empanada sampler — chicken, beef and vegetable. It came out within 10 minutes I’d say, not too bad. Since there were 3 of us, we each had two. I had the chicken and the beef. Beef was okay, better with «Money sauce» (must have btw). Chicken was phenomenal, I recommend getting just chicken empanadas and skipping the beef and veggie ones. For the main course, I got the Chicken Mofongo. I really enjoyed it. The sauce was a bit salty on its’ own, but when you mix it with the chicken, plantains, rice and beans, it tastes delicious.
Service was pretty good, minus the menu mishap in the beginning. The ticket time was a bit longer than usual because we had 2 big parties ahead of us and only one chef in the kitchen. Chef Eddie himself came over and greeted us. Very nice guy, pretty funny too.
Overall, I had a good experience and I’ll certainly be back. Hopefully they’ll have a menu for us :)

Never had Puerto Rican for in my life but decided to try this place out because I was in the area and there were SO many positive reviews of this place. My friend and I went here on a Sunday and assumed it would be crowded since it was the weekend but it was actually empty besides one family of four (probably because it was at like 3:00 pm). We got seated by the host and our waiter. EVERYONE who worked there was really friendly and made us feel welcome and relaxed.
We first ordered the Empanada sampler as our appetizer (which comes with two for lunch), and we chose to get all of them which were chicken, beef, shrimp, and vegetables. ALL of them were really good except I think chicken was my favorite. We then ordered our meals and I ordered pollo a la brasa with a side of rice. I had NO idea what this was or what to expect. But it was DELICIOUS. The chicken was slow cooked so it was so soft and the meat would literally just fall off. Definitely recommend getting their yellow rice as a side too because it’s really good!
Great first experience eating Puerto Rican food!

Me Casa, I really wanted to love you but you didn’t do it for me. From the outside, you look very average and unappealing. But once you step inside, it’s a cute cozy environment, although, you still have some Christmas lights up in May.
This place is known for Puerto Rican cuisine, so I had to try all the classics. It didn’t come to my attention until we had all her food but everything was FRIED, ohhh my poor arteries!
Here’s what we got.
Papa relleno– round balls fried and stuffed with beef and mashed potatoes. It was just ok, had no salt and pepper, so had to ask for some since its not on the tables.
Chicken/​veggie empanadas — chicken was very tender with a nicely crisp shell. Veggies was just straight vegetables that were pretty soggy and mushy.
Garlic bread– huge fail, even tho others praise this. One, we paid for ours. 2. It was extremely greesey and oily, very heavy and overally crispy. My body felt that heaviness oil going down which isn’t a pleasant feeling.
Shrimp ceviche– pretty decent tostones with shrimp, cilantro and onions. Also needed salt and was missing that wow factor although it was appealing to the eyes.
Tres leche cake– I have had a few shares of this dessert as its a top favorite of mine. This was not good and inconsistent. The top half was stale and dry as if it was a few days old, while the bottom half was moist and juicy.
Service was attentive and caring. Yes this place is decent, but isn’t great either. Seasoning food is very important and so is consistency. Its BYOB, and parking is hard to come by. With that said, I walked out stuffed but unstatsified.