A good bandeja paisa does not believe in empty space. The plate arrives crowded with rice, beans, steak or ground beef, chicharrón, chorizo, fried egg, sweet plantain, avocado and an arepa, somehow turning one meal into a greatest-hits collection of Colombian comfort food.
New Jersey happens to be an especially good place to find one. Colombian restaurants are scattered from Bergenline Avenue and Hackensack down through Union County, Middlesex County and even the Shore, ranging from neighborhood bakeries serving coffee before most people are awake to steakhouses built around enormous platters of grilled meat.
The best places go well beyond bandeja paisa, too. There are bowls of ajiaco, crisp empanadas, wood-grilled beef, whole fried fish, calentado breakfasts, cheese-filled arepas and tropical fruit drinks worth ordering even when you are already full.
These 15 restaurants are excellent places to start exploring New Jersey’s Colombian food scene.
1. Sabor de mi Tierra – Union
Some restaurants make you choose between stopping in for a quick Colombian breakfast and settling down for the kind of lunch that requires an empty stomach. Sabor de mi Tierra comfortably handles both.
The restaurant has a Union location on Morris Avenue, along with another outpost in Verona, and its broad appeal comes from serving the sort of familiar Colombian cooking that works just as well for an everyday meal as it does for a family get-together. Start with the classics rather than trying to reinvent lunch.
Empanadas, arepas and Colombian bakery staples make easy opening moves, while heartier plates built around grilled meat, rice, beans, plantains and avocado are the reason to arrive hungry. This is also the kind of place where ordering a fruit drink makes sense even if you normally stick with soda; Colombian juices can turn passion fruit, blackberry, mango or soursop into almost a second course.
The Union location is particularly convenient for anyone exploring the dense cluster of Latin American restaurants around central Union County. Come with at least one other person if possible.
Colombian portions rarely reward restraint, and sharing a few appetizers before tackling a full entrée lets you sample considerably more without reaching the inevitable point where that last piece of chicharrón starts looking like a personal challenge.
2. Noches de Colombia Hackensack – Hackensack
Walk along Main Street in Hackensack and it becomes clear fairly quickly that Colombian food is not a niche attraction here. Noches de Colombia is one of the most recognizable names in that scene, with its Hackensack restaurant at 382 Main Street and several additional North Jersey locations.
The draw is range. This is a place where one table can be working through empanadas and arepas while another has gone all-in on grilled steak, seafood and a massive traditional platter.
If it is your first visit, bandeja paisa is the obvious introduction: the classic combination gives you beans, rice, meat, chicharrón, egg, plantain, avocado and arepa in one meal and provides a pretty efficient crash course in why Colombian comfort food is so satisfying. Grilled meats are another strong direction, especially if you prefer dinner to revolve around steak rather than fried components.
What separates Noches from a tiny neighborhood lunch counter is the ability to handle almost any kind of visit. Breakfast, casual lunches, large family dinners and late meals all feel at home here.
It is also an easy option when dining with people who have very different appetites because the menu runs far beyond a handful of specialties. Just resist the urge to fill up completely before dessert or coffee.
That is easier said than done.
3. El Rancho Colombiano – Union City
The smell gives this Union City restaurant away before the menu does. El Rancho Colombiano cooks meats over wood, and the grill is not merely a supporting player here; it is one of the restaurant’s defining features.
The specialty is carne a la llanera, a style associated with Colombia’s eastern plains, and the kitchen also prepares dishes representing different regions of the country. That makes this an especially good stop if your idea of Colombian food begins and ends with bandeja paisa.
Yes, you can order the famous platter, but you can also head toward Bogotá with ajiaco, the comforting chicken-and-potato soup flavored with guascas, or toward Colombia’s Caribbean coast with whole fried snapper. The wood-grilled side of the menu includes cuts such as churrasco, punta de anca and the restaurant’s signature llanera-style beef.
El Rancho sits at 3401 Bergenline Avenue, one of the most rewarding stretches in New Jersey for anyone who likes exploring Latin American food without moving the car every fifteen minutes. Bring an appetite and lean into the grill.
Plenty of Colombian restaurants can serve a strong plate of rice and beans; fewer can make the aroma of burning wood part of the meal before your plate even hits the table.
4. Mi Rinconcito Colombiano – West New York
There is a moment when a neighborhood restaurant stops feeling like somewhere you simply eat and starts functioning like a social club. Mi Rinconcito Colombiano reaches that point later in the week, when its West New York dining room can add live music, DJs, karaoke and dancing to the equation.
The family-run restaurant sits at 6319 Bergenline Avenue and stays open as late as 2 a.m. from Thursday through Sunday. Come earlier, though, and the menu is equally interesting.
Weekday lunch specials include corrientazos built around soup, a choice of protein, rice, red beans, plantains and other sides, exactly the kind of complete meal that explains why Colombian lunch culture deserves more attention. Breakfast brings calentado with eggs, grilled steak, chicken or pork, while appetizers range from empanadas and arepitas with hogao to chicharrón, morcilla and larger shared picadas.
Saturdays bring ajiaco and Sundays sancocho de costilla, so soup lovers have another reason to plan around the calendar. This is one of the better choices on the list for a group that wants dinner to turn into something more than dinner.
Arrive hungry, stay late, and accept that karaoke sounds considerably easier after a plate of chicharrón and a couple of drinks.
5. Villa de Colombia – Hackensack
More than 30 years in the restaurant business gives Villa de Colombia something that cannot be faked with clever décor or an oversized menu: routine. The Hackensack restaurant has been feeding generations of customers from its Mercer Street location, and it remains one of the city’s dependable spots for traditional Colombian cooking.
Bandeja paisa is an easy starting point, but the menu gives meat lovers several ways to escalate matters. Paisa churrasco adds grilled steak to the equation, while churrasco, chicharrón and other hearty plates make this a particularly strong choice when lunch needs to carry you through the rest of the day.
Whole fried fish and seafood dishes offer a different direction, and arepa de choclo provides that terrific sweet-corn-and-cheese combination that can disappear remarkably quickly at the beginning of a meal. One useful detail for groups is that Villa de Colombia is BYOB, and onsite parking makes it somewhat easier than many urban North Jersey restaurants where finding the car a home can become the evening’s opening act.
The dining room works nicely for a relaxed family meal, but takeout is equally tempting when all you really want is a bag of beef empanadas and chicharrón heading home with you. Sometimes longevity comes down to doing the familiar things consistently well.
6. Colombia Kaliente – Englewood
Breakfast at 6 a.m. and cocktails later in the day do not usually belong to the same restaurant personality, but Colombia Kaliente pulls off the combination. Located at 30 East Palisade Avenue in Englewood, the restaurant operates as a Colombian restaurant, bakery, bar and grill, giving it considerably more range than a standard dinner-only destination.
The kitchen embraces the country’s familiar heavy hitters: empanadas, grilled meats and a loaded bandeja paisa that brings together several of Colombian cooking’s greatest strengths on one plate. This is a useful place to know when a group cannot quite agree on what sort of outing it wants.
You can stop by early for coffee and bakery items, sit down for a substantial lunch, or arrive in the evening and make drinks part of the plan. The restaurant also has a full bar and private parking, two practical advantages in a part of North Jersey where neither should be taken for granted.
If you are grazing rather than committing immediately to a giant entrée, start with cheese empanadas and something from the bar before moving toward steak or a traditional platter. Colombia Kaliente feels built for lingering rather than rushing through dinner, particularly when several people are ordering enough dishes to turn the middle of the table into its own small buffet.
7. Rancho Mateo – North Bergen
A giant platter of grilled meat landing at the table is a fairly convincing argument for bringing friends to Rancho Mateo. The North Bergen location, at 9011 Palisade Avenue, stays open late and leans heavily into the festive steakhouse side of Colombian dining.
Beef ribs are among the dishes worth zeroing in on, while the traditional paisa-style plates combine rice, beans, meat, chicharrón, plantains and arepa in the sort of portion that immediately explains why leftovers are common. The restaurant also offers cocktails and becomes more energetic toward the weekend, making it noticeably different from the bakery-counter Colombian experience found elsewhere on this list.
Think birthday dinner, big family gathering or a Friday night when nobody is especially interested in eating quietly and leaving early. Shared appetizers are a good strategy, particularly anything involving tostones, shrimp or fried pork, but save space for whatever comes off the grill.
Rancho Mateo also operates an Elizabeth location, although the North Bergen restaurant is particularly convenient for diners in northeastern Hudson County and Bergen County. The best move is to arrive with people who understand the assignment: order generously, pass plates around and do not pretend the table needs only one serving of chicharrón.
8. MiLina Bar & Grill Colombian Steak House – Sayreville
Sometimes the name tells you precisely how to approach a restaurant. At MiLina Bar & Grill Colombian Steak House in Sayreville, this is not the night to order a tiny salad and call it dinner.
The kitchen’s identity revolves around Colombian cooking and steakhouse portions, giving Middlesex County diners a useful alternative to making the trip north for the state’s densest concentration of Colombian restaurants. Treat the meal accordingly.
Start with empanadas or another shareable Colombian appetizer, then move toward beef, pork or one of the traditional mixed plates. Colombian steakhouses are particularly good at satisfying diners who want more than one texture on a plate: crisp chicharrón next to grilled meat, creamy beans beside rice, sweet plantain cutting through all the salt and smoke.
That contrast is exactly what makes a fully loaded paisa-style dinner so much fun. MiLina also has the advantage of being a bar and grill rather than a quick-service counter, so it makes sense for a longer evening with drinks and a group.
If several people are eating together, resist ordering identical entrées. One person takes steak, another explores chicken or seafood, and the table suddenly becomes far more interesting.
For New Jersey diners south of the traditional Colombian strongholds in Hudson and Bergen counties, MiLina earns its place by bringing the steakhouse version of the cuisine much closer to home.
9. Colombian Steakhouse and Lounge – Bound Brook
The clue here is the word “lounge.” Colombian Steakhouse in Bound Brook takes the country’s love of grilled meat and places it in a setting designed for more of an evening out than a quick plate of rice and beans. Located at 200 Talmage Avenue, it serves lunch and dinner along with a menu centered on Colombian steaks, seafood and traditional dishes.
Bandeja paisa comes with either steak or ground beef, while lomo de res salteado and seafood options give the menu enough flexibility for groups that do not unanimously want the same mountain of meat. The atmosphere can be energetic, with music and large television screens contributing to the restaurant’s late-night feel, particularly on weekends when closing times stretch past midnight.
This is the restaurant to pick when your Colombian-food craving coincides with a birthday, date night or group dinner and you want somewhere that feels a little more celebratory. Start with appetizers for the table, order one of the beef-heavy specialties as your anchor, then branch into seafood if you are sharing.
Bound Brook’s location also makes this one of the more useful entries for diners in Somerset and Middlesex counties who do not want to point the car toward Bergenline Avenue every time they want Colombian food. Just remember: steakhouse portions and enthusiastic appetizer ordering have a way of catching up with you.
10. Cafelombia Bakery & Restaurant – Linden
At 5 a.m. on a weekday, plenty of kitchens are still dark. Cafelombia in Linden is already working on bread.
The bakery opens early enough to make this one of the most useful Colombian stops on the list for commuters, early risers and anyone who believes a warm pandebono is a perfectly legitimate reason to alter the morning route. Bakery cases are loaded with familiar Colombian favorites including pandebono, pan de yuca, almojábanas, arepas de queso, empanadas, buñuelos and guava-filled breads.
Do not mistake it for a bakery that happens to serve lunch, though. The restaurant menu goes considerably further, with bandeja paisa, churrasco, shrimp dishes and other substantial plates that can turn a coffee stop into a full meal without much persuasion.
Located at 1915 East Elizabeth Avenue, Cafelombia occupies the sweet spot between everyday bakery and sit-down Colombian restaurant. That means you can visit for an inexpensive snack, grab bread for home, or settle in for a proper meal.
If it is your first trip, combine the two sides of the business: order something savory and substantial, then leave with a bag of pandebono or buñuelos. Future-you will be extremely pleased when those leftovers appear beside the coffee the next morning.
11. D’ Colombia Restaurant & Bakery – Roselle
There is a dangerous little sequence at D’Colombia in Roselle: walk in intending to order lunch, notice the bakery counter, and suddenly you are carrying enough bread to feed people who are not even with you. Located at 711 East First Avenue, the restaurant combines full Colombian meals with a bakery stocked with pandebono, buñuelos, pan de Colombia, arepa de chocolo, guava pastries, churros and other sweets and breads.
That bakery selection makes the place particularly good for first-time visitors because you can sample several Colombian staples without committing to another full entrée. Start with a warm pandebono or an arepa de chocolo with cheese, then move into something substantial such as carne asada or one of the traditional combinations of meat, rice, beans and plantains.
The contrast between sweet corn, salty cheese, fried pork and grilled beef is a recurring theme in Colombian cooking, and D’Colombia gives you plenty of opportunities to experience it in one visit. Roselle is surrounded by communities with strong Latin American food scenes, so competition is hardly scarce; being both bakery and restaurant helps this place stand out.
It is also a smart stop before a gathering at home. Pick up dinner, add a few breads and pastries, and suddenly bringing “something small” has turned into showing up with half a Colombian bakery.
12. ENCANTO Bakery & Bistro – Kearny
Some Colombian restaurants introduce themselves with sizzling steak. ENCANTO starts with coffee, pastry cases and the promise of a slower breakfast.
The Kearny bakery and bistro sits at 218-220 Kearny Avenue and opens at 8 a.m., making it an easy choice when you want Colombian flavors without beginning the day with a plate the size of a serving tray. Bakery-and-bistro restaurants occupy an especially appealing corner of Colombian food culture because they make it possible to build a meal gradually.
Coffee and cheese bread can become an empanada, which can become an arepa, which can somehow become lunch even though nobody planned to stay that long. ENCANTO leans into that casual rhythm rather than feeling like a formal steakhouse.
It is a strong option for anyone new to Colombian food who wants to sample smaller items before confronting a full bandeja paisa elsewhere, and an equally good pick for Colombians looking for familiar bakery staples and coffee. Kearny Avenue itself makes the visit more interesting, with a dense collection of independent restaurants and bakeries nearby, so this can easily become one stop in a larger food crawl.
The key is not to rush the bakery counter. Ask what has just come out warm, pair it with coffee, and allow your original plan of “just grabbing something quick” to quietly disappear.
13. Punto Paisa Piqueteadero Colombian Resta – North Arlington
Breakfast before sunrise is not something every restaurant takes seriously. Punto Paisa does.
The family-run North Arlington restaurant at 293 Ridge Road opens at 6 a.m. Monday through Saturday and 7 a.m. on Sunday, giving early risers access to Colombian comfort food long before lunch enters the picture.
The kitchen describes its approach as rooted in Paisa tradition, so hearty combinations of meat, rice, beans, plantains and corn-based sides sit right at the center of the experience. Fried empanadas make an obvious beginning, while grilled steak plates and chicharrón satisfy anyone looking for something substantial.
One particularly useful way to approach a piqueteadero is with a group: rather than thinking in individual entrées, order several meats and fried snacks and let everyone reach across the table. The restaurant’s early hours also make it an intriguing breakfast alternative if your definition of morning food extends beyond pancakes and bacon.
Colombian breakfasts involving eggs, arepas, meat and reheated rice-and-bean combinations tend to make a bagel look almost suspiciously lightweight by comparison. Punto Paisa operates six days a week into the evening, so you do not actually have to set an alarm to enjoy it.
Still, there is something especially satisfying about eating a proper Colombian breakfast while much of North Jersey is only beginning its first cup of coffee.
14. La Cantera Silverton – Toms River
Toms River is not the first place many North Jersey diners would think to look for bandeja paisa, which is precisely why La Cantera Silverton belongs on the list. The restaurant at 1849 Hooper Avenue gives Ocean County a serious Colombian option, with a menu that stretches from breakfast through grilled steaks, pork, seafood, stuffed arepas and large mixed-meat platters.
Bandeja paisa is among the most popular orders, but steak fans should look closely at the churrasco and entraña choices, including surf-and-turf versions topped with shrimp. Breakfast is equally ambitious.
The pericazo con todo combines scrambled eggs with tomato and scallions, rice, shredded beef, chorizo and a cheesy arepa, immediately rendering the phrase “light breakfast” irrelevant. Appetizers cover the Colombian snack essentials: beef and chicken empanadas, chicharrón, morcilla, chorizo and tostones with hogao.
This is one of the most useful restaurants here for readers living near the Shore because it proves you do not have to drive to Hudson or Bergen County for a full Colombian menu. Go hungry and consider splitting appetizers before choosing a grilled entrée.
Portions can escalate quickly, particularly once somebody at the table decides a three-person picada sounds like an appetizer rather than a warning.
15. Fabio’s Colombian Kitchen – East Hanover
Aguapanela with cheese is one of those combinations that tells you almost immediately whether a restaurant is interested in going beyond the Colombian dishes everybody already knows. Fabio’s Colombian Kitchen in East Hanover serves the familiar favorites, but its menu also makes room for breakfasts, bakery goods, street-style snacks, seafood and traditional drinks that reward a little curiosity.
The breakfast lineup includes Colombian tamal with arepa, eggs with arepa, grilled beef and a house breakfast, while the bakery side offers pandebono, buñuelos and pandequeso. Later in the day, bandeja paisa, bistec a caballo and frijolada campesina cover the comfort-food classics.
Seafood deserves attention as well: encocado de camarones brings shrimp into a coconut-based preparation, while cazuela de mariscos and whole fried mojarra offer alternatives to another steak-and-rice plate. Snackers can build a meal from arepitas with hogao, tostones and guacamole, chicharrón or the house picada before finishing with coffee, avena or aguapanela.
Fabio’s is particularly valuable geographically. East Hanover is far removed from the Colombian restaurant clusters of Hudson County, giving Morris County diners a closer option for both traditional breakfast and a full dinner.
The smartest first visit is to order one classic you recognize and one thing you do not. That is usually where the fun starts.
Share this story
