Hornado Ecuatoriano Restaurant

Reviews

• Tom K.

  star star star star star_border 11 September 2026

  Any restaurant that features a sign with a happy looking pig with a napkin draped around its neck catches my eye.
  
  Such was the case with Hornado Ecuatoriano and, thanks to Rachel A's review, I knew exactly what to order: the hornado!
  
  I'm an Ecuadorian eater newbie and without the power of google, would not really know what some of the platos tipicos were. While Spanish was by far the dominant language here, our waitress knew enough English to make ordering easy. (Without resorting to our butchering the language of Cervantes!)
  
  When you step in, you'll notice Valentine's Day decorations that are still hanging. It's like keeping Christmas decorations up all year: when december rolls around, you don't have to do any work!
  
  There are a few mirrors around the dining room too, which made possible for me to catch a scantily clad female posterior advertised on Telemundo which was on the ol' TV. (From where we sat I could look out and see "Romanticos" Gentlemen's Club across the street).
  
  Hornado is roast pig. That's all you need to know. But it helps to know about and consume with enthusiasm, the two sides that came with it: mote (hominy) and corn cakes. (I'll ignore the salad which I didn't bother with).
  
  According to Wikipedia, mote is the main ingredient of many dishes in Cuenca, Ecuador. I do know that Cuenca is quite an attractive spot for North American expats so if I ever escape from it all to Ecuador, I now know what to eat.
  
  Upon initial taste I thought this was a bit bland but I'm someone who eats oatmeal religiously...so I didn't mind at all. There wasn't much sweetness to the flavor but again, not a problem for me. I found that mixing it with a mashing of the corn cakes produced the ideal flavor combo.
  
  (And for my sci-fi aware fans, I couldn't help but think of "The Mote in God's Eye", a Larry Niven 1974 novel. Not quite the same mote...)
  
  Anyway, the arrival of the hornado demanded trumpet fanfare. I especially liked the inclusion of the roasted pig skin on my plate. Crispy with a little bit of fat, I was entering hog heaven. The rest of the was moist and juicy and stood on its own without requiring any sauce to liven things up.
  
  For $13 I was satisfied and ready to return for more. At this rate, the equator of the earth won't be Ecuador but my expanding belly!

• Old Fart M.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 11 September 2026

  Came here with a friend visiting from California. He's Mexican and his wife is Ecuadorian. We came all the way from Manhattan despite the crazy wind and rain and weather (40F in May in NYC is unheard of).
  
  Walked in, the waitress seemed very arrogant and self-important. No greeting, no smiles, no nothing. This is very odd as Hispanics are usually very bubbly. Ordered food and my friend's wife seemed to like the food. Personally, thought my Pargo Marinera was so bland and boring.
  
  One thing that ticked both me and my friend off was that there was a 15% service charge that was pre-included in our bills. Didn't know if that was the tip or not because there was another section for tips. We decided to leave 0 and the service charge was more than enough for a tip when the waitress wasn't really that good with her job. To be honest, there are better Ecuadorian places in Queens than this place. I would say avoid this place.

• Heidi R.

  star star star_border star_border star_border 31 August 2026

  This is an ok Ecuadorian restaurant I am from Ecuador and the food is so so  the hora fo was good the fritada didn't have flavor which was a waste of  $13 could have bought a lunch somewhere else  we had to ask her to get our check and had to go walking over there to tell her here it is! It water? Go buy it some where else because it's ummm $2!!!!! I get that the soda is $2 but  water bruh  the waiter is not doing her job instead just there like nobody was here was not a fun expensive en general im dissapointed It used to be good.

• G R.

  star star_border star_border star_border star_border 30 August 2026

  the food was good I cannot complain but the waitress was not friendly and just kept looking around while we were talking to her, not focused on the customer and she said she was 100% Ecuadorian, I didn't get her name but man she wasn't focused on the customer.
  
  However the other waitress who was from Guatemala was extremely friendly and was very customer focused and served us well, hundred percent for her, the other girl should be nicer to customers to avoid losing customers!

• Anthony B.

  star star star star_border star_border 25 August 2026

  When in Queens, I have to get proper Ecuadorean food and stumbled upon this gem with my family. The menu had a lot of typical Ecuadorean dishes and it was hard to choose. So of course I ordered la Bandera Ecuatoriana, which has a little bit of everything. Succulent hornado, guatita, ceviche, mote and rice with avocado. I also ordered a quimbolito which I could have done with out. Although the food was delicious, the service was not so good. It took a while before someone came over to the table, and we were the first people in the restaurant at the time, when the server came, she wasn't very friendly. The food came out fast and hot though.