Pio Pio Riko

Though I have had one good experience here, the last two visits have been quite awful – including tonight’s visit. The first time I was there I ordered food that came from the specials because it was valentines day, so those dishes are not even available anymore. The second time I was there I ordered rotisserie chicken which was burnt and the rice was plain. This last time my friend and I waited over an hour for our food. When we noticed everyone that got there after us received their order while we were still waiting for our food we asked about ours and were told «what did you order again? We had a system error»…no apologies. Not even an offer to comp our sangrias. The customer service was just really lacking and the food never made up for it.
Needless to say I will not return to this place ever again.

Not as good as the original pio pio restaurant but close enough! One of our local favorites. My hubby loves the ceviche.

Aside from a woman coming in with a 100 pound pitbull screaming at a non-​English-​speaking busboy for speaking about her daily in the morning (wut?), it’s a quaint little restaurant on a corner.
Stumbled upon it and got some take out.
So, you go to a Pio Pio for the chicken, right? WRONG.
Chicken was dry as sandpaper.
The rice was mushy like someone was crunk and threw in tons of water.
The beans were alright.
The green sauce distilled itself then solidified in the container after 20 minutes of taking it home… I don’t know if that’s normal.
So what’s the saving grace?
The words: AVOCADO. SALAD.
I think it’s the second time in my life where I couldn’t stop eating a salad. It was painfully delicious.
Oh, and the portions are huge. I ordered a ¼ chicken (with rice and beans) and the avocado salad for $ 11, and ended up eating it for dinner, breakfast, and lunch.

I passed by this place while biking one day and stopped in for a bite. The staff is friendly and accommodating and the food is pretty good. I have since returned with some friends and there were no complaints. The portions are rather large and good for sharing and their sangria is very tasty!

I stopped here to pick up lunch. The place is very small and not sure what the smells were? I ordered a half chicken and a chicken soup to go and ate in my office. The chicken was ok but very salty and very dry. The soup had the nastiest piece of chicken breast floating in it and I ended up sick for 2 days from this place. Never going back

I have tried the chicken soup, which is heavy on the cilantro. Thought I would mention that in case you are someone who is not a fan. It also has chicken parts that I dont eat, like gizzards or something, but I picked them out. I ordered take out and waited about 20 minutes for just a small soup which was annoying.
I have also tried their chicken lunch dishes (take-​out) the chicken was a little under cooked for my taste but the flavor was good. I have tried both the white and dark meet and think it was just the dark meat which was under-​cooked. Totally must mention that the green sauce absolutely makes the meal. The rice and beans and just okay… the green sauce is the bomb though!

We had a lovely birthday lunch here with my parents and the waitress whom we knew from La Fonda now works here. I had a ¼ chicken and my beaux had a ½ chicken… my rents had… a fish plate — it had fried calamari, shrimp, scallops… it was terribly yummy. I think my mom had fish. We took what we didn’t finish and had it for lunch the next day… we’ll definitely be back. And the flan was delicious …

Having chicken w/​mi corazon. Good chicken, good prices, good service, however it was cold inside the restaurant, so dress warm.

The Good:
Food was delicious. The seafood, chicken and steak… yum. Papa fritas… extra yum. The main hostess is so nice. Definitely try it.
The Hmmm:
There’s a waitress (not the main hostess)…she’s also nice… she just likes to add extra to the total. We just consider it tip :) Yeah. That’s the best way I can spin this.
Final Thoughts:
We loved everything about this quaint spot… Enjoy the food.

Chicken was good, but the green aji sauce was like crack!

It has good food and cheap but way too small of a restaurant with no liquor.

Pio Pio Riko = Tasty chicken in a really really quiet neighborhood. The service is fast, but friendly, the space utilitarian. The food is pretty good but I’ll be comparing the chicken to the other chicken places around my apartment. I ordered a half chicken and rice and beans. The chicken was good, but the white meat was a tiny bit dry. The rice and beans were as expected. The green sauce, which I eat by the tablespoon at Pio Pio’s in Manhattan, wasn’t quite as good as I hoped. But then compare that to the value and you really can’t go wrong here!

Small restaurant w/​good food. They only take cash although their menu has a Mastercard/​Visa logo.

very tiny restaurant on the corner of middle of nowhere. the service is very friendly and if you want to brush up on ur spanish skills, this is definitely place to do it since nobody really speaks english here. we got a couple of glasses of the house red wine, which was quite good. the food is absolutely delicious!!! i loved everything we ordered! the rotisserie chicken was so tender and juicy. the jalea was jam packed with fried seafood delights. maduros were buttery soft. rice and beans were great. and my main love attraction was the amazing green sauce… i get drown in it and slurp my way out! soooo yummy!

What’s not to love about rotisserie cooked chicken? Nothing right?!
And what’s not to love when it comes with fries, salad, rice and beans on the side. Again nothing!
And therefore what is not to love about Pio Pio Riko.
A friend and I picked up the chicken dinner which was a whole succulent and juicy chicken. A large order of crispy fries, A huge salad with avocado, and some amazing rice and beans for under $ 20. Throw in some great tasting green spicy sauce and I was a happy camper!

Went to this new location tonite. Open about 3 weeks. Got the Whole Chicken Dinner with Fries, Salad, Rice, Beans. The chicken was very good. I love the green chili sauce. Fries were good. Salad with avacado was decent. But my favorite part of the meal was the rice and beans. Yum!

We drove past by Pio Pio Riko on the corner of 36^th Avenue and Steinway, you know, right before everything falls off the car sales heaven or hell of Northern Boulevard. I did a happy dance and made a mental note to give some love, meaning business to the place.
Indeed, aside from images of the Old Peak or «Machu Picchu», Peru brings to my mind the scent of «pollo» or chicken roasting, the crunch of seafood and the fresh taste of ceviche.
We stepped into the petite space of Pio Pio and ordered the pollo a la brasa and what I was really craving for, jalea. Jalea (please pronounce it as «h» and not «j») consists of deep fried squid, shrimp, mussels, crab and fish topped with red onions. The personal size ($ 18.95) was plenty and we did not even finish it. At the start, service was slow even if we were the only other occupied table and this was due to a lot of calls coming in for delivery. Once the owner William came by, it was a lot more efficient. William chatted with us for a bit, explained that the deliciousness of the chicken comes from the marinade, which is a mixture of Latin and Asian spices. Of course, I will not reveal what William said because you have to taste the chicken and guess what makes it moist and delicious. They don’t have a liquor license yet so they cannot sell alcohol but they gave us a glass each of sangria, free of charge.
As for the jalea, I would have preferred less flour on it, more shrimp and a bit more acidity and spiciness. While we were there, people came in and out for take-​out and the phones were ringing off the hook for delivery. Now, I don’t need to hie off to another neighborhood for my Peruvian fix. Astoria’s culinary diversity is fast growing and if only we have a dimsum place and a phở place in this neighborhood, then it would be nirvana.

Finally some good rotisserie chicken close to home! TBC…