MANHATTAN – A new restaurant with deep family roots is bringing authentic Spanish Harlem flavor down to the Upper East Side. Cascalote Latin Bistro, located on Second Avenue between East 109th and 110th Streets in East Harlem, is set to open a second location twenty blocks south, in the heart of Yorkville.
Over the weekend, signage went up outside Cascalote’s new Upper East Side location, which is taking over the space on Second Avenue, between East 88th and 89th Streets, vacated by Selena Rosa restaurant.
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Founded by Chef Julian Hoyos and his family in 2013, the original Cascalote is named after the beautiful farm village in Puebla, Mexico where his wife was born and raised. According to the restaurant’s website, villagers there “are skilled farmers, with years of rich culture and tradition.”
As we said, Cascalote is a family affair, with Chef Julian’s wife joining him in the kitchen at the East Harlem location serving as his sous chef and three daughters operating the front of house.
Billing itself as a Latin bistro, staples like tacos, burritos and quesadillas fill the menu, as well as platters of arroz con pollo, cheuleta al pastor and carne asada.
However, you’ll also find a couple of options on the menu at Cascalote you wouldn’t expect— like the Korean bibimbap rice bowl, penne a la vodka with shrimp and the spaghetti marinara.
It’s not yet clear when the new Upper East Side location will open its doors— but we do know they’ll have outdoor dining space in the backyard of the restaurant in addition to a small section with five tables out front on the sidewalk.
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Those details were revealed by a restaurant representative during Community Board 8 Street life committee meeting on Tuesday night.
Upper East Site has reached out to Cascalote for further information, but we have not yet heard back.
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I live two blocks away from this restaurant in Spanish Harlem I have been there once I am a restaurant hopper and when I went into the restaurant it was totally empty it’s always empty. Mexican food is their menu and the one time I ate there it was nothing to brag about the prices were a little high so I really don’t know how they will be serving anything on the Italian side or even Oriental side of dishes if the restaurant is always empty of customers but I do wish them a lot of luck