Don Coqui, Puerto Rican restaurant in Astoria, NY

Please note that the meal was complimentary. However, the opinions expressed in my blog are 100% my own!  

Astoria surely has some great gems that should not be ignored, and Don Coqui, a Puerto Rican restaurant is one of them. I discovered it last Sunday when we went for a tasting for dinner. This huge place is a restaurant and lounge with multiple rooms:

A first one, small, at the entrance, with a nicely furnished bar:

The lounge with its impressive lighting:

The two dining rooms that can cater approximately eighty guests each:

They set the mood with not only Latin music, but also a blue lighting in the dining room that kept the lounge-y feel. 

Don Coqui opened in February 2011 in Astoria (they have several locations such as The Bronx or New Rochelle that is their flagship). The restaurant got its name from a small frog that makes a sound like "coqui, coqui", that is quite a funny anecdote. 

The menu, crafted by Executive Chef Jack D'Angelo, had so many mouth watering dishes that I admit that I was not sure what to order; so we followed the advice of our server, Andres, who was very knowledgable about the dishes, describing them in detail. 

I started by ordering a drink. I chose the mango Mojito that was delicious, refreshing and original. 

Lunch at Telly's Taverna in Astoria, New York

When we got invited to Telly's Taverna, we were thrilled! Jodi used to live in Astoria at the time I met her and this was my first discovery of Queens. In fact, we walked around and even went to her old place after lunch, trying to identify what was new and what was not. 

I was not surprised that it was a Greek restaurant that invited us: Astoria has a large Greek community and there are plenty of Greek restaurants there. 

The first thing we noticed when we entered in the restaurant was the fish display and the grill that was behind it.

They get their fish from a market in the Bronx and it definitely looked fresh.

After passing the first dining room, we ended up in the second one that was pretty large and full of Christmas decorations, with a tree in the back.

We sat close to the window, ready for a feast! But first was a glass of ouzo, a traditional Greek aperitif that is anise-flavored.

I just added couple of ice cubes in it and sipped it, not like milk for sure...

The first dish that came was Nana's green salad, made with chopped romaine lettuce, feta, scallions and peppers.

It was light and refreshing, however, I would have liked a bit more feta in it.

Then came three dips: