La Candela Restaurant
La Candela Restaurant, located at 495 S Broadway, Hicksville, NY, offers a vibrant dining experience that beautifully blends authentic Peruvian flavors with warm hospitality. Whether you're a longtime fan of Peruvian cuisine or exploring it for the first time, this family-friendly establishment delivers a memorable atmosphere and delicious food.
From the moment you step inside, La Candela welcomes you with a charming entrance under an arch of flowers and attentive service that ensures a comfortable dining experience. The ambiance is lively and inviting, often enhanced by live music and karaoke, making it an ideal place for both intimate meals and group gatherings. Guests consistently highlight the vibrant energy, with dancing and audience participation that adds to the fun atmosphere.
La Candela is renowned for its impressive food presentation and generous portions. A standout feature is the variety of traditional Peruvian dishes, such as tender marinated cow heart and grilled octopus, which come paired with Peruvian corn and potatoes. The Pescado a la Macho, a fish filet topped with calamari, shrimp, mussels, and clams in a creamy sauce, is another highly recommended dish that continues to win the hearts of patrons.
The quality of the food is consistently praised, though recent reviews note some slight variation in the preparation of certain dishes, with a few being overcooked at times. Despite this, the overall experience remains excellent, with many guests returning time and again to savor their favorite dishes.
In addition to the flavorful cuisine, the service at La Candela has received high marks, with servers like Joel and Johnson making sure guests feel valued and well-attended. For those seeking a little more insight into the restaurant's history, some visitors have enjoyed engaging with the friendly owners, who are eager to share stories about the restaurant and its Peruvian roots.
La Candela remains a beloved spot for both newcomers and regulars alike, continuing to offer a delightful mix of great food, service, and ambiance that make each visit special.
La Candela Restaurant Reviews
My family has been coming here for YEARS. Definitely at least a decade at this point. Coming from a family with Asian tastes, it's crazy how comfortable we feel having Peruvian food. I will start by saying the vibes here have always been immaculate. The live music, karaoke, and audience participating dancing is so warm and fun. I'm happily returning just for these good vibes. Ambiance 5/5. THAT BEING SAID. The great vibes kind of distracts the servers sometimes. It could take a little more effort to get some attention. Service 3/5 The food here is still delicious, but definitely has taken a bit of a hit on quantity (honestly still pretty generous) and quality (some items a bit overcooked sometimes. Food was a 5/5, maybe a 3.5/5 now. Overall, while things have changed over the years, this restaurant is still a staple, and a great place for families. I'm sure my family with continue to return!
As you all into the restaurant you first pass under an arch of flowers decorating the front door. You are met by a very attentive hostess who immediately responded to our presence and had us seated within a minute or two. This attitude carried throughout the evening with or wait staff. Johnson, our waiter was a pleasure to have and was on top of everything. The food is absolutely fantastic. We ordered cow heart and grilled octopus as appetizer and probably should have stopped there. The portions were amazing large and delicious. The octopus included grilled shrimp, two roasted clams, a plate full of potatoes and Peruvian corn. The piece of octopus was huge and is enough for a single meal. The cow heart was a pleasant surprise. Cut into small slices, it resembled a dish of skirt steak. It was marinated and was extremely tender and tasty. It too was accompanied with potatoes and corn. My wife and I then decided to share a dinner ordering the Pescado a la macho, (fish filet topped with calamari, shrimps, mussels and clams in a cream sauce. Unbelievably delicious. To top it off we were presented with the most amazing mousse cake for dessert. We then had a very pleasant conversation with one of the owners and got a history of the restaurant and his family. All told, this was a very surprising and exciting experience. The food was fantastic, the service was excellent and we were never rushed or hurried. Having lived in Bethpage for forty years and passing this restaurant untold amounts of time, I have to say I am impressed and would not only return here but make this a regular spot for us. YES, I whole heartedly recommend LaCandela to everyone.
The ambiance, food, and service were top notch! Definitely recommend this place. You definitely want to eat here.
This was my first time eating at a Peruvian restaurant. I went on a Monday night and the restaurant was empty but there were a few customers! The service was amazing, all staff were very kind and attentive checking on us all night. The restaurant is very spacious, and since we went at night it was very dark with red lights. The music was great singing along and watching as they had a projector playing the music video on the wall. It was a very chill ambience! Now onto the good stuff, the food! It was very delicious and well seasoned. From the appetizers all the way to the desserts. As this was my first time, the app & entree menu does have translation in English. I ordered the Lomo Saltado which is a traditional typical dish for Peru. It had white rice, skirt steak with peppers, tomato & onions, and French fries. Drinks were strong and delicious, I ordered the margarita which was fabulous. The dessert was the only challenging part as I didn't recognize a few of the names but I went with what I knew. Overall the place was great! Defiantly would recommend
Update 10/8/2024 We stopped in for lunch. Everything was amazing! Great service from Joel, great Pisco Sours from Jonathan, and great food from the kitchen. The presentation of each dish was beautiful. Each dish was perfect. I am so happy that we decided to have lunch at La Candela. We highly recommend this restaurant and we will be back more often