The town of Westwood is now home to Mi Flor Latin Cafe, a restaurant that specializes in Guatemalan food. In particular, they serve Latin dishes infused with Guatemalan flavors. The business is a longstanding dream of both the chef and owner who wanted to run their own restaurant.
Mi Flor Latin Cafe is just 950-square-feet, seating 24 patrons inside and 12 outside under umbrella-covered tables. (Outdoor dining takes place on the sidewalk.) “The decor is very soothing and the modern color scheme is inspired by the flag of Guatemala,” says Dean Evans; co-owner of the cafe, which is his first business venture. For instance, the interior is filled with blues and whites, the colors of the Guatemalan flag. As for the menu, Dean says “I wanted to bring Guatemalan foods to the area.”
More from Best of NJ
Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner
Patrons can expect flavorful Guatemalan-inspired Latin food made by chef and co-owner Eliu Salguero. Popular lunch and dinner menu items include tacos and grilled steak with shrimp and vegetables; as well as guisado soups, tilapia, and Shrimp Diabla (shrimp in a spicy red sauce with rice and tortillas). They also serve chicken in cream, which is chicken legs with veggies and potato in a sour cream sauce. But their signature menu item is the Chicken in Pipian, Guatemala’s national dish. But Dean’s favorite dish is actually the Tortilla de Harina with beef, which uses fresh, handmade tortillas. In fact, all dishes are made to order and are as fresh as possible, with nothing frozen or reheated.
Mi Flor Latin Cafe also has a breakfast menu with a number of classic dishes. For example, they serve banana bread and huevos rancheros (scrambled eggs with tomatoes and vegetables). One other morning menu item is the Baleada, a flour tortilla with eggs, beans, and cheese. Drinks include house-made shakes and smoothies. Smoothies come in flavors such as banana, raspberry/peach, pina colada, strawberry, mango/strawberry, and mixed berry. Meanwhile, shake offerings are black and white, vanilla dream, peanut butter chocolate, mocha crunch, and strawberry field.
About the Chef
Chef Eliu was born and raised in Guatemala, and is one of 16 siblings. As with Dean, Mi Flor Latin Cafe is his first time owning a restaurant. However, he has prior experience working as a chef. Eliu always wanted to open his own restaurant to share his specific style and influence of cooking; Latin fare with a Guatemalan influence.
Visit Mi Flor Latin Cafe at 57 Kinderkamack Rd in Westwood. Look for them online to learn more.
See the Latest Restaurants Open in New Jersey.
Mi Flor Latin Cafe FAQs
All Photos: © Mi Flor Latin Cafe