Best Colombian in Jackson Heights
Where to eat Colombian in Jackson Heights, Queens in 2026: Arepa Lady arepas, 24 hour diners, a butcher backed steakhouse, and the cholado counters locals use.
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- 1Jackson Heights · $ · 74 St-Broadway (7 E F M R) · 77-17 37th Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Also No. 5 on Best of Jackson Heights →
Maria Cano was a lawyer and judge in Colombia before she started selling arepas from a cart under the 7 train in 1990. Her sons run the brick and mortar now, open since 2014, and the griddle work has not lost a step.
The arepa de queso still tastes like the cart at 2am, sweet corn char and stretchy cheese, and the family never let fame flatten it.
Order Arepa de choclo with chicharrón and cheese
The official site takes reservations, but this is a walk in kind of place; go off peak and you will be eating in ten minutes.
- 2Jackson Heights · $$ · 82 St-Jackson Hts (7) · 79-19 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
Also No. 4 on Best of Jackson Heights →
A neon lit, 24 hour Colombian diner that has fed Roosevelt Ave since 2000, marked by the big multicolored cow hanging over the sidewalk. Inside it is hand painted cartoons, peace signs, Postobón bottle caps, and waiters who will happily order for you.
It is open at 4am and the churrasco still lands on sizzling cast iron like it is Saturday night.
Order Churrasco de guacamole
Let the staff steer you; they push recommendations hard and they are usually right.
- 3Jackson Heights · $$ · 82 St-Jackson Hts (7) · 81-01 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372
One of the first Colombian restaurants in the neighborhood, open on this Roosevelt Ave corner since 1990 when the surrounding blocks were still mostly Italian. The rotisserie runs 24 hours and the chicken platter comes with consommé, Spanish rice, salad, and fries.
Little Colombia grew up around this rotisserie and the chicken has never needed to change.
Order Pollo a la brasa platter with consommé
Do not confuse it with the same brand Pollos Mario 83 over on 37th Ave; the Roosevelt Ave corner is the original.
- 4Jackson Heights · $$ · Jackson Hts-Roosevelt Av (7 E F M R) · 76-02 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11373
The same family has run this dining room since 1994, under clocks shaped like Colombia and tabletops inlaid with the mule drivers the place is named for. Portions are built for two even when you order for one.
The chicharrón gets the crackle to juice ratio right more consistently than anywhere else on the strip.
Order Chicharrón
Split the chicken cutlet; it hangs off the plate and you want to save room for the chicharrón.
- 5Jackson Heights · $$ · 90 St-Elmhurst Av (7) · 83-27 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372Map ↗verified 6w ago
A big sit down dining room at the eastern end of the strip, serving continuously since 1984. When Colombia plays, half the neighborhood watches from these tables.
The plato montañero puts steak, fried pork, beans, egg, avocado, and plantain on one plate, and nobody nearby does the full spread with more conviction.
Order Plato montañero
Come on a match day for the full experience, or avoid one entirely if you want a table fast.
- 6Jackson Heights · $ · 83-03 Northern Blvd, Jackson Heights, NY 11372Map ↗verified 6w ago
Half panadería and half diner on Northern Blvd, going since 1987. You can grab pandebono at the counter or sit down to a full bandeja típica with empanadas and ají on the side.
Twelve fifty gets you rice, beans, steak, chicharrón, two kinds of sausage, a rice cake, avocado, and a fried egg, which might be the best deal in the neighborhood.
Order Bandeja típica
Order the empanadas with the ají; the dipping sauce is what carries them.
- 7Jackson Heights · $$ · 82 St-Jackson Hts (7) · 80-22 37th Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372Map ↗verified 6w ago
The Salazar brothers have run this steakhouse since 1997 with their own butcher counter attached, so the meat travels about ten feet before it hits the grill. It sits on 37th Ave, one block up from the Roosevelt Ave noise.
A steakhouse that butchers its own beef and still lets a tripe soup be the thing regulars come back for.
Order Mondongo with avocado and lime
The mondongo runs as a Saturday special, so plan the week around it and do not skip the lime.
- 8Jackson Heights · $ · 82 St-Jackson Hts (7) · 79-01 Roosevelt Ave, Jackson Heights, NY 11372Map ↗verified 6w ago
A walk up window on Roosevelt Ave doing chuzos, the grilled meat skewers Colombians eat standing up. The algo mas covers choripapa, arepas, and whatever else fits in one hand under the 7 train.
The choripapa buried in pineapple sauce and crushed potato sticks is chaotic in exactly the right way.
Order Choripapa
There is nowhere to sit, so order, claim a spot on the corner, and eat it hot like everyone else does.
- 9Jackson Heights · $ · 83-18 Northern Blvd, Jackson Heights, NY 11372Map ↗verified 6w ago
A no frills counter on Northern Blvd that does exactly two things, cholados and fruit salad. Customers who have been coming for a decade still call the people behind the counter the cholado experts.
One thing done stubbornly well beats a long menu, and this shaved ice pile of fruit and condensed milk proves it.
Order Cholado with passion fruit, strawberry, and condensed milk
They finally take cards after the recent renovation, so you no longer need to hunt for an ATM first.
- 10Jackson Heights · $ · 90 St-Elmhurst Av (7) · 40-25 Forley St, Elmhurst, NY 11373
A counter spot just over the Elmhurst line by the 82nd St station, open until midnight. Cholados are the draw, stacked with papaya, mango, coconut, banana, and condensed milk until the cup gives up.
It is the late night cholado stop, close enough to the 7 that you can grab one between trains all summer.
Order Cholado Prontito
Go after dinner in warm weather; the midnight hours make it the last cholado standing when everything else has closed.