El Coqui Bakery

The little shop that could. To my surprise, I have never reviewed the bakery that has been a part of my life for over 30 years. A tiny Puerto Rican bakery named after the islands iconic mini-frog that sings it's name. In the corner of a strip center on the corner of Waters and Manhattan, this tiny place does a ton of business. While there are a couple small tables inside and outside, the majority of their business is take-out. The menu is more extensive than one would think. The highlights being breakfast, a great variety of sandwiches and cuban toasts, a long list of natural fruit juices and smoothies and the assortment of traditional baked confections and pastries. The surprise is, it's all so good. I used to visit quite often many years ago for my cafe con leche and something to eat. Nowadays, I drop in for some goodies when I visit my son who lives nearby. The pricing is very pocket friendly. Today, it was to satisfy my wifes craving for alcapurrias, an island delicacy that few places make well. It is a deep fried, savory meat filled fritter made with a pasty dough that can be a combination of ground up green plantain or green banana mixed with ground yuca or yautia which are root vegtables. A family favorite. I got myself a Media Noche which is a smaller version of a cuban sandwich on sweet egg bread. There are 3 choices of bread...cuban, pan sobao or grinder sized egg bread. All good. The center has it's own parking and the place is very busy during meal times. They are very quick though, very organized and the counter girls fast, accurate and efficient. Expect to be called "Mi Amor" or "Cariño" during your purchase, it's an endearing habit. Like when a server at a diner calls you honey or sweetheart. If you want a place to grab some grub for breakfast or lunch that never disappoints, fills your belly and gets you on your way quick, then this is the spot for you. And if you dare and are feeling courageous, they have a sandwich named after the place that has everything but the kitchen sink in it. Then it's siesta time mi amigo. Come get ya some!!

Please be patient when ordering from here. Took them 38mins to hand me a steak sandwich after placing the order with only one client ahead of me. The people who place their order after mine, got their order around 4mins before mine came …

Found this spot on google. Stopped by for a birthday cake. Got a delicious piña & guava cake that was fantastic. Service was good. Prices were reasonable however based upon the way you decorated the cake “Happy birthday” couldn’t be written on it so therefore I was offered a decorative happy birthday stick to place into the cake for $3.00. In my opinion this should be free as you could not write Happy Birthday on the cake. Customer should not be charged for this. With this being said I will still return in future because I did enjoy the cake. 😋

As the beginning of the work week starts I was craving a Cuban sandwich. This bakery has been one of my to go places for authentic Latin sandwiches until today. The roast pork smelled and tasted spoiled to the point of feeling nauseated. I …

Love this place! Great Puerto Rican sweets, flans, cakes and more. The coffee is so delicious! Not butter, very well balanced in flavor. I bought a Halloween cake and well designed. The flavors brought me back to the Valencia Bakery in Manhattan from when I grew up there in the 70s through the 90s. The flan - excellent! The empanadas, the croquettes, sugar cookies, bagels, egg sandwiches and more…so good!! If you’re in the area, please go. If you’re like me and will drive for great food then make sure to add El Coqui to your list of places to frequent often.