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January 31, 2023

Eateries debut with Filipino, Puerto Rican fare

Photo | Facebook MofonGo CEO and owner Vincent Placeres (right) announced the soft opening of the restaurant on Facebook with partner Daym Drops, a Food Network personality and online influencer.
By Liese Klein

Two new restaurants made their debut in downtown New Haven in the last week, offering Filipino and Puerto Rican fare.

Located in the former Jeera Thai storefront at 216 Crown St., Zul Cafe and Grill opened last weekend as the second outpost of a popular Norwalk Filipino restaurant. 

Owner Gladys Luz said she quickly sold out of favorites like pork barbecue, lumpia dumplings and ube cake as customers flocked to the new location over the weekend. 

“We are very delighted and very grateful for the response of the New Haven community – we were so busy all weekend,” Luz said. “We are just so excited to offer our yummy Filipino food in New Haven.”

Filipino food is a blend of Spanish, Chinese and other influences, with an emphasis on a blend of sweet, savory and sour elements and umami-rich marinades, Luz said. “It's a very unique taste because we put a lot of flavors in it,” she said.  

For now, only delivery and takeout is available at the New Haven location due to its small size, but Luz said she plans to offer outdoor seating when the weather warms up. 

Luz said she and her husband decided to open the New Haven Zul Cafe due to the large percentage of her customers who drove down to Norwalk from New Haven. The Fairfield County restaurant has been open for about three years and the New Haven eatery is its first offshoot. 

The flavor and bright purple color of the ube yam features in many Filipino desserts, which have gained popularity on social media in recent years. Zul Cafe also offers halo-halo, a dessert that combines shaved ice, beans, bananas and ube ice cream. 

“In New Haven on the first day, we sold almost 25 halo-halo to our customers,” Luz said. “They love it even if it’s winter.”

MofonGo, which offers Puerto Rican specialities like shredded pork and mashed plantain, launched on Thursday at 15 Whitney Ave. 

CEO and owner Vincent Placeres announced the soft opening of the restaurant on Facebook with partner Daym Drops, a Food Network personality and online influencer. 

Placeres opened the first MofonGo in New Britain, with additional eateries in Windsor and Hartford’s Parkville Market. 

MofonGo and Zul Cafe join Tibetan Kitchen at 1217 Chapel St., which opened late last year, in offering cuisines new to downtown in recent years. El Coqui at 286 Grand Ave. offers Puerto Rican food in the nearby Fair Haven neighborhood. Pistachio 2, a second location of the Middle Eastern cafe in Westville, also opened last week at 1256 Chapel St.
 
Another relative newcomer, The Place 2 B, opened in December at  338 Elm St., offering all-day brunch items like margarita omelets, nutella coconut pancakes and churro french toast. The New Haven restaurant is the Hartford-based chain’s fifth location. 

Contact Liese Klein at lklein@newhavenbiz.com.
 

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