Love’s Kitchen, a new Latin American restaurant in Kew Gardens, is the neighborhood’s newest hotspot for fresh, fast and casual dining.
Since it’s opening last month, Love’s Kitchen, located at 125-02 84th Rd., has received a warm welcome from residents in the neighborhood who have shared positive reviews on social media about the restaurant’s food, staff members and service.
Queens native Andrew Caceres, who is Colombian and Ecuadorian, and his partner, Andria Jimenez, who is Dominican, are the owners of the restaurant named after their 1-year-old daughter, Love.
“During the pandemic it was kinda tough and we had this opportunity to go through it with a happy mindset, and came up with Love’s Kitchen,” said Caceres, who resides in Jamaica.
The couple also owns and operates Doha Bar and Lounge in Long Island City. Amid the height of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, part of the lounge was transformed into a kitchen for takeout service, according to Caceres.
“Doha was mostly a nightclub. We had to switch around the bar area and build a kitchen dedicated just for food. That evolved into us having a new kitchen in our coat check area and we brought back the bar,” Caceres said.
After seeing a pull toward restaurant delivery, Caceres and Jimenez viewed it as a way to reach customers who were unable to come in. This led to the establishment of Love’s Kitchen. With its ordering platform, guests can easily place an order for pickup, curbside or delivery directly from the website or in-store.
Love’s Kitchen offers a broad menu selection of baked goods and hand-crafted prepared dishes and limitless customizations that enables everyone to find something that fits their food lifestyle. The restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Some popular items on the menu include a burrito, Chicharron chicken, a fried chicken sandwich, a Cuban sandwich and the mouth-watering double smash burger.
There is also a vegan menu that includes options such as spinach empanadas, vegan tacos and nachos, veggie dumplings, salads and more. For breakfast, guests can choose from bagels, egg and cheese sandwiches, pancakes or a Latin American breakfast such arepa con huevos pericos, which is white corn arepa served with Colombian-style scramble (scallion, tomatoes and onions), and much more.
The dishes are prepared by Dominican chef Ronald Santos, who graduated from the Culinary Center in New York and has worked in high-end kitchens across the country and for an array of celebrity clients. Santos has also made various TV appearances.
“Chef Ronald Santos brings a fun twist to what we were previously providing; he’s creative, expressive and passionate,” Caceres said.
According to Caceres, they wanted people to have a variety of options to order from Love’s Kitchen.
“If they want tacos, a burger or fried rice, we have it here,” Caceres said. “One of the things people like about us is that we cater to Latin American dishes and American food — a little mix of everything.”
So far, business has been going well with a warm welcome from the community, Caceres said.
“The community is very together and they know each other. It’s good to see that everyone is happy about this new food spot for them,” Caceres said.
Love’s Kitchen is open Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 10 p.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
