The Upper West Side mainstay spent 52 years serving Cuban-Chinese fusion on the corner of 78th and Broadway before closing in 2020. But the eagerly anticipated new version of this old restaurant had its grand opening on Tuesday at 130 West 72nd Street, between Columbus and Amsterdam avenues (thanks to Christopher Yera for the tip).
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Although the restaurant has a new owner, the menu is pretty much the same. However, they’ve made a couple of minor tweaks, taking off a few of the least popular items and adding some new ones. The new additions include boiled steak, fish filet and grilled shrimp.
When we asked the general manager about his favorite dish, he couldn’t make up his mind, initially choosing the pork chop, then switching to pepper chicken, followed by beef steak followed by oxtail.
“I’ve got a lot,” he finally said.
The new restaurant has made a few decor changes too. They’ve eschewed the original’s iconic red-walled look, going for white walls instead, one made of brick. The new walls are also adorned with art, instead of pictures of menu items. La Caridad 72 has also gone with a more traditional approach to lighting, in lieu of the hundreds of tiny Christmas lights used at La Caridad 78.
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But even with the changes, the restaurant is staying true to its roots: immediately upon entering, customers are greeted with a large wooden sign bearing the words, “Welcome to La Caridad, Comidas Chinas y Criolla, Serving the Upper West Side Since 1968.”
La Caridad 72 is open Monday-Saturday from 11:30 a.m.-10:00 p.m. and Sunday from 12:00 p.m.-10:00 p.m. The restaurant has an Instagram page (with a website listed in its bio) but hasn’t posted anything yet.
awesome! was a regular at their last location at w78 and Broadway
guaranteed the recent (well deserved) spotlight on la dinastia (also uws also on 72nd!) helped this to come about. what great news! i can’t wait to visit this old favorite!
Is that La Caridad or Friedman’s? Or McDonald’s? All the restaurants look the same now.
They forgot “the” on their sign! (Serving THE Upper West Side Since 1968″!