Ridgewood has been a Queens neighborhood on the rise for a few years. Also on the rise: one of its residents and business owners, Yara Herrera. Her bar-restaurant, Hellbender, where she cooks Mexican American food close to her heart, recently received an Esquire Best New Restaurants award and a glowing New York Times review. This just a little more than five years after the Angeleno wanted to give up being a chef entirely, exhausted from working in fine dining and spending time “partying a lot,” in her words.
But when her then boss, David Chang of Momofuku fame, told her it would be a big mistake to leave the culinary world, she took his advice and ditched Los Angeles to work for him in NYC instead.
Crispy lamb tacos, Hellbender
After arriving in the City to be a chef at the now shuttered Momofuku Ko, Herrera began running pop-ups around town focusing on what she actually wanted to cook. This translated to Hellbender, where she prides herself on running a place that’s casual enough for a beer and a taco but also goes well beyond, with expertly executed dishes like her favorite, aguachile (raw seafood cured in lime). “I crave it all the time,” she says. “For my first pop-up, I made an aguachile—the food I actually wanted to make—and we still have it on the menu.” Herrera opened the place in 2024 with the owners of Rolo’s, a relaxed neighborhood establishment; together they have helped make Ridgewood a burgeoning dining destination. She’s aware of the area’s increasing popularity but believes there is a balance to be struck.
Herrera at Hellbender
“I love that Ridgewood is small, and a lot of the people have lived here for years—there’s a big Polish population, Dominicans, Puerto Ricans. I’ve made it a point to be part of the community. Many people here and in Bushwick work in the hospitality industry, and Hellbender is trying to provide a space for them,” she says. It helps that she has forged a bond with like-minded contemporaries who operate newish local businesses—Cholita café and Everyone Yoga—and know what it takes to come from a different culture and make it in the City.
We spoke to Herrera about her neighborhood and her routines to find out what appeals to locals and those who travel here from other parts of the City (“The M train is right here, and the L is just a hop and a skip away,” she says). Read on for her recommendations of the best of Ridgewood, in her own words. —Andrew Rosenberg
Cholita
Bryan Siranaula and Yara Herrera at Cholita
Favorite Café: Cholita
Cholita is one of the newer cafés to have sprung up, and even though some are closer to where I live, I’ll make the trip; there’s something about it. Bryan [Siranuala, the owner] does such a good job of bringing attention to art from different cultures. It’s not just a coffee shop, it’s a cultural space—a gallery for people to put themselves out there and sell their work. People in the community appreciate that because you don’t have to go all the way to Manhattan to try your luck getting into a gallery. And it’s named for the women of a pre-Hispanic Ecuadorian tribe. It’s inspirational.
Favorite (Non-Hellbender) Places to Eat: Salty Lunch Lady and Mama Yoshi Mini Mart
Salty Lunch Lady is a sandwich shop and café run by a really cool woman chef [Dria Atencio]. I just call her “Lunch Lady.” It’s a supercute space with a vintage theme—her glassware, a tiny old radio that plays music very low. She bakes different pies every day; it’s simple and delicious.
Mama Yoshi Mini Mart is also cute. It’s basically grab-and-go food that’s Japanese themed, where you can get onigiri, a rice bowl or poke bowl and then check out. They also sell Japanese items like Kewpie mayo, candies and seaweed.
Favorite Spot for a Late-Night Bite: Decades
I love going to Decades Pizza because it’s right next to me. They don’t do slices, just pies—it’s more like a restaurant—and the chopped salad is really good. I’ll usually stop on the way home, even just for a beer. Zach [Hughes], the owner, is a similar age as me and we have a lot of common friends. They sometimes come here too, which is nice.
Favorite Nightlife Hangouts: Holo and Nowadays
Holo is awesome. It’s really dark and has a concrete-basement vibe. The DJ booth is in the middle as opposed to the back, so when someone is playing from there, the crowd is dancing all around them—very cool.
There is also Nowadays, which has the popular Mister Sunday, but they have parties at all times of day. So if you want to wake up at 10am and go, that works. Other than the dive bars in the area, those are the spaces I gravitate to.
Favorite Dive Bar: Aunt Ginny’s
I live next to Aunt Ginny’s. It’s very popular and has a pool table in the back. Sometimes I also hit that place up for a late-night bite because they’ll do chicken wings and things like that until midnight. It’s delicious.
Herrera at Everyone Yoga
Everyone Yoga
Favorite Cultural Sites: Scratch Ceramics and Everyone Yoga
I live above Scratch Ceramics. They just opened up in November. It’s not a space to learn a new activity. I had never done ceramics before.
I also like to do yoga and Pilates. Everyone Yoga, where we had the group class this morning, is somewhere I like to hang around. Anna [Sofia Ibarra, the owner] has been the person to drag me out and encourage me, saying, “You need to disconnect from work.”
Favorite Spot for a Walk: Linden Hill United Methodist Cemetery
I always forget the name, but there is a cemetery—Linden, that’s it. There’s a park next to it where I like to go on runs or just sit and ponder the world. I want to say that's weird, but you find a lot of people hanging out at the cemetery. There's something calming and beautiful about being in the space. I try to celebrate death as much as possible; finding a way to not dwell on sadness and to breathe in a positive way is nice.
Favorite Places to Take Friends: Cassette and Rolo’s
If I’m with friends, I’m always going out to eat somewhere. That’s kind of like our activity, but right next door to here is a bar called Cassette. They do karaoke downstairs, so every now and then we'll all get together and go down there. My go-to song is probably a Britney Spears one.
And, of course, Rolo’s. I go there at least once a week. It’s a little overwhelming because now I know everybody. Sometimes Bryan, Anna and I talk about how we just want to get a drink and relax, and someone there is like, Hey, how are you? I am grateful for it, but it can be hard to find privacy.
Herrera at Queen of Swords
Herrera at Queen of Swords
Favorite Beauty Stop: Queen of Swords
Queen of Swords, a salon from Bushwick, just opened a branch right down the street. You don’t see a lot of places like it, or maybe I just haven’t found them—somewhere you can feel pampered and pretty, and where everyone specializes in curly hair. There’s vintage hair dryers, and the stylists are so fun and sweet.
This article is part of our series On My Way NYC, in which locals guide us to their favorite neighborhood destinations.
