A small, family-run Elmhurst restaurant offering strongly reviewed, authentic halal Indonesian food with warm service, limited seating, and occasional concerns about price-to-portion value.
Asian Taste delivers bold, carefully prepared Indonesian cooking with consistently attentive service that keeps diners returning to this family-run Elmhurst destination. Food quality and service attentiveness are genuine strengths, though the modest, cramped interior and some inconsistency in dish execution prevent a higher grade. The restaurant excels at what matters most for casual Indonesian dining, but review patterns introduce minor uncertainty in our assessment.
Asian Taste 86 is a tiny, warmly run Elmhurst dining room that feels more like a neighborhood Indonesian kitchen than a polished destination restaurant. The room is repeatedly described as cozy and limited in size, while the hospitality is a clear draw: one diner summed up the experience as being treated like family, and several newcomers appreciated patient explanations of unfamiliar dishes. The cooking leans traditional and home-style rather than experimental, with bold sambal, fragrant soups, rice plates, satay, rendang, and Java-style noodles. Nasi bungkus, oxtail soup, Soto dishes, and satay receive the strongest repeated praise, and the menu offers a notably broad halal and vegetarian range. Prices are moderate overall, though recent price increases and occasional small meat portions make a few premium dishes feel less compelling. Families can dine comfortably if they are happy with Indonesian flavors and a compact room. Kids may find approachable choices in chicken, noodles, fried rice, satay, tofu, rice, and fried snacks, but there is no supplied evidence of a dedicated children's menu. The sambal can be intensely spicy, so request it on the side for younger or spice-sensitive diners.
Area vibe: Ethnically diverse, busy outer-Queens neighborhood known for varied immigrant-owned restaurants and street-level retail.
Safety: Generally safe and well-traveled, active daytime and evening foot traffic though typical urban vigilance advised late at night.
What's nearby: Near Roosevelt Avenue subway and bus corridors, close to Queens Center Mall and diverse international dining clusters.
The strongest bets range from richly spiced Nasi Bungkus Rendang to comforting oxtail soup and satay, with several vegetarian alternatives.
Expect a compact room and bold heat, plus a few practical tradeoffs around weekend seating, parking, portions, and payment.
Vegetarians have a substantial menu to work with, while vegan and gluten-free diners should verify ingredients rather than assume every plant-based dish fits.