NEW YORK (1010 WINS) — La Dinastia restaurant on Manhattan’s Upper West Side has a loyal customer base who often return for their famous boneless crackling chicken. The small eatery on 72nd Street has served a mix of Chinese and Peruvian dishes since the 1980s, first opening the space when Chino-Latino fusion restaurants were abundant in New York City.
“Specifically on the Upper West Side, there used to be so many Chino-Latino restaurants,” said Richard Lam, whose father started La Dinastia. “Literally like on almost every corner on Broadway up here from about 72nd Street all the way to 101st Street. It was kind of just already the trend and it was what was hot back then already.”
A native of China, Lam’s father immigrated to Peru as a young adult as his parents had already been there for some time doing business. When Lam’s father arrived in the country, he immersed himself in the culture, learning Spanish, cooking traditional foods and eventually meeting Lam’s mother, a native Peruvian.
Lam’s parents were a part of a friend group in Peru in the 1970s who all decided to move to the United States together, some to San Francisco, others to New York City. Lam’s father was one of the New York City migrants, finding work in various Latin restaurants on the Upper West Side when he arrived.
“It would just be like a Puerto Rican-Chinese restaurant or Dominican-Chinese or Cuban-Chinese,” Lam said. “There were so many.”
Along with his knack for food, Lam’s father also enjoyed photography. His favorite thing to take pictures of were storefronts, vowing to one day have his own. That dream came true in 1986 when Lam’s father opened the first La Dinastia location.
“This was already a Cuban restaurant,” Lam explained. “So [my dad] was just like “Alright, might as well just make this a Cuban-Chinese restaurant” just like the other restaurants he was working for.”
The blend of cultures on the menu is a favorite of New Yorkers, Lam said. There are only so many places you can go to get Peruvian rotisserie chicken with pork fried rice or chicharron de pollo sin hueso with a side of lo mein.
What makes the remaining Chino-Latino restaurants of New York City so unique is their relationship with one another. Lam explained that there really isn’t a competition between each other, rather, a friendship. The owners of another popular restaurant, Flor De Mayo, are close with Lam’s family, so close that Flor De Mayo recently shared with them their famed Nutcracker recipe, a popular alcoholic beverage the restaurant dreamt up years ago.
“We just got our liquor license just last summer,” Lam said. “But nutcrackers were something that we've just always noticed. We just incorporated the same cocktail menu and so now we just started serving up nutcrackers and everything.”
Both La Dinastia and Flor De Mayo have robust customers with a majority of them returning fans. Throughout the pandemic, the restaurants survived economic hardship through the help of their supportive patrons. Flor De Mayo is debuting a third location this year and Lam is continuing to grow La Dinastia’s offerings, a success story Lam is proud of.
“My father retired seven years ago,” Lam explained. “And my whole purpose was just to continue his legacy, his Chinese heritage and keep this restaurant open.”
Lam’s father’s dream continues to be present in the restaurant. Hanging on the wall of the eatery is one of his favorite storefront photos. The picture’s subject? La Dinastia.
La Dinastia: 145 W 72nd St, New York NY 10023, 212-362-3801
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