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    Cuisine De Jibarito

    3.4 (81 reviews)
    ModeratePuerto Rican

    Cuisine De Jibarito Photos

    CUISINE DE JIBARITO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Moderate noise
    Casual
    Good for kids
    Good for groups

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    Steak Jibarito Sandwich
    Passhon J.

    The food is AMAZING! The atmosphere is cool and unique. The music was blasting, but the windows were open and the wind was blowing. After I left the restaurant, I wanted to go back immediately for seconds.

    Viet H.

    Little place with a lot of flavor! If you're looking for Puerto Rican food, this is your place. I've been to Puerto Rico many times. My go to is always mofongo but I've never had a jibarito sandwich before. This place is known for it. We ordered the Lechon and steak. Both are good but I would say the pork was juicy and had a lot of flavor. I loved the onions, garlic topped on the crispy fried plantain and the melted cheese. The jugo de parcha juice is so good! It kind of taste like guava and pineapple juice but I really don't know what flavor it is besides that it's good and we ordered another refill of it! The platano maduro relleno was ehh. It has beef inside a sweet banana but the beef was too dry for me. The banana was sweet and yummy though. The strawberry cake was like any other dessert. ***They only take cash but there is an ATM there

    Their case of hot (caliente, not picante) 'frituras', basically fried food. Alcapurria, bacalao, relleno de papa
    Eric S.

    HONORARY BORICUA* It's a little taste of San Juan in the western suburbs. ( *Nichole C claims I earned that title in late 2018 when I played the 'segundo plenera' in a holiday 'parranda' [drunken marching band] held in her hometown. I might be pale as a ghost, but I played the living sh*t out of that medium-sized hand drum and received blessings from the locals of Carolina, PR. Boo-yah! ) In looking for Puerto Rican restaurants within a 50mile radius, our search yielded this restaurant in Melrose Park. Cuisine de Jibarito is just south of Lake St & 19th Ave, near the train tracks. Street parking is free and typically easy to come by; you'll know you're in the right place once you see all the flags outside. The inside is cute, though the plastic covers on the tables makes me think of abuelita's house. They've got a giant mural on the ceiling and posters of famous Boricua athletes (Roberto Clemente, Javy Baez, Wilfredo Gomez.......but no Yadier Molina? No Alex Rios?) Their 'frituras' (fried food) are pretty good for $2 each. 'Alcapurria' (savory banana fritter stuffed with meat) was tasty but light on filling. The 'relleno de papa' was a large potato ball and tasted about as good as a fried potato ball can taste. 'Bacalao' (codfish pancake, yeah sounds weird I know) was too thick/doughy for our liking.....they're best when extra crispy. NC says that her 'chuletas fritas' ($12) with 'habichuelas y arroz blanco' (fried porkchop with beans & white rice) were dry. I didn't think they were all that bad, then again she's the expert on such things. Much like chop suey isn't authentic Chinese -- and deep dish pizza didn't come from Italy -- the 'jibarito' is a Chicago creation. It's a steak sandwich made with tomato, lettuce, onion, mayo, American cheese and two garlic-fried plantains. It comes with 'arroz con gandules' (rice w/pigeon peas), and was fairly priced at $9.50. Bread = 3.5 Circuses = 3.5 They don't have 'mofongo' on the menu (mashed plantain w/seafood salad), which is a bit disappointing. However they do have 'lechon' (roasted pork, a personal favorite) and cans of Coco Rico ($1.50), a carbonated coconut soda. Even more surprising is the occasional availability of Gasolina (alcoholic Capri Suns) and cans of Medalla! So what's the big deal about Medalla, a sh*tty beer that's the Puerto Rican equivalent of a Bud Light? Well for starters, it's not available outside of Orlando and Miami. The only times Cuisine de Jibarito has any in stock, is when Tío Pepe smuggles some back in a suitcase. Because of this, they only carry Medalla at certain times and charge a whopping $5.50 per can! Service has been friendly enough across three visits. Most recently, an entire colony of ants swarmed the ketchup bottle at my table (ugh). I accepted defeat and let them have it. * TL;DR * I've been here thrice and can say that Cuisine de Jibarito is a solid representation of the island, its people, and its unique food culture. $6 for a can of Medalla is robbery sure enough, but for native Puerto Ricans, it'll most certainly bring back happy memories. What price are you willing to pay for nostalgia? Abuelita's home cooking is still the best, though this place comes pretty close. Recommended, si!

    Lechon Arroz Gandules

    The service was really nice but..Eso NO ES lechón!! Es carnitas! el arroz nada de sabor la nada que ver con el sabor boricua las carnitas sumamente grasosas no lo recomiendo pero el precio no lo vale

    Mofongo

    Food is superb!! We ordered mofongo, lechón, Carne frita, vegetarian Jibarito, arroz con gandules, alcapurria, tostones, parcha everything is definitely a 10 plus! I live about a 45 minutes away, definitely worth the drive! Presentation of dishes is unique very well thought out! Beautiful. Service was attentive and knowledgeable! THANK YOU! See you guys soon!!!

    a styrofoam container with rice and meat

    The food is not good, the steak literally looks like it was boiled. Dude smiled while giving me this.

    Margie T.

    Being only 5 min away from my hubby's job, this is 1 place where I'll be frequent! Parcha is watered down. Canoa (ground beef & cheese in maduro) was outstanding!!! Beans had green peppers & carrots mixed in... HEAVEN!!!

    10. Tour of Puerto Rico
    Israel P.

    I must say I love finding amazing food! Food was amazing we had the tour of Puerto Rico and gotta say it reminds me of my a lot of all the great food I just had In Puerto Rico on vacation. Gotta say you must try this place one of the best Puerto Rican restaurants in Chicagoland area!!! Very authentic!! Will definitely be back here again soon!!

    Beans puertorican style

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    2 years ago

    It was ok, the rice was mushy, Jibarito was just ok, the morcilla was good, non English speaking place, communication was an issue

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    3 years ago

    The lechón Jibarito was good but the explicit reggueton music doesn't make a family friendly place. No beer. Only cash.

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    3 years ago

    Didn't like any of the food, ordered steak plantine sandwich very not good steak, bad pork, empanada was garbage, my stomach also.

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    Cuisine De Jibarito - puertorican - Updated June 2026

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