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I love it here. Every time I come to Puerto Rico this is my first stop. Staff are friendly and welcoming. We always leave talking about how amazing the food and staff are. The location and the atmosphere is great.
Great light night spot after a concert in el choli. There's a reason it's often packed, the food is great!
The food was amazing. Service was great. Ambience was really good. I will definitely be returning.
El Plátanal has a few locations but since this one is conveniently close to the airport, we stopped here so my husband could get his lechón fix before our flight. The restaurant is decorated with you guessed it- plátanos, along with canvas paintings done by Puerto Rican artists and terracotta lamps hanging overhead. I wasn't super hungry, so I kept it simple: sweet plantains (Puerto Ricans say "amarillos"), a basic tomato and shrimp salad (and no, Caribbean folks don't add mayo to their seafood) and an avocado salad- because how can you not have avocado? My husband went all in with a plate of lechón and arroz con gandules. No complaints with our food. The amarillos were perfectly fried AND they were fresh, the shrimp were plump and tossed with diced onions and peppers in a light vinegar+oil dressing and my husband was very happy with his meal. Our only gripe was the service. Our main server was completely MIA and I had to flag down another server just to get things for the table. Her attitude seemed like she was bothered when we asked for a straw or asked if they had red onions available. Listen, I'm not here to make friends with servers anywhere period- but a little hospitality goes a long way.
The food is always delicious. They have daily specials. The sangria is refreshing. The service is friendly and efficient. The ambience is relaxing. We love sitting outside with the breeze and fans. (Inside is too cold for my preference.) Love coming here!
This place being 24/7 is very convenient when your hungry at any time. They have good tasty food and the place is nice and spacious. Came here at 2:30 in the morning and it was a great time.
This is a warm, inviting restaurant with large spaces, TV's ,full of bright beautiful pictures and Mariposas on the wall. There is plenty of space for larger parties and families. We visited at 4 on a Saturday it was about 1/2 full inside and empty outside. My family of six ordered the baby cheeseburger which was good , grouper with cream sauce which was pork chop fried and well seasoned , pechunga à la plancha was very mildly flavored and steak and onions was cooked well melted in your mouth but lightly seasoned..It reminded me of a homemade meal. We agreed we would all come back for a nice meal. Not fancy just good Puerto Rican cuisine. The waiter Clemis very friendly and attentive.
We stopped here right after landing at the airport. We were seated pretty quickly and noticed the restaurant was buzzing with a good vibe and a great crowd. The food took awhile to get to our table, but that is to be expected with made to order food. Everything tasted great and what we loved the most was having the Maduros in the rice which gave it that extra "umph" if you were looking for it! Buen Provecho! The kids loved it and talked about it our whole trip! If you are in this area, I highly recommend this restaurant!
Off of a main road, but the place has nice green tall plants at the entrance giving tropical vibes , with indoor and outdoor dining, very inviting, there is outdoor parking. We came on a Friday evening around 7pm and there were people inside. We sat outside, the AC inside was strong and even from the outside you can see multiple tv (at least 6) playing the YES channel showing the baseball game. We watched the staff sing a fun happy birthday to a table with the Guido, tambourine, and small bongos. Our server was attentive and pretty quick with the drinks and appetizers. Drinks are good, bacalaitos (cod fish fitters) were round size and plenty (about 6) but do not have much cod in it --the taste was very light. Overall, the food is well portioned, hot, and tastes great. And the overall vibe was upbeat, friendly and family oriented.
Went here for dinner and was not disappointed. Had a true, delicious Spanish meal, seating outside was very enjoyable and all the tvs around made watching the game feel so peaceful.
Fresh and delicious food! Fast and kind service. The ambiance is local laid back and loud, but it was great music! They spoke English very well!
Very tasty food!!!! The restaurant was beautiful , clean , and service was good. Mojito was excellent aswell! We got a shrimp mofongo and one beef mofongo. Was it the best mofongo I ever had ? Probably not , but it was very tasty i just felt like it was missing something. The empanadas were good and the bocarones were just how i like them ! I had the El Pantano mojito and i don't know what was in it but it was not good at all. Luckily the server was nice and he didn't charge us for it.
3 years ago
The portions are big and the food was reasonably priced. The crab rice (arroz con jueyes) was on the Monday special and was delicious. We were so hungry we forgot to take a picture. The medium sized snapper in the picture was flavorful and filling. As a side note the bathroom was clean which was a plus. read more
5 years ago
Esta vez pedí por Uber eats la comida. Ordene dos cosas de su menú una fue una pechuga empanada con arroz y habichuela y el otro plato es una Trifongo con chuleta Kan Kan se tardo como unos 45 minutos cuando llego la comida está caliente y deliciosa This time I ordered the food through Uber eats. I ordered two things from the menu one was a breaded breast with rice and bean and the other dish is a Trifongo with Kan Kan pork chops took about 45 minutes to arrive. When the food was served it was hot and delicious read more
2 years ago
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4 years ago
My friend and I ate here. Delicious fish! Seasoned well with excellent portions. The snapper was fried well. I ordered the turkey sandwich which was bizarrely made with plantains. I didn't eat the sandwich because I loathe plantains (not the restaurant's fault). The service was quick (although we were intentional and asked for quick service because we needed to catch a flight). All in all, I would recommend this place. read more
5 years ago
When we arrived we were promptly seated. I want to begin saying that their waitress was wonderful. She took our order promptly and addressed each question we had. The tables and the place were clean. Aside from the two plates pictured we had their "plátano" soup, and it was delicious. I loved how it was presented in a calderito. The food was not my favorite. When it arrived at the table, it wasn't hot. The "arroz manposteado" seemed to be really wet. While I ate it, it honestly was not good for me. Everything else was okay. I would return, but I'd probably try asking for something else. read more
2 years ago
Primera vez en la isla! Nos recomendaron este restaurante y me encantó todo lo que consumí. El ambiente es familiar y casual. Los camareros muy amistosos y eficientes. Regresaría sin ningún problema. read more
2 years ago
3 years ago
Service was great! House made salsa was very tasty. Ordered the mofongo de ropa vieja, which was very flavorful and juicy! read more
3 years ago
Not ideal for a tourist at all. They have a great vibe and aesthetic however the food is sub par. We got a Chicharron de Pollo with some Platanos as an appetizer and that was really good. Packed full of flavor. However the main course was not that great if you ask me. It was simply dry, specifically the Mofongo. Definitely flavorful but not somewhere that I would recommend. Language barrier is a thing since this is a Spanish speaking state however they do have employees that speak English. read more
2 years ago
3 years ago
Nice restaurant. Portion sizes very large and the food was very delicious. The service was average but everything was awesome. read more
2 years ago
4 years ago
Mucha comida por el precio! Lots of good food for the price. Waiters speak very limited English, that's how you know it's authentic! read more
3 years ago
Talk about a hidden gem in Puerto Rico. If you're planning on going go with an empty stomach you won't regret it. Some of the best food around. I highly recommend getting the amarillos just ask for them you won't regret it. The service was outstanding. Go and hurry place gets packed read more
4 years ago
Very good typical puertorrican food. We ordered the plantain soup and it was extremely delicious. It was thick and the flavors were amazing. The small cup is extremely enough for two to share. Our plates were fried meat with mofongo, arroz masposteao con ropa vieja and Pavo con arroz. A lot of food and enough to take back to the hotel. Definitely a place to come. There is enough parking space in front to park and you can sit outside or inside to enjoy the food. The decoration is simple and even some pans on the wall. A must place to eat very good food. Oh we couldn't ordered desserts cause we were too full read more
5 years ago
Great atmosphere and food. Yes had the fried whole fish w tostonea. Our server was fast and attentive. Big portions too read more
3 years ago
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5 years ago
Highly recommended. 4+ stars compared to other local casual restaurants. We found ourselves in an unfamiliar area in Puerto Rico. Being hungry, we consulted Yelp for its nearly infallible recommendations and discovered this casual, reasonably priced but nicely outfitted gem. Once we entered and experienced the rich spicy smells filling the room we knew we chose well. The menu provides an extensive array of Puerto Rican and Caribbean foods. My bride enjoyed the plantain soup("excellent") and fried whole red snapper. My delicious bacalaitos were crisp, not at all greasy and accompanied by a spicy ketchup-like sauce. This was followed by an entree of grouper with a sweet, very slightly peppered creole sauce. The fish was moist, flaky and perfectly cooked. A side of "trifongo" - mashed plantain, amarillo, and yucca was slightly dry but good. My bride ordered the chocolate and Nutella flan. It was silky smooth, rich and thick and delicious. Other flavored were offered as well as the more traditional caramel or cheese flans. The room is bright and airy, with plenty of elbow room. If a guest is celebrating a birthday it can get noisy and fun as the staff turns out for a raucous rendition of Happy Birthday with a self unite Caribbean twist. Located about 15 minutes from Isla Verde. 25-30 minutes if you miss the turn-off a few times as I did. read more
10 years ago
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8 years ago
Really amazing food, don't judge by the street l, the street looks getto but once you see the restaurant is so clean and beautiful inside, cozy and %110 latino read more
9 years ago
DELICIOSO! This place was fabulous with my large group from the states. They were very helpful and patient with us as most of the group ordered in English. The food was really yummy too. The Plantano Sandwhich con Pernil is the best! Especially with mayketchup sauce! Atmosphere is really beautiful and the prices reasonable for even my broke college students. ;) read more
11 years ago
Excellent service, great food and prices. Not a drinker but piña colada was delicious. Had the mofongo w/chicken big servings and great taste. Accessible parking... Servicio excelent, un mofongo delicioso y variedades. read more
9 years ago
This place was really good! You must try the plantain sandwiches. I had the pork plantain sand which and was really tasty with a lot of flavor and definitely something to brag about. The place is a hidden gem in Puerto Rico and worth a drive away from San Juan. The place is very clean and has a interesting sight of the interior decorations. I do recommend this place because the prices are not bad either for the amount of food you are served. read more
My husband has a knack for finding great places to eat & this was another success. He found it on Yelp (thank you again Yelp!) & decided to give it a try. We had a bit of a challenge getting there via GPS, but it was definitely worth it. I never had plantain soup before & am so glad I tried it here. The fried snapper was flash fried & only on the outside so it was extremely dry. The inside was moist & flaky, although a bit difficult to eat as it came with the head & tail & was hard to filet but was very good with sautéed onions on top. The chocolate & Nutella flan was delicious although a bit too sweet for me. The only real negative comment I'd make would be their use of plastic cups for the drinks & a plastic spoon for the flan when all else were regular dishes & silverware. Other than that, wonderful. Definitely recommended. read more
6 years ago
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