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    La Bomba

    3.7 (367 reviews)
    InexpensivePuerto Rican
    Closed 10:00 am - 9:00 pm
    Updated over 3 months ago

    Order La Bomba Takeout or Delivery

    La Bomba Photos

    Business Info

    LA BOMBA ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - La Bomba

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    Jibarita de pork with arroz Pollo Encebollado con Arroz Blanco y Habichuelas o Ensalada!
    Veronica M.

    Excellent service and delicious food and the quality and quantity was outstanding! Highly recommended. The service was excellent our server was amazing sweet and very attentive!

    Cute dining room artwork with steel drums
    Wendy C.

    La Bomba did not disappoint. My friends and I had a craving for Puerto Rican food and stopped here on our way home to get takeout. It was a little busy, but not too bad as far as wait time. We had good service and they let us use the bathroom while we waited. When you first walk in, there is a long counter where you can place your take-out order. If you're dining in, you walk right past that area and can enjoy your meal in a cozy, authentic-looking back restaurant. I decided to order a sampler of a bunch of à la cart items along with traditional Puerto Rican rice. Unfortunately, they did not have morcija. I'm not sure if they ran out or if they don't serve it. I ordered: Puerto Rican rice - very good and authentic relleno de Papa- very good and my favorite out of everything bacalaitos - this was only OK, but better than most restaurants. Hardly any cod. It's hard to get a good bacalaito!! Lol alcapurria- very good and fresh alcapurria de yuca - good, but I prefer the original Check out the video I shared. It's the food display at the takeout counter. It makes me so hungry when I watch this video! Lol

    Fireeeee

    10/10!!! I wen a few years ago and it was trash so I was debating on going yesterday because of my last experience but they changed my mind! Definitely upgraded their food flavor

    So good! El Jibarito Sandwich
    Gnet A.

    Came here with my cousins to have some yummy rican food while I'm in Chicago. We ordered some Jibarito sandwiches (they are huge) and mofongo de camarones (shrimp) and have to order me some Malta (yum!). Everything is cook to order so be patient and you will get a flavorful meal that will fill you. The ambience is like a family party with good music flowing through the place and cool art to look at. At the front of the restaurant they had a person selling their 3D art and jewelry. Got some of those too. Really cute. i definitely recommend this spot. Love to see the staff enjoy their job and they're dancing and singing and are chill. They have live performances as well.

    Ambience
    Art J.

    What usually I would order to go at La Bamba but this is the first time dining in it looks like they change owners because the Rellno's de papa tastes different but not in a bad way. Anyways my usual is a Rellenos de papa and I ordered 3. Guilty pleasures explained trying to maintain weight. Next to the bread and whip butter that they give complimentary at the restaurant. I ended up getting the jibarrito sandwich with Puerto Rican rice. It was good or delicious. In regards to the ambience I feel it's a bit dated but the service was good. Price wise for what you get it's not bad quality but it's not the best of all the Puerto Rican restaurants. Compared to ponce and some other places. If you can overcome the ambience of the being a dark restaurant despite the new TV and it's quality of food which is good but not the best but price point if you're in a budget for Puerto Rican food this is good.

    Breaded Steak with red salsa sauce & arroz con gandules.
    Robert P.

    La Bomba gets 5 stars for the absolutely authentic delicious Puerto Rican food! The friendly down to earth service is what keeps the rating at 5 stars. The owner/manager walks around and engages tables with the waiter like you're a friend from the neighborhood. It also seems he may bring a small sample of items from the kitchen on a nice white rectangular dish. LOL, not sure if this is standard practice or because we chatted him up so much, but he did the same to another table...so don't be shy about being a friendly customer. Although we ordered the banana appetizer, he suddenly appeared table side with some lechon, blood sausage, a sweet fried corn item with cheese inside and few other small items...all DELICIOUS! The seating area is intimate but this is truly a Humboldt Park neighborhood restaurant and it has that island restaurant feel. It's not overly fancy on the order of downtown Streeteville, but it's not trying to be. It's casual come as you will. I love the unique tables taking me back to a seaside restaurant in P.R. To get food better than La Bomba, you'd have to be in P.R. itself! I had the breaded steak with red salsa sauce and arros con gandules that came with a flavorful broth containing a few beans. The star of my meal was the cook on the steak. The breading was well seasoned and cooked to a nice crust, but the meat inside was tender and moist...a testament to the excellent cook! The steak could be totally enjoyed just like that on its own! BUT...when you marry the succulent green/red pepper and onion red salsa like gravy sauce (served in a cup on the side)...OMG!!! The dish really comes alive. I chose to cut a piece of breaded steak and then spoon some sauce on top, but eat it as you like. Gordon Ramsey says you should never plate and present a beautifully cooked crusted/crispy item with the sauce already on top. You can even put the red sauce on the rice...it makes everything even better! My dining partner chose the un-breaded pork chops with the same red sauce and poured the sauce directly on the chops which were also moist and properly seasoned. For dessert we chose the flan which was really good. This is my second time at La Bomba and it reminds me that it's still as good as the first time when I had a fabulous jibarito sandwich! Great tasting food, down home friendly neighborhood service at truly exceptional prices! What more could anyone ask for??? I really can't wait to take some new people there!

    I ordered pollo guisado they won't let me post a picture and what they gave me was two pieces of chicken and two pieces of potato no carrots no olives nothing they were no longer get my business​​​​

    the entrance to a restaurant
    Joani O.

    My husband and I have ordered from here a few times, with me usually getting Mofongo con camarones en salsa (shrimp Mofongo) so this time I decided to try the Mofongo con carne fritta (fried pork). Not sure what I was thinking because I don't even like fried pork! The pieces were fried hard and not appealing to me at all. I know some people like it but it was terrible hard fried pieces of pork that I did not like or eat. Luckily hubby ordered a pound of roast pork (and the arroz con granules) and shared with me. That tender, tasty pork, along with the Mofongo, both covered with the tasty sauce was much better. Will stick with what I know! They have a nice dining room and we would like to dine in one day.

    Beef stew with beans (separate container) puertorican rice.
    K G.

    I watched as they piled lechon on a plate til the top almost wouldn't close. But this is what was put on two plates served to me. Is it because I have a darker complexion? Is it because I don't speak Spanish? I didn't want to make a scene, but the difference in these plates and the plates I saw piled high with meat........ How would I not question it? Paid same price, got different service. Beef tender but dry and has absolutely no seasoning. Like boiled in water then served. The puertorican rice is barely ok.Beans is all water. Not even a fourth of the cup is actual beans. $40 on garbage. A friend took me here 15+ yrs ago and it was the bomb. Service received today was a straight dud. Not likely to make that trek again. Really disappointed.

    Menu cover
    Gesselle C.

    So this place is a give star rated place, let me tell you why... 1. Hospitality Puerto Rican style- if you don't know then you will. Its warm inviting and feels like coming home. 2. Atmosphere- warm fun and musical. The amazing mural on the wall will transform you to an island wonderland. 3. Food - the recipes are as authentic as the hospitality and atmosphere. Worth the trip to this place. See my pictures for an invitation to their fine menu. My lunch: Alcapurra de yuca, cafe con leche y pollo guisado. Buen provecho mi gente...

    Steak jibarito
    Jose C.

    We came here to pick up some Jibaritos to take home and this place was poppin. They had a lot of orders ready for pick up and there were people constantly in and out of this place. Unfortunately for me, they had ran out of maduros and arroz as well. I actually made them scrape off whatever they had left of their rice onto my plate. It was honestly more than enough. The Jibaritos here are very delicious and I highly recommend you try one of these if you haven't. A steak sandwich, but instead of bread they use flattened fried plantains. It came with lettuce, tomorrow and mayonnaise and you can add American cheese for a small additional cost. The steak was cooked and seasoned perfectly. Tou can add rice for an additional $2. The rice was also delicious. And by far the best Puerto Rican rice I've had. My fellow boricuas always rave about Puerto Rican rice and how it's so good, though I haven't tried anything worth raving about until now. The service here was great despite them being very busy. They unfortunately ran out of some stuff that I wanted, but I'm glad they're busy as hell during these hard times.

    La El Jibarito Sandwich

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    7 days ago

    Literally the best jibarito I have ever had. So many places dry out the plantain. This place nails it with really PR rice on the side

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    10 months ago

    Absolute flavortown. Le Chon is out of this world. They give you a ton of food and the flavor is off the charts.

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    2 years ago

    Good food but poor customer service. Thank goodness there are other good Puerto Rican restaurants in Chicago.

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    Page 1 of 10

    La Bomba Reviews in Other Languages

    Ask the Community - La Bomba

    Can I still place an order for a small tray of Puerto rican rice for Dec 24th?

    Did this place move from North Avenue?

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    Jibaritos y Más - Beef stew

    Jibaritos y Más

    4.2(678 reviews)
    0.6 miLogan Square
    $$

    Food is very good the Lechon, empanadas are very good, prices are good. the customer service is…read morelargely bad in my experience especially front lady is pretty confrontational in her service.

    Amazing Puerto Rican food. I cannot wait to go back. I ordered the skirt steak with rice and beans…read moreand chimichurri. It came with plantain. It was so delicious. Very savory and juicy. The beans and rice complimented the skirt steak so well. The chimichurri added this amazing fresh tanginess to every bite. I didn't need to add any extra sauce or anything to my meal. My boyfriend ordered a steak jarbarrito with no cheese. They got the order wrong and had cheese on it, they took it back and pulled the cheese off of it. They did not remake it unfortunately. Making the best out of it he still enjoyed his jarbarito. His only qualm was that the plantain buns were not even on both sides. The ratio of meat to bun is extensive. But It looked and smelled so good! We also ordered passionfruit juice, I don't suggest to order that because it's the blue can juice from the market. It is not natural passionfruit juice. Our waiter was not the best. They do have a lady server in there. We wish we had her because she was very tentative and did end up helping our server out. Ambience was very clean. It does get packed quickly. All in all great experience, we will be back!

    Photos
    Jibaritos y Más - Interior decoration

    Interior decoration

    Jibaritos y Más - Arroz Gandueles

    Arroz Gandueles

    Jibaritos y Más - Exterior of establishment

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    Exterior of establishment

    El Mofonguito - Steak sandwich

    El Mofonguito

    4.2(65 reviews)
    0.7 miHumboldt Park
    $$

    I like this lil spot.. I was just driving pass hungry one day and decided to stop in. Kinda small…read morelocation but they make the best of it.. i ordered tostones which are fried plantains and fried pork belly...which is exactly what it sounds like. I was a huge fan of the tostones, it was crispy and crunchy and fried to perfection. They put tooo much garlic oil on mines but still edible. I was not a huge fan of the fried pork belly.. it was like I liked it bc I was hungry but I didn't like it enough to come back and order it again.. I think it was the seasoning and it was overly salty for me... besides that it was cooked to perfection. Maybe I need to come back and try something else on the menu but for now it's not a place I would rush back to and eat at.. I'm sorry I hate being mean but I have to be honest.

    Was looking for Puerto Rican food and came upon the reviews of El Mofonguito…read more Parking is a little tough but we came early and were able to find street parking. We were greeted with a smile and guided to choose our own table. A basket of bread and butter was brought over promptly. I ordered appetizers, tostones rellenos de lechón and carne frita. They came out at the same time as the entrees. It only took about 10 minutes! We ordered a volcan with steak in red sauce (mofongo relleno de bistec en salsa), breaded chicken breast and lechón with arroz con gandules. The food was spectacular! Everything was very well seasoned and reminded me of home (born and raised in PR, moved here as an adult). I would definitely recommend that anyone come here for authentic Puerto Rican food. Be mindful that they are very generous with their portion sizes. We ended up taking about half of it home. There are worse problems one can have. :-)

    Photos
    El Mofonguito - Flag

    Flag

    El Mofonguito - Tostones

    Tostones

    El Mofonguito - Bistek encebollado, arroz y habichuelas

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    Bistek encebollado, arroz y habichuelas

    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar - Plantain, cilantro soup (soup of the day, get it when you can !)

    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar

    4.5(128 reviews)
    4.1 miUptown

    My goal is to try 50 new Chicago restaurants in 2025!…read moreRestaurant: 51/50 Month tried: September Favorite dish: Pollo Al Ajillo Marinas is an unassuming spot in a strip mall that packs big flavors and cheerful service. Was so happy to discover this place. I tried to go back on a random Friday night recently, and they were completely booked up for the night, so definitely make a reservation!! Drink: La Playita - yummmm House Starter: Yucca fries and I believe some kind of guava dip? - This was SO good. I need to know exactly what that dip was and how I can get a jar of it. Starter: Queso Frito con Tamarindo - Fried cheese, how can you not love it?? Entree: Pollo Al Ajillo with rice and beans - This was so simple but SO flavorful. And a HUGE portion, perfect for lunch leftovers. I truly cannot stop thinking about this perfectly executed plate. Dessert: Flan - I have never in my life enjoyed flan, but they brought it for my friend's birthday, and I really liked it! Did Marinas make me a flan fan?? It took a bit of time to get our check. I had the feeling they wanted us to sit and enjoy more drinks. Next time I think I will do just that :)

    We made a reservation since there were six of us. It is very small inside so plan ahead. My friends…read moretried to eat here on Sunday night, but they were told the restaurant had run out of food. So we tried again on Friday. The service was exceptional. We loved our waitress. Everyone enjoyed their food. The craft cocktails were also good. If you are looking for authentic Puerto Rican food, you should try this spot.

    Photos
    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar - Dining room, small bar

    Dining room, small bar

    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar - Lechon Asada with majado (mashed taro)

    Lechon Asada with majado (mashed taro)

    Marinas Bistro & Rum Bar - Booth area

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    Booth area

    La Bomba - puertorican - Updated May 2026

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