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    La Bruquena

    3.4 (141 reviews)
    ModeratePuerto Rican
    Closed 11:00 am - 12:00 AM (Next day)

    La Bruquena Photos

    Business Info

    LA BRUQUENA ATMOSPHERE

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

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    Recommended Reviews - La Bruquena

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    Jorge A.

    La Bruquema is the epicenter of everything Puerto Rico in Chicago. The food the friendly home style service is great. The food is simple to the point Puerto Rico all the way, from the Carne guisada to the Chuleta Can can La bruquena transports you back to the Island.

    Jibarito meal
    Khadijah H.

    Heard great things about this place and decided to drop in to see if I would be transported to PR. It was packed for the outside patio but the inside was empty. Very narrow but tons of space in the front house and back house for larger parties. We were sat but it took a while to be noticed and served let alone given water and a menu. When we finally received all that, we had been sitting close to 15 minutes. Our sever took our orders and I wanted to try their jibarito meal ($12). Took maybe another 20 minutes to bring out our food and as you can see, the meal is very small. Not worth the $12 but I will say it was tasty. I left hungry but my tastebuds were satisfied. Not sure if I'd return because I wouldn't want to spend all that time waiting but I'd recommend trying it once.

    Lechon dinner

    One and done. We were looking for good PR food and found this spot. The places was juiced, we were sat all the way in the back and kinda forgotten about. The service sucked and the food was mediocre. The appetizers were good. The fried chicken was flame it was juicy and flavorful. The lechon was dry and the food lacked flavor. Make sure you check your bill before paying for double charges.

    Medalla beer and Mojito
    Vero A.

    We were craving some Puerto Rican food, we came to the try out La Bruquena 1st time trying it out. I was not disappointed. The food was great. It wasn't greasy. We had some Tostones a Jibarito meal (it was small then other places) but the flavor was great, had it with white rice and a couple ofDrinks.

    Jibarito with a side of Puerto Rican rice.
    Jose C.

    Thankfully La Bruquena was opened late at night. Most places had already closed and we were getting hungry. The dining area is relatively small with only about 6 tables. It took about 15 minutes to finally put in our order, despite it not being busy at all. We came here for one thing and one thing only. Their Jibaritos. A steak sandwich, but instead of bread it's substituted with a sliced flattened fried plantain. A very delicious sandwich with cheese, lettuce, mayonnaise and tomato. It also came with a side of rice. But unfortunately, I didn't care for it much. Some rice pieces were hard, tells me it wasn't cooked properly or the rice was old. I have yet to try a decent order of Puerto Rican rice. I keep hearing Puerto Rican rice is the best, but haven't tasted one. I will continue searching though. I refuse to give up! I'll keep it on my list to return again and give them another chance with their rice. The jibarito was good, but I feel like I've had better.

    a plate of lasagna and a bowl of soup
    Justina W.

    I don't know why the ratings for this place are so low. It's a great hole in the wall place. My classmates and I came here after our service learning activity. I ordered the mofongo relleno y camarones. It was DELICIOUS. I also tried some of my friend's food and everything was tasty. The server was great and let us practice our Spanish.

    Appetizer plate
    Clara S.

    3 star food but 5 star atmosphere! For an authentic and fun Spanish culture dinner, come to this spot and enjoy the show. All night an adorable man sings, while a boy plays the drums by his side. At certain times, the regulars will get up and dance and play their own instruments as well. It's amazing to watch and get involved in the fun party that happens at dinner. Not much English is spoken here, but that's the best part! Super authentic feel. As for the food, nothing really stuck. Everything was yummy and fried, but lacking of true flavor. We started with a big appetizer plate that had a little bit of everything- mostly fried items with plantains. Plantains are delicious, and the Puerto Rican's use them in every sort of way possible. For entrees to share we had the momfungo with shrimp, lechon Asada (my favorite!), and pasteles (boiled plantain dumplings). I wasn't a fan of the pasteles but the momfungo and roasted pork were tasty. Overall, my friends and I had a fun time here! I would love to explore more Latin restaurants in the area!

    Poor service

    Never again it was the worst service ever. The food was nasty. We didn't get water or our drinks two hours later. And an automatic service gratuity for 3 people like really all the tax's to my god

    Wepaaaa
    Christian L.

    It's a hot Sunday afternoon in July- me and my daughter check out La Bruquena... The jibaritos were good even though they didnt have steak so we went with lechon. We asked for no mayo no cheese...guess what? Yep we got them both, fine we scrape it off. After flagging the waitress down for some water she brings us 2 tall glasses of water but it was warm water!!!! It feels 100 degrees out can I plzzzz get some ice????? Nope cause she was no where to be seen. Ugh! I like the food just not the service. We probably wont be back

    Not sure what they use or how they make regular ppl n bean- beans taste good! I don't like nothing normally but black beans.
    Kimberly C.

    Street parking as well as a lot ... but know that the parking lot is ill configured, like it should have the a way out if they have the spots angled, normally u drive into and reverse and then go forward to exit. But your entering and exiting the same way but the parking spots aren't easy to maneuver out of it's just weirdly used space. It's cute little spot, I went in and ordered a sandwich and the picture is what came out, tasted good so I kept it and I also was running late and just wanted to grab something quick to eat, it was all very flavorful. Customer service was met with a smile, in Spanish so wasn't an issue for me but just saying... Appears to be family owned and frequented by long term visitors, lil group of men having a conversation, sitting in the patio, it had a nice lil vibe. Some musical instruments say organized to the side so I assume at night it becomes a little lively, I went for early early dinner.

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    2 years ago

    Food was OK. Service was good. There was no AC when we visited. We ordered the pulpo salad, pollo guisao, and masita frita.

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    4 years ago

    Small, family-owned restaurant. Fantastic food and drinks. Why go to Puerto Rico when you can go here? Extremely authentic.

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    Jibaritos y Más - Beef stew

    Jibaritos y Más

    4.2(678 reviews)
    1.7 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)
    1.2 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)
    4.6 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 Bruquena - puertorican - Updated May 2026

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