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. :-)

I will give it a zero star but l wasn't able to , it was the worse dinner l had . I'm a true Puerto…read moreRican and l know how food should look and taste and this was the worse l ever had the rice was soggy and l had a bacalito and it look like thin Pancake and it even had no taste so it's a place l will never come back to .and the service was horrible so this place l wouldn't recommend..

Overall giving this place a 4/5! It's hard to find good Puerto Rican food so was really happy to…read moresee one and the menu looked good!! The pork was really flavorful and the rice was wonderful too. Really large portions which I can't be mad about lol. Loveeeee the tostones, some of the best I ever had and the creama dip was the icing on the cake. I had to take off 1 star because unfortunately my Habichuelas were missing....like there was rarely any beans in the bowl :( which makes me sad because I loveeeee them so much. Note - i ordered from Uber eats and did not visit the restaurant in person.

My wife and l stop in for an afternoon dinner and it was amazing the food was off the chart and the…read moreservice was amazing . This is the stop if you're looking for a Lunch or dinner l would recommend it . Stop in and enjoy!!

I'll start by saying this was a spur of the moment meal well after the 2026 Puerto Rican parade on…read moreSaturday June 13th had ended. A friend and I decided to hit the Humboldt Park area (Western/Division) and take in some Borinqueña atmosphere and sights. After walking up and down Division Street awhile we stumbled upon Papa's Cache Sabroso. The place was jumping! The weather was amazingly gorgeous and outdoor seating was packed. There was a line for seating and takeout. The friendly host was doing an amazing job of keeping it all organized. We chose takeout and ordered a steak Jibarito con arroz y gandules and a side order of plátano maduro all totaling $22.27. As another reviewer noted it is a tad pricey but not overly so. It took about 20+ minutes to get the food...but like their sign states, something on the order of, "this is not a fast food place and good food takes time, please be patient". The Jibarito tasted good overall like other Jibaritos I've had in the past, however my friend commented that although the steak was flavorful, it was a tad chewy and I would slightly agree. The mayo, tomato and garlic kind of brings it all together for me, but I would've liked way more garlic...and there was even a small container of garlic "sauce", but it was very light on the mashed garlic paste. Whenever I dipped my plátano maduro, I couldn't get any pieces of garlic on until most of the olive oil was gone. The rice was standard and flavorful and I really did enjoy the plátano maduro. I would probably return to try the garlic chicken.

cute place w parking. i had a steak Jibarito and it was amaaaaazing. i ordered it to go and the…read morestaff worked w me on what would travel best. the have plenty of it variety including GF and vegan. highly recommend!

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.

We had a large group & Borinquen provided excellent service. Food was outstanding. Tostones are…read morethin & crispy.

I stopped by Borinquen and tried the pastel, alcapurria, steak jibarito with arroz con gandules,…read moreand an order of habichuelas. The alcapurria was the highlight of the meal, it was fresh and had a nice texture. Unfortunately, the pastel was very bland and lacked flavor. For my main dish, I ordered the steak jibarito with arroz con gandules and added habichuelas on the side. The steak was disappointing, as it was dry, chewy, and lacked the flavor I was hoping for. The arroz con gandules was okay, but nothing particularly memorable. The habichuelas were also a letdown, as they were watery and not what I'm accustomed to when ordering Puerto Rican beans. Overall, while the fresh alcapurria was enjoyable, the rest of the meal fell short of expectations. I wouldn't go out of my way to return.

All of the food we ordered was perfectly cooked. We had pescado frito - the fry on it was…read moreexcellent. We also had the parche and it was tasty and refreshing. The main disappointment on the parche was that they said they were out of the large so we had to order the small. For something not pre-packaged, that means they were out of large cups. That seems like a major and easily avoidable mistep for a restaurant. The octopus and shrimp salad with mofongo was a delight. The pescado frito we got came with Maduros and a salad. We wouldn't get the salad again for our other side based on the fact that it was just iceberg with some sliced tomatoes on top. The main knock on this place is that the service was incredibly slow. It took several minutes just to get parche after we ordered it and they were far from busy -like three or four whole tables the entire time we were there. Everything took a while even our waters at first.

@ taste of Chicago, Possibly, Ponce had the plantains too long. I had the Jibarito. The beef was…read morefairly tender but the plantains were very hard. I was afraid of chipping a tooth. The rice was fresh tasting.

First time ever trying a jibarito. Wasn't sure what to expect but it sounded delicious! Walked in…read moreand you order on the kiosk. A sandwich made with plantain as the buns! I fell in love! It was soft but had a thick outer layer. Slightly crispy but chewy. The filling itself was great the garlic sauce inside really shined. Put everything together and it was delicious and magnificent! The plate came with rice mixture. The sandwich was really filling. Inside there was a few tables to sit, you grab a number when you order and staff brings it out to you. 100% recommend coming here to try it out. Wish there was more Puerto Rican food around me.

Usually people traveling to Chicago are told to try a Chicago dog, Chicago deep dish pizza, and…read moreItalian beef, but for some reason nobody says to try a jibarito. I was told that jibaritos are Puerto Rican inspired but originated in Chicago, though I could be wrong. That being said, I wanted to try a jibarito while in town. This location is decently sized with ordering done on a kiosk by the entrance or at the register and food is brought to the table. The ambiance reminds me of a casual fast food restaurant. I ordered a full jibarito sandwich with chicken (no American cheese). The jibarito is said to include plantains, mayonnaise, lettuce, tomato, and garlic oil. My order was brought in about ten minutes. The full sandwich looked like two mini sandwiches and I probably should've just ordered a half since I just wanted to try it out; it was very filling. The plantains were like a bread replacement for the sandwich; the plantains appeared to be smashed into a dense, flat and slightly crunchy "bread" if that makes sense. It also came with yellow rice with peas which made the plate look like a complete entree. I enjoyed the sandwich as a whole and especially liked trying the plantain portion; the chicken was flavorful and moist as well. However, as I continued eating it and after I left I had a lingering taste in my mouth from the mayonnaise and I had to eat something else to get the taste out. I'm glad I didn't include American cheese since it probably would've enhanced the aftertaste. For the most part, I was pleasantly surprised with my first jibarito from The Jibarito Stop, although I would remove the mayonnaise the next time I have a jibarito. I do wish I was able to try the other items on the menu since they looked very good while others were eating them.

Sinking my teeth into the lechon jibarrito def satisfied my craving!! Just look how perfectly…read morestructured this sandwich is nestled against the comforting arroz con gandules! Heavenly! & the flan was incredibly rich! You can tell their food is truly made with warmth and love! Perfect meal for a cold winter's night! Looking forward to visiting again to try their trembleque & cafe con leche! Mike, your hospitality was unmatched! You are too kind! Thank you for everything!

It looks like an old bar but don't be fooled by the aesthetics because this place has great food…read more They have a wide range of Puerto Rican food. I would definitely recommend getting things to share. We went here on a Saturday afternoon at 1. There were 5 of us and we were able to be sat upon walking in. There are table and counter options. We got the Alcapurrias, which were sweet and savory, mofongo, and for my main meal Plato Vegetariano. My meal was great. A friend got the steak sandwich, he loved it. This place is kid friendly, we got my child French fries and a Jugo de parcha. Which was passion fruit, and while my kid didn't enjoy it, I did. Highly recommend.