La Yaroa Restaurant has an interesting mix of Dominican and Puerto Rican food. We ordered the Yaroa de pollo and it was very tasty and well made. We also ordered the pernil with arroz mamposteado. The rice was so good. The pernil was well seasoned- a little on the dry side. They also have a variety of juices and a full bar. Overall a solid place to get an authentic Puerto Rican and/or Dominican food. The portions and flavors were good, and there's plenty on the menu to choose from. Definitely worth a shot. read more

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Tonight was a special birthday celebration for my husband and he chose La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant & Lounge for his birthday dinner with the family. This Caribbean restaurant has an excellent vibe with many different seating areas, a full bar, and large TV screens featuring a variety of sports. The tropical decor is welcoming and the staff is friendly. The menu features Puerto Rican and Dominican classics and more. Everyone in our party of 7 enjoyed their meals. Everything arrived to the table hot and the dishes were very flavorful. Happy hour offered $3 imported bottled beer and margaritas at $5.99. Birthday toasts with Presidente beer and passion fruit and mango margaritas. We highly recommend this gem of a restaurant. They offer dine-in and to go, as well as catering. We'll be sharing this find with several friends who love Caribbean cuisine. We will definitely keep the catering option in mind for the upcoming holidays! read more

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Yes yes and more yes . If you want authentic Dominican / Puerto Rican cuisine ... this is your spot . Drinks HEFTY , portions HEFTY , price affordable ! Place was so island's out we needed a translator to order and that's when I knew I was in the right place lol It also turns into an after party area so if you're not trying to deal with security and tight parking , I'd stick with going in the day time. Overall - delicious ... check it out read more

I've been wanting to check this place out for a while, and I'm glad I finally made it over! The food was good, the vibes were great, and it made for a really enjoyable dinner. I ordered the beef empanadas, pernil with arroz con gandules, and yuca in garlic sauce. The pernil was tender and flavorul, the rice was flavorful, and the empanadas were a solid start to the meal. Everything hit the spot. Our waitress was friendly, attentive, and checked on us throughout the meal without being overbearing. One thing to note: some menu items are seasonal, but that isn't mentioned on the menu. My friends and I had to pivot from our original orders because a few things weren't available. It wasn't a huge deal since we were flexible, but it would be nice to know ahead of time. All in all, I'm happy I finally crossed this place off my list. Now I just need an excuse to come back because those drinks were looking real good, and I definitely want to try a few next time. A happy hour perhaps! read more

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I've been a lot of times and I will say the food is good. I have a Puerto Rican friend and I've been spoiled by her cooking, so I will say La Yaroa is definitely not better than hers lol or dishes I've had in Puerto Rico. A lot of times I've went, they were out of stock out of a lot of dishes, so I whined up getting a lot of the same things. The grilled chicken they use is a chicken breast and every time I get this, it's been very dry. I recently had the Shrimp Trifongo and that was really good. The Trifongo consisted of 3 starches: mashed yuca, sweet plantain (maduros), and green plantain. The sweetness of the maduros gives a great touch. I guess this will be my go to dish here! read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - Shrimp Trifongo - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Stopped by on a Friday evening for the first time. My food was good. We also ordered beef empanadas but I didn't get a photo. They were delicious. I would return. read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - Garlic Shrimp with white rice and beans - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

When driving up I was nervous about what to expect when I went inside. I was pleasantly surprised. It looked as though this place had recently undergone a remodel . It was clean and nicely decorated. My friend and l visited on a early Wednesday evening. We were seated immediately. After being seated it did take a little while for someone to take our order. But it wasn't too bad. The menu had a lot of appealing options. Only select items had prices on them. For appetizers we chose the oxtail empanada with cheese and the larger potato ball. Drinks we had mango margaritas which were on a happy hour specials for 5.99 ( Happy Hour is 11 a.m. to 9 p.m daily!) For dinner I had peril( roasted pork) with white rice and beans and sweet plantains. My friend had the roasted pork sandwiches between plantains. Pernil could have used more seasoning but was very tender 7/10 Potato ball- well seasoned, piping hot! 10/10 Mango Margarita 10/10 Oxtail empanada - not a lot of meat and kind of expensive for the size. $9.99. 6/10 Overall, I had a good experience and will definitely be back to try more items on the menu and another Margarita amd Potato ball. read more

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The food was good. If you have tons of time to wait for your food this is the place to go. I guess they make it literally from scratch. The amount of time to get it to the table is at least 45 minutes. The flavor and seasoning is on point. The ambience was ok. I would recommend they decorate the table with glass cups which retain the smell of grease, less. It was so distracting to turn the metal cup around after serving myself water. To be distracted by the smell of grease on the cup. I smelled all the cups on the table and they all smelled the same way. The staff members try to do their best, but it is not a 5 star service if you are expecting that. It is ok.. I would go back with lots of time (not hungry) and ask for bottled water. read more

At the recommendation of a few friends who recently visited, we made this our first lunch stop to kick off a mini vacation in VB. I'm not usually a piña colada girl, but something about it sounded right--and I'm so glad I went for it. Hands down, it was one of the best piña coladas I've ever had! We started with a spicy beef empanada and a chicken empanada. Both were tasty, but if I had to pick a favorite, the spicy beef wins. The dough was crispy, though I personally would've preferred it a little less so--it leaned more crunchy than flaky, likely from being fried just a touch too long. For our main, we shared the pernil with Spanish rice. The meat was tender and flavorful, and the rice complemented it perfectly. The only downside--and the reason I knocked off a star--was a menu discrepancy. When the bill came, our drinks were $2 more than what was listed. I would've mentioned it, but with a slight language barrier, it felt tricky to explain in the moment. Hopefully the pricing issue gets corrected soon so future guests don't run into the same surprise. Overall, delicious food, great drinks, and a solid spot to kick off our trip! read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - Pernil w Spanish rice - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Got a meal thanks to the too good to go app. Large portion of rice and chicken. The chicken was good. Not too dry. And I really like the plantain. Big. Good for a party or large friend group. The food is excellent. read more

Food is great if you order to go, it is done fairly fast but look at the amount of the pink sauce to give you to eat with your food when you dine out and they only give you one. It is not even half of the container full you are basically getting 1 ounce and if you ask for extra, they charge you for extra but if you're dying, then you get more the price is the same if they had maybe fill the container 3/4. It would've been decent. This is the third or four times they have done this very disappointing. read more

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You'll love this restaurant if you enjoy waiting an hour for cold chicken. Wanted to try some Puerto Rican after hours of traveling.We were all starving, unfortunately La Yaroa left us disappointed. The hostess was very friendly in greeting us, and we were seated right away. However after being seated, it took us nearly 15 minutes to be helped by the server and given water. We put in our orders and waited no joke, 45 minutes, to receive a cold meal. The meats on all 3 of our plates were chilly and both the criollo chicken mofongo and pernill were bland. They sat us in a dingy room that looked as though it were an old church basement. The walls were bare, and the tables had table cloths on them that I'm sure are barely washed. There were fans on, echoing the whole room in a WHHHUURRRing sound, until they turned on music, then we couldn't even hear ourselves think. We suspect they did this to drown out the taste of the food and make you forget you've been waiting 3 business days for your meal. They are bilingual, which is good! They tried decorating the tables, with some fake flowers. The bar was playing diverse options, with women's wrestling and Little House on the Prairie. The price was not worth it for the quality of the food, delayed service, and ambiance. read more

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Had a craving for mofongo so I picked a random spot to order. More expensive than what I'm used to for the serving of chicken but the flavors of the dish and the mofongo were on point and delicious. I'm hoping dining in you get more sauce because the to-go order there wasn't enough sauce. read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - MOFONGO/Pollo en salsa criolla/ Chicken in criollo sauce - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

This is the second time within two months that I have ordered from this location. At one point, it used to be a delicious wonderful gathering and restaurant and food to take out however, the two times including today that I have ordered, it has been insufficient food in the in the trays that it comes in the meal looked like it was touched and they put more of the grease and they did of the picnic meat, the pork so it was not satisfying and it's really sad because I don't give that reviews and I give some review that could be improved, but it is really tightening because I am Hispanic and we do have expectations. It was not really edible. It was expensive and not prepared to liking to where you can have a beautiful dish and the way that is prepared is always important. read more

I had high hopes for this place based on the photos of the food advertised online, but unfortunately, the reality was completely different. The pictures made everything look fresh, flavorful, and delicious, so I was really looking forward to trying it. I ordered takeout, and once I got home and opened the food, I was extremely disappointed. I ordered the steak and onions and the garlic chicken, and both dishes were ridiculously over-salted. There was so much salt that it completely overpowered any other flavor the food may have had. The rice was also clearly not fresh. You could taste that it had been sitting for what seemed like days it had that dry, old, reheated taste that is impossible to miss. Honestly, the entire meal looked and tasted like leftovers that had simply been warmed up and put into takeout containers. The presentation was unappetizing, the textures were disappointing, and nothing about the food matched what was advertised online. I genuinely wanted to like this place, but I could barely eat the food. If this is supposed to be a good representation of Puerto Rican food, then Puerto Rico needs some serious help, because this meal did the cuisine absolutely no favors. For the price and based on the photos online, I expected so much better. This was one of those takeout orders where you open the container and immediately wonder how the food in front of you came from the same place as the pictures you saw online. Sadly, I would never order from here again, not even if someone paid me to. Btw I wouldn't even give it a 1 star! read more

The food? Excellent. Flavor? On point -- no complaints there. However, customer service from our waitress not impressed lack of customer service IQ and it took 55 minutes for our food to be served. As well, the restaurant can't run on taste alone. Unfortunately, management lacks a solid sense of customer service, and the front-of-house team shows very little customer service IQ. When the kitchen falls behind -- and it does -- the entire operation crumbles. No communication. No accountability. Just long waits and frustrated customers. Let's be real: the restaurant business is a balanced recipe of food quality, customer service, and strong management. Miss one, and it all falls flat. Word of advice? Don't come here on a Friday or Saturday after 6 PM -- it's simply not worth the headache, no matter how good the food is. Management you did not show up to face is for your lack of customer service IQ. Must improve. You lost our business next time we are in town. read more

No customer service. Took too long to sit my family, servers and the owner just stood around the bar area just looking as we waited at the podium to be seated. Finally seated, hostess brought out a bottle full of water but no cups. 10 minutes passed a did not cone back to table. We ended up leaving to a different Latin restaurant. Got seated with limited staff. They were packed as well Manager was multi tasking but was able to sit us down right away, food ordered and family fed! read more

Great food Very tasty served Hot and elegant GREAT alcoholic drinks Great Fast service and cool decor and clean. read more

My fiancé and I were looking to try a new spot and found this place. For a late Saturday afternoon it wasn't busy, but people quickly started coming in! We were told it was happy hour so we tried their margaritas which was tasty. We got the chicken and cheese empanadas and they were great!! I got the chicken in garlic sauce mofongo and it was so good!! I got it with the green and sweet plantains. My fiancé got the chicken with Puerto Rican rice. It was really good!! I'll have to try it next time. The service was great, the waitress took her time explaining menu options and making recommendations. read more

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What a fantastic spot for local Puerto Rican food! Started off with a spicy chicken empanada that was crunchy and incredibly flavorful. The chicken had a pleasant kick to it too I also got the pork chop mofongo and absolutely loved it. The pork chop was crispy and had plenty of spices and bold flavors. It was my first time trying mofongo and I really enjoyed the plantain and how well it complemented the pork chops! read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - MOFONGO/Chuleta/ Pork Chops - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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You haven't updated your prices, and then at the end, when customers pay, they're charged more than what was advertised. That's overcharging your customers. I don't know what else to call that other than a scam. My issue isn't really with the food--it was okay. My issue is with the misleading pricing and the lack of transparency. Customers should know what they're going to pay before they order, not find out at the register that the actual price is higher. read more

The food is outstanding, as always. Way better than Da Rican, in my opinion, but La Yaroa is chronically understaffed, so you need to budget two hours to eat here. A drink takes 30 minutes. We timed it because we were getting a little pissed off. read more

La Yaroa Tropical is a great spot for brunch, lunch and dinner. They also have what looks like a festive scene on the weekends with a DJ and club atmosphere, it is on my list to try it out soon! As far as their daytime menu, they have a full bar but are very family friendly and their food is fresh and flavorful. They have Puerto Rican and Caribbean staples on the menu as well as some solid American classics with Latin twists. I am slowly making my way through the menu, everything so far has been tasty and plentiful. Their bar tender is skilled and they offer non alcoholic as well. There really is something for everyone here and it is a great date spot or family dining option. Enjoy! read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - MOFONGO/ Mix Mariscos a la Criolla/ Mix Seafood in Creole Sauce - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

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Authentic Hispanic restaurant if you're looking for Dominican / Puerto Rican food, you need to stop in. Service is amazing. My Wife always gets pollo guisado arroz con gandules. Never fails. Maduros are always amazing. They have a variety of empanadas. Every option is delicious. Just stop in for delicious authentic meal. You won't be disappointed. read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

So many friends have told me about this Puerto Rican/Dominican restaurant and I was finally able to visit with a friend. Service by Brian was fantastic. He was super friendly and patient with all our questions. The food came out in a respectable amount of time in a very pleasing visual arrangement my friend had the mofongo with the grilled chicken breast. He loved the flavor and how moist it was. My pernil was juicy and full of flavor. The rice was slightly dry. Be wary of the upselling. The "Assumptive close" was in full effect. Don't assume the different types of rice they are offering are included in the main you ordered. I wasn't mad at them but at myself for not asking "does that cost extra?" Definitely coming back to try their other dishes. read more

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5 yrs ago when I was first introduced to this restaurant, the food was amazing and the service was not so great. 5yrs later, service is great and the food is soooo salty. Not sure who is the cook, but they have to ease up on the adobo. I ordered chicharron de pollo with moro de gandules and a side of beans..I also ordered my 14month son pechurina, which is breaded chicken strips with white rice and beans... I tasted his food first and did not feel safe giving him those salty chicken strips. i then tasted my chicken chunks and they were salty too. Prices are getting higher, food getting saltier, but service is getting better. Idk what happened to this place, but it will most likely be my last time coming to this restaurant, sad to say. read more

Food has Delicious flavor! Very nice wait staff. Music makes a nice evening. Will come back.

I popped in for a quick stop for some lunch. La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant (LYTR) is quite large with 2 connecting spaces. From what I have observed on social media, I think they use one of the spaces as a lounge in darker hours. - Parking- Private lot, but spaces are very limited. - Noms- My dining partner and I opted to get an app and one main to share, as I have found that typically, Puerto Rican food, tends to be generous portions, served with a lot of the starches which are very heavy and filling. The lady who took care of us was super sweet and made some great recommendations. Alcapurria - this is a stuffed yuca fritter. It comes in a long shape, tasted deep fried and had a very flavorful ground meat stuffing inside. I could have had another one, but then I think I would not have made it to the mofongo. Camarones en salsa criolla with mofongo - the shrimps were delicious, I just wish they were slightly a bit bigger with more bite. The sauce was flavorful and added some moisture to the mofongo. The presentation transported me back to the island with the orchid flower on top! LYTR had been on my list for awhile, so I'm really glad I got to check it off the list! Enjoy, Friends and go out and support! #LatinXOwned read more

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This place seems to be a restaurant that converts to a nightclub. For me, what was a damper was the sticky tables, noisy music and the wait to get served. Once service came along it was ok. I get it, hire those who seem to have a yearning to work, but at least train the servers/waitresses properly. I asked if the meal was accompanied by a side salad and was told yes. What I got was a huge salad and charged for it. Also, If I order appetizers, don't bring them out after you have brought me the main course. Food was ok, beans were Luke warm. But the oil that fried the patty was dirty. Zoom in on the pic I posted and you can see a piece of something on it. Sorry, but not impressed at all. Would still give them another shot, just to be fair. Very ok to me read more

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We walked in and asked for a table for 5. The man at the door became a bit stressed and walked away, got up hr table ready and came back and said "let's go". I guess that means "your table is right this way". Then we sat down and ordered drinks and food. The he drinks came in 5 min. The food came in 40 minutes. Our waitress seemed new and inexperienced which is fine but I was explaining basic preferences to her and had to repeat things multiple times. The rest room was clean. There were other patrons there that had arrived before us and were still waiting for food. The food was a 5 out of 10. I ordered the pollo guisado mofongo and she asked me what side I wanted and I said white rice and beans. The sides never came. They charged my 7 year old $15 for a virgin daiquiri from the kids menu. Once I was able to find the waitress and ask her to fix it, she fixed it. She disappeared a lot throughout the meal. We did not get ketchup or basic condiments to go with our $100 meal. We will not even pass through again. read more

It was my first time checking out La Yaroa Tropical and honestly it made me very happy. Being Puerto Rican myself, I love finding a place that can represent my culture right! The atmosphere, the music, and most importantly the FOOD! There was a lot on the menu that sounded amazing but I decided to get the Tripleta sandwich with a side of maduros. (I simply can't pass up maduros) Tripleta means triple which simply means 3 meats (Pernil, Pastrami and Virginia ham). For dessert, I got Tres Leche (meaning 3 milks) a spongy sweet cake. The waitress was nice and attentive. She also mentioned that Fridays and Saturdays it turns into a club where they have a DJ and that's it's a really good time so maybe one day I will have to check it. I will definitely be back. read more

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So much food, but not enough room in my belly. Overall, I had a great dining experience for lunch at La Yaroa. Upon walking into the restaurant, I saw that about 90% of the customers were Latino, which suggested that the food was going to be legit and authentic. For my dining pleasure, I ordered the pernil with a chicken empanada. Since I was in starvation mode, I considered ordering another side to go with my entree, but I was glad that I did not because the pernil and Puerto Rican rice portions were HUGE. I mean, the plate had a mountain of rice (with beans embedded). While the pernil did not disappoint, I wish that I requested a bit of skin to go with the dish. I really wanted to try a dessert (in particular the tres leches), but I was far too full to even think about eating anything else. *I was still pretty full 3.5 hrs after eating my meal.* My waiter (tall, skinny guy) was very friendly and did not leave me waiting for anything. The prices are a bit above average for the area, but I guess that is fine considering the amount of food that you'll receive. The only downside to my meal was the restaurant did not have mojitos, which I thought was kind of strange for a Caribbean restaurant. But hey, these things tend to happen from time to time. I definitely plan to return and try out some other things on their menu. read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - Pernil and Puerto Rican Rice. - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Very flavorful food great customer service. We will definitely be back. The pork is soo good!! read more

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With expansion and growth comes more great food, drinks, and fun times !!!! Yes, now in the evenings you can also enjoy some dancing music by various DJ's playing Salsa, Bachata, Merengue, Reggeton, Tropical, Cumbia's, and top hits. While your taking a breather they have hookahs available in certain seating areas which can be reserved for regular seating and VIP. Do call to enquire on pricing for group specials. Alejandra and Orlando have come so far in getting their authentic Puerto Rican and Dominican restaurant ready for everyone's enjoyment and pleasure. If your not familiar with some of their dishes available, do not hesitate to ask for they will gladly explain them to you and suggest some meals to your likings. With great dishes like the Petacon, Pernil, Arroz con Gandules, Arroz Blanco, Frijoles, Mofongo, Chicharron, Chuletas, Tostones, Sancocho, Empanadas, Pollo Guisado, Carne Frita, Alcapurrias, Yuca, Trifongo, Costillas, Sweet and Green Plantains, Churrasco, Costillas, El Paisa, Tortas, Yaroa Hot Dogs, fresh made bread daily, desserts such as Pastel Tres Leches, Flancocho, and Quesito to name a few. Do check their Facebook for updates on their daily specials and for the evening activities. read more

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Disappointed to say the least Quality and taste wasn't there and the service was terrible read more

I normally don't even take pictures after I've started eating. It ruins the look of the photo right? Nothing (and I mean nothing) can ruin the way I felt about this meal. The Mofongo with shrimp sauted in criollo sauce/Mofongo de Camarones en Salsa Criolla. If you are religious, it's heavenly. If you're atheist, it's damn good. If you're anywhere in between, go try it. read more

La Yaroa Tropical Restaurant - Mofongo with shrimp sauted in criollo sauce/Mofongo de Camarones en Salsa Criolla - Puerto Rican Near Me - Norfolk, Virginia

Nothing like being seated in a near empty restaurant. Except for numerous, antsy behaving bar patrons, over-waiting for drink & food, the place is struggling. I get a drink of water 15 minutes later. I order 10 more minutes later. At :35 of waiting for what I'm now Knowing will be subpar food, otherwise it'd be packed, I see my server sneaking in some food as she exits the kitchen, laughing with her other co-workers, who also are delivering infinitude's of indifference. The ambiance is quite simply "we don't give a flying crap whether this place shuts down forever or not. Don't bother. read more

Everything was Delicoups. very timely. nice ambiance. friendly service! Brought me back to my childhood I tell all my friends about this little hidden gem!!! read more

Last time I ordered it was good all around. This time ordered everything was good ....until they gave me burnt alcapurrias...... Cmon noone checked it before it was sent out? It was like biting into charcoal. Yelp app wont let me post a photo. Ill do it later...but cmon now read more

I ordered to go and cannot comment on the ambiance or the servers. However the food...meh. Listen I grew up on Spanish food. I've eaten at every cuchifrito in NYC and all over PR...the food here was expensive with small portions. I ordered pernil and had to ask for cuero (usually that's standard...everyone wants cuero if you know you know) anyways. It was a little dry and had no.,...sabor no flavor just meh, and the cuero was rubbery no crisp nothing and again no flavor. Usually for pernil you make these deep pockets and stuff them with garlic and oregano and sazon and salt and all the good stuff...seems like they skipped all that. I will say I also offered the yuca and that was delicious! But not with the typical pickled onions...this was different. Almost like Spain Spanish food instead of el caribe? Idk. Would I come back again...maybeeeee I would like to taste the mofongo to see if it's up to par but other than that...nah I'll just cook my Spanish food at home. read more