5 Best Puerto Rican Restaurants In New York City
Can you go to Puerto Rico without leaving New York City? You sure can! Just head to one of the restaurants listed below, our five favorites for all things Boricua. By Jessica Allen.
Casa Adela, located in the East Village, specializes in huge, hearty food, full of soul and garlic. Specialties include mofongo (mashed plantains and pork cracklings), pernil asado (roast pork), and rotisserie chicken. Most dishes come with your choice of beans (choose among three different varieties). And, speaking of choices, Casa Adela makes tons of fresh juices and milkshakes.
The website says it best: "our food is made with love and lots of taste to put a smile on your face . . . just like abuela made it." This Bronx restaurant has a way with pork -- seasoning (using a special house-made blend), pulling, and roasting it until folks come from all five boroughs and beyond to have a taste. Other options include oxtail stew, lobster in hot sauce, and chicken stew; all homestyle, all wonderful.
You wouldn't know it from the name, obviously, but Gena's Grill offers "sabor latino," or the flavors of the Caribbean, particularly Puerto Rico and the Dominican Republic. Daily specials at this low-key, unassuming East Village restaurant range from stewed pig's feet to pork ribs to roasted chicken, or you can order such rib-sticking goodness off the regular menu as pork chops, steak and onions, and shrimp in creole sauce.
For over two decades, La Fonda has brought the flavors and sensibility of Puerto Rico to East Harlem. As you nosh on arroz con pollo (chicken with rice, a signature dish featured on the Food Network's Throwdown with Bobby Flay), roasted pork, ensalada de bacalao (codfish salad), salmon with a passion fruit sauce, and red snapper, deep-fried and served whole, you can enjoy art and music by local artists and performers. There's a lively, fun vibe.
As you might expect from the Tribeca address, Sazón is a bit fancier than some of the other spots on this list, a bit more high-end. You can hang out in the lounge, listening to English and Latin music, or you can head upstairs to the dining area, where you can feast on lobster gumbo, rice and shrimp, seafood stew, and ropa vieja (beef stew with plantains, rice, and black beans). Check out the family prix fixe too, ideal for big groups of hungry folks.