Have lived behind this Joint for 8 years and "Heard" it was great but had never tried it!? Walked in the other night and got Bistec Jibarito--It's Flat Out AMAZING!! Find this Joint! GTFJD read more

Hello jibarito sandwiches and mofungo. I really like the garic shrimp, it was super garlicy and totally up my alley. The puerto rican rice was ok, I think I was hoping it was like my friend mother rice. Service takes a while but it was worth it. The lechon held me down until we got our meal. I was with kids and of course they love the curly fries. read more

My steak jibarito was very tasty, and the fried plantains were perfect. I was hoping for a little more sandwich for the price but that price is low, so I can't complain too much. The rice served on the side was not good, not good at all. But the service was great and the food came out real quick-like. I'll be back to pick up sandwiches to go at some point! read more

Borinquen has an unremarkable, dingy and dark interior plus slow, spotty service. However, it's affordable and tasty.. I've had plenty of home-cooked Puerto Rican food (including in PR), so it obviously won't ever compare to that. But it is my go-to spot for a jibarito, arroz con gandules, platanos, lechon and/or chuletas. read more

Jibaritos are good stuff! At there on Saturday and had that and some other goodies. For 12.95, the shrimp soup was just OK, and for sure over-priced for what you got. But, who cares with that amazing jibarito and perfect rice. read more

Just ate here they took so long for the food the waitress never brought my drink I had to go get it the chicken tasted so chewy and the steak was so gooey the rice was the only thing good the place was so outdated no color or anything not welcoming. Never coming here again .. read more

If this place were closer, I'm sure I visit more often. My man and I have been here three times now and I'm sure there are many more visits to come. For me, I've had a love at first bite relationship with plantains. But using them as bread, LOVE that idea. I've had the steak, the pork and the chicken. The pork is my favorite. I also love the little plantain cups with the chicken. I always get yellow rice and pigeon peas, but they offer white rice and black beans too. I do live closer to their location on Central. It is not nearly as nice as this one, it was chaotic in there and we ended up leaving before we ordered. Go here, Enjoy a great sandwich. read more

I went to Borinquen Lounge after reading mixed reviews on Yelp. OMG people. Please ignore those reviewers who criticize the service and ambiance. It's a dive bar. The service is supposed to be bad and the ambiance is supposed to be nonexistent. Duh. Just like many other reviewers said, the jibaritos are amazing and well worth the trip. If you like plantains (which I LOVE) and garlic (which I also LOVE), you're in for a real treat. I'd skip the appetizers (we had the meat puff - yes, it's called a meat puff - and potato ball - we ordered the banana ball, but got potato) and just go straight for the jibarito and a side of sweet plantains. For $2 it's the best deal and yet, still the largest side of plantains I've ever gotten in the city. I hope you enjoy it as much as I did! Supposedly, Borinquen invented the jibarito and they do not disappoint! read more

Venture inside this Puerto Rican restaurant and discover some of the excellent entrees on the menu.... Well prepared and delish! It always helps when you're companion is Puerto Rican to help steer you towards the best choices....like the double fried plantains with roasted garlic... ??forgot the real name of 'em but they were awesome! Highly recommended. read more

The plantain sandwich with chicken is delightfully savory. I have never had Puerto Rican food before & I loved it. I did not like the blood sausage. Personal preference not bad cooking. Fantastic little haunt with great prices and comfortable atmosphere. OMG!!!! Try the hot sauce. We bought some to go for $6. read more

Borinquen - Chicken Jibarito $ blood sausage. - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

This place is one of a kind amazing food and staff been coming here about 8 years glad they made it through the shut down from COVID

The fiance and I went here this past week because we have been talking about how long it has been and we have been jonesing for one. We have not had a jibarrito in almost a year( very sad) - so we made it in to the city to this location. It was lunch time on a weekday and it was pretty empty. The decor is nothing fancy, old school and not brightly lit -- but it is clean and the waitress was prompt and got out order right. We split the yummy potato ball filled w. meat(sorry, I am forgetting the name). :) That was really good! The fiance and I both got a steak jibarito - I got arroz con gandules as my side. The jibarito had a good amt of mayo but not too much, which I appreciate so you can taste the steak flavor too. There was a good amt of garlic on the plantain and the steak was cooked perfectly. Overall, my jibarito was fabulous and the food was warm and cooked perfectly. We will be back -- as always. read more

I shared a takeout dinner of Garlic Shrimp with 2 sides as a lunch with my friend. The sides were yellow rice with peas and chorizo, and 6 plump slices of sweet plantains. Also included was a lettuce and tomato salad. I ordered it on the telephone and it was waiting when I arrived. My favorite part of the meal was the yellow rice and peas. I strongly recommend trying it for cheap eats. read more

The food at this restaurant was horrible, the Jibaritos were cold and tasted stale, like if they were cooked hours before, the alcapurrias (Yuca) were real dry and not to my satisfaction. Very disappointed! read more

There food is excellent however they lack in customer service.... I've been coming to this location for years since they opened ! They have poor communication in person and over the telephone there phone operators 1 doesn't speak English not everyone speaks Spanish The other person is rude over the telephone rushes you off the phone and while your in there eating . Don't loose customers too poor confidence. Your Food is Excellent!!!! At Least Make Your Customers Feel Welcomed. It's Not Hard read more

This place is great. It's a cozy restaurant, never too busy or empty. You can order your food to go or sit and dine in. There is a bar available if you choose to have drinks, also I think it's Byob (have to check to be sure though). Every time I come here I try something different and I have never been let down. So if you are interested in good Puerto Rican food I think you may enjoy this place. read more

Borinquen - Breaded steak with arroz con gandules and tostones. - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The Jibarito sandwich is to die for. The food is very delicious and inexpensive. Strongly recommend it to everybody who likes the Puerto Rican cuisine. read more

No no just what not to to have try to ask how and when this food is not for the weak As for the stuff they just came up ask what we like and did not explain what this food is like so sorry not for us ,,,,,,, better food down the road !!!!!!! And sevice read more

Rolled up to Borinquen lounge on a late Friday night with rockstar parking right in front. The lady and I were hungry for some grub, but didnt want to get fast food. I remembered seeing this place before so we decided to roll the dice and see if they were open late - think it was like 10ish. Fortunately they were. When we walked in we were greeted by a bartender and soon after a very polite waitress. It looked like they had a full bar, but I didnt participate in the "sacrament". I opted for an orange, pinkish fruit juice that I saw at the bar. It was a passion fruit beverage that was exotic tasting and sweet but not too sweet. I ordered the jibarito with steak and the chica ordered the jiberito sandwich with lechon(pork). The sandwiches both came with rice. My steak was good, but the lechon was even better! The rice seasoning was delicious! For the fellow "gringos" out there, Puerto Rican seasoning on the meats and rice is totally different from Mexican food. Ive had puerto rican food in san juan and other parts of PR while on vacation and this place was as tasty and as authentic as those spots. We were pleasantly surprised by the food and the cheap prices. read more

My beloved Borinquen betrayed me. This was my favorite jibaito place until I found hairs in my jibarito. Now I have none. I took visitors from Kentucky here for the jibarito experience last year. It happened to be during lent and seafood is acceptable to lent eaters in place of land animals. Although I don't practice lent, I chose the seafood jibarito and discovered how amazing the seafood jibarito was! Again I happen to invite a lent devotee this Lenten season. I was thoroughly enjoying my seafood jibarito until I found hairs embedded in my jibarito sandwich and rice. The manager insisted none of his staff had long hair, even inviting me to go in the kitchen to inspect. He said the best he could do was discount my food but he was sure the hair was mine. Like a falsely accused victim coerced by cops, I started to accept the blame of it being my hair even tho it would have been impossible for my hair to fall inside between the lettuce entwined in the seafood filling in the plantain. In front of him, I examined it further and found hair was not as long or thick as mine then I found another underneath the pile of rice which proved to me obvious it couldn't be mine. The manager indicated he wasn't there earlier to see me move the rice around. He continued to say all his staff had short hair and I was welcomed to go in the back. I told him there is no way I could have lifted the pile of rice and inserted the strand of hair under the rice. As I was demonstrating we saw another strand of rice and only then did he take dish away from me before I could inspect for more hair and said he'd take it off the bill. Then he then pulled the hair out and indicated it wasn't really underneath. Defending his staff to the end. I was so bummed because as I was so enjoying the meal, I was excited to encourage my foodie group to come for the seafood jibaritos. I tried to convince them once before to go here but I forgot the reason Rose and Pete said they had a bad experience in the past. Now this happened to me. I was desperate to find another place to satisfy my unfulfilled amazing seafood jibarito dinner. Thinking I could go to the original California location I started reading the yelp reviews, and someone there had a similar hair problem! I was so disappointed. I felt mistreated by the manager making, me feel like I was trying to get away with a free meal or something. I am too uncomfortable to ever go back and I've been a loyal customer for almost 10 years. Granted he did finally offered to compensate me by taking it off the bill. But his poor customer service skills have scared me for life. I guess in 2017, I'll be on a quest to find a replacement jibarito place and a similar seafood jibarito at that. Sadly, I have a feeling I won't find one. read more

This place used to be good but now it is truly a POS. You have the audacity to charge a la carte with everything now and your food isn't even good? I mean really you have the nerve to not include rice, the rice that tastes like dishwashing liquid to be exact, with a jibarito? Your jibarito, the meat is Bland and the garlic which tastes like garlic powder that you all put on the top of the plantain is extremely salty. Save your money and go to El picosito or Mas Jibarito instead read more

I've been coming to this spot for years. Before the whole addition of the lounge. I'm referring to the location off California. This food was terrible. Rellena de papa was dry as hell and the Jibarito which was my favorite sandwich of all time was dry and tasteless. I should have known better when I came in and there wasn't a soul in site during lunch hour. Not the same place I grew up to loving. I won't be coming back. read more

My favorite cuisine is Caribbean, putting Cuban & Puerto Rican at the top. I have eaten here countless times and will remain loyal. The prices are great, you can't beat a jibarito with rice for their price. The arroz con gandules (Puerto Rican rice) is always a bit too dry, but still tasty. We never dine it, always carry out, but the work staff is always so nice, making us want to eat inside. Wish they had parking, but street parking on Western is never a problem. read more

Food is okay but the state of the building is disturbing. I was outside to smoke and noticed a foul smell coming from the side of the building like a dirty greasetrap. There were animal feces and debris inside the area enclosed by a gate that runs along the restaurant to the back of the restaurant. It should be cleaned up and cared for; it looks like a breeding ground for rats. I really can't believe that an eating establishment wouldn't take better care of their presentation. The food was pretty tast but I could not relax and enjoy it after the view from out front. Won't be going back until this place is cleaned up. read more

I've had lunch there several times during the past few months and the food and service has been consistently excellent and the prices are very reasonable. After trying several dishes, I found my favorite to be the vegetarian jibarito with rice and beans. Even though there is always a television on, it is never too loud. read more

Horrible, horrible the food was cold. The Maduros were hard just aweful. The appetizer was bland, I will not be going back there.

Anybody that knows me, KNOWS that I hate bad service. One bad review is worse than a hundred good reviews, but I have to do it. Times are tough and money is sometimes tight for people, so when we choose your establishment to spend our money in, please give me at least some decent service. Story starts like this. Had a $25 Restaurant.com certificate for the California Borinquen location. We drive there and it is all locked up and there is a sign on the front of the door stating it will be closed until further notice. Fine, no problem. Then I suggest that maybe I should call the Western location to see if they will honor the cert. there. I call up at 5:45PM and speak to a gentleman named Hector (apparently that phone conversation was a figment of my imagination because there is no "Hector" who works there, but a Hugo. Same difference) and ask him TWICE if I can use it there before we drive there. We get there about 6PM sit down. "Hector" takes our drink order, we don't get those until about 25 mins later when I finally have to stop the other waitress and ask her about our drinks and to take our order. In the meantime some other couples come in and sit down, a cop, a couple take out orders and we are still sitting there with no food, while the other tables have been served their appetizers and eventually their food. I'm watching the Bulls game, but getting pissed. The waitress finally looks over at us and says "oh my god you haven't gotten your food". Ya think???? "Hector" brings out our morsillas app and then I tell him if they haven't started making our food to just cancel the order. It's 7:15 and I am now about to walk out when our food appear and it sooooo fucking cold that I ask "Hector" to heat it up for me. He brings it back and it's still cold. I nibbled it. I don't know why, but my mom orders another jibarito dinner to go and then we ask for the check and I give him the certificate. He looks confused and takes it back to the waitress. She comes and starts telling us how it's only for the California location and she can't accept it here AFTER I called and asked twice. I call "Hector" over and he says he doesn't remember talking to me, it's so busy in there. Really? Because we just talked 15 minutes before I walked in to eat. I ask for a manager and he tells me one isn't on duty but he will be there in about 15 minutes. I'll wait. At that point the jibarito to go order comes out and the waitress informs us that she didn't put it on our bill and we will have to wait another 15 years to pay for it. No thanks! We all walked out and left her with the sandwich while she told us that the food will come out of her check. Too bad. Your service sucked and your constant excuses and unapologetic behavior is making that sandwich come our of your check. I called back and spoke to the manager by the name of Eric I believe and while he was a nice enough guy and let me vent my frustrations. He basically didn't give a shit about what happened. He said he would review the video tapes, that I needed to understand that they have a lot more clientele now, and that location is getting busy, how "Hector probably didn't understand me on the phone. Bullshit man, get some more employees and some with some sense. I was just trying to support businesses in my neighborhood. Well this one is checked off my list. I will NEVER come back to any of the Borinquen locations and I will tell anyone who will listen how terrible the food and service is. Get it together. You can get way better food at Ponce or Sabor Latino. read more

Love their food but they say they open at 10am I'm here it's 11:32 am to get my lunch but it's not open and there is no paper on the door saying their closed ?? read more

Unsatisfying experience. The table we were seated on was falling apart. The waitress seemed bothered when we asked her questions about the food, it was our first puerto rican restaurant in the area and we just wanted to try out a new dish. Definitely not coming back here again. read more

Delicious, fast and fresh. Friendly staff as well. We tried the jibaritos as well as several different appetizers and it was all amazing! It's not often I finish my whole plate. We'll be back. read more

i prefer this location over the other 2 just because it isnt as crowded and i like the set up more. if you're a first timer try the jibarito like everyone says. i usually get the steak one. the lechon sandwiches are also very good. and puerto rican soup on a chilly day really hits the spot =) read more

If I could eat a Jibarito every day with no consequences, good lord I would. I've ordered the veggie version (always to go) as well as tasting a little bit of the pork one from the bf. The veggie Jib includes peppers, lettuce, tom, onions, cheese and delicious garlic mayo. It's greasy, unhealthy, and awesome. Highly recommended. I haven't tried anything else there yet. But I will. If I can get over the Jib. read more

Decided to give this place another try. Bad idea. I ordered the buffet and the dish ware was so old and scratched that I couldn't eat on those dishes. I ordered a vegetarian jibarito instead, which arrived cold and it was too salty. The place is filthy, walls and doors need some scrubbing. Menus are old and seem to say "run away from here asap". No wifi and no Latin music. Coffee was good. read more

Is this place closed???? I tried last calling last week for to go order and phone rang and rang. Drove to it and lights off, noone there. Calling now because I want to place order and it rings and rings.... I love their steak jibaros, arroz con gandules AND plátano maduros!!! Pleeeease be open!! read more

The service was terrible, and while still very delicious, the steak jibarito wasn't nearly as delectable as Papa's. But still decent, so I may be back as it's just a few blocks away. read more

I had my first taste of Puerto Rican food here. I went with 6 people so I got to try a little of everything. We ordered a few jibaritos, soup, the hillbilly plate, fried plantains, some kind of steak dish, and somekind of sandwich. The jibaritos were really yummy and the steak was nice and juicy. The hillbilly plate was yummy and the beans and rice were so delicious. The seafood soup we had was very bland and watery though. The service was very slow here though. It was one waiter for the whole restaurant so even water took for ever. read more

Good food!!! Very affordable! It's a nice little space and the times I have been here there hasn't been many people inside, which is always a plus! Their steak jibaritos are amazing! read more

Get the Steak Jibarito First Then Branch Out As you lick the garlic butter from your fingers and as you taste it later throughout the day you can thank me for sending you in this direction. The original jibarito! Garlic-butter-brushed crispy fried plantains instead of bread, not dry shredded meat and lettuce, tomato, mayo and American cheese rounding out the sandwich. If you don't like it, the second time you order it without the cheese, but somehow the American cheese's salty plasticity adds a patina of junkfood comfort to the whole thing. This is a place you come for the food, not the atmosphere. But whats here is a (somewhat worn) step above those strip mall places with no kind of charm at all. Limited sunlight inside, nice wood bar with a tropical theme. read more

Excellent jibaritos and arroz con gandules! Excellent service! What more could you ask for?! Definitely worth trying.

The Jibarito - plantains, meat, cheese, garlic-mayo - what's not to like? So delicious. It ruins your breath, but it doesn't matter since all of your friends ordered one too. You will all be singing salsa songs and dancing some bomba y plena by the time you leave this place. WEPAAA! read more