The appetizers are good that's why I'm giving them a 2 stars . The jibarito is so hard like they over cooked it . My boyfriends was as hard as a rock . The rice has no flavor . The parcha was so sour . This place used to be good now they only have 1 server and she looks like she's struggling when asked for napkins she only gave two. My water was empty for more then 20 minutes without her coming back to check on us . I do not recommend. read more

Borinquen - Jibarito Habichuelas - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The food was delicious, but I'm a tad disappointed. Last week (Thursday, 1130a) placed a take out order-food that arrived was over the top phenomenal! The Bistec Jibarito con Arroz was out of this world! The steak jibarito was placed on top of a delicious and creamy bed of rice and it was perfection. The garlic spread on top of the plantain..delish! The salsa...oh my! A beautiful presentation! Hence. Placing a order today for my family. With that said, I placed an order today (Monday, 5:30pm) and sadly received a completely different thing. The rice arrived in a separate container, the rice was flavorful, but dry and the hardly any pigeon peas. The Bistec Jibarito arrived in an individual packet, the steak was tough, and the cheese was not melted, and there was no schmear of garlic sauce on top of the plantain and no salsa. A complete night and day presentation :( read more

I placed an order of rice for a party. Pick up was easy. Was able to pay over the phone when I placed my order. The rice itself was a dry. I have had rice from Hibaritos Y Mas, I have to say it was better that Borinquen Lounge. Will maybe give this place another chance and try their other menu items. read more

My boyfriend and i will drive 45 mins in the rain, sunshine, or snow for this place. We always get the lechon jibarito with arroz con gandules of course but the arroz blanco is also fire. We also always get a pastelillo & a relleno de papa for a little appetizer. Oh and I love the parcha passion fruit juice! read more

Borinquen - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Dear Borinquen lounge, Thank you for gracing Chicago with good puerto food! This has always been my go to spot for jibaritos.. I was very disappointed when they closed their location on central. Although the Borinquen lounge on central was more convenient- passion and integrity kinda took a backseat. I could definitely taste the passion and integrity in the western location. I wasn't expecting great service so therefore I was not disappointed however... I was expecting an exceptional jibarito and again. Not disappointed . And because we are southeast Asians raised in Chicago- we often indulge in cultural diversity especially the cuisine aspect which helps open our horizon to more then tacos on a hard shell ordered via drive-thro. read more

Borinquen - Steak Bistec Jibarito - comes Arroz con Gandules - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

The best food ever! Tasty, seasoned and cooked perfectly. I had the steak sandwich Jibarito with rice and a side order of tostones with garlic sauce. It was all delicious! The space is simple nothing fancy. The service is basic, again nothing fancy. You get what you need but don't expect a lot. The servers are hustling so you have to wave them down for everything. I would come back here for the food all day long. read more

This was the best authentic Puerto Ricen food I have had in a long time. Cheers to the Cheif xoxoxoxoxo read more

Borinquen - Shrimp in Galic Sauce - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I've been coming to this place for years and will probably continue to do so. The atmosphere is quiet, the service is good, and the prices are fair - EXCEPT the jibarritos are now a la carte and now you pay $3 for rice, ugh. (But I will still pay lol) - bistec jibarrito (delicious and garlic-y, 5/5) - arroz con gandules (delicious, 5/5) - beef pasteillo (meat puff, yum, 4/5) - maduros (Fried plantain, 4/5) - alcapurias (these are huge but meh, 3/5) - passion fruit juice (too concentrated, 3/5) - their homemade hot sauce (!!!!!!!!, 5/5) read more

Borinquen - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I just ate here and I must say that I was very disappointed. The carne frita was excessively dry. My husband ordered the chuleta plate and they were bland. The rice had the texture of minute rice and it did not have that authentic pr flavor to it. The one thing that they got right were the alcapurrias. Fried to perfection and the flavor was spot on. read more

This is my 2nd time ordering from here and it's still consistent and super good! Tamal and chicken Guisado read more

Borinquen - Sooo good! This is my 2nd time ordering and still consistent and really good! Chicken Guisado and a tamal - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

I used to eat here all the time when I lived in Chicago, and now whenever I visit I always come in for a jibarito. The food here is on point

Unfortunately the food is made by dominicans nothing Puerto Rican about the food I've spent time in PR & have never had soupy mofongo .

I was missing a morisilla dish. We received our other food totaling $60 or more. Lady stated she put in our bag but our bas was stapled and not tampered with. Needless to say the lady said she put in bag. Also mentioned she would talk to somebody. Not acceptable read more

I ordered the lechón dinner and mofongo. Lechón is very dry, mofongo is just a ball of very salty and greasy mashed plantains without chicharrones. Not worth it at all. Will not be ordering from here again. read more

I will start with the good. The steak jibarito is not greasy which is a plus in my book. The meat is well seasoned and the rice and beans are also quite good. All good so far, the bad is that the jibarito did not really have any garlic on top which is essentially what makes the jibarito so good. Instead, it had a ton of salt which defeats the purpose of it not being greasy since it is now way to salty. I was very disappointed that they barely put any garlic on it and for some reason, think adding salt makes it better (it does not). Well, at least the rice and beans were the star of the show. read more

I walked in with my elderly grandmother, sister & son. There were seats in the back open along with seats right by the door. We asked to be seated in the back away from the door, being it was cold, snowing, a 2 year old & elderly woman. This establishment said no and we needed to sit by the door. We left and took our business elsewhere. I've never experienced a restaurant not willing to satisfy the customer. I really liked going to this place but I'll never go back. I called and asked to speak to the owner and he didn't care and told me go leave a review. Terrible terrible owners. In response to your reply... your video shows what happen but does not play audio of the conversation. After I walked to the back and pointed that we'd like to sit in the back your server said no those are for only 6 ppl and then stated we can sit at the front. I responded I do not want to sit near the front due to the cold and would prefer the back. She then said again those are for 6 ppl. Then I said I would take my business elsewhere. Never threatened anyone. I called expressed the situation as a customer, he had nothing to say and I stated I would leave a review. He said okay. Not sure where the threat is here. read more

Love me some jibaritos! I went here with my picky sister last week. She doesn't eat steak. Who doesn't eat steak? Well, I'll tell you! She ate half of my steak jibarito and I almost died! I should have ordered two but I seriously didn't think she'd care for it. She devoured it! I'm so in love with Borinquen. It's about a mile away from home. This means, I can walk there and build up my appetite and not worry about how many calories I truly am consuming. How can something so tasty though be bad for you. I don't think it can be. Protein - Check! Fruit/Vegetables - Check! Antioxidants and cholesterol control found in the form of garlic - Check! Whole grains in the form of Yellow Rice and Pigeon Peas - Check! I think it's a winning combination! We also went a little crazy with all the appetizers: Banana Dumpling - were a little greasy so not my fav Meat Puff - excellent! Plantain Stuffed with Chicken - not a fan of chicken Plantain Stuffed with Steak - way excellent I want to go back soon. Not sure what I'll end up getting. They do have a lunch buffet that lots of people were enjoying as my sister and I were having feast of our own. But, I think I prefer trying things off the menu. Jibarito and only one other thing next time. We could hardly walk out of the place that day! read more

I've ordered takeout twice and been quite satisfied both times. Flavor was really good and the puerto rican rice, pork chops, and fried pork. I will absolutely be ordering again. The online ordering worked very well and timing was accurate to what was provided. read more

It had been years since I was at Borinquen lounge, I was really surprised at how nice the place is. Really clean, bright & nicely decorated. I usually don't order jibaritos because I go for the more traditional food ( jibaritos do not exist in P.R.) but I did this time...the order comes with rice, pretty good. I was soo happy the jibarito was NOT greasy!! Thumbs up for that Now the service, the older lady taking orders was not very friendly nor nice she made us feel like we had to hurry and get out. The restaurant wasn't packed- there wasn't people waiting to be seated so why the rush? I finally felt uncomfortable after her coming to our table for the 6th time asking if we needed anything else, we said.. YES BOXES dang it and we bounced! read more

The food is phenomenal. I love that place everything there is authentic. When I eat there, I feel as if I'm eating my mom's cooking and trust me my mom cooks like a chef. read more

Moved I. The area last year and so disappointed it took me so long to try them. They are sooo delicious and very affordable!! They are always nice on the phone and even when I was on hold once and had to take a call they called me back to apologize they took long and kept me on hold. Definitely try their Jabritos!! Occasionally I pick up 4-6 of them for work friends. read more

WORST EXPERIENCE EVER! We, a group of four, felt purposely ignored. To start off, the drink had black small stuff inside- we asked to replace it. We saw other tables get their food even though they got here after us- the same order as ours basically. Waitress said they did not have a liquor to offer but there was a whole bar. Waitress and staff did not even wear a mask! Eating and passing plates without even washing their hands. Food is overall basic and not worth the wait and treatment. The atmosphere was not friendly or music even playing. Do not recommend read more

Really great spot! Stopped in here on my way back home from a wedding out of state and so glad we did. Ordered the lechón, it was juicy and had very good flavor. It had a a prevalent lemon flavor which I liked but i did add a little bit more salt and then added some of the garlic they had. That was the finishing touch for me. It was delicious. I also had the bistec encebollado (yea imma fat ass but I wanted left overs) it was so good, very flavorful and the onions were the best. Perfectly grilled. I should have asked for extra onions lol. Side of maduros was exactly what I expected, super sweet and fried just right. They also give bread and butter when you arrive and that was good. Be careful not to get too full of bread tho lol. My husband had the lechón sandwich and he said it was good. He also had morcilla and he said it was good but added more of that garlic we ordered. The cherry on top was the service. Top notch. We came early so there wasn't many ppl but the server was the sweetest. She was attentive but not overbearing. Never made us feel like we were a bother. Service alone is 5 stars. And the place is so clean! They had no violations listed which is why I chose to visit!Deducted 1 star cus I kind of finished off the lechón with more salt and garlic but overall will def be back. On my list of places to revisit for sure. Give them a try, you wont regret it! read more

Borinquen - All the leftovers - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Food was excellent, reminded me of my Grandma's cooking, I'm Puerto Rican so this was very nostalgic. I ate it standing up in my kitchen saying "wow" to myself repeatedly. Arroz con gandules and pasteles were fire. The lechon was so good that I forgot I ordered flan. Really glad I found this place! read more

Food's pretty good and convenient, however I need to remember not to order the flan lol they used to give you a normal slice, now there give you a third of that slice and still charge $4... hard pass, I've paid less for a normal slice at other places so they're my go to if open, if not I default to this place ... but need to get my sweet tooth satiate by something other than Flan when I do read more

Atmosphere: pretty quiet during the day in a weekday. Very dim lighting. Food: tried out the cod patty and it was not tasty. Also ordered the stew chicken with rice and pigeon peas. It was a large portion and very flavorful. I highly recommend. The juice in the menu are not fresh! Service: the waitress/bartender was very attentive Parking was fairly easy given the one if day but they do not have a lot so I strongly suggest walking or catching an Uber on the weekends. read more

I really wanted Puerto Rican food and at 8:30pm on a Sunday the options are limited. I found this place but saw that it had extremely mixed reviews so I was nervous about it, but decided to go for it anyway. And I have NO regrets! This place was awesome. I ordered for takeout but when I went to pick it up I saw the space and it seems like an awesome space to meet up with friends or go with your family. I got the lechón jibarito and the bistec jibarito to share with my fiancé and both were absolutely amazing. I preferred the lechón and he preferred the bistec. The plantain was crispy which is awesome (I've had a soggy jibarito before, at another restaurant). I would definitely come back here again, it was a delicious and successful experience! read more

Borinquen - Bistec Jibarito - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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I love the food, it is my favorite restaurant (mostally because its a 10 minute walk from my house) most items are not too spicy but all are very flavorful. I also love this restaurant because food gets done so quickly ~20 mins. I normally do takeout and walk back to my house but the resturaunt is very cheerful because of the music and the very nice palm tree lights. Its relitivly cheap compared to other restaurants, less than $20 per meal. I recommend Getting the Relleno De Papa appitizer, its a little mars potato because its a potato with a reddish orange potato skin crust, excellently cooked and spiced potato mantle and a great beef core. I highly recommend this restaurant. read more

3.5 stars sounds about right to me. We came in for a late lunch (about 1pm) with a group of 6. We ordered jibaritos (of course) and waited almost an hour for them to arrive. One person arrived late, ordered after all that food had come, and still waited half an hour. The quality of the jibaritos seemed pretty variable. My friend's steak one was a bit wet and didn't have much flavor. The later-arriving pollo (fried chicken) one was much better, but I still found it a little light on flavor. (In contrast, another friend found a whole clove of garlic in hers!) The rice was fine but not particularly special. Overall, I feel like there are more consistently good jibaritos to be found in other Puerto Rican restaurants in the city (Papa's comes to mind). It didn't strike me as worth the wait, although I wouldn't object to going back and giving it another try if I was in the area. read more

This place has been one of my go-to delivery spots for years now. The jibaritos are fantastic but in my opinion their hot sauce really ought to be known nationally. I've gone through about six bottles of it at this point, and I often find myself dumping it on pretty much anything I can find. read more

I've been coming to this place for probably over 15 years. I loved the jibarito bistek and arroz condules. It was one of my top 6 favorite sandwiches I've ever had. Sadly no more. My last purchase of 2 jibaritos to go was horrible. 1 and 1/2 thin slices of steak on each sandwich, the meat was dry and tasteless, the rice under cooked, hard and dry. At $10+ for each crappy sandwich, I called to speak to a manager twice. Each time I was told the manager would be in 2 hours later. read more

Borinquen - Bad jibarito bistek - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

Been coming here for YEARS! Food is ALWAYS great! If you like hot sauce they make their own and it's delicious! I put it on everything. This was my first time ordering delivery, and I was not disappointed. read more

Went there with my work partner as a last minute stop. Had the alcapurria, pastelillo, and relleno de papa. All 3 were made fresh and were delicious. Mad I didn't double up to be honest. So worth the few minutes wait time. Service was amazing and friendly and the vibe was great. Music was just right while we waited for the food. Even bought their home made hot sauce which paired good with the food I got. Definitely recommending them and going back. read more

When a friend of mine suggested we go for jibaritos, I had to google it to see what the hell she was talking about. Wait a minute, I said to myself, they make a sandwich made w/ plantains as the bread?! Woah. The lechon (pork) jibarito was very good and the rice w/ pigeon peas were even better. I think I can smash that rice all day if given the choice. A bit of trivia: the jibarito was invented in Chicago by Juan "Peter" Figueroa, owner of the very same Borinquen Restaurant (albeit at a different location). That's +1,000,000 cool points right there. read more

Borinquen - Lechon (pork) jibarito + rice w/ pigeon peas. - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

/* AMY & BETO TAKE OVER CHICAGO */ /* Bay Area to Chicago */ Met a friend here for dinner, and didn't really bother to Yelp it because it was her choice but wish I did! Interior is... Okay. It's not modern or anything nice but I was thinking "hey! This might mean it's authentic!" We started with a potato dumpling as an appetizer and it was lame. Just tasted like a fried mash potatoes. Nothing special at all. Now I was really excited for the jibartios, which are fried plantain sandwiches, because it was something I've never tried before. I ordered the seafood in garlic plantain sandwich, and I thought in garlic meant sautéed in garlic or something of that nature, not seafood in a freaking cup of oil and garlic... When I got my plate, it was soaked in garlic oil and was SO SALTY and fatty that it was unpleasant to eat. Not to mention the oil made the bottom of my plantain SOGGY, instead of crispy. Seafood just tasted like rubber after being drowned in the salty oily sauce. Couldn't even tell my jibarito came with lettuce or anything due to the overpowering of the oil The rice was meh. Obviously I paid for it and I was hungry so I ate it. Now here's what made this a one star for me. I woke up at 2 AM at night with the WORST stomach pains EVER. Literally made me want to cry. I wish they specified what seafood in garlic meant, because if I knew I'd be drinking salty garlic oil, I would of not ordered this. AVOID!! read more

Borinquen - LOOK AT ALL THAT OIL - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

2nd time here while visiting family here in Chicago. Came here for their bistek jibarito and and a plate of lechon, beans and rice. Haven't tried anything else on the menu yet...I just loved what I had ordered the first time and just got the same exact thing cause it was that good! read more

Wonderful experience. Had the steak sandwich and brought half home to the husband who can't stop raving about it. Nice atmosphere. Wonderful waitress. Truly a hidden gem. read more

An oldie and still a goodie. When in the neighborhood stop by Borinquen for some awesome Puerto Rican food. For starters go with a Relleno de Papa (Potatoe dumpling) and an Alcapuria (banana dumpling). For your entree try their steak Jibarito (Plantain sandwich)...trust me you won't be disappointed! Don't forget your Kola de Champagne! read more

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My first impression of the rest was right away bad. Very poor look they need a make up over ASAP. I believe they have never done any changes since they opened. They need to really to remodel it so can attract other customers. Portion of food was to small and staff are just ok. Only good thing is that food taste very good specially their jibarito seasoning is good. Overall need a lot Of improvement to become a better Rican rest. read more

Borinquen - Seafood Near Me - Chicago, Illinois

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We order from here a lot and definitely recommend. Great rice and beans, tostones, bacalito (salt cod patty), maduros, etc. It's all good. Their famous jibarito was surprisingly the one thing I've ordered that I didn't like that much. Got the shrimp and they were those tiny bay shrimp. It was ok just not for me. read more