Unfortunately, our experience at El Platanal was a bit disappointing. The food was good, but nothing really stood out enough to make up for the service, which was definitely lacking during our visit. At first, I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt and assume they were short staffed, but that did not seem to be the case. The amount of time between ordering drinks, receiving appetizers, and finally getting our meals was simply too long. There were stretches where we were left waiting without much communication or attention from the staff, which took away from the overall experience. On the positive side, the restaurant itself is very nicely designed and has a great atmosphere that fits perfectly with the laid back, tropical lifestyle of Puerto Rico. It is an inviting space and definitely looks like a place where you would expect to have a great local dining experience. Overall, the food was good and the atmosphere was enjoyable, but the slow and inattentive service kept the experience from being what it could have been. Hopefully we just caught them on an off night. read more

This used to be one of my favorite spots, but not anymore. Service was slow even though it wasn't busy. We waited a long time for water, the appetizer came after the main dishes, and no one checked on us. We had to ask multiple employees just to get water once the food arrived. The food was the biggest disappointment. The churrasco plantain sandwich was dry and flavorless. The mofongo and yuca with chicken were bland, and the chicken was tough and needed seasoning. The staff was polite, but not attentive. Being told the tip was "15% no less" at the end didn't sit right either. There are too many great Puerto Rican options out there -- we won't be back. read more

El Platanal - Plantain sandwich: steak - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

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This place is all over the island. They have many locations. The food at one place was good. We has the chicharon de pollo. Fried chicken chunks with rice and beans. And we got the grouper plate with rice. (Wet rice). Everything was excellent, and tasted good. The service was excellent. They had water and it wasn't a problem. read more

Y'all, I'm gonna make this quick so I can get back to my food. This is one of the best meals I had in Puerto Rico. Hands down. Period. They are open 24/7 and deliver on Uber Eats so you have no excuse not to get you some. The bacalaitos were delicious! Chewy and tender and perfectly fried. Generous portion. Enough to share, although if you reach over here you might pull back a nub. Moving on... The rice and beans. Savory, saucy delicious carbs. What's not to love? Amarillos/platanos/fried sweet plantain (whatever you want to call them)... Yum!! Mind you, they're not caramelized like their Jamaican or Trinidadian counterparts... So adjust your expectations accordingly. I had some cilantro crema leftover from another meal that I thought would be good with them... And I was so right. And last, but certainly not least... The flan de coco. I love flan, but I've never had coconut flan... Until now. Easily one of the best flans I've ever had and probably the best dessert I've had out of all of my trips to Puerto Rico. Ok, I gave y'all all the information you need to know about this place. Why are you still reading this? Go get you some! And if you don't, that's fine too... I'll just eat your share. And no you can't have any. read more

El Platanal - Amarillos, flan de coco, bacalaitos, rice and beans. Amazing! - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Food is great! Appetizers were delicious. Ambiance is great ! The view was breath taking! And ...my server Angel was amazing! read more

Alcapurrias were yummy, albeit small. The mofongo with fried pork...well, the pork was cooked perfectly. The mofongo? Meh. No crunchy bits of chicarones. No crunchy bits of plantains, the texture seemed like boiled & mashed, not fried & mashed. 5 hours on a plane to get here only to be disappointed. I can get boiled mofongo in Texas. I was so looking forward to traditional mofongo. I guess I have to keep searching. read more

Excelente, realmente fuego en un ambiente muy agradable . La atención de todos es excepcional read more

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No, no, no. Si buscas criollo aquí no es. El servicio malo y la comida horrible. Fuimos un grupito de ocho. De esos tres pidieron aguacate relleno. EL AGUACATE ESTABA SUPER DURO. No se podia ni omer. La ropa vieja llego fria, el bistec chicloso y el arroz parecía del que compras para cocinar en el microondas. Lo único bueno fueron las frituras del sampler. read more

Food was excellent. I arrive, they sat me down, 15-20 minutes later I still wasn't attended to. I wave to two young ladies that worked there and they came over. Very pleasantly one said she would take my order. She orders my food and brings me a beer. She then shows me a guy at a distance and tells me that he is my waiter. 15-20 minutes later he had still not acknowledged my existence. So I leave my seat to go to the first girl that took my order and asked for another beer. He is standing next to her at the time and still wouldn't acknowledge me. He eventually brought me the beer and came back a few times. I then order a piece of chicken with fried ripe plantains to go. Forty minutes later I still hadn't received my order. The young waitress that started with me came by and saw my disappointed look and how upset I was and went to the kitchen and got me my to go meal and brought the check. I arrived there about 4:45 and left there at 7:30pm. I should have asked for manager but don't know why I didn't. I would of given him a piece of my mind. I stayed there for 2 hours and 45 minutes to eat a seafood salad, two beers, a coffee and two pieces of chicken with fried yellow plaintain. That is beyond belief! At no point did a see a manager go around the restaurant checking with the customers. I was very disappointed with the horrific service I encountered. Granted I'm sure they have great people that works there. I just didn't get one of those. Oh, it wasn't that terribly busy. This was on 24 July 2025 read more

The liver and onions was really good. The coffee was smooth. The French fries were not as crispy as I like but were not bad. The service was nice and polite. The cost was good with a good amount of food. I would definitely come back read more

Tienen que cambiar de la manager de ahí ... el maltrato hacia sus empleados es grande! Parece que no sabe que hay leyes a favor de los empleados. El platanal de Hatillo read more

Another favorite stop when visiting PR. Wive loves the fish. Motofgo is solid as well.

You have to try the local dish called Mofongos. The service was fast and food was delicious! Inside the place was well decorated and had bunch of tv's. If you visit San Juan must try. read more

El Platanal - Sopa de platano - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

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The garlic grouper is delicious. So is the bistec con cebolla. The tostones de platano y pana, yummy. The bacalaitos were terrible, gummy, and raw inside. The beers were cold. read more

El Platanal - Bacalaitos, terrible, gummy, too salty. - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

This was one of my favorites in PR. Food was delicious, freshly made & soooo flavorful. The service was good & ambiance was perfect. We absolutely loved this place. read more

Had a fantastic dinner at El Platanal. We loved it. I had Filete de Mero with mofongo, and my friend had Aguacate Relleno de Ropa Vieja and he adored it. We both ordered piña coladas and they were perfect. We found this place after riding around and I'm so glad we did. The place was spotlessly clean, the food was very reasonable, and we had a great time. read more

If you want to eat authentic Puertorican food, this is the place. Enjoy the classic Mofongo, Chuletas Kan Kan, Arañitas, etc. the service is quick and personal and the prices are accessible. Don't miss it if you are in San Juan. read more

El Platanal - Awesome dinner! - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

!!! 2 INCH TONGUE-EATING PARASITE found inside my fried red snapper, the "chillo frito"! (See photos) I ate the entire fish up to the jaw and that's when I saw the tail of the thick long parasite --this parasite has claws, two eyes, and whiskers. Google: Cymothoa exigua, or the tongue-eating parasite (louse), it enters fish through the gills. The female attaches to the tongue, while the male attaches to the gill arches beneath and behind the female. The staff took my plate to the back, returned and said "we broke open the jaw and examined the fish and you are right and we are horrified and so sorry." The manager admitted to frightening discovery and offered a postre. Not a free meal, but a dessert. Of course my appetite along with my guest was gone, so then they gave me the bill and expected me to pay for the fish BECAUSE I ATE IT. I said to them "how am I expected to pay for a meal with a parasite?" The waiter sighed and said "okay" then took the fish off and billed me for our two drinks, appetizer, with their tip included in the bill. My guest and I were in shock--traumatized, so I quickly paid just to leave. The next day a family member saw the entire video on social media and called the restaurant to demand a refund. The staff said that I could come back to the restaurant and they would give me the refund, so when we let them know that their response to this traumatic situation was to now have me drive an hour our of the way to get a refund on top of their mishandling was insult to injury is when they offered to pay for my gas *****BUT ALL OUT OF POCKET SO THAT THE OWNER WOULD NOT FIND OUT ABOUT THIS. 1: A parasite in my food. 2: expected to pay. 3: the staff are trying to hide this from ownership. 4. I have not yet recieved the refund, will update this post if/when I do. "Dear Department of Health..... read more

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This place was the first restaurant we stopped by and it was a blast. Food was good, service was great, and our server Michael was perfect! Ask for him when you get there because he'll take care of you!! He recommended some perfect appetizers, and the entrees were phenomenal! The drinks were so good too. Definitely will be the first place we come back to when we do come back! read more

El Platanal - Red snapper with dirty rice (my plate) Shrimp and avocado with sweet plantain (her plate) - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Cheap authentic Puerto Rican eats? I'm there! Found this spot after our awesome uber driver recommended it. He said this is definitely the spot to go! After driving by it a few times with the line out the door each and every time, we knew we had to come try it. Location is big, plenty of indoor and outdoor space, great for groups. Food portions are HUGE and extremely cheap. You get authentic, homemade, delicious food for a very reasonable price. For apps: you must try the queso frito with guava sauce, they bring like 16 pieces. As a meal, a lot of our friends ordered the meat stuffed avocado with rice and beans (huge portion to share). I ordered rice and beans and an avocado salad (HUGE avocado half). We came out of there stuffed and feeling amazing. One of the cheapest, largest portions we've had during our trip. You definitely have to try it out. There's a little bit of everything for everyone. read more

Looking for fairly priced, delicious Puerto Rican food? Then look no further when in the metropolitan area, "El Platanal" is a perfect choice!! Probably one of my favorite places to get Puerto Rican Food, "Platanal" is a banana/plantain plantation. Is no wonder why "El Platanal" is named after a plantain plantation they specialize in anything plantain. Mofongo? You got it! Fried or sweet plantains? Go for it! Plantain soup? My favorite place to get it. A must is are their Fried cheese with guava sauce appetizer (GET IT!!!) and their "Aplatanado rice", which is packed with "gandules" (pigeon peas) and mashed fried plantain (similar to small mofongo balls). Finally, depending on what you get, prices range from $8-20, but they always have house specials which some stay constant and others change from day to day. Check them out!!! FYI: Parking is limited and cramped. :\ read more

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My mom (vegetarian) and I found the delicious flavors we've been hoping for on our first visit ever to Puerto Rico (having only had Puerto Rican food a few t8mes in our lives made by a few friends, relatives and a rare number of restaurants in the Bay Area, California. OooWee! I got the Pernil Al Horno (pork shoulder) which had succulent meat and crunchy skin, flavored perfectly and not salty. Paired it with Arroz Apastelado (yellow rice with shredded plantains, chekpeas and olives) which was some of the best Puerto Rican rice I've ever had; perfect texture, amazing flavor, not dry or soggy. Side of Trifongo was fantastic even without any sauce on top. Some garlic or creole sauce could makenit even greater. Mom loved her Sandwich De Platano (plantain sandwich) with Camarones inside (shrimp). I had a bite and was blown away how flavorful it was for looking so simple. We began making plans to ensure we eat at this restaurant again towards the end of our trip. Each plate is enough for 2 so we had very delicious leftovers too. Very friendly waitress, Kieshlymar. She thought her English wasn't good but she did great with all of our questions. Clean restaurant with festive decor and some creative touches. read more

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Great portions! Great Puerto Rican cuisine!! Platano soup to kill for!! Try the mofongo or pollo a la perilla!! read more

This little place has a lot going for it. 1. It's open later than a lot of places in the area. 2. It has outdoor seating and it's a pretty festive environment. 3. The food is pretty solid and really affordable. All three of us in my party got the plantain sandwiches. One got chicken, two of us got the skirt steak. This is a pretty filling meal, the plantains are crusty almost like bread, but so much better because they are plantains! The steak was tender and flavorful. The service was perfect. I'm a fan of this place. read more

El Platanal - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

We ordered 3 appetizers, 3 drinks, and 3 plates. It took 30 minutes to receive our appetizers, someone from the kitchen was confused what table we were at and was asking each table if they were theirs. We were there from 6:30 pm - 8:30 pm and NEVER received our plates. The waitress did not check in on us at all. We had to go find her and ask her what was going on with our food. She came back and said the kitchen lost our ticket. We asked for the drinks or appetizers to be discounted due to her not checking in/realizing our food was not put in.. and she said that the restaurant would not do so. I would not return read more

Platanal means a plaintain farm. And there is no shortage of plantains here. Prior to hurricane Maria there was even a plátano flan!!! If you are a fan of plantains (tostones, mariquitas, arañitas and soup) this would be your natural place to go. The more complex mofongo is ok. I've had better and todays was missing a bit more of the pork rinds and garlic to my taste. Nonetheless this charming restaurant is certain to be one you'd like. The conch salad and mofongo was very good and the mojitos helped wash it all done. Buen provecho read more

El Platanal - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Todo lo que comimos, riquísimo. El churrasco estaba de cien. La chuleta kan kan, deliciosa. Pero el mesero, Miguel, nos desatendió durante toda la comida. Muy lento, olvidó uno de los acompañantes, se tardó en recoger los platos, en traer la cuenta... No está por la labor, necesita prestarle más atención a su trabajo o cambiar de profesión. read more

I am giving 3 stars because service was excellent but food is so so. Beans had no salt at all while the plantains soup was salty. The skirt steak looked like it was previously cooked and then grilled to warm it up. Didn't like it. read more

We had a great experience here! The service was the fastest we've had all week in Puerto Rico and the staff was incredibly friendly. Everyone who walked by our table told us bon provecho and when one of my friends asked to replace her tostones that had already come out with rice, they did it quickly and graciously. The price isn't too bad, but the portion sizes are HUGE! You'll definitely leave full. Plus, they give you candies with the check which was a big surprise we all enjoyed. We tried a variety of foods (I had the bistec empanizado, my partner had mango chicken, one friend had the empanizado chicken, and the other had a sopada), and the only complaint was that the sopada was a bit salty. We are everything though and it was great. Highly recommend read more

This was recommended by a local and the food was fantastic. Great staff and very happy with the service which in Puerto Rico can be a hit and miss. Great job El Plantanal! See you next trip for sure. Thx Gino read more

Oh. My. Goodness. You have to eat here, hands down the best restaurant I have ever eaten at in Puerto Rico (and there are many, lol) The food is authentic, the drinks are delicious, the prices are great, the service is wonderful. I ordered the mofongo relleno con pernil and it was perfect! The seasoning levels were spot on and the portion size was perfect. I tried a bite of everyone else's food as well because we all love to share and it was great too. I tried the pechuga de pollo stuffed with yuca and it was super delicious and garlicky. I also tried the arañitas, grilled chicken mixed with vegetables, rice and beans... All of it was amazing. I will never forget this place. Do yourself a favor and go here. Buen Provecho! read more

El Platanal - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Had a very great experience. The food was great. Can't complain. Service was wonderful. The only thing that I thought was excessive was the relleno de aguacate. They gave a whole aguacate and it was huge!!!! It was delicious just to much avalado. read more

Food is tasty, service is average, inside has a cute old-school decor, and the bathroom smelled like a barn. Parking sucks here. There is street parking, on a narrow road, which is shared by other local businesses, that is on the same side of the street. The parking and bathroom is why I took one star off. read more

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The place has a great ambiance, the personnel is fantastically friendly. The food is nice, not extraordinary. I ordered the pork on the plain rain basket. It didn't have the nice garlic and salt flavor we expect with the lechon. Also it had a lot of grease (they should have cleaned it a little better considering the light is low and one cannot see details on the plate. I ended up eating it with my hands in order to feel my way around). We ordered the churrasco on the plantain basket and that was good. The parking is horrendous! That's what you get in doing a business at an area where it was originally designed as residential! read more

Check this place out if you're looking for traditional and creative ways to eat plantains. Plantains are basically big bananas and Puerto Ricans eat them in a variety of ways. One of the most popular and traditional is "mofongo" which is basically a mashed plantain often stuffed or "relleno" with some sort of meat or seafood. Another is a "toston" which is a fried disc of mashed plantain. I had a pork shoulder sandwich with tostones instead of bread. Quite good. The only reason I'm withholding five stars is the service was slow and inattentive. read more

I've been there twice, good plantain although not the best carne frita, accesible and competitive prices

Great experience! I enjoyed a "bistec" sandwich with an avocado salad that was delicious! Our server and greeter were very attentive towards our table. Easy to locate, clean, quick and simple but nice decor reminiscent of a mountain setting in the middle of the city. Parking is limited. Prices are fair. read more

This is a diner type of place with typical Puerto Rican food. We recommend the plantain sandwiches and the fresh fruit juices. The service is aceptable, parking maybe an issue. The overall experience was Good for us. read more

El Platanal - El Platanal Nov 15th 2015 - Puerto Rican Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

FYI: This review is for the Carolina location! 0 tourists 0 English 100% real traditional Puerto Rican food at great prices. $4 virgin pina coladas, bingo! Been back 3 times within one week, because that's how good it is. read more

You cannot skip this place (either location). The food is great, the staff is friendly, and the servings are plentiful.