What a place!! A large group of my friends and I came in for dinner and they were more than willing to not only take our orders but also let us sit inside at the order table to wait :) Sweet lady at the front was helping those of us who were unfamiliar with the menu decide on what to eat. It's a bit of a hole in the wall so don't expect to eat inside, but absolutely expect to be welcomed with open arms and delicious food!! Amen amen amen read more

Dear [Manager or Owner Name], I am writing to express my extreme disappointment with the meal I ordered from your establishment this evening. We found your restaurant via Google Maps and were excited to try your Puerto Rican food, but unfortunately, it was the worst experience I have ever had. We placed a phone order around 7:45 PM and spent $75, only to receive food that was not up to par. The Mofongo with pernil was drowning in liquid like a soup, and the white rice was so greasy that it was visible on my fingers. Furthermore, the beans appeared to be unseasoned and straight from a can. After only a few bites, the food was inedible, and we ended up throwing the entire meal away. To make matters worse, we were told we had to eat outside on a small wooden table, and when I went back inside to address the issues with the Mofongo, the staff member I spoke with showed no ownership of the problem and simply said he would "let them know." As a supporter of small businesses, I am very reluctant to share negative feedback, but the quality of the food and the lack of service we received for the price we paid was unacceptable. I would like to hear from the owner regarding this experience. read more

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I hate to say it but nothing about this food is puerto Rican. The pastelillo meat was salty, the rice was flavorless, the pernil was mushy, the beans were awful. The sofrito/recaito base was missing in every bite. The Puerto Rican flavors were absent overall. Disappointing to say the least. I spend $133 and feel it was a safe of money. I'm still on the hunt for good Puerto Rican food in San Diego. Help! read more

Wow! As a Rican from the island this was everything I needed! I will be back again! The lechón arroz con gandules everything was so delicious! read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

Food 6/10 Service 6/10 Ambiance 6/10 Came this restaurant about a month ago when I was craving Puerto Rican food. This place was a hot mess from the moment we walked in. Came around 7 pm and per Yelp the hours said they were still open. When we get there it was clearly a club that also served food which I had no problem with but the man by the entrance and our waiter started arguing about letting us in since the waiter claimed they weren't open anymore. The guy argued they were still serving food. After a long time of seeing them in the corner argue back and forth she finally came to get our order... we ordered the Mofongo plate and the Lechon plate, both were extremely salty. Ever since I've been to Puerto Rico I've been looking for something comparable, but this unfortunately just didn't do it for me. Music was so loud, it was obnoxious. I don't recommend this place at all. It was expensive and not even worth it. read more

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Great service and the food was just like my mom's. Ambiance was good with latino music in the background. read more

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Great spot for Puerto Rican food. If I'm ever craving my food and don't want to cook, this is the spot. Anna knows how to cook and everything is very tasty. read more

We moved here from Chicago and couldn't find a Puerto Rican restaurant at all. This place popped up in search and thought we'd try it out. Good food and friendly service. A fun place, looks like it's a nightclub in the evenings. read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

Absolutely Amazing reminds me of home, service was great and the food was even better highly recommend if you want authentic Puerto Rican/Dominican food read more

We drove two hours to dine at the only Dominican restaurant that I could find in all of So Cal. And it was all deeeeelicious! I love that almost everything is fried, from the empanadas, to just straight up cheese. We also saw something else on the menu that we had never seen before, a pina mojito. The pineapple perfectly masked the alcohol so you couldn't even taste it. I had to get some fried empanadas to start. Dominican empanadas are actually called pastelillos and are all fried. These are meant to be an appetizer, but they're pretty damn big. Lechon plate is probably my favorite dish. This slow roasted pork is so juicy and served with pickled onions. The chimichurri burger will be my choice on my next visit. read more

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Best authentic Puerto Rican Dominican food. Every time I eat there it reminds me of home. Only place in San Diego that serves real Caribbean food. Highly recommend for anyone that is just going on a date or kids or even a big family. Price is fair, waitress are very sweet and kind hearted. Will be back again! read more

Food was delicious and authentic. Call ahead because it's only pick up or delivery for now. Could have easily ordered more, but we're out of towners. Owner was super friendly and nice. Go check them out when in San Diego. read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Yucca frita, lechon with arroz con condules, platanos, beef empanada, alcapurria - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

Amazinggg place, a hidden gem for sure which is crazy cause it's right across from Hans and Harry's. Tostones- crispy and flavorful with a kickin garlic sauce for the garlic lovers (me) Empanada- breading is so thin and crispy, the filling was super flavorful but it did seem not filled enough Mofongo plate- the best thing there. a heaping amount of meat inside a thick bowl made of mashed plantains, simple but incredible. recommend replacing with their lechon, the best meat Bistec plate- sweet marinated steak that reminded me of tomatoes, good but meat was just slightlyyy too tough Jibarito plate- simple but delicious. the fried plantain is perfectly crispy and pairs great with the meat and spanish rice Parking is easy, located in a huge lot read more

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Delicious and one of a kind. Done right with traditions and served with passion. Full of flavor and fresh. Staff are kind and greet you every time, been 2x and wait to go bank for more. Simplistic menu but definitely a few times to go to try it all. Readable prices with a happy hour too. Place is kept clean with plenty of tables indoors. Great music and plenty of parking. read more

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Food was great, service was on point. I had the sampler platter and it was hot and fresh. I would come again with my friends and family. read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Picadera de Fritura/ Appetizer Sampler - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

Went at lunch and everything was delicious. We had a pastelillo de carne, mofongo with chicken, and yuca with lechon. Seasoning and textures were right on! read more

So happy to have found this restaurant. Their food is flavorful and delicious. We had the Beef Pastelillio. It is hot and crunchy with yummy dip. We also had the Jibarito Lechon Plate and Pollo Frito Plate. Delicious. Our server was very nice and friendly. The restaurant was nice and clean. We will be back. read more

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Stumbled upon this restaurant the first time, when I got free delivery from - you know, one of those food delivery companies. I wanted something different, and this is, in a good way! This time I ordered online for pick-up. I guess this restaurant has only been here a couple of years and shares the space with La Luz Lounge Night Club- right across from Hans and Harry's, which is definitely a bonus because, desserts! So far we tried: Mofongo- plantain mashed with garlic and served with your choice of shrimp or lechon on top. I chose lechon (pork). I never had mashed plantains with garlic, but it works. This dish is strong on garlic, but I loved every bite. The crispy fried pork skin on top is perfection. This is my favorite so far, and the price is fair for the hefty portion I got. Papa Rellena - Potato-filled ball with ground beef center. Mmmm, a crispy light outer crust breaks open to the mashed potato filling with a seasoned ground beef center. Queso frito- Fried cheese squares. Exactly what the name says. Makes a funny squeaky sound as you chew it hahaha Alcapurria- Plantain and yautia fritter filled with meat. a very interesting and unusual combination (to me, at least). I liked it. Pastellio - Beef, Chicken, or Pizza filled empanadas. My son's favorite! He craves and hounds me to get these almost every week. We had them today, and he asked to get more tomorrow. We tried all of them, but the chicken is his most favorite. A must-try. Service was great, everyone was super welcoming and friendly, and there is plenty of parking in the shopping center which also has the Bonita Post Office, Starbucks, Graciela's Taco Shop, and KFC. If you're looking to try something different and delicious, I recommend this Puerto Rican and Dominican establishment! read more

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Puertorican and Dominican food can be hard to come by in Southern California - it's nice to have a spot to try both cuisines in the San Diego area. The mofongo is good though some prefer the meats to be mixed in with the plantain. The rice and beans (sides) are great - good flavor and texture - just like on the islands. But here are the true winners: the ripe plantains ('amarillos') are out of the ballpark good... crispy in the right places, and mostly soft and sweet, they are above par; the tostones (the green plaintain appetizer) is great too - again: crispy in the right spots, soft on the inside, and flavorful... these two plantain dishes (sides) are truly a home run here. The yucca with garlic and onions was very good - though ordering it with extra garlic and onions might add the right balance to make this a five out of five item. The potato ball was good but a little extra meat would make it even better. The alcapurria, which is very similar to Egyptian Quibe was great too - the meat in it was very good. But the king of the evening was the Dominican Chimi burger... wow was this a tasty surprise. This Dominican street food item, not the easiest to find in the US (though probably not terribly hard to make in common forms) was exceptionally good. The menu describes it as a Dominican style burger "topped with cabbage, red onions and secret chimi sauce," Chimi being shorthand for Chimichurri... this thing was phenomenal and Jibaritos' strength. Having spent two years as an ecclesiastical representative in the Dominican Republic, I can confidently state Dominican food is fairly represented here - and, truthtfully, much of it overlaps with Puertorican food. The Chimi takes the prize in that department. Having lived in in Puerto Rico twice, I can say that the Puertorican food is represented well too. The atmosphere is mellow, but the establishment does aim for a festive vibe. If you go during the daytime you'll get great service and can eat comfortably but you will definitely feel like they're preparing for an evening of dance, food, and drinks. Nothing wrong with that at all - just a heads up on what it's like inside. Small tip: there's a great, unrelated bakery across the way. read more

Every weekend I'm dying for the fried chicken plate !!! So bum they only open the weekends now b it they makes me want to go even more ! Best Puerto Rican food I think in San Diego read more

Did not like this place at all. Not authentic PR restaurant. Will not go back. Yuca served red onion, undercooked, dry not enough garlic vinagreta, Empanada with dry picadillo & burnt alcapurria. Really disappointed. read more

Service is so horrible. It looked busy but not even to be acknowledged or for them to say we will be with you is plain rude just sitting for 20 minutes as they just us by. read more

Would recommend. The food taste amazing and the customer service is awesome. Hit the spot.

Great atmosphere, great food, great music! Great place over all, we loved it and happy to have found this gem!

5-star FOOD TOSTOSNES‼‼‼my favorite. COCO soda AUTHENTIC pretty good and filling Enter was very generous loved the music and vibes ‼ read more

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I sought this place out as I had a major craving for some Dominican food. It was a gloomy Saturday morning and I could tell this place had just opened for the day - there was no one else there but the music was loud as if last night's party never ended. It took a minute for someone to come out and seat me, so I was already kind of hesitant about my experience here. I was seated and quickly figured what I would order, and again it took awhile for someone to come out and take my order. This is where the waiting begins. I think I waited a good 40 minutes for my order to come out, which was shocking because no one else was there. The waitress acknowledged it was taking awhile and even brought out a courtesy Coco Rico soda. The wait time wouldn't have been so bad if I didn't have to be somewhere after this. By the time my food came out I had to ask for a box to go, I tried the tostones with garlic sauce and they tasted amazing, I was so disappointed I couldn't eat them fresh. The fried chicken plate was very hearty and much bigger than I anticipated, and again was disappointed I had to wait to try it later. It looked very crispy. I was able to eat them later that day and while it took some of the magic out of it, the food was still pretty good. I don't expect fast food coming to sit down places like this but the wait time just seemed so egregious for the time of day and occupancy. I'm hoping I will go back again and have a better experience then. read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Tostones/fried green plantain - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

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First time at this restaurant, it was pretty empty. The pork was very flavorful ( I'm a salt girly) no salt necessary. It was nice to try something different! read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Mofungo!! - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

Moving from the East Coast we have been looking for some Puerto Rican food and found this gem. We got the Alcapurrias, Papa rellena , arroz y habichuelas con bistec encebollado, tostones con ajo, Perni and it was delicious . We are Puerto Rican ( cook all PR dishes) and visit Puerto Rico several times and this food was delicious. Can't wait to visit again. read more

As a child, my beautiful Puerto Rican Nana Josephine taught me how to cook HER way. I heard stories that my father wouldn't eat anything else growing up. Sadly, I lost my precious father in 2009. So, when I either cook and/or eat this kind of food, all kinds of memories are associated with it. After my first bite, I was almost in tears. It was a taste I'd been searching for in San Diego for quite a while. The lechon plate was almost like my grandmother's (minus the crispy skin!) - with the garlic marinade all up in there and roasted for hours. The "maduros" were perfectly soft and sweet. I'm used to crispy tostones (nice thinness too!) with just salt but I LOVED the garlic mojo already added - nice touch! My husband had the fried chicken.... umm, wow! They're in another category by themselves! He and my mom had the meat pies, which were a different recipe than were used to but skill delicious and HUGE! Imagine the size of a paper plate folded over and stuffed - well worth $4! And to top it off, knowing this is a one-woman show, this food truck owner gets and deserves MAD RESPECT and regular customers. I'm going to do my best to send friends over to show them what great Puerto Rican food is. THANK YOU for making great food and memories! read more

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Delicious Puerto Rican food! We happen to be in the San Diego area & was looking for a place to have lunch. Happen to see this place on Yelp and when it said they serve Puerto Rican food we had to go! Coming from NYC we miss this type of food out here in CA. I ordered the mofongo with lechon and my wife got the Jibarito lechon plate. Both dishes were amazing! The lechon was so tender & full of flavor. The mofongo in my dish soaked up the juices from the lechon which made it even tastier! read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Jibarito Lechon Plate - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

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While this is the closes you'll get to Dominican/ Puerto Rican food in San Diego, CA , I think they need to add more options to the dishes. The mofongo had way too much garlic and the shrimps lacked flavor. Service was good and the Ambiance as well. read more

Inside the La Luz club, they offer Puerto Rican and other Caribbean food. I recommend going a little later where there will have additional dishes that are great. You'll find more traditional foods that you may not find at other places. All the fried food is great, Sancocho was a menu item that was offered a little later that was so tasty, read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Mofongo Plate - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

Had the pollo frito and plantains and OMG! So good! Previously had Dominican and Puerto Rican food in NY and it was okay to me but thankfully I tried it again because this was one of the best meals I've had in awhile. Their rice and beans is full of flavor and the chicken's flavor penetrated through the meat I love fried plantains in general but theirs was spot on. Definitely will come back! read more

Came excited to try some Puerto Rican food. I have had some before but never been to a restaurant for it. We walked in around 11:30am and no one was around so we walked to the back and they bartender asked if we were placing an order, then a women from the back came out and we asked if we could dine in and she said yes we can sit anywhere. She brought us our menus and waters and shortly after we placed our order. We ordered the lechon plate. The pollo frito plate, a chicken pastelillo, queso frito, tostones, and an order or habichuelas. The queso frito was two different cheese and are noticeable in the picture. One cheese was soft and had subtle flavor, the other cheese was not as soft, had a rubbery feeling and sound when you chewed it (kind of hard to eat) but it had a lot of flavor. The tostones were cooked perfect and had great flavor. The chicken pastelillo delicious! The chicken inside of it could've been distributed better but it had a nice crunch and the ketchup-Mayo sauce was pretty decent sauce, we had to ask for more!The lechon plate was slow cooked pork with a small but thick piece of fried skin on top, a size of arroz con gandules and a small salad with picketed onions. The pork was alright. Not too much flavor honestly.. the same with the rice and the salad was pretty fresh. The pollo frito was the three giant fried chicken legs! Fried perfect with good flavor. The serve was super nice and tentative to us. She was kind and constantly poured us more water and gave us updates on our food and when it would be ready. Over alls he made out experience really great! read more

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I drove half an hour to this place, I came during the hours stayed on the website and it was closed. Waste of my time.

I made a good choice going to Jabaritos De La Isla. The was food was flavorful. The Jabarito steak sandwich was great and the portion size is decent. It's convenient and close to the house. I will definitely go back in the future. Thanks! read more

Absolutely amazing food and great service. I had not had authentic Puerto Rican food since moving out here from the northeast. So it's been five years of missing all the greats... mofongo, pernil, acapurria, etc. Everything was well seasoned and in a word, DELICIOUS! We will be back! read more

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Anytime I find out about a new Puerto Rican food place in San Diego I find a reason to visit, even if it's 45 minutes away. Jibaritos shares restaurant space with El Caribe so don't be confused about the signage. The Puerto Rican and Dominican flags will lead the way, and the salsa music will let you know you're in the right spot. We were greeted by Carolisa, who was great! I ordered the mofongo with lechón and a side of beans (red) and rice. My wife ordered the arroz con gandules with lechón. The lechón was flavorful, garlicky the way I like it and tender. The mofongo was beautifully done and had the perfect texture and taste. Just like on the island. The rice and beans almost made me cry. I told Carolisa that they were the best rice and beans I've had besides my mom's. The arroz and gandules were also perfect! The portions were huge. We took 1/2 of each meal home, and damn it tasted even better today. Definitely will be back!! read more

Jibaritos De La Isla - Arroz con gandules y lechón - Dominican Near Me - San Diego, California

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Their Pasteles (Tamales with Pork and Guineo Masa mixture) are delicious but for now only sold frozen to go. Call ahead to make sure they have theme. read more

My best friend is Puerto Rican and after I came back from PR a couple years ago I had asked her if she knew of any Puerto Rican restaurants in San Diego, because I knew that I was going to crave Mofongo again at some point. At the time she named Tropical Savor (only open for catering now :( ) & Jibaritos De La Isla! At that point, Jibaritos was selling out of their food truck and I could never quite catch them when I was craving. So the other day when I was figuring out what I was going to eat for lunch before heading to work, I was pleasantly surprised to see that they are now located inside La Luz Ultra Lounge! It was still pretty early when I went, so the place was empty and I'm sure they were still setting up for the day. Customer service was great though! I looked over the entire menu but ended up going with the Mofongo as I had planned. I ordered it with shrimp, minus the Chicharrón. I had to take it to go, so as you can see in the picture the presentation wasn't much, but the flavor absolutely made up for that! I do wish the portion was a little bigger, but it was so good so I guess I can't be too upset lol I literally ate every last bite! This lounge seems like it gets pretty Poppin! I had texted my friend while I was there and told her that we definitely had to go back to not only eat, but to party as well. Hopefully we make it happen soon, but until then I will be dreaming about that delicious mofongo lol Thank you Jibaritos De La Isla team! read more

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