This is one of our favorite lunch spots in town and it's always at the top of the list of places that our son wants to go when he's back home from college. The food is always delicious and we are always greeted with a smile when ordering. I daydream about the cubano, tostones, and avocado milkshake. read more

This spot is a *must-eat*. Every dish seriously gooood. I'm all about mixing and matching, so we got a bunch of dishes and shared (dipping everything in their sauces lol). The Jibarito sandwich? Absolute game-changer. That aioli on it? It deserves its own award. The tostones are always a crowd-pleaser. The empanadas and rice are total comfort food vibes. Everything was fresh, hot, and made with love. Their team is really welcoming and nice too! My company sometimes caters from here for team lunches and they do an awesome job with that, too. read more

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When I moved to GR I was SOOO excited to find a restaurant that served Puerto Rican and Dominican food, and Rincon Criollo was one of my first stops when I came to town. Everything I've had from Rincon Criollo was super tasty, but I have to say that their Jibarito is my favorite thing on the menu. It's a sandwich that uses fried, smashed plantains instead of bread, so it's gluten-free! (In fact, most of the options of the menu are gluten-free.) The sandwich was invented by the Puerto Rican diaspora community in Chicago, and I am so happy that it has made it's way to GR so that I don't have to drive three hours to enjoy one! One reviewer mentioned the interior, and frankly, Rincon Criollo's space is simple, humble, and clean. The real focus is the food. I won't dock them a star, but man do I wish they were on DoorDash or GrubHub. I'd be ordering from them at least once a week. read more

Delicious! Super low-key style dining but it's perfect for when you are craving some latin Caribbean food when options are limited. I would trade atmosphere for delicious home cooked meals ANY DAY. read more

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Do you wanna feel like you're in Puerto Rico without leaving West Michigan then come here for a little ray of sunshine and amazing food. The garlic shrimp Mofongo makes you feel like you're in the Caribbean. The empanadas are perfect and the Caribbean chicken is a universal favorite. If you like your food spicy, don't forget to ask for a side of salsa picante. The green jalapeño based sauce is a perfect addition to Puerto Rican rice. read more

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Delicious food and always satisfying. I highly recommend this restaurant. They also have a sit down dining area within the restaurant if you want to eat there. read more

I tutor English at the Literacy Center of West Michigan through the Adult Tutoring Program, and my tutee is from the Dominican Republic. When I told her about this place and its menu items, she responded, "Jajaja excellent!" I've been meaning to try it for a while now. It's a casual spot in a bold, colorful building with a parking lot located on Grandville Ave near Supermercado Mexico and Rodriguez Supermarket. You can either order ahead for take out or dine in and order/pay at the counter. I think my friend and I were the only non-Spanish speaking people there, which was awesome. We ordered: - Papaya & passionfruit shakes - Empanadillas de pollo (fried Puerto Rican chicken turnovers similar to empanadas, but with a thinner and flakier crust) - Rellenos de papa (stuffed potato balls) - Mofongo con bistec (fried mashed plantains mashed with garlic and served with steak) We were super hungry, so this really hit the spot, came out quickly, and was cheap! I think the rellenos were my favorite. The mofongo wasn't quite as fire as what I had at the Luquillo Kiosks in Puerto Rico, but that's totally understandable since Michigan is a ways away from the source haha. I'll have to come back and try more of the menu. read more

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I came here today with a coworker for the first time. She says she gets the same thing every time she goes - rice, pork and a bowl of beans in sauce; it looked really good! For myself, I wanted to try the mofongo because I'd never had it before - anywhere. I'm not sure what to compare it to so I'll just say that the smell of the seasoning was amazing - so flavorful! The only part that was unpleasant was that there were hard pieces of something in it - I think it must have been one of the seasonings? The portions are HUGE! I took a photo after I had finished what I could and you can see there is a considerable amount left! This dish was just $10 - a great value! Parking is convenient as well. read more

Rincón Criollo - Chicken Mofongo - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

I eat here often and the food is good I'm not gonna deny that but the lady up front that runs the restaurant has no customer service skills she can be nasty to people, when the owner was present it was a way better environment. read more

Chicken, beef with jalapeño and cheese empanadas were awesome. Pork jibarito was nice. Pork was slow cooked and juicy. Came with a large serving of rice. Stewed steak with potatoes also comes with a large side of rice. I will probably try a different meat next time but it was still full of flavor. I also think the rice portion could have been smaller with more sauce and meat. Also liked the house sauces. Will definitely be back for more empanadas and hopefully try more options. read more

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Amazing stewed goat and shakes! The tostones rellenos were the tastiest. Will be back soon!

Highly recommend! Friendly, fast service. The food absolutely delicious. If near by, it's a must try.! Won't be disappointed. read more

Rincón Criollo - Baleadas, tacos, popusa - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Wow, what a wild burst of beautiful favors. We had food catered to our location for 40 plus people. The food was amazing, full of colors and just the right amount of seasoning. We had Chicken with colorful peppers, Puerto Rican rice, plantains and empanadas. We were extremely happy with the food and the large amounts we got. The staff was very friendly, delivery was on time and they set up for us. This was a delayed holiday gathering for our facilities team. We are so happy and know who to call for our next event. Thank you Rincon Criollo and EL Caribe for the spectacular food and wonderful experience. We look forward to doing business with you again! read more

Pros: ------ Free Parking Other Food options close by Clean restroom Cons: -------- Food Service read more

Rincón Criollo - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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Went on a weekday for lunch with a friend and found there to be ample parking and seating inside. This makes it a fabulous go-to option if you are on a time crunch, especially because they have several dishes already prepared at the hot bar. You can order at the register or have a seat to receive table service. My friend had been to the restaurant before, so she ordered a beef entree she previously tried with arroz con gandules. We split this dish along with a chicken and beef empanada. I loved both empanadas, and we thought it might be nice to have a sauce to go with them. Will inquire about sauce options on the next visit. The chicken empanada had the perfect amount of kick to it (similar to buffalo flavor for all you spice weaklings like me). The Caribbean sunflower aka friend plantains are DELICIOUS! I could have eaten a family platter to myself. Next time. They also have Topo Chico which sung to my soul as the places serving sparkling water in town are few and far between. Facility was clean and service was not only helpful, but very friendly and responsive. The price was more economical than the quality of food, which is a rarity. I look forward to returning. Probably next week. read more

Rincón Criollo - Caribbean Sunflower - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

They have to update their hours they're open from 11 AM to 7 PM. Drove all the way out here come to find out they're closed.

Got to hit 2 of my Grand Rapids Mt Rushmore restaurants in less than a 24 hour span. I've never had a bad meal at Rincon Criollo. The mofongo is outstanding, the empanadas are delicious, the cubano, tripleta, and pork sandwiches are all delicious, and they have good appetizers like the Caribbean Sunflower and Tostones Rellenos. Hot day? Grab an avocado milkshake. One of my favorite spots in the city. read more

I love this place. Stop in every chance I get, unfortunately not as much as I would like. The owner is so sweet and her cooking is amazing. You have to stop in and try her Puerto Rican rice with steak or pork. Got the munchies, try a few of the fried fritters, they take me back to my childhood. I'm so happy I found this gem in GR. read more

Rincón Criollo - Pork Mofongo - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

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My girlfriend and I have been coming here for years. Was our favorite spot for authentic PR food but they've raised their prices and made their portions smaller. We use to pay about 25$ for both meals roasted pork and rice & beans with beans on side and an order of plantain sandwich with pork and rice and beans with beans on side. It was 36$ and change today for same order with less portions. We would have no issue paying more if the portions were at least the same. Very very disappointing. read more

Food is good, service not so great. The lady is rude, she doesn't say hi, just throws the menu on the table and as we were speaking she wanted to walk away(empty restaurant)... customer service goes a LONG way and when you treat your customers this way your business will fail. read more

Warning, review in Spanglish....Yassssss!!!! Que alegría !!! You have no idea how happy it makes me that I found this place! Having just moved to GR from Miami, this gem is exactly what I've been mining for! My good friend and I were needing some "real" food, we Yelp lol. As soon as we pulled up to Rincon and saw the small, abuelitas house kind of decor...we knew we were home. And to make things even more homey, they were playing all of my favorite salsa tunes! Yessss The portion sizes are huge so if you're not too hungry then I suggest you share. I ordered the mofongo mixto. Mashed plantain with garlic and bacon, then topped with chicken, steak and shrimp in a savory red sauce. Don't forget the onions and peppers for that sabor criollo. It was huge & delicious and made with love. My dad ordered the fried fish with white rice and tostones. The tostones are legit!!!!! They were fresh, fried crispy on the outside but soft on the inside. Perfectly made! I was very happy to have a place who can fry these like I do at home! I washed all this delicious food down with a Materva. They also serve the other a favorites like Jupiña and Malta. I will definitely be back to try their Sancocho, served only on Sunday's read more

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Rincon Criollo! Since this is a Puerto Rican place, I had to try the Puerto Rican rice with stewed ox tail and goat. It was incredible; tender, meaty, savory, all-around perfect! Plus the owner was such a beautiful host who was proud of her handiwork. I would highly recommend this place if you're interested in Caribbean food and an authentic taste of our fellow PR countrymen. read more

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I thought I'd treat my family here for dinner today. I spent good money and hat supported this place quite a few times. Today the experience was different the waitress / cashier who's petite/ thick with short cut blond hair was the rudest employee of Grand Rapids/ Grandville Mi . she made the experience for my family uncomfortable that my 20 yr old went to sit in the car until we finished. Her rudeness was very unwomanly being an older adult especially. After today I will not recommend nor eat there ever again. The food wasn't at best neither funny how things change. The first time in a long time that I did not tip do to a very horrible experience with customer service. read more

This place never disappoint. I'm a regular and loooove the extra gravy to my chicken mean.

I'm giving this place one star because it didn't meet my expectations at all and the price was outrageous, $35 for two people and we ordered two entrees: 1. fried yuca and fish 2. rice and bacalao 3. two sodas 4. two cheese empanadas 5. one small salad All for $35, ridiculous expensive for a lunch and the portions were small and the fish had so many spines that I had to stop eating. Never again! The staff is friendly but other than that, nothing was good. read more

Rincon Criollo offers super delicious authentic Caribbean Puerto Rican food, which is hard to find so we definitely had to stop in this rare gem. It's a small restaurant with a family owned, scratch kitchen feel. We came for lunch on a Friday afternoon and it wasn't very busy and we were seated right away. I enjoyed the salsa music playing and the colorful paintings. One painting was 3D with rocks and tree branches elevated from the canvas. The food was delicious. I had the jibarito camaron, or shrimp sandwich on fried plantains with lettuce, tomato, cheese and house sauce and it was very tasty. It was served with arroz con grandules which was equally delicious. I also ordered the cheese and beef empanadilla which was also yummy. The empanadillas were inexpensive at around $1.50 a piece and most sandwiches were around $10-$12. My friend ordered the Cuban sandwich and he really liked it. Another friend ordered the Mofongo Camaron, which is garlic mashed plantains topped with shrimp, onions, peppers, and red sauce. It was a very generous portion and we were eating a light lunch so I just tried a bite of my friend's mofongo and it was very delicious! Both, with the jibaritos and mofongo, you had the choice of chicken, beef, or shrimp. Other menu options included tacos, hamon, queso, y huevos or eggs, ham, and cheese, ensaldas, and sopa de marisco or seafood soup. Everything sounded and looked great and I was very impressed with the food I tasted! I'd love to try the tostones or stuffed fried plantains and the avocado shake upon another visit. I would definitely return again the next time I'm in the area. read more

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HOLY CRAP. This place is SO GOOD. I went to an event catered by a number of Latino-owned restaurants recently and Rincón Criollo was among them. I almost broke down crying when I tasted their food, it's that good. (Keep in mind I moved to Grand Rapids after 25 years on the West Coast, so I really miss home.) The catering dishes included arroz con gandules (Puerto Rican rice), lechon, and some crazy good pollo. I had to go introduce myself to the owner Nulkia and thank her for making GR feel like home with her amazing food. She laughed and told me her restaurant menu went far beyond her catering menu, which meant I had to visit. When my birthday rolled around a couple of weeks later, Rincón Criollo was the ONLY place I wanted to go for lunch. We ordered lechon, arroz con gandules, papas rellenas, pollo guisado, maduros, and tostones. The amount of food was bananas - I'm talking platters overflowing - but I still think we would have eaten it all if we didn't know we had cake at home. As it was, we had a huge lunch the next day from leftovers that were still as delicious as they were the day before. The restaurant is nothing fancy but you can tell it's filled with happy people, both eating and working there. Nulkia is lovely and so is the rest of the staff. The food is *incredible*. I would seriously eat there every single day if I lived even five minutes closer! As it is, I'm thinking dinner tonight wouldn't be a bad idea... read more

This place is a gem! A little slice of PR in GR. The food is great! We ordered 2 meals: oxtail and rice & platanos, rice and shrimp. Everything was AMAZING. I absolutely love Caribbean food and I'm soo happy to have found this place. read more

Yum! Came in on a Thursday night. There was one other large table there who were finishing up their dinner and we chose a spot near the back; there are probably about 20 tables inside the restaurant. Overall the place is clean, and although the air conditioner wasn't working too well, we were informed that it was being repaired that evening. The food was good and the portions are huge. HUGE. Everything we ordered could definitely be shared by two people. We started with the sweet plantains and chicken empanada- the empanada was so so delicious! The plantains were good too, a very large portion, and served with a delicious sauce/aoli thing. For dinner my wife had the Cubano sandwich which was ham, pulled pork (both delicious) with mayo and pickles. I didn't taste any mustard but it was really good without it and the bread was toasty and crispy. Good stuff. I had the mufungo which had shrimp, chicken and beef and a very large sort of dumpling made of mashed plantains I believe. It had a crispy bottom and a very delicious red sauce. The chicken was very good and they did a nice job not overcooking the shrimp. We also both had a blended avocado drink. It tastes very strongly of avocado and milk and is slightly sweet. Very interesting, we liked it, but be warned that it's rather filling! My only criticism of the place was that everything seemed a little too salty for my taste. It wasn't inedible or even close to it, just a slightly heavy hand on the salt. It was also a little bit hot in the restaurant but I can live with that. Check it out! read more

Tasty & reminds me of the east coast. Grew up in jersey across the street from a Puerto Rican restaurant. Literally ate there every single day. Haven't had anything as good until I discovered this gem! read more

I had the mashed plantains with pork shoulder and two pieces of fried cheese. It was delicious, the plantain was nice and buttery. And even after it got at room temperature it was still nice and silky. It didn't dry out. Loved it read more

Rincón Criollo - Pork shoulder, fried cheese and mashed plantains. - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Fantastic hole in the wall place with authentic Caribbean good. The staff was friendly, welcoming, and water to introduce us to Caribbean cuisine. The prices are fair, the portions are generous, and the food is made with pride. We tried the empanadas (two each of the pork, chicken, and cheese), fried plantains stuffed with shrimp, the Caribbean sunflower (mashed, fried plantain topped with roasted plantain), the tripleta sandwich, and the mofongo. At the suggestion of the staff we choose to add guava to one of the cheese empanadas, and we were not disappointed. The food came out hot, and everything was delicious. I look forward to going back. read more

Rincón Criollo - Mofongo - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

Every time I go here food taste reheated, it's ALWAYS overpriced. Couple days ago I had a bad experience when the owner (who knows me thru her employee who's a friend of mines) sees me after a few months since I had a baby and basically once I go up to the counter she tells me and I quote "omg I wasn't recognizing you, let me tell you you're ruining yourself you shouldn't get this fat" obviously my mood change since the restaurant had lots people in when she said this, I felt embarrassed, & angry of this lady thinking is okay to comment on someone's weight. Specially acting like we're friends, needless to say after that incident I'll never go back.. that was the most embarrassing moment of my life. read more

So I'm from NJ and I'm used to a diverse array of delicious ethnic cuisine. It has been vastly lacking since I moved here to Michigan, but this place is a sweet reminder of home. Amazing flavors and selection. The empanadas and the los papas rellenos are phenomenal. They are very kind at this restaurant. I can't wait to come back. I want to try more things on the extensive menu. read more

Everything we ordered was DELICIOUS! Highly recommend the plantain chips! The chicken soup was really rich and Cuban sandwich best we've had! read more

Rincón Criollo - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

I had really stellar experience at Rincón Criollo the other day. My good Cuban friend has been bugging me to try Caribbean food with him after so many months of me shoving ultra-spicy Mexican tacos, tamales, flautas, mole, guacamole and other flaming hot salsas down his throat (he must have needed a break jajaja). I've been aware that Caribbean Hispanics (Puerto Ricans, Cubans, Dominicans, etc.) have a somewhat similar, but much more mild dietary tradition compared to Mexican food, but it still was not a cuisine I'd been familiarized with yet, so I was more than happy to try it out! Being a vegetarian is always a challenge no matter what type of cuisine I try to delve into. Rincón Criollo is a Puerto Rican establishment and my Cuban friend told me the two cuisines are pretty comparable and he felt right at home ordering there (en español, of course!). I was a bit lost though, but I made due and went with my intuition. I already knew that I love plantains, so I started out with their 'Sunflower' dish, a large plate of dark brown and yellow plantain fries, very decoratively positioned in a circular flower pattern around a sweet, creamy, pink-colored dipping sauce. The sauce's flavor paired amazingly well with the plantains. I couldn't stop myself gorging on them lol. The waitress also recommended we try their avocado shakes (avocado blended with milk and sugar) and they were surprisingly delicious! I will for sure be trying this at home now. I also ordered some arroz con grandules (Puerto Rican rice with little veggies mixed in) and Puerto Rican style beans (i believe they were pinto beans combined with spices) They were soup-like and very different than the beans I'm used to, but they were nonetheless very good and paired really well with their rice! My friend and I shared a salad that came with tomato, cucumber, and avocado slices and dressed in a simple and delicious vinaigrette. And my friend ordered some kind of beef dish, and seemed to really enjoy it. There weren't a ton of vegetarian options for me on their menu and perhaps it's just the nature of Caribbean/Puerto Rican cuisine, but i managed to order a very decent, albeit simple meal for myself. Reasonable prices and generous portions. I'll definitely be returning for more plátanos fritos y tostones muy pronto! read more

Rincón Criollo - Sweet avocado shake. Plantain sunflower. Rice con grandules, beans and salad (lettuce, cucumber, tomato, avocado, vinaigrette) - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

One of my favorite restaurants ever I love this place and this food is so good!!!! Definitely reminds me of home.

Hidden gem! We just discovered this place and wanted to try it. We ordered empanadas, goat & Puerto Rican rice, a Cuban sandwich, & an avocado shake. Everything was excellent, including the service! We will certainly go back! read more

Wow. This place was fantastic. Talk about a hidden Caribbean gem. Mind you it was Saturday night so we certainly had to wait for our food. We both ordered the sandwiches. Mine, steak/bistec, was wonderful. Large tostones wrapped the fillings. They didn't crumble apart like other places. The green hot sauce was a nice addition. And the sandwiches come with rice. I really enjoyed the food. Would probably get it to go next time. read more

Rincón Criollo - Bistec sandwich - Puerto Rican Near Me - Grand Rapids, Michigan

I had the chicken empanadas and rice with habichuelas this place is amazing!! The portions were huge!! And the food was delicious!! I'll definitely will be going back for more read more