Jibaritos de la Isla - Bonita, California

Babette B.

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.

Latin I. M.

This is not an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant food. I was so surprised when they gave me my Mofongo. It looks like a birthday cake with beef on top. The food was so salty that I did not eat it. I order a platter and it was also very salty too. It appeared the oil they used appeared to not be cleaned and was burned. I don’t know how people can give a five star to this restaurant when the food was the worst food ever had , not really Puerto Rican or Dominican food. The service was OK, but it was not to my expectation ,unfortunately I think this is more of a tourist trap. I will never go back and I’m in from out of town who travels all over the world. A Mofongo supposed to be with meat inside like a Cuchifrito restaurant. it is just unfortunately that I don’t think they know how to really cook authentic Puerto Rican or Dominican food. As a business owner, I was very surprised. The manager never came by to discuss my displeasure with the food when I explained to the waitress. In conclusion, if I can give a zero, I would.

Julia B.

As other reviewers said, don’t be fooled by the building. It’s a restaurant in a night club. We came for lunch so was not crowded and music was not loud , just odd to have lunch right beside a dance floor. Ignoring the dance floor and low ceilings and dimmer lights, the food was excellent. Everything we ordered was amazing. Already trying to plan a next visit.

Mercedes F.

It’s the Pollo Frito y Arroz con Gandules, Maduros, y Flancocho for me. I so love this place! Every week the Flancocho flavor changes, but my favorite is the pineapple. Try any meal with a Kola Champagne. If you know then you know! As a Dominican woman, this is the closest thing to home in San Diego for me. 🩷😘🇩🇴

Dan R.

Where do I start on this Amazing Resturant.

First, I want to say that I'm a Puerto Rican from the Bronx, NY where there many cuchifritos, Puerto Rican restaurants and a strong Puerto Rican Culture.

On 8/25/2024, my wife and I had Jibaritos de la isla cater my Sons birthday party and it was the best decision ever. Not only the food is authentic and delicious, we got to entroduce Puerto rican food for the first time to our guests. The guest all said the food was delicious.... so delicious that many wanted more food to take home!!!

We had a large tray of Lechon/pernil, Large tray Pollo Frito, large tray of Pastelillos, and Large tray of the AMAZING Arroz con gandules.

They did deliver to us since we are close by. My wife loved that they came over with insulated bags to deliver the food. We also loved that they took their time and gave us tips on how to keep it warm and fresh. Their service is how it should be done. The owner was actually the one who delivered with another person and thanked us for trusting them to cater their event. This is how a business should be done!!! Thank you so much and I wish your business all the success it deserves

Daniela A.

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!

Georlyn I.

If you've had Caribbean food, you'll know that you will leave completely full and possibly rolling out of the establishment. If you haven't before, you're missing out. This is a mixed Puerto Rican and Dominican place. We don't live in the area, and used to go to a place in downtown SD, but I guess that place closed down. In any case, it's set inside a bar/nightclub called La Luz. I'm happy to have made the extra trip from the SD airport to Bonita to try the food because it didn't disappoint. The pollo frito and arroz gandules plate was seasoned perfectly, the mofongo (which I came for) hit the spot with the super savory shrimp, and the appetizer plate had nearly everything a Dominican child would delight over. I meant to bring my Dominican bff with us, but they weren't feeling well, so I brought them the chicken and rice plate, and they were so happy to taste home even for a little bit. California is not known for it's Caribbean food (maybe some Cuban options), but we're damn lucky with what we do get out here. I hope to come back some day soon with them. Maybe stay for the evening for some bachata and drinks.

John J.

The reason I give this place a 3, is literally because I’ve had 2 different experiences. Crazy, I know 😆. So, first time was around the time they opened the place. Took my mom here and my friend mentioned it because my mom (and by proxy) me are Dominican. We spent YEARS trying to find a Dominican restaurant. When we took her here, the mofongo was quite literally the worst thing I’ve ever had. But the waitress and owner came by and asked for forgiveness and remade it. It was slightly better. I said I’ll never eat Dominican food outside of NY( where I’m from) ever again.

Now, I said 2 experiences. I was really craving some mofongo, and I really couldn’t care how bad it tasted. I came here again, probably like 5 months later, and I loved it! It was made properly, the waitress was super kind and overall, shows progress. I can’t speak on the service recently, but going from awful to amazing, netted a straight 3. If anything, use this review as a sign of growth. They really are good, depending on the day it seems.