El Portal Cafe

Owner is great, food was ok at best. Price was a little high.Would come back if in the area, not worth an hour drive.

So glad that I took my friend's recommendation to try this place! Wow, amazing selection, we'll have to come back again to try some of the other delicious meals here. We got the special (which was a soup), shredded beef portal plate, and beef empanadas. The beef empanadas were SO flavorful and with a corn outside, which I've never had before! The shredded beef is stringy and light, also full of flavor. We loved the sauce that the dish comes with. The soup is also delicious with different root vegetables and corn and on the thick side. A little bit on the salty side for me but nevertheless tasted like it had been stewing for a long time as it was deep in flavor. I definitely need to come back and try some of the sweet pastries in the case and the cheese ball pastry.

I stopped by here due to a recommendation from a friend. I've been trying to explore more ethnic bakeries as an inspiration for my own baking. When I went in around 5 PM, this restaurant was about half full and I was quickly greeted by an employee. He was very helpful in explaining what each of the items at the bakery counter near the front of the restaurant were. I mainly was there for the Almojabanas, but I ended up getting about 1 of each item (Almojabanas, Empanadas, Pasteles El Portal, Roscones, Buñuelos, Mil Hojas) to try the different flavors out. I was given a brown paper bag for each of the items depending on size and that was placed into a larger plastic bag to take with me. All of these items came out to under $15, which was expected. The Almojabanas (circular biscuit at top right of picture) were this dense and chewy biscuit that imparted something like a cheese flavor, but they were very tasty. I felt like this would go well with a meal or some coffee/tea. The empanadas (rectangular shaped) were filled with cheese and chicken. They were an interesting taste and didn't really remind me of chicken and cheese. Each of the pasteles el portal (triangle shaped) were delicious; I grabbed one of each of a caramel & guava and figs. The roscones (ribbon-shaped) was filled with guava and that was really good as well. The pastries were all flaky and fresh. I ended up also getting these tiny cookies called Mil Hojas that were basically a cookie with powdered sugar on top and a portion of caramel in between. These would have gone great with a coffee and they were quite sweet! Lastly, the Buñuelos (brown sphere) I grabbed was basically cheese on the exterior and a dense salty bread on the interior. This made my mouth feel a little dry when eating, and I wondered if I should have paired with a drink. I'll likely go back again to try a meal here in the future!

La comida es rica pero que pésimo servicio. La señora que toma las órdenes y el señor que cobra unas caras y una actitud terrible que no me dan ganas de regresar. Ordene un caldo de pollo para llegar y cuando llego a casa noto que no hay pollo y les pregunté que si venía con todo. En fin no vuelvo a regresar que mal gusto con sus actitudes. No me gustó el ambiente.

I learned about this restaurant after interviewing someone from Columbia. So I grabbed some friends and we decided to give it a try for Saturday lunch. The restaurant is located in a strip mall and was easy to find.I walked in and it was busy for a Saturday noon lunch crowd. My friends arrived before I did and were at the register ordering when I walked in. I went straight to the register and asked the wonderful man (may be the owner) for a suggestion and he recommended the empanadas and country platter (to sample a lot of different things), and the pineapple juice (not pictured). We sat down and began to enjoy the juice. The consistency was similar to a fruit smoothie. The pineapple juice was similar to a pina colada flavor- very refreshing. About ten mins later the empanadas arrived and we jumped in. They were tasty and filled with chicken. The vinegary salsa helped brighten the flavor.Another ten mins passed and our entrees came out. The country platter has a lot to offer but I was not impressed because the food lacked flavor, esp salt. The chorizo sausage had a great smell from the herbs but the flavor just wasn't there and it was on the dry side. The pork rind was nice and hot, and with the help of some sprinkled salt and a fresh squeeze of lime- it was delicious! The rice had a saltiness to it but paired well with the beans that didn't seem to have any salt.I ended my meal with a Columbian coffee cappuccino and it was super strong.Overall I was really glad we ventured out to try Columbian food but I just wish there was a bit more salt or spice! Would I recommend- yes, of course. Everyone should try different types of cuisines!!!

This place is garbage. Came in on a Saturday at 2:23pm to eat lunch. This place is suppose to be open from 10-7pm. When I tried to order was told that they were sold out of food and to come back another time. Really?? Guess they don't serve my kind. Trash place. Zero stars if yelp allowed it.

Excellent Colombian food - pastries are awesome and food flavors leColombiana can't be best as well as the fruit smoothies Thanks

We love their Columbian bread!! Their food was great also and they have good service.

Amazing food and great service. The guy at the counter was super friendly and helpful. I will for sure be coming back with friends family and coworkers. The place was casual but very clean and comfortable.

Food is amazing here! It is basically a self service restaurant but the employees are kind and nice. Overall good service and basic facilities. Portions are pretty generous, especially for the price. I stop by pretty often.