Jibaritos De La Isla

Food 6/10Service 6/10 Ambiance 6/10Came 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.

Definitely more a puerto rican place than dominican. With the music and taste. They changed the name to caribe. The food was still good. Mofongo was a bit salty. Very big portions. On saturday after 8 it turns dominican.

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.

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!!

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.

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 I 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 Rico 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.

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.

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.

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 meatBistec 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 riceParking is easy, located in a huge lot

It tastes like home. The arroz con gandules was so moist and flavorful. The pernil was also great! It felt I was home for the holidays. Amazing spot that I will be coming back to. A lot of Puerto Rican restaurants I've been to the rice and lechon was always dry. Thank you Jibaritos for taking the time, love, and care to show people the true quality of our food. Amazing representation!