De Rican Chef - Oceanfront

A little piece of home right in VA beach. The place is clean. The service was quick. I had arroz con gandules and pernil and it was very tasty.

First positive impression was the staff. They were super friendly and very willing to help guide me through a menu that was a bit foreign to a gringo like me. The food was fresh and wonderful. Sorry no pictures. It was a bit slow since it was off season at the beach but I'm sure this place is fantastic when it is super busy. I might make this a regular stop when I'm in the area for business.

The food was good for a Puerto Rican restaurant in VA Beach.Service was great our server was attentive Nice little place

We live down the street from the original location. It's very hit or miss.This new location, was great!I ordered the Picadillo and it was so delicious and full of flavor.The rice and beans were very good.Service was good as well.It's a bit pricey, but the portions are massive.

In the heart of Virginia Beach near the oceanfront is De Rican Chef. I loved the ambience of this location, both the murals painted on the walls and the overall cleanliness of the location. The service was also very good, our waitress accommodating of our asks. Since we went in at happy hour on such a warm day, I ordered a frozen lime margarita with salt on the rim, it was delicious and strong!The food was overall ok. We ordered a few empanada's with beef, one of them beef and cheese. They were very good! But one of the empanada's was blazing hot on the outside and frozen on the inside...it was kindly removed from the bill. I personally ordered the Chicharron de Pollo. It was a bit stringy, but the breading was good. Overall my experience with De Rican was positive but that it is a middle ground restaurant. Maybe the items I got weren't their signatures, but you can be rest assured that if you get their frozen margarita on a hot day, you won't regret it!

Hubs and I stopped in last weekend for dinner bc this is a place we've had on our try list for a while. They have a couple locations around HR but we live about 5 minutes from this VAB location near the oceanfront. They do have a small parking lot behind the building (you access it between this restaurant and the ABC store) as well a free parallel parking right now in front and paid during peak season (metered). It was pretty dead when we arrived with only about three other tables - our waitress was prompt and very polite and easily gave suggestions and answered questions on the menu. It's cute inside and open and clean with very nice and updated restrooms for both male and female. We tried a ton of things including: -shrimp, beef and cheddar and pulled chicken empanadas -octopus civiche -yuca fries with cilantro crema-Pollo a La Parilla (entree) I loved the empanadas. Hubs loved the octopus but I didn't taste it bc I don't like it. My chicken entree was HUGE and came with a generous portion of delicious rice and beans. I took leftovers home and easily had enough for another full meal for lunch the following day. Wanted to try dessert but way too full - hubs did try their coffee and it was good. We will be back! Love their Happy Hour which is 2-6 for locals.

Found this place while walking around looking for something for dinner and I'm glad I stumbled upon this Puerto Rican restaurant. I decided to try the Mofongo with Chicken since I've heard it was their most popular dish. I've never had it before but once I was done I wanted more! So many flavors and the mashed plantains added a savory-sweet flavor as well. It was also a big portion and very filling.

Food has an awful after taste. Taste like and old meat. I order currasco medium well, it was well done. The waitress old lady was snappy at my husband all the time he requested for something she forgot to bring to the table. Ambience was excellent, clean and nice music. Needs to work on the menu. Chicharron wasn't great either. It was gummy, tasteless and colorless. Don't waste your time in this place. Go to a Mexican restaurant better.

Edit to add since I can not reply to her directly: see below screenshots of our emails. I only contacted her on 1/11 not 1/9. No where did I say contact my dad... he lives in another state so why would I have her call him.. I never received a missed call from her. My event is 3/15. Not the 2 weeks she stated before. In the emails she didn't even ask what date my event was so how can she call me and say that we are in a rush. I believe this lady has people confused and instead of trying to fix the situation she is making it worse.. I still am trying to clear up the situation but she will not even communicate with me. Initial review: Contacted the catering coordinator for a party. She wouldn't email me information only over the phone. I asked if we can schedule a time after 4:30 when I get off but she only works until 4 and any "after hour" calls would be $25. So I scheduled it for 1:15 and I was going to clock out of work. 1:15 comes around an no call from her. I emailed her at the end of the day with no response. I finally emailed again today to tell her to cancel my inquiry and she said ok. No apology or reasoning on why she couldn't call me at our scheduled time. If you are looking for a place to cater your event I suggest looking elsewhere.

Service was prompt and friendly. The hostess sat us immediately and the menu was extensive. We ordered the appetizer platter and it was a great introduction to several delicious Puerto Rican fare! The ambiance was relaxed and inviting, nicely appointed!The food was very flavorful!!