Que Rico! Restaurant — Restaurant in Lake Township

I ran across posts for this restaurant on social media. I was so excited to go because it was the closest one on the south side. I ordered online. I was surprised the food was ready exactly 15 minutes from ordering, but excited nonetheless. The outside looked cute and inviting. The inside was nice too. I give 4 stars for service because the young lady was very kind. Off top the food smelled delicious while I rushed home to dig in. We got home and anxiously ripped open that plastic bag. The first thing we opened were the tostones... Well my favorite food is puerto rican so of course I've had my fair share of the very good and the bad. It appeared the tostones weren't fresh. Like they were old, reheated and sold. They lacked flavor. 2 out of 5. The next thing we opened were the pasteles. The texture and color was different. Flavor wise it was ok. It felt like it was missing something. 4 out of 5. Next was the jibarito... it was not the best I've had but good. When you eat a jibarito, it's the whole package for me. It's a wonderful sandwich when you enjoy EVERY aspect of it. From the plantain, the meat (Steak), the cheese, all of it. The meat carried this sandwich. 3 out of 5. Next was the "Lechon". We were lost on presentation and stranded with the taste. It tasted like very dry carnitas. It wasn't cute. 2 out 5. Lastly the papas and the pastelillos. We have never had papas like these. They were soggy. Not cooked to our liking. When we picked them up the bottoms fell out and they broke apart immediately. If these were cooked a little longer they would be on point because they didn't lack flavor. We ended up mixing it with the rice. 2 out 5. Oh as for the rice. Ummm. Keep working on it. And add some color...and flavor. It has potential but nothing like I've had before. Tony's grocery store puerto rican rice rates so much higher than theirs unfortunately. 2 out of 5. Finally the pastelillos. It was old, very dry and unimpressionable. 0 out 5. I don't mean to sound so harsh. This is my absolute honest opinion. I see they are new so hopefully this feedback sparks up a conversation with the cooks in the back. I'm rooting for you guys. I may try you again later this year but currently I would not recommend Que Rico! Restaurant to anyone seeking savory, delicious, fresh puerto rican food. I now know why it was ready in 15 minutes. It was all mostly reheated...

Okay here's my experience with this place I am a Puerto Rican male grew up eating Puerto Rican homemade food and also going to Puerto Rican restaurants in Chicago since the seventies. In the Humboldt Park area. Places like Los buruquena. Latin American restaurant El ivis and also the mobile truck in the park. Places that will cook Puerto Rican food even better then at home. This place claims to be a Puerto Rican restaurant IT IS FAR FROM IT we went there the first time my wife order sopa de pollo the soup was sour as hell. I am not sure if it was chicken soup or what it was.alcalpurias it's a mix between green banana and yuca and it tastes terrible. it's almost like they are experimenting new stuff and treating customers as guinea pigs. I ordered the jibarito the plantain was still uncooked. And the meat was hard. They have Mexican people trying to cook Puerto Rican food and I love Mexican people but no they're not getting it. The only thing that is saving this place is that is not and in a Puerto Rican area so people don't know the difference between genuine and imitation. At first I thought it great that there was finally a Puerto Rican restaurant in that area. But if this place doesn't change it won't last long. because I guarantee you anybody that knows about Puerto Rican food goes there one time and they will never return the only thing that I heard it was decent was the tripleta but it still questionable judging by the other stuff that...

Not the greatest, not the worst.

They get an A+ for customer service. Both times I frequented this establishment, the person servicing me was kind and polite.

Where the decline in stars comes from is the food.

My first visit was in the very first week they opened. They opened sooner than expected so there was some tweaking that had to be done. Nonetheless, I ordered two of everything.

The white rice and stewed beans were great! Everything else was meh. The lechon dinners, alcapurrias, and rellenos de papas all lacked flavor. The lechon was dry and the serving was scampy. I didn't get the serving amount I get from other establishments.

Went a second time to give it another shot since the first time I went, they were super brand new.

Ordered a few rellenos de papas and even my daughter questioned it. Initially, I didn't mention I ordered outside our usual spots but she was still able to tell the difference.

She said they weren't bad, but they weren't the best. She said they lacked flavor.

I certainly appreciate the option of Puerto Rican food closer to me and in a community where Puerto Rican food is not an option, but I'll only return as a...