Kiosko El Boricua — Restaurant in Loíza

Not impressed.

Waited about 15 minutes in line despite there only being 2 people in front of us. The lady running the front was pretty rude to us. We ordered a frappe and were told to go to the bar to pick it up. We went to the bar and the lady there told us she had no ice. This is a Wednesday morning, so I doubt they had just run out of ice... She told us we’d have to go back in line to get a refund. The line now had about 6 people and we knew that’d take forever to go back through as it took 15 minutes before. We asked to just get a coke instead and we had to argue for that. We sat at a table and I got devoured by noseeums. There were crows all over the place and most tables were covered in poop. The food finally came out about 30 minutes later. During the 30 minutes the staff was bickering the whole time. I wouldn’t say the food was bad, but it wasn’t anything to write home about either. I don’t see any reason to go out of your way to come here (as a tourist at least).

Additionally, the staff don’t know English very well. That’s more on us for not knowing Spanish, but hopefully this will serve as a heads up for...

I had no idea this place existed until a friend recommended it! On my trips to Carolina/Loiza, I always ended up on the beach strip where there are plenty of restaurants to choose from, but I never ventured further east—until now. I’m so glad I finally did! Kiosko el Boricua is a hidden gem.

We ordered the usual fritters, but I decided to try the arroz con jueyes—and wow, it was absolutely delicious! The dish is made with real, fresh crab 🦀, and it was packed with flavor. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ Arroz con jueyes.

However, the one downside was the bartender. It seemed like he took for granted that people would order drinks from him simply because it was the only place around where you could get alcohol. Unfortunately, his attitude reflected that. He was rude, unprofessional, and made it clear he didn’t care about customer service. It really stood out in an otherwise great experience, and it’s a shame that such poor behavior can overshadow the positives. NO ⭐️s for the bartender 😠!

That said, I’m back here now and still looking forward to another meal soon. I’ll just make sure to avoid the...

This is one of the more popular places (by the unscientific parking lot test) in a rural strip known as "Los Piñones"(The Pines). Pinuelos (pinwheels), a protein of choice (even lobster!), wrapped in a long sliced fried sweet plantain like a steak wrapped in bacon, drizzled with melted white cheese are the specialty. Like many island economies, everyone hustles food. In roadside tents through gutted out buildings through people's own homes and garages, 🥑 and 🎵 is the absolute constant. This place is basically two abandoned buildings, one using open wood burning pits for pots of frying oil and grilling. The other is a bar that gets the luxe treatment of electric for the ice and soda machines. Everyone is a jack of all trades, and code enforcement is" please don't burn the place down". Yet, they've done it forever. When in PR, you need to come out here, not only the food, but the secret beaches(ask about El Pozo, a horizontal breakwater that shields bathers in knee deep water from the rougher surf,...