La Isla Cuchifritos — Restaurant in New York

I’ve heard wonders of the Cuchifritos from 116th st so I wanted to try it for the longest time. I was feeling home sick, so why not?

If you value your life, don’t even bother. My partner and I got the worst food poisoning of our lives. MIND YOU, I was born and raised in PR, so I’ve eaten Puerto Rican food all my life including Guavate in Cayey. I’ve eaten PR food before in Harlem and East Village. So, this is not about my stomach not being able to handle it, it’s about how they handle their food.

This is the worst experience I’ve had with any restaurant in the whole tri-state area. I regret it with all my heart. I should’ve listen to the biggest red flag, that being that their Sanitation rating was still PENDING at the time of my visit.

First of all, they’re not welcoming at all, it feels like you’re being judged the second you walk in. When I was seated, there is a SINK right under their counter where you eat, so the water just splashes onto your surroundings. The look of the kitchen was disgusting. There was barely any lighting and all the pots and pans looked nasty. The kitchen was dirty from top to bottom. It seemed as if they don’t truly even change the oil accordingly or barely scrub the kitchen top.

Yeah, know some places have their charm despite their appearance, but unfortunately this place is NOT IT. Out of all the food they offer, the only thing that was worth it was their passion fruit juice.

The rice tasted old, and the pernil tasted like it was left out for the longest time. The alcapurria was just a ball of grease and it didn’t looked 100% cooked. The mofongo with pernil we took home had a horrible stench and it stunk up out fridge and house. Never in my entire life will I be back to such place like this.

I’m so sick I can’t barely hold even water down. I’ve thrown up all the food and more. It’s been more than 12 hours, I’m on my way to the...

I'm from out of state and I had a hunkering for cuchifrito. I usually go to cuchifritos In Manhattan on 116th.. But I was working around Brooklyn all day and couldn't get away. So I decided to here. The young guy who waited on me was rude. Very slow and wasn't very social! No one was in the store except for 1 man almost finished eating at the counter. I should have known this place wasn't going to be any good! (lack of patrons).. Anyway I still went against my own judgment and ordered anyway. I got 2 cuchifritos to take home with alcapurias and chicharon and 2 pastelillos. Well I got in my work vehicle and figured I'd try the frituras and wat a disappointment! Alcapurias were hard and the pastelillos tasted like it had cornbeef in it! Disgusting. I drive out to the 1st rest stop out of New York and the food was still hot so I decided to eat. I asked the server to put the liquid separate. So I pour a bit in and start eating. The guineos were mushy and the rest of the stuff was over cooked and super soft except the moricilla, the rice inside was raw! Next time I'll just go to the best spot over in Manhattan when I'm in town! What a waste of money! Never again!...

Their food is great, but the customer service needs to improve. Customers understand that they have to stand in line before placing an order. In this case it would serve better to establish that theres a line instead. On my visit I witnessed about 1/2 dozen customers walking in and confused on where to place their order. There were no signs or indication of forming a line or where to place an order. There is a cash register at the right corner of the restaurant but no one present the majority of the time. The restaurant upholds good cleanliness aside from their lack of customer service in certain aspects. There's much room for improvement although they do have my support in knowing they would act on making the right changes. I do believe they are on the right track and hope to see this corrected by my next visit. I'm quite fond of their food and drinks and wish success for...