Crocante Restaurant — Restaurant in Orlando

12/2/22- And yes, We came back for the third time! Two weeks after our last visit. They’re consistently amazing! This time we shared the Bandeja Crocante that includes morcilla, longaniza and chicharrón. A savory combination of deliciousness to share! Honestly, plenty for 3 to 4 people and we could’ve stopped there. But noooo… I couldn’t resist having the rice and beans. They’re the best! My husband shared the prime rib (only available on Fridays) with arroz con gandules and maduros and took plenty home. We HAD to try the manposteao risotto because, why not? It sounds fancy! Definitely, a different spin on the traditional. Risotto was cooked perfectly, had the right amount of creaminess with the awesome taste of the rice and beans I love!! Asked about the soup of the day and they had me at garbanzo and chorizo!! So, of course I had to try a small cup. Fresh, hot and tasty garbanzo and chorizo soup!! Will definitely be back for it. At this point, we have a table full of food and ask for to go boxes. Another bite and I would have to be carried! However, we’d tried the budín before and had to take it to go and enjoy with our leftovers tomorrow. Service is unmatched! Elena, the front hostess remembered us and greeted us like she’d known us forever. Eleisha, our waitress was attentive, helpful with suggestions and again, treated us like old friends! I noticed the ambiance changed a bit. Beautiful bright colored pictures on the walls and music in the background. Nothing disruptive and plenty comfortable! I’m a big fan and keep wishing them continued success! ☺️

2nd visit update! We visited again on 11/12 and had the same amazing experience!

This time we tried the mofongo con camarones al ajillo and the porchetta pernil with rice, beans and maduros. The mofongo was one of the best we’ve had. The garlic sauce was not salty and very flavorful. The plantain was moist with chunks of chicharrón and a very generous portion.

I’m a big fan of their porchetta from their Kissimmee restaurant but, wanted to try it here. Of course, same great flavor, tender meat and crispy skin!

Again, I’m so glad I don’t have to drive an hour to their Kissimmee location for these awesome flavors and the great service and added variety! Amazing food and excellent service! Wish I’d taken pictures of the food but we dug right in! 🙃. Definitely a 10!!!

Everything we had was delicious! Tried the three appetizer plate with bacalaitos, mini lechón empanadillas and beef alcapurrias. All were made fresh and had great flavor. Both morcillas were great and had just the right spicy “kick”. Main entrees included stuffed mofongo with garlic chicken and carne frita with rice and beans and yuca as the side. Seasoned perfectly and the pork was tender and not dry. My husband had the prime rib special (available on Fridays) and I couldn’t believe the flavor and tenderness of the meat! Make sure you’re hungry because they give you a whole pound of it!

Obviously, no room for dessert but, we took tembleque and budín to go. Omg! Tembleque had cute presentation, great flavor but, I wish it was a bigger serving to save for later 😉. I read reviews about the budín and was glad we got it! Warmed it up a bit and added ice cream to make a perfect combination. Not dry, not too sweet and makes the perfect ending to an awesome meal.

I’ve been a fan of Crocante in Kissimmee for a while and wondered how they would transition to a full service restaurant? I can definitely attest it’s a totally different experience and one worth trying! Excellent service from the time you walk in! Alex, the bartender, was our waiter and we couldn’t have asked for better. Helped with recommendations for food and drinks (and was right on the money! ). Try the mojitos! I couldn’t tell you a favorite because they were all yummy! We had tamarindo, parcha and coconut. Again, we loved them all!

You won’t regret trying this place! Love they’re closer to us and wish them much success! I can’t...

Typically would not take the time, but this evening we had a very disappointing date night experience. From the amount of time it took to get acknowledged to be seated and the time it took to get lemons for our water, we could tell it was going to be a rough night. I came in with very high hopes and hoped to visit before the Somebody Feed Phil episode airs on March 1st thinking it would be too crowded to come try. I know the porchetta is a signature item, but growing up in South Florida I’m a huge fan Puerto Rican food and of pechuga a la plancha and have always had it served big and thin and served with lime and delicious grilled onions, so I was excited to order it even though it was somewhat expensive for chicken entree to pay an additional $2 for grilled onions. My boyfriend ordered the “la rellena” version with stuffed plantain wrapped in bacon. Sensing things were slow, We ordered an appetizer of the corn fritters upon asking the server for the best option and they were delicious, but it took a really long time for them to come out. Our server had only two table touches and that was dropping app and 1 drink after an hour later. Entrees literally almost a full hour (within roughly 5 minutes) and just as we were preparing to just request a check and leave to hit up Black Bean Deli, staff brought out one of the two entrees. As it was dropped at the table, one of the staff said sorry for the wait while walking away half under her breath, which couldn’t have been much more disingenuous. While waiting at least another 5-8 minutes for the second entree, we looked down at the pollo a la plancha and were very disappointed to see a very plain looking piece of chicken with onions not that well cooked and a pretty sad looking second plate of plantains. By the time the second entree came, my boyfriend tried to tell the manager, or who we assumed to be as the most formally dressed person running from the front to the bar and kitchen line all night, that we were very disappointed in not only the wait but the fact that there was an apparent lack of value in what was presented. The manager just kind of looked a little dumbfounded and said “so you no want” at which point the language barrier left my partner exasperated and said “we’ll eat cause we’re hungry, but this isn’t a good experience.” The manager tried to bring by some kind of sauce and pointed to my chicken because when my partner said “this isn’t worth what you brought” I think he was maybe trying to enhance it. From a taste standpoint, the chicken was not nearly as flavorful of a dish as I have experienced in the past. My boyfriend’s dish was good, but it was not stellar. Overall the experience was overpriced and it might have just been a combination of ordering the wrong thing to b a really bad operational night, but if this place gets volume after the show airs - it’s gonna be rough times ahead. I was really hoping this was gonna be a new favorite and excited to see a place close to home with mofongo, but unless the “beef up” the quality or quantity - it wasn’t...

Bad experience with poorly seasone and overcooked yet cold food and awful drinks. Poor service from the beginning to end. Do not waste your time here.

We ordered our drinks and the server only took half the table's drink order and then took the other half's order 20 minutes later when she delivered the drinks. My mojito was warm on the bottom and not mixed at all. The flavor was bitter and not what I would call a mojito. My daughter had a strawberry daiquiri which was a watery mess with cheap whipped cream dripping down the sides. My husband had the red sangria which was full of syrup and tasted like pure sugar.

The appetizers took 45 minutes to get to our table after asking several times and they were un-seasoned blobs of no flavor. The sauce was the only thing that tasted like food. I ordered a rum and coke (because the mojito was so bad) and it was bitter with hardly any alcohol in it. Clearly their soda lines were way off.

We had to keep looking for our server to order our meal because she kept walking away when we were trying to talk to her. She was clearly stressed with too many customers and no one to help her.

After we finally ordered, we waited an hour and a half and still we had no food. We asked the manager and she gave the excuse that everything is made fresh so it takes longer. When we asked her again and again she finally admitted that the kitchen was super behind because of some mistake and that put everything behind.

After waiting 2.5 hours for our food, we asked when it would be ready and the server said there were still 6 tickets before ours and it would be 35 or more minutes. We cancelled our food and told them we were leaving.

They told us that if we didn't pay for our terrible drinks and awful appetizers that our server would have to pay for them out of her pocket. I spoke with the manager telling her that was totally unfair to the server because the kitchen and bartender was where the problem was. The manager just said that was the rules. I had to ask her if there was someone above her to make a better decision and she said she'd go talk to the owner who finally said that there would be no charge. I have no idea if the owner or manager charged the server anything.

The manager did not volunteer to talk with the owner or take any initiative to support her employee until a customer (me) made the point that it was not fair to the server.

I would not recommend eating or working at this place at all. The owner pushes their employees too hard making promises to customers that are impossible to keep. The manager doesn't support her employees when there is a problem. The food and drinks were all poorly or terribly made when we were there. We will not return and neither should you. A total waste of time. There are so many other great restaurants with authentic food that know what they are doing. Get your mofongo...