La Garita Grocery and Café — Restaurant in San Antonio

Came Saturday April 29. Chuletas Can Can are not on the menu but they sell them not sure if everyday but they are good. Huge plate, too. We also tried the tripleta sandwich (pernil, ham, and chicken) with fries. My wife is now a regular here.

Visited again April 28th. Carne frita, arroz con gandules, amarillos, tostones, and coconut water. Solid. They have the food displayed up front now and you can see exactly what you're going to get. This also reduced the time that it took us to get our food. It is immediate. Great for quick lunches. Update: visited again on Monday, April 27. I forgot they closed Sundays and I came yesterday but they were closed. I was hungry today, so I ordered pollo frito, arroz con gandules, tostones, amarillos (sweet plantains), frijoles, ensalada de coditos (macaroni salad), and two large bottles of Goya coconut water. The chicken was good, had what appears to be sazón Goya or something similar. Two large drums. The rest of the items were also good. Everything tastes home made, which is the reason I keep coming back. Good stuff. And cheap! I basically ordered two lunches and the total was $11.07, including tax. Wow.

Visited Gusto Criollo on Saturday, March 11, 2017 to find it permanently closed last weekend (March 5). However, next door there's a tiny Puerto Rican/international food supermarket (La Garita) that also sells P.R. food. La Garita is the smaller, Puerto Rican cousin of La Michoacana and Culebra Supermarkets, which sell cooked Mexican food.

La Garita has limited seating (I counted 27 chairs total) and limited groceries. It is tiny but cozy. Salsa and merengue in the background. I could tell by their accents that most people seated or in line to pay when I was here were Puerto Rican, so San Antonians from P.R. visit and I understand why: the food is solid. The menu changes daily and is short, 4-6 classic dishes with sides to keep me on my toes and trying different things, which, as a foodie, I like. No problem finding food for lunch but for dinner, call ahead. They sell out! If you were wondering, the owners/managers from Gusto Criollo (R.I.P.) are not the same from La Garita. I asked. With that said, I also give La Garita a solid thumbs up. I had lechón, arroz con gandules, tostones, and a mango drink. My plate looked like it had been wiped after I was...

Went on 9/12/22 early in the day to make sure I was able to taste the food fresh. I was impressed by the pizza and meat 'empanadas' which appeared to be homemade, however; the rest of the fried food was Goya pre-made and were not appetizing. We ordered arroz con gandules (chicpeas and rice) with pollo horneado and rice with beans and plátanos maduros. The whole meal was bland and I was not impressed especially since most have given high star marks on this establishment I can honestly say there is much to be improved on taste and quality. The reason why I am leaving 3 stars is based on reasonable pricing and good pastries found at this location. I hope that the owners take this review as it is meant to be an objective opinion and not as criticism. I hope they improve the quality of the food they offer and strive...

First time there, lunch clientele was very lame. Waitress shoved a menu in my hands , and expected me to order right away like if I was familar with PR cuisine. No descriptions of plates served, and of course nothing in menu about lunch special. The food was ok, but needs a lot of tweeking. My lunch special was a peice of Pork Lecheon, with 2 rib bones and lots of fat and nerves (gross). My rice was cold as well as my Avechelas. Then I made the mistake of ordering a side order of Mofongo and it was small for 4 bucks, tasted like a brick of hash browns left from the day before.

Not impressed at all. My bf was PR and we enjoyed eating good PR food in Fla. This didn't compare at all. I will stick to "Pollo Tripical".Better and cheaper. Oh forgot to mention, my Plantine was...