La Isla
“Another favorite would have to be the combination plate of Cuchifritos…”
“I love the papas rellenas (potato balls stuffed with meat…”
“Well that morcilla was super amazing—one of the best I've ever had.”
La Isla
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Price range.
$ Price range Under $10
7 reviews
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Craving morcilla or blood sausage. When I got there the place looked totally different from the pictures on Yelp. It was renovated inside and out. Beautiful blue tiles inside. Very attractive. There was a line out the door for take out so I knew the food had to be good. There are no tables just bar stools so it is kind of difficult to get a seat during lunch.
I ordered a piece of morcilla as a sample. If I liked it I would order a lot more for take out. Well that morcilla was super amazing—one of the best I've ever had. Had pig ears which were just ok. Had pigs feet, relleno de papa, canoa de Maduro, and alcapurrias de yuca. Pigs feet were good, and I am not a fan of yuca but my friends liked the alcapurrias. Relleno de papa was good. Some of the good stuff there which I didn't buy was the lechon. Next time.
The items are very reasonably priced and the service is brisk and friendly. Definitely coming back to this little treasure trove.
Yum!
La Isla has all the things I like in any quality neighborhood eatery: dodgy feel, grimy interior, old school vibe, zero pretension, greasy but tasty food. It only gets better knowing they're open at all hours, which means late night visits and early morning hangover meals are possibilities.
Most of the menu is $10 and below. Depending on one's appetite, it could even be $5 and below. Not exactly diet friendly, a lot of it consists of fried foods and fatty meats (#1). At this point, they might accept credit cards but it would be safer to bring cash. Especially with the latter, I've yet to be charged tax.
A great way to start it off is an order of the papa rellena ($3) a stuffed potato ball with ground meat and fried to crispy perfection. They make for a fabulous snack and a filling one at that. I also love the carne guisada ($6), a chunky beef stew that goes fabulously well over a bed of rice. Each time I'm here, I see an order of the chicharones de pollo ($7), which is a hearty, crunchy, and juicy rendition of fried chicken with some Latin flair.
I'm not crazy about the morcilla (blood sausage), the pernil (stewed pork), or the overdone chuletas (pork chops). Lastly, stay away from the "tacos mexicanos" which are messy, kind of bland, and ultimately unappetizing at $3 a pop. I'm also not a fan of the service or the staff bathrooms, but no one is ever really here for either of those two.
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(#1) So essentially, all things delicious.
Ive passed this spot many times but today the crowd inside lured me in. It was crowded and the few seats they had at the counter was full with customers chowing down. I ordered the chicken, rice and beans and plantains for $6 and it was plentiful and finger licking good. I will be back to check out some other items.
Wasn't expecting a cafe/diner atmosphere. But. Once I got over a sit down hang out place we got down to business. Most folks are regulars so no menus in sight but they appeared when requested. Since I went vegetarian I'm resigned to not have many options in many restaurants but there were quite a few things I could have. I enjoyed the yellow rice, platanos maduros and the yuca with pickled red onions was amazing. Also had a side of broccoli. I could have gotten salad too but that was plenty. The man who took our order also suggested a deep fried dough with cheese inside that I would have loved 20 years ago but just sampled.
My wife was in heaven with the pig foot stew. She licked up every drop. She really wanted the sancocho but they didn't have it the day we were there. She also tried the blood sausage, chicken and pork which she enjoyed. And said their beans were great too. And the food is very inexpensive. The folks working there we're very nice and were in constant motion serving food and keeping everything clean.
Deliciously cheap greasy spoon!!! This is not a fancy white tablecloth kind of place. They have about 4 or 5 lunch counter seats…and if those are filled you eat standing up…or take your food to go.I highly recommend the codfish fritters (these sell out quickly!) accapuria, pernil and rice and beans with maduros. The drinks are yummy also, especially the coco and the morir sonando. Any full plate you get will be enough food for you, your spouse, your kids, cousins, aunts, etc…lol
Prices are dirt cheap, It's hard to spend $10 here .Pay attention to the following: They do not take credit cards,no reservations, they do not have organic free range chicken,no heritage pork,no tofu,no fair trade coffee,no vegan dishes(pork is in EVERYTHING…its a cuchifrito!!!) they are not gluten free,there's no wifi…etc..etc and all the ridiculous questions you may be inclined to ask. This is a true 'hood spot"…. open 24 hrs, but clean, cheap and the food is damn good! And if the thought of coming to Bushwick scares you, the Knickerbocker Ave train station is directly across the street so you get your food and quickly run back home…
Bleh. What "isla" are they representing? The bacalaitos look and taste NOTHING like what you get in PR. That was $1.50 down the drain. And what they call an "alcapurria" doesn't eleven come close. Better off making the stuff at home….hub had pastelillos de carne, wasn't impressed. We took home some cuajito, bleh, too. Ive never regretted spending $9.75 plus 50 cents on parking as much in all my life. DONT WASTE UR TIME OR $$.
I came here for the day of the puerto rican day parade where everyone was celebrating puerto rican heritage. Ive heard of this place from my father coming here in the 80's when he came from puerto rico. It is a small and popular local spot of puerto rican cravings. The food was out of this world and was very reasonable priced. However, they need more people working to serve all the customers fast and efficiently. The service was not the greatest and thats the only reason its receiving a 4 of out 5 stars.