Surrender Cafe
“Between us we had the 360 platter appetizer, the pernil asado, bistec encebollado, churrasco a la parilla, and canoas rellenas…”
“The arroz con gandules is perfect, and the habichuelas are full of flavor, without ever requiring me to add salt or anything.”
“I got the chicken empanadas & pernil asados , I got it piping hot, the ride home my car filled with this incredible aroma of food heaven.”
Surrender Cafe
Delivery: Yes
Take-out: Yes
Accepts Credit Cards: Yes
Bike Parking: Yes
Wheelchair Accessible: Yes
Good for Kids: Yes
Good for Groups: Yes
Waiter Service: Yes
Caters: Yes
Price range.
$$ Price range $11-30
8 reviews
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SO happy I stopped here on my way from Boston to Philly. Was looking for an authentic Puerto Rican lunch and I got what I wanted! As soon as we sat down we were graced with a basket of plantain chips and an addictive dip. It was hard to make a decision but I went with the classic Pernil Asado. It came with their rice and a house salad. All of which was delicious but the pork was the true star. The meat was well marbled and perfectly cooked. It was also super cheap – I think $10? I had plenty of leftovers, too.
Will absolutely try to stop by if I'm in the area.
I ate here twice.. The first time I ate here was in September, the food was super greasy the empanadas was in a pool of oil… I didn't feel so well after I ate.. Basically everything was sitting in oil…But.
The second time was much better, not greasy.. Looks like they have a new chef? I had beef steak with onions, white rice and red beans… Meat was so soft
we ate the trio as an appetizer with the canoe plantains with meat, empanadas and accapurea.. So good.. I love that sauce they serve with it…
I'm Filipino and my husband is PR.. It hits close to home when his abuela lived in Jersey… I miss her… Lol
The Flan is to die for… Creamy
I would give 5 stars if it was consistent… I'll definitely eat here a third time just to make sure lol 🙂
If you can get past the service snafus, you're in for a serious treat. The only negative thing about this place is the inconsistent and scattered service. I had to flag down somebody to take my order and get my bill. Other than that, I've got nothing but praise for Surrender Café.
I stopped in after work one day around 5:30, right before the dinner rush would hit. I had previously read about how crazy it gets and wanted to avoid that. I still had some trouble getting service despite the restaurant being almost completely empty. Maybe they were conserving their energy for the dinner crowd.
I ordered the peril, which came with rice and gandules and a side salad. The cilantro cream dressing is as good as all reports say, so if you're a cilantro fan like myself it will be a unique and tasty salad topper. I also got some tostones, as I didn't know I would be getting a complimentary basket of plantain chips. Basically I ordered enough food to easily feed 2 people. The pernil and rice portions are huge, I ended up taking half of it home to enjoy for lunch the next day. Aside from giving you a mountain of food, the food itself is also delicious. Seriously authentic, well-prepared, and cheap, my personal trifecta.
If you're a fan of PR cooking and on a budget, then Surrender Café is your joint. You won't be disappointed.
After eating here a few times I'm ready to place a review down!!
I have tried the marinated steak, and the pernil ( pork) plate.
The steak is 5 stars!!! Tender and not over marinated. Plenty of food, and the Spanish rice is AMAZING!!!
The pork I give 4 stars as it got a little rich for me. But you can tell this was cooked with love the pork is SOOOOOO tender. Each time I have come by the place it's completely empty, which is a SHOCKER. this place rocks, I will stop by a few more times before I leave town.
I recommend to the owner to maybe update your place, it's seems like its in a 80's time warp or something, a lot of the overhead lights need to be replaced, etc. anyways I'll be back!!!!
We had decided to take an aimless drive around town, and as we were passing the husband suggested stopping in. We had talked about dining here since sampling the food at The Taste of Colonia a few years ago and were looking forward to a more substantial meal.
The restaurant itself is large and could benefit from an interior designer's visit. However, the music was a perfect volume and fun. Service was good. The food was great. The husband had the Rico Buritto $10. It was really good and so large it became lunch the next day. I had the Pork with Spanish Rice $10, and also loved it. I took mine to lunch the next day as well.
Food here is really good and the portions are worth 2 meals, so we will be back to enjoy again.
I would recommend this place to eat Puerto Rican food.
They give you plantain chips with salsa to start with. Their salsa is more like homemade ketchup but still very good. And their plantain chips are not salty and very crisp.
Their pernil asado is great. This is definitely one of their best dishes.
I also tried their mofongo with chicken asado. The mofongo was a little too hard and the chicken asado had very strong garlic flavor and salty. But nevertheless, it was still good.
The service isn't the best but can't complain too much about it.
The restaurant is clean but it seemed like they took over previous name brand hoagie shop.
But overall, good food with great flavors. I would come back for more.
Had take out tonight while visiting family in N.J.
Felt like having some rice, beans and pernil. I have to say the pernil was tasty but i've definately had better. I did like the banana boats with beef and cheese.
They actually deep fried the plantains and split them right in the middle. They stuff the platanos with seasoned ground beef and melted queso blanco.
Realky tasty and savory.
I cant complaint, tasty quick take out.
This is pretty much the only spot in town when it comes to Latin food but that doesn't mean that it's not bangin', bc it most certainly is. Surrender is a popular spot with my office when it comes to ordering food so it wasn't until recently that I actually dined in. I can't say the atmosphere is anything special as it is obvious that at one point this place was a convenience store in it's former days but the food, no matter where it's eaten, is pretty damn good.
Some solid recommendations would be the canoas rellenas which is a sweet plantain stuffed with chicken, pork, or beef sprinkled with mozz cheese, which comes accompanied with rice and beans or the mofongo relleno which is a fried green plantain stuffed with your choice of meat. Trust me you can't go wrong with that green sauce they give you. What is it? I don't know but it's my new favorite condiment.
Last time I was here I sprung for the bistec encebollado off of the lunch specials, which is slow cooked beef with onions. It wasn't bad but you're better off ordering the same dish from a Dominican restaurant in my opinion. My buddy got the skirt steak which looked pretty damn good.
Odds are, whatever you get will be good. Next time you feel like avoiding a chain and skipping the deli and the pizzeria, treat your tastebuds to the Surrender Cafe.