La Isla

great food. island feeling. cheap.

Wasn’t expecting a café/​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.

Food is good but I never get to order cause their service is not good at all. The only way I know the food is good is because I didn’t do take out … Smh… So to conclude dine in don’t take out its pro all the same time consumed lol

Not impressed, actually really disappointed because I came here years back before the renovation. The papa rellena was much better back then! And my sisters food had a weird taste a combination of cinnamon and burnt food. I hate leaving bad reviews for Spanish places but this place was just very under whelming

Craving morcilla or blood sausage. When I got there the place looked totally different from the pictures on Unilocal.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!

Grand Re-​opening. Brand new and looks great. Pernil and Cuchifritos as good as ever!!!

certain traits of mine force me to research for hours about a decision, that really could be so simple.
Literally spending 2 hours, from 10pm to a little after 12am to figure out if i should go to la isla.
Not to bore with a long story but originally i wanted a burger and it was getting late and i hate being a last minute seater. I’ve worked in the restaurant industry for a few years and i don’t hold anything against people who are last minute (10 minutes before the kitchen closes) types, everything is circumstantial, but i try really hard not to do it myself. So i scratched the burger and started looking for 24 hour spots near me. (I’m off the m and there seem to be more options off the L and i was not willing to make the 15 minute trek there.)
So then it slowly dawned on me that my only sensible option would be la isla, empanadas all of a sudden sounded amazing! so i did my research read thru the menu and walked on over. Got my empanadas and the coconut drink they have (regretted getting the small :(always go with the large!) for $ 5 and just had an awesome candlelit empanada dinner by myself. thanks la isla, i think i can sleep in peace now :)

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.

Love the food here, very simple great price. Can’t go here if on a diet because it is too good to get something light. Gotta get my acapuria fix from here every once in a while. My daughter who is super picky actually loves them

Moving from Washington heights to Bushwick, this spot brings memories of how spanish culture has drastically changed. This spot retains the traditional diner atmosphere and delivers quick and delicious latin dishes.

My favorate cuchifrito! Best morcillas (blood sausage) in all of bklyn. Love their mofongo special with fried pork and sauce. all the food is very good and made with love. You could always tell the food is gonna be good when a place is always packed. Fantastic food great servers, worth the visit.

La Isla is an affordable spot to get some grub. When I walked in today they were pretty busy but there was one empty seat which I quickly occupied.
I ordered beef stew with rice and beans. To wash that down I asked for a small coconut juice. While I was eating an Asian woman approached me and others around me asking, «DVD?Movie? DVD?» I noticed the beans were a little burnt and the rice as well, but nothing unbearable.
When I finished a waitress came over and cleared the table. I waited for the bill but after waiting some time I decided to get up and walk over to the cashier. Another Asian woman approached with the same promotion. When I asked for the bill no one seemed to even notice I was served and taken care of already. I could’ve had a free meal. They asked me what I ate, I told them. I paid and left.

The alcapurrias here are pure deep-​fried crack. I love how flavorful the crust is, and the delicious spicy filling inside. Bacalaitos are really good, and this is coming from someone who doesn’t even like fish. I also really like the pasteles en hoja, which are like a Caribbean version of the tamale. Only downside is that this place gets BUSY, so it’s better to get it as takeout

It’s a meat island! Seriously, there’s so much meat. Great food. Great prices. The staff didn’t seem super happy that we didn’t speak Spanish but they were still polite.
I’ll definitely be back.

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.

Service here is either extremely terrible, or what seemed to be more the case, racially selective. You can expect a two-​tier system of service, where if you’re not Hispanic, you will just be flat out ignored until EVERYONE else is taken care of, including customers who come in after you. I made eye contact with the woman behind the counter multiple times and waited patiently. She provided zero sign of acknowledgement. It got to such a ridiculous point that even another customer in the back of the room, who she waved to and asked for his order, looked at me sympathetically and tried to gesture her towards my direction.
Don’t believe me? Come in during busy time. I came here once before, when there were barley any other customers, and didn’t notice a problem.
Avoid at ALL costs. Also I did end up getting food and it was lackluster. The beef stew was so watery it could have been a soup and the rice and beans were soggy. Never coming back again. If you want your fill of cheap Spanish food in bushwick, there’s so many better places.

This is my go to Cuchifritos, I will not go anywhere else ! They are open 24 hours, 7 days, 365 days a year ! I love that they are open during the holidays. Everytime I come I’m never dissapointed. If you decide to stay and eat there you will have to wait until a barstool frees up. So depending on how hungry I am I’ll either wait for a stool or take it home. I just really like eating food that is freshly made rather than take it home and have to reheat it. So I reccomend that you take a seat and enjoy !
It can seem confusing if you do not speak spanish but don’t feel discouraged, the waiters will work with you and will try to explain it to their best capability. They have their usual by the window and its pernil, chicharron, maduros, pastelitos, papa rellenos etc. They always have that and sell it by the pound (Super cheap). Everytime I go there I always get a million things and never pay more than $ 25 for two people. I like going to places where I eat a meal and come out full for a reasonable price. They also have made to order menu and if you’re into pork chops, I’d reccomend those ! Also, try their juices ! Its so good, I like the fruit punch.

I can only speak for the Papa Rrellena & Alcapurria both of which were good. I don’t always do Cuchifritos, and hardly ever in Brooklyn, but based on my two fritters and the size of the crowd, I’d say they are doing something right. Even though there are lunch counters, it’s not really a dine in spot. At $ 1.50/each, get a few and take them home.

I was let down by the beans, they did not tasted right on this Sunday, maybe the cook mixed it with the beans from the previous day and thought that eaters would not know. Also, the bean portion was too small and not enough for the rice. The roasted chicken was good and well cooked. I tried their long ripe platano maduro with the ground beef in the middle, they should left out that meat, it tasted bad, I took off the meat.
The pork chicharron was nice and tasty, the smaller portion they sell is 5.00. I got it and shared it with my dogs, of course I can not eat all the fat, I just wanted a small piece to taste :)
The Parcha juice is one of my favorites. They have a wide variety of juices. This is a Spanish restaurant with average food, no bad for a once in a while try.
The sitting space is small, they have seats at the counter top so you have to wait till someone finishes eating, to get one of the seats. The experience is nice and weird at the same time, it’s like eating at your home with a bunch of strangers around you, and you can get to pick conversations with them or just look at them. No one cares, everyone is there just to eat.

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.