El Criollo Bar & Grill

I got the pollo en salsa de ajo and it was pretty good but lacked seasoning. Could’ve used some garlic salt and pepper.
Service was ok, nothing too spectacular. Felt like it could’ve been better seeing as how there were only 2 other tables being served at the time.
Best part is the platanos served with the dishes but it’s not enough to bring me back.

So my sister and I came here for the first time looking for Cuban food. I’ve actually been wanting to come here on a Friday since they have a live band but haven’t got a chance to. Anyway, we came in on Saturday, we ordered the carnitas appetizer which was pretty good. My sister ordered the garlic chicken. She said it wasn’t as good as she expected but was ok because she used the green sauce that came with the appetizer. I tried her dish and liked it. I ordered the garlic shrimp and wasn’t very impressed. The black beans were good but about half of the shrimp were undercooked. I had noticed they were soft but the lighting is low so I couldn’t really see until I really looked at it. The shrimp was gray! By that time I was grossed out and didn’t want a new dish but when I let the waiter know he just said «oh, sorry» didn’t even bother to offer a discount so I paid 15 dollars for raw shrimp that I couldn’t eat. The service is kind of slow because there is 1 waiter serving everyone and making drinks. Although I wasn’t too happy with my dish I would still like to come back for the live music experience. Maybe next time it’ll be better.

Finally found a Cuban spot close to my job and home. Moved here from Miami so I’m used to a million delicious Cuban spots. The food is good, music is good, and drinks are good.
Service could be better, I’ve been there twice and the server takes a while to bring the bread to the table and appetizers. Also first time I went I was craving café con leche and they didn’t have any milk :(
Wish they had pastelitos or other baked Cuban goods.

I came in earlier today with my parents n nephew for the first time trying this restaurant n Cuban food. Let me say we had a great experience. The service was great the food delicious! Me n my mother had lomo saltado geat, my dad had the lechone n he enjoyed it! My nephew had the media noche sandwich he liked it. Definitely coming back a bit hidden but a great hidden treasure! Don William was very friendly and made u feel at home!!’

My boyfriend was ripped off by the manager. The manager was helping the bartender and he charged $ 8 for a stella beer. When he went back for another round the actual bartender only charged my bf $ 4 for the same size Stella beer. My bf said he didn’t care, he is used to paying between $ 8 and $ 15 for beer in Hollywood /​Vegas nightlife. But he did say he wouldn’t be coming back, even though we had fun. I get it, nobody likes to be ripped off. Maybe this Unilocal can help you avoid making the same mistake and ordering drinks from the manager.

My boyfriend wanted to come here for lunch after church on a Sunday. Plenty of seating at the time. There was only 1 server waiting on the whole restaurant, so it was a little slow. .but not too bad.
We ordered the empanadas and crispy pork bites as appetizers. Personally I really liked the empanadas, my boyfriend liked the pork. I usually love pork but due to my pregnant taste buds. I wasnt really feeling them. .
I ordered the oxtail stew as my main dish, my boyfriend ordered the chicken potato dish. We both were very satisfied with our dishes.
Would definitely return to try other things on the menu

I go here when I miss my grandmothers food. It’s authentic Cuban food! Williams, you’re amazing and your wife’s beans are the closest thing to my mima’s!

I came to this restaurant craving a Cuban Sandwich after a late movie in the AMC 16 close by.
The restaurant is located in a small plaza and very easy access from I-​5.
The menu is good with a lot of variety, with Cuban classics like «Ropa Vieja» and «Bisteck» plus I was very surprise to even find the famous Peruvian dish «Lomo Saltado».
For appetizer I ordered Papa Rellena and then my sandwich. The Papa Rellena came cold in the center but the waiter didn’t have any problem taking them and bring me another set warmed up correctly. The Cuban sandwich has a fairly good size but the flavor is not as good as the one in Portos; I don’t know if it was the pork or the bread. But it was good enough to satisfy my crave. Their coffee is really good.
The service was very attentive and the restaurant has live music on Fridays and DJ for salsa on Saturdays.
I will come back to try the other entrees.
No problem for parking, there is a big lot on the back.

Things I love: easy parking, lots of tables, and a large number of mojito flavours. However, the service may be a bit slow as they had only one person working the floor. (She was quite apologetic and super friendly though.)
I got camarones enchilados with moro rice (beans and rice cooked together) and a few friend sweet plantains. I loved mixing the tomato sauce (a bit too salty) with the rice, and the shrimp was cooked perfectly. My boyfriend got a sándwich cubano, which he thought was OK (he wanted more pork and less ham). I liked that it came with fries. (I LOVE FRIES!!)
They do seem to offer a lot of specials throughout the week. Go there for Mojito Mondays!

If ever you’re in Burbank, make sure you check them out. Our group shared the plato surtido appetizer which was a sampler plate with flaky beef empanadas, ground ham croquettes and potato balls stuffed with beef. The empanada crust wasn’t what I expected but it was crispy (although a bit greasy) and tasty so I can’t complain. The potato balls and ham croquettes were crunchy (but not greasy) on the outside and seasoned well. The order came with two dipping sauces, one was lemon-​based and the other one chipotle-​based. I’m a fan of dipping sauces and these two didn’t disappoint. For my main meal, I had the Tazon Vegetariano or the veggie bowl. Wow! I was «bowled» over literally with the hefty serving! A huge portion of black beans and rice, topped with crispy shoestring fries, avocados, fried sweet plantains then topped with a fried egg! Did I say I love sauces? The chipotle sauce generously drizzled on it brought this medley of flavors together. Perfect combo! And you could also take home a good portion of your meal and enjoy it at home one more time. Come really hungry if you’re going to order this Cuban version rice bowl. Before I forget, I had the mango sweet tea which I enjoyed (way too much)! The atmosphere is laid back and one of the tips that one of the regulars who was with me was if you’re in a hurry, make sure that you ask for your check asap. If you don’t, you’ll end up waiting until the cows come home. That’s how nice they are-​they don’t rush you and that’s not a bad thing, don’t you think?

Been here a few times. My favorite Cuban restaurant, the food is really good and the server is always really nice. Unfortunately there is only server and it can take awhile to get your food but good things are worth the wait.

This is a nice cuban restaurant. Looks a little fancy
I came here twice. The first time it was a lunch date. My food was great shredded beef and a mint martini. The drink was to minty for me, so it was nasty to me. Before the meal we got bread with butter. Are waiter was on top of everything he was very nice .
The second time i went in it was for dinner time on a Saturday night. We sat on the bar. Service was so slow. The food and drinks were good. But this we didnt get an bread before are food. They do have alot of parking, have clean restrooms, and they do reservation. They also teach dance moves.

yeah service was slow this time. REAL slow. Also no cishaha (however it is spelled) rum so couldn’t get my caporenha (however that is spelled). Took forever to get my bread and to get my drink order and to get told that there is no booze. Having said that … once again the food was amazing. Had the chicken Ajo. Don;t think I ever had that. The sauce/​gravy was insane. Mixed in with the rice was wow. This was a two for service and a 5 for food.

Arrived 1245p for lunch on a Wednesday, restaurant was a little more than ½ full. Service was good, waiter was very friendly, although one waiter seem to be covering all tables. We ordered an appetizer Plato surtido, was good, nice variety, sandwich de ropa vieja, was also good.

I’ve tried different Cuban restaurants. The food at this place was OK. El Congri was kind of dry, I would say more commercial. The Garlic Rosted chicken was tasty, but the highlight was the beef empanadas. I’ve never tried the Cubans before. I would definitely try them again. Their customer service is very good, you can feel the Latin warmth. They played nice music during lunch time. Decent prices.

I enjoyed my food and the happy hour drink prices are a great deal. The service was a little slow and we went on a quiet Monday. I would still give this place four stars because the main gentleman on staff had a lively attitude; he made all the drinks and took orders with a big smile.
My vegetarian bowl was super tasty once I doused it with hot sauce– it needed some heat. The bowl was such a huge helping that I took home 75% of the rice and beans (which were really good!) and made breakfast and dinner with them the next day. I will definitely be back; maybe next time for some live music.

This place serves great Cuban food. Very tasty. They substitute portions cooked how you like it and the service is great. Been here twice and I will make this my new favorite Cuban hang out. Thank you guys got the amazing food. Almost forgot, they CLOSE LATE TOO! I think we’re ready for late night or all night places. But at least this isn’t a place who’s ready to call it a night at 9pm. Thank you for that too!

This place totally missed their mark. It took about 10 minutes for someone to come get our drink order. We then got our warm bread without butter. When the butter came we didn’t have bread. When our food came almost 30 minutes later it was cold!!! I ordered the lomo Saltado which was MY mistake thinking they could get it right. Fries were cold and the meat was beyond seasoned and gross. I let the server know my food was cold and he said he would reheat it instead of having it remade. When I got my food back, the fries were soggy and I did not eat them.
I gave them 1 star because the beans and the bistec empanisado my fiancé ordered were okay.
It was my first and last time here. customer service lacked too much to make the effort to go back.

I don’t understand why this place doesn’t have better reviews!
I love it here. Service is friendly, food is great, and they have happy hour all day. Check out their Monday Tuesday specials, because everyone needs a good deal at the beginning of the week. Saturday night salsa lesson? They teach salsa dancing for a small fee before they music starts on Saturday nights. Check this place out if you like Cuban food, drinks and music!

On a beautiful weekend afternoon, my girlfriend and I decided to try something new, and since we were around the area we decided to try out El Criollo Bar & Grill. The El Criollo Bar & Grill appears to be a fun and exciting little eatery that strives to give it’s customers a true Cuban experience. Although the eatery is quite tiny, somehow, they hold dance nights for their customers.
The service here is solid but nothing extraordinary. Even though the servers didn’t seem to be all that friendly, they at least did their jobs. As for the food, I decided to go with the cubano sandwich. The sandwich comes with your choice of soup, salad or french fries; I decided to go with the soup, which was a homemade chicken soup. The soup was quite delicious, and I highly recommend squeezing some lime into the soup to give it some added depth in flavor. Similarly the cubano sandwich was also quite good, as it contained sliced pork, ham, pickles and cheese all toasted on a fresh cuban baguette.
Overall, I was fairly satisfied with my visit to the El Criollo Bar & Grill. Although the food and experience was solid I don’t necessarily see myself coming back here, mainly because the restaurant is pretty far from where I live and I also found out that I’m not the biggest fan of Cuban food; I just didn’t find it to be that exciting nor special. But I still would highly recommend visiting this eatery for anyone who’s around the area. To good eatings.