Cafe Central

Fantastic Puerto Rican food. Been coming here since a was a youngster. Would recommend this place to all that want fine Latino cuisine.

Jibarito! Mofongo! Kola Champagne! Game Over. O Happy Days! (Clap)
I woke up with a hunger in my tummy for a Jibarito.
Found this place was a short bus ride near so,
When we walked in we were greeted with warm smile and hello,
It was lunch time and most of the tables were occupado,
So my wife and I grab a seat at the counter and got some menus, napkins, spoon, knife and fork,
ordered Mofongo, and 2 Jibarito, 1 Steak and 1 Roast Pork,
To drink we got 2 Kola Champagnes,
Its like cream soda and goes perfect with the plantains,
Waitress came by with some fresh bread and we wondered what this green sauce could be,
Asked her and she said it was made with jalapeño and actually gave me the recipe,
She said ‘now you can make it yourself at home,‘
And I knew from that kindness it would set the tone,
So when the Mofongo came out I loved that is was kept separate from the broth,
Cause you just take a spoonful and dip it in the sauce,
A flavor explosion with tiny bits of Pork Cracklin’, I could barely think,
Had my singing ‘God must have spent a little more time on you’ like a member of N’Sync,
Then the Jibarito made its triumphant debut,
My wife and I shared as the sandwiches are split in 2,
Jibarito was nice and hot and the veggies tasted fresh,
Then I took that green sauce and mixed it with the meat and it was literally the best,
Feeling Full, Sassy and glad we took a Chance,
We walked home as we saw the our afternoon Shadows danced,
Took a flan to go and it was tasty we ate it in a hurry,
Shout out to you if you got the reference to Homeward Bound: The Incredible Journey

I love love this place. Food is delicious and the price is unexpectedly reasonable. The main reason that we came to this restaurant is because my husband wanted to try the jiburrito. Jihurrito is a Chicago creation, so we know we can only get it here. We got the steak and shrimp jiburrito, both were delicious. The shrimp was slightly messy to eat. I also really enjoy the soup called asopao. It was very yummy, and tasted very homey and comforting. We also tried their fried plantain, I like the ripe one than the green one. I love the service here, our waitress was sweet and always checked up on us. This is a mom and pops shop, so don’t expect fancy silverware and ambience, just expect to be treated like family. You are eating at home.

Great puerto rican food! And good service as well you must try the beef stew or a steak jibarito

This places gets worse each time I go. It used to be a staple when my mom came in town to visit (as we are Hispanic and sometimes just don’t want to cook ourselves), however it has been replaced. During our most recent dinner my bistec was very, very dry and my platanos (maduro) were under cooked. The staff is still as friendly as always, but the food isn’t what it used to be.

I loved this places food! I will def make another trip back. The steak jibarito was delicious, my mom ordered the goat stew I think which I tried & it was good. The rice & pigeon peas were good & the French bread with the jalapeño salsa was amazingly good not too hot. The only reason I’m deducting a star is because the atmosphere. We sat in the back of the restaurant & it was a bit noisy & very chilly inside. My mom was cold.

Everything is so darn good here. I had some plantain sandwich this afternoon, and it tasted like something you’d see on «Diners, Drive ins, and Dives». I’ve been coming here for years, and have yet to be let down. This place is as good as it gets.

What else can be said about this place that hasn’t been already said. Food is exceptional, service is exceptional, location is clean and well maintained. You must come and experience the food for yourself, and you too will become a regular here!

Finally made my way into this local spot. My friend got the Jibarito and I got the marinated steak. Both were really delicious but I’d go for the Jibarito if you have to pick. Great spot for really good food that doesn’t break the budget.

This place is easy to pass by, hasn’t been renovated in 50 yrs and is from «the old neighborhood» but don’t let that scare u from coming in. The roasted pork stew is awesome and the staff is very friendly. I live across the street and eat here quite often. Big portions, authentic, friendly… I see so many people waiting at Flo for weekend brunch… who don’t realize a pretty good alternative is across the street.

I usually swing by here after I run errands in the neighborhood. I’ve had pretty much every type of stew they serve here. Great place to go for a quick, cheap «home cooked» meal. The décor could use an upgrade on both the inside and outside, but the staff is friendly

Stopped here on a whim because I was hungray… It was the best carne guisado aka beef stew with rice and beans. The portions could easily feed 2 people but I ate it all because like I mentioned before I was hungray. Also ordered a steak sandwich for my son and snuck a bite and it was amazing too… Worth the drive for sure…

Café Central is really good at cooking plantains — whether it be sweet maduros, soft flesh with a thin casing of caramelization or thin but sturdy slices of tostones. We started with an enjoyable papa rellena with minced jalapeño-​cilantro relish. The orange color and sweet taste of the mashed potato encasing ground beef made us think there might be some sweet potato in the mix. The jibaritos were perfectly sized and cooked. The staff was friendly and the restaurant was cool and quiet on a Tuesday evening.

**Warning review from a Pregnant woman craving Flan
–Dont get the flan. lol Sorry but it was like cinamon tasting custard. I am Puerto Rican myself and If I had the time would have made it myself. This was about two weeks ago, I finally decided to create a Unilocal account and review the few places I visit.
Small mom and Pops looking shop been in the area for over 50+ years so they get two stars for that. The RIce is pretty good except for some reason they charge for the gandulez a different price when everyone know puerto rican rice should have gandules.
The sandwich was bland. Overall dont eat flan here and make sure to specify your rice selection.

We are still driving into the city to visit this unassuming small diner that has the most delish Puerto Rican food north of Tampa. The establishment reminds me of a diner, a very authentic San Juan diner. The menu is in English and Spanish. The place is always loaded and lots of locals eat here. There is also a very busy to go traffic in and out. The attentive and friendly servers have been working there for longer than I have been going…17+ years. The prices are reasonable, the portions huge and BYOB. Can’t wait to go back.

This place is a gem!!! There’s a reason they’ve been around for so long. Great food & nice owner/​staff!

Yay this place Is cheap, fast and yummy. The customer service could be a little bit friendlier but I also think the lady assumed I had already ordered, when that wasn’t really the case. No worries, the yummy steak sandwich made up for the waiting. :-)

Awesome awesome place! It didn’t look like much from the outside, but once the food came out, I knew it was good. I went with my grandma and aunt (who swore it was great). They were right! We had the sweetest server. Rocio, I think her name was. She was very helpful when we were picking out what we wanted to eat and brought our food out very quickly.
We ordered the mofongo and the rellena de papa as appetizers. They were delicious! Mofongo was quite garlic-​y but I enjoyed it. Then my aunt and I got the guisado de res (beef stew) with white rice and beans. They even sell Maltas there, so I got one to drink! Grandma ordered the lechon with arroz con gandules. I tried her lechon and it was great! Everything was superb and the portions were huge! I ate a ton and couldn’t even fit dessert. I ended up taking lots of food home!
Bottom line: if you want to get the most for your money, come here. Delicious food and great service. Just beware it is metered street parking which is something like $ 3/​hour.

For a place that’s been around for nearly 50 years, you have to respect the fact that they’ve made it through thick and thin with the economy… which means a place like this is definitely worth checking out.
My realtor and I were scouting locations, and got hungry while we were in the area. He recommended this place, and as usual, he’s spot on!
We walked into a diner-​esque spot with it being pretty dead (considering it was mid-​afternoon) and told them that we were just looking for a quick meal before our next appointment. Super friendly service, lots of smiles, and quickly prepared food. Here’s what I chowed on:
Jibarito — Nicely made, fresh crisp plaintain (that replaces the bread) with perfectly cooked pulled pork. It ranks up there with one of the better jibarito places in Chicago, mostly because it was freshly made!
Tostones — Nice natural sweetness and fried to just the right flavor. Can’t complain here!
French loaf bread with spice sauce (complimentary) — What a way to start. That sauce is some really really good stuff! Worth spreading on not just the bread, but any sandwiches you may get (jibarito)!
Verdict: Easily affordable place with great home made food. Worth checking out if you’re in the area and wanting an easy going meal at a very laid back friendly restaurant!

This place was pretty cool. Used Unilocal to find it. Looking for Cuban food but this came up in the list. Food was close, but I believe this is Puerto Rican food. I ordered the rotisserie chicken with rice /​beans /​sweet plantains and my husband ordered the mofongo (meat stew). I also got a cappuccino, which was strong and awesome.
This is a totally low key, cute place that looks like your typical old school American breakfast place. Don’t let the ambiance fool you — the food is all Latin American and delicious. Everyone in there seemed like local, neighborhood folks, all looking for a hot, home cooked food!
I would return, this food was so good, I just ate my leftovers about an hour ago!

Plátano maduro del Café Central… ¡esto es la gloria!
On the last day of my Dominican friend’s visit, I searched through Unilocal to find a list of Dominican restaurants and other places that might serve mangu (boiled plantains) and it’s a tough task to find much of anything at all in the Chicago area. So plan B was to find one of the best of many Puerto Rican cafes, since the cuisine is quite similar.
While we didn’t find mangu, we found a gem in Café Central. I see why this place is rated highly. It looks like a 1970s country western diner that was bought out by people from the islands who have a passion for serving excellent food.
While they offered a boiled green plantain ball with pork inside, we opted to get chicken and rice dinners and a couple orders of sweet plantains. These are AMAZING. While I’ve had plantains at several other places, none can touch the freshness and intense, buttery flavor of Café Central’s.
The prices are reasonable and the staff is friendly.