El Pilon

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The most amazing mofongo I’ve ever had. That’s coming from a Dominican that was born and raised in NYC — FYI

When I got off the 7 bus, on my walk home, I was hungry and it was late. The open doors of El Pilon were a god-​send. La doña era muy amable. When I asked for the arroz con habichuelas con pollo frito, la doña politely asked if I would have guandules guisado since that is what they had. It was as though I was negotiating my meal as I had done many a time while in Quisqueya. I smiled and assured the doña that that would be fine. I was not disappointed. The house picante was also a treat.
I liked the atmosphere even though I was taking it to go.
Gracias doña. Suerte.

Came here for Columbia City Chow Down and it was great! We had the empanadas and Tostones and they were both super yummy. I love the fact that they supported the Rainier Valley Food Bank Benefit. :)

From reading the other reviews, sounds like my experiences here have been pretty typical. What stands out the most when I think about El Pilon is the looong wait. The staff is really nice and hospitable, but the service is very slow. During one visit, we saw an employee leave the restaurant and come back with produce. Shortly after, we got our salads, but only after we’d been sitting there for about 45 minutes. (We were the only people in the restaurant.) We haven’t tried the mofongo yet, but if we go back, that’s what we’ll order.

I am a big fan of this place when I want to have long talks with my good friend Crystal. If you’re looking for a quick Puerto Rican meal, coming here wouldn’t be ideal as the service is a bit slower than quicker paced kitchens.
The food is fantastic. Here is what I suggest you order:
1. Tostones con Camarones Guisados. This is so delicious, I could eat this alone and be completely satisfied. A delicious hot fried plantain with shrimp with sofrito based tomato sauce. One order comes with three tostones.
2. Empanada. Saucy ground beef with savory spices enveloped in a flour crust and fried. So good! An order comes with 3 empanadas.
3. Main dish: Fricase de Pollo. Mmmm. Chicken stewed in flavorful tomato & achote based sauce served with rice and peas.
4. Main dish: Bistek Encebollado. I cannot tell you which is my favorite, this dish or the Fricase de Pollo. This is a Puerto Rican steak and onions, served with rice. It’s full of a rich vinegar and garlic flavor. I think it’s flank steak that they use here at El Pilon.
Lots of drink choices, the food is so flavorful that I usually just order water. They also serve Coco Rico and plenty of juices and other beverages.
Parking is sparse, only about 3 – 4 spots in front of the restaurant, otherwise there is street parking behind the restaurant.

The food was average. The only problem I’ve had with this place is the long wait.

Doña Marta and her food are full of warmth and love. She makes Seattle home.
The food is prepared when you order it so get ready to wait. You’ll be glad you did.

Food is amazing but be prepared for a long stay. I don’t mind waiting long for a home made dish that takes time to prepare. It was worth it, but after they cleared our table everybody disappeared. How can you forget about your only customers? Other than that it was a great experience. We had the mofongo and the shrimp app.
I’ll go back when I get an unbearable craving for mofongo and I have two hours to spare ;)

So i’m from puerto rico moved here a few years ago and this really satisifes the taste of home authentic and dona marta has the personality that i remember from women her age in the island.
I give it 4 starts because the service is quite slow but its an awesome experience in terms of feeling like the place you used to eat at home.

El Pilon was awesome place to have some good Puertorrican food. Mofongo and carne frita OMG to die for! and just so you know what a good «pastel» is you so have to order some pasteles, amazing! Everybody was great, very cozy and family friendly restaurant. I drove 4 hours just to go to this restaurant because I haven’t had puertorrican food in so long and It was so worth the drive. We loved «El Pilon Restaurant» will come back for more.

I was introduced to this place by a native PR friend of mine who took me to have Mofongo. OH MY GOD! I love MOFONGO! You have to get it with the chicharonas (sp?) it’s the fried pork option.
Okay okay, I know a lot of you are complaining about the slow service, and i’ll be honest, i’m one of the first people to complain (vehemently, no less) at the terrible service found at some bad restaurants, but when you are going to a mom & pop, authentic food joint (whatever country it comes from), it just comes with the territory. SORRY! I hate waiting for food just as much as the rest of you! But take some good friends for great company, and don’t go when you’re starving. Just look at the silver lining, if it takes that long, you know it’s fresh as can be!
To address another complaint… yes, the meat is salty, but you have to remember where this food comes from! It’s the tropical weather which means people sweat, so you need a lot of salt in your diet to compensate (I grew up in Hawaii, so I am also used to and love super salty food).
The food is not that expensive. For the amount of time and effort it takes to make this stuff and the ingredients are super hard to find outside of PR (I hear the owners regularly go back to stock up on stuff) I would say it’s a steal. If I don’t have to fly to PR for this kind of yummy-​ness I’m happy.
I always get the mofongo when we go, and we get some of the appetizers as well, but I’ve seen/​taste tested the other menus items and they were all very yummy as well.
The staff is always super nice and friendly but it is a small family restaurant and they are not the best at checking in on you when you are eating. It’s really like eating at Mom’s house (FYI, in my family that also means no alcohol, so don’t expect some here).
If you’re looking for atmosphere and a cool place to hang out, go to La Isla and enjoy. I like that place as well, BUT, IF YOU WANT MOFONGO, GO TO EL PILON!

I have been hunting mofongo down since a trip to Puerto Rico 2 years ago. This did not disappoint. I’ll be back. A lot. Yummy!

Nice people. decent food. Made me miss the cucifritos in NYC. Didn’t come close. *sigh* And expensive!

THE PROS: The opening of El Pilon officially doubles number of the PR restaurants in Seattle. For that, I’m grateful. :) While La Isla offers a more fun, group setting, El Pilon is the type of restaurant that you can go to when you miss your abuela’s cooking and hospitality. The staff there is nice and attentive. The food takes a whiiile, sure, but it’s worth the wait. I had the chicken with rice, gandules and tostones. Mmmm…
THE CONS: The menu is pretty limited and expensive. Also, I would recommend to the owners that they put up more and bigger signs, since we almost missed this spot entirely (it’s teenie tiny, I think it serves 8 tables total). And, the salad/​roll situation is pretty sad.
For those saying hateful things about La Isla, that it’s not authentic PR food: you’re crazy! The owners and operators of La Isla are from Puerto Rico and you’ll always see Puerto Ricans hanging out there. So you ought to ceck your facts.
Seattle can handle two PR restaurants (hopefully more). We don’t have to tear either of them down or choose sides. Sheesh.

Like several other reviewers, I was hugely disappointed. I had read raving reviews, and expected a lot. The owners were extremely nice, and welcoming, but the cuisine did not match their enthusiasm.
We were one of two tables in the restaurant and our food took for-​ev-​er. The wait would have been much better if we they served beer. It’s only nonalcoholic beverages here! And, when we got our food, the meat was bland, lukewarm and tough.
Too bad! I guess we will have to make the trek to La Isla for delicious Puerto Rican food.

As much as I want to say this place was good… it was bad to mediocre.
I ordered the mofongo with chicken and it was edible but the beef rice dish, however, was not. I didn’t know beef could be so sour! It weas disgusting and we only had a bite of it. We should’ve known when the waitress had came and asked how was the food and we said it was good (we had only tasted the mofongo) andshe was shocked.
I am sorry but I am not coming back.

Visited this new spot last week and was very pleasantly surprised. Since we always eat too much when we go out, I had the chance to try many of the dishes.
I was very happy with the mofongo; I’ve found that at restaurants this, one of my favorite dishes, is too dry. Not the case here. They put some extra caldo in the large wooden goblet to keep it moist. The tostones rellenos de camarones were delicious and an interesting twist on tostones that I’ve never see/​tried before. The roasted chicken was relatively simple, but it was moist, flavorful and tasted fresh; same with the pork.
Best of all is the fact that it is a small family business bringing some life and good food to a stretch of blocks that needs it. Yes, that means there is slower service, fewer waiters, and less commercial décor, but it also means the owner and cook will come over to your table and welcome you and ask how your meal is tasting. Prices are fair and the meal comes with a small side salad.
Overall, I’m glad to have a non-​texmex, Latin cuisine restaurant in the neighborhood and hope they stay open. Also would definitely prefer to go here than Ballard, although the menu options are fewer. Hope they can get the license to carry beer and some live music a few nights a week soon.

The food here was good, salty, plenty and simple. We had to wait an hour and forty minutes for the main course to arrive though — you decide.

I am TOTALLY loving this NEW Puerto Rican Restaurant ON THE SOUTH END! I may NEVER GO TO BALLARD AGAIN!!!
New Ma’ & Pa’ joint opened this weekend and the aroma of GARLIC drew me in! The official name on the menu says: El Pilon — Comida Netamente Puertorriqena!!!
I ordered the Pollo En Fricase and Chuletas Fritas, they had MUFUNGA (i know i am spelling it wrong!!)
Mamma came out and hugged me! I felt like a niece! Good food, cooked to order! I will be back, armed with my camera… Food and service fantastic!
GO!!!