La Isla Cuchifrito
Puerto Rican restaurant · Mott Haven
276 E 149th St, Bronx, NY 10451
Highlights
La Isla Cuchifrito serves up authentic, hearty Puerto Rican pork dishes and classic comfort food 24/7 with generous portions and friendly vibes.
La Isla Cuchifrito serves up authentic, hearty Puerto Rican pork dishes and classic comfort food 24/7 with generous portions and friendly vibes.
"This East Harlem institution on 116th (with a second location at 188th) is another icon. During the ’60s, owner Jose Coto Sr. came to New York City with his family from Cuba and opened the restaurant in response to the demand from newly immigrated Puerto Ricans looking for home-cooked food. In addition to the requisite mofongo and rice and beans, get the restaurant’s namesake plate, which comes equipped with pig ear, pork tongue, banana, and blood sausage." - marisel salazar, bryan kim
"La Isla in Mott Haven, like Bakery 188 in Fordham Heights, ranks among the city’s top cuchifrito parlors, a dwindling class of affordable lunch counters purveying top notch pork products. Everything here is grand, including the morcilla, but pernil might be the king of this location. The swine is slow roasted until its exterior caramelizes and glistens like rare gemstones." - Korsha Wilson, Brianne Garrett, Ryan Sutton
"With its long counter and round chrome swivel stools, La Isla looks like a diner that opened several decades ago, and it seems like half the customers at this cash-only Puerto Rican spot come here at least once a week. We recommend the big plate of bacalao with slices of boiled eggs and the huge cuchifritos platter with stomach, ultra-tender tongue, and blood sausage. You can get out of here with enough food for four meals and still pay less than what you would for one entrée at a lot of restaurants in the city." - Kenny Yang, Carina Finn Koeppicus, Neha Talreja, Bryan Kim, Hannah Albertine
"With its long counter and round chrome swivel stools that are confusingly spaced very far apart, La Isla looks like a diner that opened several decades ago. It seems like half the people at this cash-only Puerto Rican spot have been coming for years and probably stop by at least once a week. We recommend the big plate of bacalao with slices of boiled eggs and the huge cuchifritos platter with stomach, ultra-tender tongue, and blood sausage. Add a tamarind agua fresca to wash everything down. You can get out of here with enough food for four meals and still pay less than what you would for one entrée at a lot of restaurants in the city. photo credit: David A. Lee" - Kenny Yang
"In the shadow of Lincoln Medical in the South Bronx, this 24/7 Puerto Rican takeout counter keeps locals and destination diners fed with just about every delicious part of the pig. The venue’s pernil, in particular, induces porcine dreams." - Ryan Sutton
