Ponce Place

I used to come here a lot. When people would come to visit Chicago, I’d bring them here. Not anymore, ever again. Bought $90 worth of food for my family’s dinner. The rice was raw, my Jibarito was dry because they forgot to put mojo de ajo on it, the Bacalaito had LARGE chunks of soggy onions, the arroz with gandules was BLAND, and the carne frita was extra extra salty. I live 45 minutes away so I couldn’t go back. I called the restaurant and the younger lady told me all she could do was to give me new rice on another day or refund me the rice. I told her no thank you because that would mean I’d have to order more food to eat with the rice and the refund would not make a difference. Forget it. Never again.

This was my first time here and I'll definitely be back. I bought about $30 worth of food. Lechon, pastel , rice and a few other things. The lechon was very juicy and taste great, the pastel the same. The rice was very good as well. I had a few questions being my first time there and the cashier did a great job of answering.

Went to take my sister back home and stop by for some PR food since there isn’t any out by me. My Jabarito Lechón and my rice were still warm once I got to Joliet. They packaged it well and my rice was perfect!

The price is ridiculous. Now I just came two weeks ago and the alcapurries We’re 1.75 About a year ago, they were still at 1.25 But to be at 2.50 with no flavor is a ripper I usually come in here and buy for three people to alcapurries Each and a pincho each the pincho Has regular barbecue sauce Not the Puerto Rican one I was disappointed with the whole meal before I even knew the price I’ve been coming here for years and they just lost me for good I can give a -20 stars I would Even the Ponce of Fullerton isn’t this much and they have more flavor

REAL DEAL PUERTO RICAN SPECIALTIES. The appetizers are so cheap, and are an incredible deal!!! $1.80 for Plantain dumplings with pork (Alcapurrias) that are SO DELICIOUS 😋 and are basically the size of a whole taco 🌮. $1.75 for a giant fried chicken leg 🍗 perfectly cooked, crispy, not greasy, with great flavor! You can tell people who live nearby love this place, and it seems perfect for a short lunch hour because they have so many items hot and ready!! Everything tasted amazing, now I have some new favorite foods! Do yourself a favor and spend $5 or $10 here!!! SERIOUSLY

Their food is always really good. We get ours to go. Easy to order your food. They have a good variety of Puerto Rican food.

I’ve ate from many Puerto Rican restaurants and I must admit, this is the BEST Puerto Rican food in the United States that I have tried. Amazing flavor, everything is hot and fresh. Not once have I been disappointed coming here.

The Jibaritos here are really good (steak) and so is the rice. I wish the empanadas had more meat but the were delicious. Smaller place but the ladies at the front counter work hard to get customers in and out. Would definitely come back again, gracias!

My coworker loves this place. The fried chicken are nicely sized, I don't think the picture does it justice, they are so tasty and juicy, which I posted a pic of the inside, this place gets pretty packed, but they do have great service. The ambiance is good, also.

Horrible quality .. this is a Mexican restaurant that serves Puerto Rican food. I love Mexicans but when do you ever see Puerto Ricans working in a Mexican restaurant? This business has no pride or respect for the Puerto Rican culture and the owners should just sell already

My (Alcapurrias) were nasty first they smell like fish like they cooked it in the same oil they cook there fish in. And on top of all that I told the lady please don't give me the ones that have holes in them please I get home and that's what she did gave me the ones that were broken

I ordered the following: Alcapurrias - big and pretty tasty Mofongo - tasty Rellenos de papas - very good Arroz con gandules - very good Pastellelios - Sooooo SALTY!!! Ordered 1 dozen. Very disappointed as we drove from Whiting, IN. No way we were gonna drive back to complain and get a refund.

This place have to be the worst Puerto Rican restaurant in the city, the staff in the front were so unprofessional as I was trying to place my order I was completely ignored, I ordered a plate of carne frita when I open my plate there was only five pieces of carne frita when I ask the lady why such a small portion of carne frita she told me that the portion they put on each plate, when I look at another customer plate his plate had a lot more meat. Not only that the empanadillas I bought my kids was nothing more than doug than meat, look at the image below the empanadilla on top is from this restaurant the one in the bottom is from El mofongito restaurant across the street, I literally had to rebuy my kids food. This restaurant is the worst restaurant in Chicago period if I could give it a zero I would

I got fried fat instead of carne frita!!! I got home and was upset I had only rice and two pieces of meat to eat.

Not wanting fast food nor having the desire to cook, I stopped by Poncé after driving by numerous times and becoming more and more curious. "A jibarito would be really good, right now!" I said to self Self - "Yeah it would. We're about to pass that place. Pump the brakes!" I stopped. Went inside. Small but cozy place. I wanted a chicken jibarito and it, along with other jibarito varieties, were offered on the menu but when I asked for one, I was told they only had steak. Soooooo...... y'all just ran out of chicken orrrrr do y'all just not feel like cooking it? Whatever. Instead I just opted to get white rice and beans, a pastelillo, and a pionono. It was okay. Pastelillo tasted a little old. Habichuelas (beans) were just okay, too. The mediocrity of it all made me kind of glad that I didn't get what I originally wanted. Pretty sure I would've been upset. Self - "Chill, B. We can try another spot on another day ." You're right self. You are right.

Best Puerto Rican food ever. Always served fresh and hot. From a breakfast sandwich to arroz con habichuelas y chuletas, you can't beat it . Typing this is making me hungry . Guess I can go take a trip to Ponce and devour whatever I get

The food here is awesome so is most of staff but on Aug 30 lunch hour the Server up front which are 2 the one with glasses. Be very careful when handing over credit cards for payment I unfortunately learned that lesson yesterday too bad because this place Is great food and service wise.... One bad apple

I traveled from Racine, WI to Ponce Place because someone recommended it to us. We got to the restaurant as we are walking in a waiter told us we could not walk in without a reason and closed the door in our face and locked it. I asked if she could at least come to the door to see when they would open again and she said no. So I called the restaurant so that I can speak to a manager and they hung up. They truly made me and my family feel horrible shame on you!

This place is actually very good, the waitresses are friendly, prices are just right

So good. Taste like home cooked food. The food is not salty like other places. And they have horchata which is unexpected and amazing

First trying this place last night ordered the chicken jibarito with yellow rice my husband got the steak jibarito with yellow rice we order a few appetizers such as the fried yam ball, fried potato ball, fried corn roll, and a meat pie everything was delicious and I will definitely be trying this place again in the future.

I don't know how this place could be any better! The food is beyond phenomenal and perfectly authentic! The staff is kind, friendly, accommodating; and, the wait time is minimal for dine-in or carryout! Love it here!

Has the best fried chicken I've had in a while and very cheap as well. Although the rice could be better it's a very decent place. I've never been treated in a bad way or have nothing bad to say about customer service. They have treated me very nice the times I have gone. But food wise it's just decent and fast nothing crazy.

Best place for arroz y gandules hands down! And the fact the you are supporting a small neighborhood business. Waitress are always Polite and helpful. Will not go anywhere else! Thank you Ponce.

I'm just learning about Puerto Rican food, and if this place is my introduction I certainly want to learn more. They have these fried breaded balls of potato with seasoned ground beef inside. They have fried plantains. They have Jibarito (a Puerto steak sandwich between smashed plantain as bread). It's all pretty good and I am definitely looking forward to trying more.

This place is a local home type of place to come and eat if you like Puerto Rican food. The price is pretty reasonable and the food is pretty good. I've come here numerous of times and I am never really dissapointed. My recent trip I ordered a Jibarito from here with rice and a alcapurria and while the rice was a little hard not usually to my liking but none the less good. If you are in the area give it a try 6 bucks can go along way here esepcially with this economy!

good mofongo with shrimp in red sauce! Also the alcapurria de yuca are awesome, pleasant service. Clean and simple. Would go again.

I pre ordered my food on the phone came to the restaurant the workers are talking at the window then I asked for my food received my food the chicken wasn't even cooked also no seasonings the rice was soggy and the tostones where mushy poor choice I will not repeat

Horrible horrible service . Araceli is the owner and she gave us the worst attitude. Has no respect , and the food isn't that great do not go to this restaurant if you want to keep your peace . I would give lower than a one star if I can. Plus this is the fake ponce the real one is on Fullerton go there .

This is not the Ponce you need to come visit. I was not happy with the rice, service nor the fritura. So do your self a favor and drive to the one on Fullerton where it's a one stop shop of great food and service....

Been to this restaurant many times through the years. I can say for sure this is the best place in Chicago to have an authentic puertorrican meal. I had camarones empanados con tostones with asopao de camarones, 3 alcapurrias de yuca y un juguito de parcha. The wife had arroz con gandulez, biftec encebollado, 2 pasteles de guineo y un jugo de acerola. We both had tembleque. The waitress was very polite and attentative. The food was on our table relatively quick for the amount of traffic they had that day. This is a very family friendly joint. No loud music or loud folks drinking which is perfect for me and the wife. Everything we desired on that day we were able to find it there. We will be coming back very soon

Had a good pastel and rice but rice was cold. Acapudia was so good. My guy had bistec embodello with onions. Was real good but rice cold also. Service was ok. I like jibarito stop better. But they were not open today.

This is the only place I go to for my Jibaritos! The girls in there are always very sweet and attentive. The arroz con gandules are not as good as my grandma's but they are pretty damn close to it. Their prices are crazy good for what you're getting. This is not the fanciest place but their Puerto Rican food is the best and I never go anywhere else other than my grandma's house!

I went to buy some food today, I know they close at 6:30 pm (Lord forbid them to stay a minute past closing) I arrive prior to closing only to be told " where closing early today" on a Friday night are you kidding me this is a joke. I drove 1 block to the "jabarito y mas" they close at 8:00pm like a normal restaurant, last week they told us they couldn't take my order because they had a catering order. I'm done with this place.

The rice, papa rellena and LECHON are savory. Usually get take out to enjoy in the comfort of home.

nice and clean place, jibaritos and tostones are awesome!!! cheap and yummy place to go! I strongly recommend Ponce Place!

Food was mediocre. Tasted as though it was sitting for awhile. My pastelillo seemed more like a tostada! My husbands shishkabobs were dry as ever. They tried covering that up with whatever sauce was on it. Relleno de papa didn't have a whole lot of flavor. The arroz con gandules was ok, but I've def had better. Probably won't come back.

The food here is on point if your fan of Puerto Rican food I recommend this place a bit small but that fine with me. The price are also very decent for the amount of food they give you. The only reason I didn't give a 5 star because some times when it gets crowd the waitress doesn't recognize you because it gets too busy so you get lost in the crowd.

We were told that this place was amazing for Puerto Rican food. As we waited for a table a group of people came in to the table we were waiting on(which was dirty) and sat down instead of honoring the fact we'd been standing there they cleaned the table and let the other people stay. When we told management they pretended not to notice what had happened and let the people stay while a family of 5 including a senior continued to wait

Had a Jibarito sandwich. Steak was fair. It was cut too thick. Very little mayo. Rice and beans good but not warm. Cheese not melted. Looking for Borinquen but it was gone.

I've lived in Humboldt Park for 4 years and for the longest I was eating at Sabor Latino. So one time I decided to try Ponce and their food is much better and their service is much better. I would never go back to Sabor Latino their restaurant is really gross and the service is atrocious. Their food is not good either most of it is over-fried and they let stuff sit out for a long time. Ponce is a nice little place to get that jibarito fix. Ponce Place has much better food and service.

I'm only giving this place 1 star because I can't give them a zero! This review is for the north ave location. We ordered the carne quisada and it was horrible. We've been to several PR restaurants and my Boyfriend is Puerto Rican so we know what good PR food is .The carne guisada looked like it was leftovers from the day before! super dry and it looked like they just put tomato sauce on it and threw it in the microwave. Don't go here ! Just go to the Bomba it's a few blocks down and the food is 10x better !

Best local PR restaurant. Their jibaritos and arroz con gandules are moist and full of flavor. The steak is tender, juicy and delicious. Make sure you go before 4 pm because the frituras aren't as fresh after 4. The alcapurrias are awesome. Prices are great and although they can use another waitress it's well worth the wait. Enjoy!

This is the worst place I been to the waitress were talking so loud about there private buisnes they where so terrible first time going here I ask for coffee she comes back tell me I dont have milk for the cofffe then we ask her for bread then she comes back and told us theres no more thats why she gave us the left over all they did was talk talk talk we seat there through the howl time they never came to the table and offer us nothig bD service bD waitresses food was old rice was hard rude yous aint getting a tip from me or my time I was a waitress to yous suck I rather go to l palma

I had 6 people ahead of me .I understand food needs to be warm.but the people ahead of me got served 1,2,3 n left I came with an employee n he got served n he was behind me .the lady totally forget me .

If you're looking for good Puerto Rican food this is the place to go to but I recommend to take it to go or don't go at all. The service here sucks! They only have one waitress here every time I go and she always has a bad attitude like you need to hurry up and place your order and she looks annoyed. She never checks up on the table. So you're sitting there watching her run all over the place. They need to get more waitresses for peak hours and just smile. It doesn't hurt to smile and be nice to the customer. I shouldn't have to feel like I'm bothering you. If the food wasn't good I definitely wouldn't go back because of the service alone. You'll be waiting a whole hour just to ask for the check.

Love the frituras. Yuca and guineos. If you want authentic Puerto Rican cuisine this it's the place to be.

Today my brother in law cousin went to Ponce as usually and brought a Pastellio and little did he know the suprise he was going to get. Upon biting into the Pastellio he chopped into something hard and broke his tooth, his lip slit open. When he went over to tell them what happened, they laughed at him and offered him a replacement food item. Please Do not give your business to this establishment!!!!!!!!!!!

Do not go. I have tried all kinds of puertorican restaurants and know great pr food. The food is terrible and flavorless. Bacalaito is super gross, arroz con gandules has 4 gandules and bland, jibaritos have no taste. Service was fine, just really tasteless food. Go to Sabor Latino truck in Humboldt park.

ponce on north ave because there's another one on fullerton. that one is harder to find parking. We made ilit as far as the second door. Too many people waiting. I've never had to wait on north. First time we went there i knew i was hooked. we went again in December this time there was four of us. no problem. The waitress are bilingual and up to now courteous. The food is great. no complaints here. The prices are reasonable most plates are about $8.00. The morcilla which is blood sausage. is great. I have tried just about everything from steak in sauce or without. with a salad and fried plantains. portions are not small. My nephew had the carne de cerdo with rice beans salad. His plate was cleaned . We all had an acapurria followed by a champagne cola. one word of warning. If you ask for cafe con leche dont expect starbucks!You will get coffee will milk. They dont have parking but you can park on central park unless younare lucky to find one right in front. They accept debit as well as charge. Try it you wont go anywhere else. Buena. Salud.