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El Nuevo Frutilandia
Category: Restaurants Latin American Latin American [Edit]
3077 24th St(between Folsom St & Lucky St)
San Francisco, CA 94110
Neighborhood: Mission
(415) 648-2958
- Hours:
Tue, Thu-Fri 11:30 am - 3 pm
Tue-Thu 5:30 pm - 8:30 pm
Wed 11:30 am - 3:30 pm
Fri 5:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Sat 12 pm - 9:30 pm
Sun 12 pm - 8:30 pm
- Parking:
- Street
- Accepts Credit Cards:
- Yes
- Price Range:
-
$$
- Attire:
- Casual
- Good for Groups:
- Yes
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Takes Reservations:
- Yes
- Delivery:
- No
- Take-out:
- Yes
- Waiter Service:
- Yes
- Outdoor Seating:
- No
- Good For:
- Dinner
- Alcohol:
- Beer & Wine Only
- Noise Level:
- Quiet
- Has TV:
- No
- Wheelchair Accessible:
- Yes
96 reviews for El Nuevo Frutilandia
Review Highlights
"...a Cuban Restaurant that has some Puerto Rican specialties."
(in 45 reviews)
"you have got to try the MOFONGO at this place."
(in 27 reviews)
"Ropa Vieja -- deliciously flavored, my friend loved it."
(in 13 reviews)
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96 reviews in English
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Review from Miguel V.
1/10/2012
Okay, so according to Hunter G., my transplantation to SF would raise the Boricua count to 10.75. Also according to Hunter, this is one of the only places in the Bay Area where you can order your Christmas pasteles. This should not be a problem though since Hunter's family are likely the only other people ordering Christmas pasteles. So I "placed an order", which I think was completely unnecessary, given that they had extras.
For those unfamiliar with Puerto Rican cuisine and lack the imagination to picture what Hunter described below, pasteles are often regarded as the Puerto Rican tamal. The difference is the masa is made from mashed plantains and it comes wrapped in a banana leaf. They are so moist and flavorful that they make you never want a traditional tamal again, although I am biased and have been told that pasteles are an acquired taste.
These pasteles were pretty good. They were not the best pasteles I've had, but I grew up in NY. Nevertheless, they definitely did the trick. They were a little small, but had a good amount of pork in them. The flavor were pretty spot on. I could critique them, but should be fair and say that the dozen that I bought barely lasted 24 hrs. Granted my brother and I (the only two Puerto Ricans in the house) pretty much devoured 10 of the 12 very quickly. They also got me jones-ing once again for pasteles, so I will definitely be back.
I have not tried their other food. I definitely want to come back for the mofongo. I usually cook most other things (arroz con pollo, tostones, amarillos) at home as I have been mostly less than impressed with the Puerto Rican food, and Caribbean food for that, on the West Coast. Cool place, check it out. -
Review from Tito Y.
Emeryville, CA
Its home cooking but I think they need to get some fresh pans. Boy.. you take a look inside the kitchen and it seems they haven't got fresh kitchen ware and utensils since the 1960s. Also I kind of feel bad about how labor intensive the poor woman is like a slave cooking.
The food is however delicious and I always hope to return. They make perfect "plantains" Cuban style and mostly all their dishes have a remote Nicaraguan + Cuban mix to it.
When you order, be more selective about how you are mixing various dishes together and share by having common plates (Chinese food style) with sides of extra rice - you will likely need it. The same for the soups.. order a soup dish and then a meal dish and plan to share with your group. -
Review from Vijay S.
San Francisco, CA
8/25/2011
This place was an absolute find for my wife and I. Having lived in Miami for a while, we were both craving a spot that would give us our fix of Cuban food. Paladar never cut it for me.
This seems to be a joint that is run by an older husband and wife team. The chicken soup that comes with the dishes is great. None of that canned chicken stock - you can tell that the chef makes her own. We always ask the cook to make us some arroz con gris along with our food and she is always nice enough to oblige. My main staple in the place is the Ropa Veija - which i think is as good as I've had elsewhere.
I read in some other whiney post that the owner is Dominican - but who cares. The food is among the best cuban food you can get in the bay area. -
Review from Steven S.
Fairfield, CA
12/15/2011
I just moved out here like a year ago from ct im puerto rican and i love my puerto rican food i harley eat it that much cause my mom and family live back in ct. I found out about this place and i was so excited so i decided to visit and man it was good food is great the service is awesome! the place is small but doesnt matter to me. I got a bowl of soup when i tasted it , it reminded me of my moms cooking great place great spanish food.
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Review from Eva O.
San Francisco, CA
6/25/2011
This is so not Cuban--or even Puerto Rican--food! The original owners retired and moved to Miami about a decade ago; they sold this place to the current owners who are originally from Nicaragua.
My point is this: the food is NOT authentically Cuban; if anything, it's a half-ass recreation of easy-to-make Cuban dishes, with a little Central American thrown in for good measure. They don't even have a panini press for their Cuban sandwiches! My God, you can't make a Cuban sandwich without a panini press! It's madness, I tell ya'!
I've yet to find a Cuban restaurant, outside, of southern Florida and NYC, worth going back to a second time. -
Review from Peter S.
San Francisco, CA
7/31/2011
I really like this place. Yea, its not like the Cuban restaurants in Florida, but the food is good and the people are really nice. Its run by an older couple that like to speak Spanish, which is nice cause I need to practice. Its reasonably priced, they give you free bread while you wait, which is great cause the food is not prepared quickly.
Go, if you want a place where you can enjoy a good meal, in a quiet cosy environment where you can actually have a conversation with friends. Its just a nice, low-key spot with good food, good service, and no crowds. -
Review from Seth R.
Newark, CA
5/28/2011 1 Check-in Here
Its a Cuban Restaurant that has some Puerto Rican specialties.
I had the:
* Puerto Rican Pasteles
* White Rice
* Pink Beans
* Fried Green Plantains (tostones)
Its a small cozy restaurant with some low volume music that sets the atmosphere.
The food was well prepared and oh soooooo good.
The plantains were fried just right.
The Rice was what I'm used to finding in Dominican and Puerto Rican kitchens.
The Pink Beans (Habichuelas Rosada) were very very well seasoned.
The Puerto Rican Pastel was amazingly good and they sell them frozen as well.
The combination of cozyness, excellent food and amicable staff made this well worth the trip and I greatly look forward to going back again. -
Review from mario p.
San Francisco, CA
10/6/2011
It's not Cuban food, I'm not sure exactly what it is but it's definitely not Cuban. I realize that I'm not in Little Havana or Spanish Harlem, I get that, but having Cuban food on the menu doesn't make you a Cuban restaurant. I think the owners are actually Nica's or something, but they're not legit. If Wang Foo's Chinese restaurant served spaghetti and meatballs could they be classified as an Italian restaurant? The bistec palomilla was way off, the chicken soup is some kind of Mexican/ Peruvian hybrid, and the black beans were straight out of a can. Also, when you order papas fritas from a legit Cuban spot, you get thin fries that then get thrown onto the steak and get taken down in one fowl swoop, not some steak fries with old bay seasoning that have to be ordered separately.
I gave an extra star for the effort, because this is after all San Francisco and no one knows good Cuban food around here. -
Review from Bill H.
11/14/2010 1 Check-in Here
I had a solid dinner here on Day of the Dead, after failing to get in other spots around 24th street. I ordered a really healthy serving of ropa vieja, and my girlfriend ordered a similarly huge yucca dish. I'd rate both dishes as good home cooking, but not great.
That being said -- the prices were reasonable, and service was courteous (not so much prompt, perhaps due to the heavy traffic on a weeknight).
I don't know if I'd go back, though, given alternatives in the neighborhood. -
Review from Felicia P.
Oakland, CA
7/26/2011
We were leaving Modern Times Bookstore and hungry. Why not try a Cubana restaurant, eh. The service was rushed, because unbeknownst to us, they were actually closing when we walked in. (Oops, next time you should lock your front door.) So, they allowed us to sit down and eat, but she was whisking away plates and cups to the point of being halfway disrespectful. We ordered rice and beans, plantains, and a chicken dish with the most delicious green sauce. I didn't try the plantains, but my dinner companion thought they were cooked just right. I'd love to go back and try more traditional dishes. Too bad I'm not a pork eater, because I really want to try the traditional Cuban sandwich. Oh well, until next time...
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Review from LaSha G.
Oakland, CA
2/19/2007
This is probably THE only SF restaurant that specializes in Puerto Rican food from what I can tell, but don't hold me to that. I went here with a friend on Friday night before a jazz concert at the Red Poppy Art House, and the restaurant is tiny but in a cozy way as opposed to a clausterphobic way. The night I went there was only one lady manning the bar, taking orders, and serving food but she was really sweet and patient since I didn't know what I wanted to order and we didn't have to wait too long for anything.
Excellent dishes enjoyed that night include Mofongo (mashed plantains and pork sauteed with garlic and olive oil...that you dip in a secret sauce), Pierna de Puerco Horneado (really tender pork with carribean spices) served with a tasty side of dish of rice and beans and my friend had the Ropa Vieja (flank steak in a creole sauce) even though I meant to tell him that I heard the Vaca Frita (fried shredded flank steak) was the way to go. He enjoyed his dish regardless.
At $9.95 for an entre, I thought the prices here were cheap. I'm glad I found this place (via Yelp btw) ...I'll definitely bring some friends here in the future....especially since the Red Poppy is right around the corner.Listed in: Found on Yelp
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Review from Hunter G.
Davis, CA
9/16/2007
There are only 10 and a half Puerto Ricans in the Bay Area, I am one of them and "nine" of them are related to me. Not even the owners of Fruliandia are Puerto Rican. The only Puerto Rican restaurant in S.F. and they're not Puerto Rican. That gives me an idea.
OK, maybe there are more boricua but I don't know them and it hasn't stopped this place from making great food. I usually get the same thing everytime. Mofongo and alcapurrias and tostones. My family also orders pasteles from them every year at Christmas time to bring home. Pasteles are a type of plantain dumpling that can have pork and other things and are usually wrapped in banana leaves (like my grandmother used to do) or cooking parchment.
Everything I've had there has tasted authentic and I like to bring out of town guests there to let them sample the food of my people. It's a small place in the Mission and there only ever seems to be two people working so it's not good for large groups.
There are a couple of other places I found on the other side of the bridge but that is a separate review. For now, Frutilandia is the best place to go for Puerto Rican food. Oh yeah, and I guess Cuban food too.Listed in: Comida Boricua...Puerto Rican…
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Review from Art O.
San Francisco, CA
2/13/2010
If you go here, get the mofongo and enjoy! The unique garlicky flavors of the fried plantains will bring joy to your taste buds.
The other items we tried - some pork chops and steak cooked in a wine sauce with peppers - were a bit on the tough, dry side. And compared to the mofongo, they paled in comparison.
Service was friendly but a bit on the slow side. We came a little after they opened up, there was only one family there beside the two of us but it took a while to get the food.
I'd be willing to try some other items but I hope it won't be too long before I'll be getting the mofongo again. -
Review from Berna T.
3/3/2007
My friend and co-worker, Priscilla, who originally hails from the Bronx, NY, is well versed in Puerto Rican and Cuban cuisine, and I thought she would be the perfect person to accompany me to a Puerto Rican restaurant. I had heard of Sol in San Rafael, but I didn't really feel like driving over the bridge, so after searching Yelp, I found this place. The reviews don't lie...this is probably the only Puerto Rican joint in all of San Francisco, and they do it well here.
They have a variety of house-made juices, I ordered guava juice, which was fresh and delicious. We started off with appetizers (Aperitivos Surtidos - assorted appetizers) - Alcapurria (meat filled plantain and yucca fritter), Pastele Puertorriqueno (Puerto Rican dumpling, similar to a tamal), Maduros (sweet plantains) and Tostones (double fried savory plantains with a garlic dipping sauce). And, our eyes being bigger than our stomachs, we also ordered the Mofongo - a dish made of fried, crushed plantains with pork, olive oil, and LOTS of garlic. Priscilla ordered the special - Lechon Horneado, arroz con gandules, y yuca - roasted pork with rice & pigeon peas and yucca with garlic sauce. I ordered the Ropa Vieja - shredded flank steak in Creole sauce, onion, tomato, wine and bell peppers, served with white rice and black beans.
Everything was really great - even my white rice was tasty! We both love garlic, so we were stoked that the dishes were loaded with the stuff. (You may not want to go here on a first date if you're trying to get someone to kiss you for the first time.) It seems like they make everything to order, so it takes longer than most places, but it was so worth it. The woman who was serving us was really pleasant and friendly, and even gave us "to go" menus when we realized that we could order from this place for lunch (our office is close by).
I'll be seeing you again soon, El Nuevo Fruitlandia! -
Review from Jackie L.
Greenfield, CA
7/23/2011
This place is amazing. The food is made to order, it takes a while but is very worth the wait. Order the soup it is very tasty and so are the mofongo and tostones. I ordered the milanesa plate and was very pleased. We come here every time we are in town.
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Review from Liz P.
Worcester, MA
1/10/2008
Aye, caramba! My Cuban and Puerto Rican relatives are rolling over in their graves. Sorry folks, this place is such a disappointment.
I'm jaded. My Grandmother taught my Mom how to cook Cuban food. My Mom taught me. I'd rather take the time and cook my own than eat here. Except for Ropa Vieja because that is one big pain in the culito to make.
I'm still searching for a decent Cuban place in the City other than mi casa. If anyone finds one, please let me know.Listed in: Latin Food
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Review from Becca V.
Sausalito, CA
3/20/2007
This place made me do the Happy Dance!
The Ropa Vieja (shredded beef) dish was every bit as fantastically fabulous as the other reviewers promised. Lots of peppers and onions mixed in, and not a hint of fattiness. Just perfectly cooked, flavorful shredded beef served simply with rice and beans. Awesome,
Will definitely be adding this cozy little restaurant to my local rotation. -
Review from Cristina R.
San Francisco, CA
1/27/2009
When you are homesick, this place works. When you can't drive to San Rafael to Sol Food, this place works. When you just want comfort food and feel at home, this place works.
When you are with friends celebrating a b-day and explaining the dishes and tell stories from your childhood eating this food, this place works. Don't expect glorious dishes, just nice comfort food. -
Review from Elaine O.
Daly City, CA
9/16/2006
This is probably your best option for a mix of Puerto Rican and Cuban food. It's reasonably priced unlike well-known, fancier places like Destino, Limon, etc. The service is like most mom-and-pops joints: friendly, with a bit of a wait for all the freshly made food.
For starters, we had Mofongo at $7.50, which is fried crushed plantain with crunchy pieces of pork. It was garlicky, flavorful, and filling. I absolutely loved the texture combination, and the savory sauce it came with. We also had Papa Rellena at $1.50 which is stuffed potato with meat. I've had better papa rellenas before, but theirs isn't terrible.
They have daily specials, so I decided to try their Saturday meal which is Lechon Horneado with rice and yucca in garlic sauce. The roast pork was indeed succulent, but I wish it had more flavor. My boyfriend had Bistec de Palomilla, which is sirloin steak sauteed with lemon juice and garnished with sizzling onions. He liked it so much, that eventhough he was full from the appetizers we had, he forced himself to finish it.
I'll most definitely become a regular at this place. The meat entrees cost no more than $11, and they come with soup or salad, rice and beans. The seafood entrees are $12-$14. Screw the fancy establishments; go to this place if you want a good introduction to Puerto Rican/Cuban food. -
Review from Jeannie S.
Philadelphia, PA
7/17/2009
Growing up with my grandmother's authentic Puerto Rican cuisine, it was defnitely a sad day when I moved to the Bay and realized there was not a plethora of PR food (or PR people for that matter) out here.
So excited to try this place andbrought two of my new friends in Cali with me. Service was good, overpriced for a glass of wine.
We Had:
Pastel- the best part of the meal, definitely not the best that I have had but edible
Pork- Bit dry and not well seasoned
Rice with piegeon peas- no flavor, nothing like rice I am used to
Tostones- ok but dry
Yuca- decent
Alcapurria- so burnt could not even bite into!
Papa Rellenos- did not come with gravy, not taste or flavor and the potato was crumbly
Overall, not a good meal but the service was good. Would not recommend but I guess if you have never had authentic PR food better than nothing.
On another note, if interested, there is a PR festival this Saturday 7/18 in San Jose go to http://www.wrprc.org. The $ goes towards scholarships for higher education and I am hoping the food will be better -
Review from Suzanne S.
San Francisco, CA
6/18/2007
I can't believe I haven't reviewed El Nuevo Fruitlandia yet. This place is probably the first hidden treasure I found when moving to the Mission a few years ago. My father lived in Puerto Rico and has always grumbled about the lack of Puerto Rican food in the bay area. So when he requested Carne Guisada (a slow cooked pork stew) for his birthday dinner, I thought, "hey, I'm in the Mission, I can figure this out." We were not dissapointed. El Nuevo Fruitlandia is now a family staple.
Theres a whole list of fried goodness for appetizers: the tostones (smooshed and fried slices of platano) are my favorite, although I wish they had some homemade salsa and not just tapatio. They bring you warm toasted water bread while you're waiting, too, which my sister adores.
You can tell they've made an effort to cater to vegetarians, which I really appreciate. The chile rellenos (about $7) are the best I've had, in a rich tomato and chile sauce with bell pepers and onions. The mofongo (smashed fried yucca)we get the vegetarian) is also very good, if a bit greasy. The platanos maduros (sweet) are reminiscent of fried bananas but somehow savory and delicious with lots of hot sauce and the white rice and black beans that come with every entree. Yucca con mojo is always perfectly cooked, creamy and so tasty with the lemon they give you squeezed on top. We usually order the salad, too, which is simple but fresh and good, with cucumbers, corn, onions and romaine.
They also have lots of juices and shakes. I like the juices, but last time I got the shake and it tasted like frothy milk and sugar -- I could barely taste the fruit at all, which was weird.
The service is very slow but that's because they make everything fresh right when you order it.
This is one of those unique little gems that reminds me how damn lucky I am to live in San Francisco. -
Review from melisa n.
Santa Clara, CA
7/7/2008
Ok so gotta give them 3 stars because they went out of their way to accommodate us but I was expecting better...
Sunday evening, after a trip to MoMA we made a much anticipated trip to Frutilandia. Keep in mind, I'm Puerto Rican -born and raised- so I know what most of the dishes should taste like. Trying to be reasonable I don't expect them to be up on "tastes like when grandma makes them" status but at least I expect them to taste like if I went to a hole in the wall place in NYC.
We drive by slowly to check the location around 6:45pm when I see the sign that says CLOSED... Hmm, their website says the hours are until 8pm... Circled the block and decided to get out of the car and look to see if it was a 4th of July weekend thing but nope, no hours on the door either, hmm. Then I see her, the waitress inside. I proceed to knock and signal her to come on over... Success, she heeds my call. Busted out the Spanish to seem more convincing and she explains that even though they are cleaning they could serve us if we didn't mind. Score, we go in.
I had looked at the menu online and had pretty much an idea of what I wanted. There were a couple of things they didn't have (won't hold it against them since they were closing after all) which were the guava juice and the chicken soup that you can have instead of the green salad. Order for two looked something like this:
- 1 alcapurria
- 1 pastel
- 1 side of amarillos (ripe, fried plantains)
- 1 order of tostones (green, fried plantains)
- Camarones a la criolla (shrimp in creole sauce)
- Ropa Vieja (shredded beef in tomato base sauce)
This came with side of white rice and black beans (Cuban frijoles) and some bread. Ok here come to complaints... The alcapurria, the "dough" tasted unbalance, meaning they used too much of one ingredient (in this case the baby green bananas) and it was overpowering.... They were also oily. The pastel was ok, certainly lacking the usual kick of flavor I am used to. Tostones were ok, I make better. Amarillos are impossible to screw up so these were good. I have never been a fan of frijoles but these were bland. The camarones were ok... although the criolla sauce was bleh at best. Ropa vieja was again ok, nothing to bring me back. The mamey and pineapple shakes we got were yum though. Too bad they didn't have guava.... All of thise for around $45.
I might come back and try to aim for when they are busier to see if then the quality of the food improves even if the service is slower as some reviews mention. All in all, super sweet of them to seat us when they were getting ready to go but the food... If I spend a little extra time and effort, I can make it better myself....
food - 2 stars
service - 1 star
3 stars at best as of now. -
Review from Clarice V.
San Francisco, CA
4/17/2008
Hmmmm....this is a 3.5, really.
I can't say I am an expert on Puerto Rican food. So, I'll try keep this light.
Decor - Eh... pink walls and Puerto Rican maps on the wall aside, they could have done better.
Appetizers - This was the highlight of our visit: nice, crispy and garlicky tostones and very good pastel (although it is on the small side)
Entree - We shared a chicken dish that came smothered in a really good green salsa/criolla sauce. It was tasty, but the serving was very small. The salad was bare - it came with absolutely NO dressing what so ever! WTF?
I am sorry but for $10, this entree was on the pricey side.
After my meal at Nuevo Fruitlandia I dreamt that I was Boricua, a hot Puerto Ricena woman with big boobs and a big butt at that. In my dream I was grinding platano to make pasteles for my adorable Puerto Rican kids (they looked like Max and Emme, JLo and Marc Anthony's kids) waiting at the dinner table (overlooking the clear blue Puerto Rican beach).
And then I woke up....I felt myself up - I am still the short, flat behind Asian chick that I have always been. Why the weird dream? Maybe it was the tostones.... -
Review from ML ..
San Francisco, CA
12/17/2007
Mofongo makes me happy and so do restaurants that use a lot of garlic.
Naturally, this restaurant makes me happy. -
Review from Honey T.
Las Vegas, NV
10/13/2009
Wow!
I love CUBAN FOOD! Especially, the hole in the wall places.
My boyfriend ordered the cuban sandwich and I ordered the thin sirloin steak marinated in lemon and herb sauce with sauted onions, rice and black beans. My dish came with a bowl of chicken soup.
Everything on our table was the best Cuban food that I have had in a very long time! I would definitely come back again and again!Listed in: My domestic travels....
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Review from Yamil A.
San Juan, PR
7/19/2007
We just finished another great dinner at El Nuevo Frutilandia. I'm even more impressed because we got to chat a bit with the waitress. Just learned this restaurant has been open for over 25 years, that the friendly cute waitress Irene (EE reh neh) has been working there for the past 9 and they are not Puerto Ricans or Cubans... This is why we were both even more impressed. The food is well done!
I've been craving PR cooking for a while, so I got a fix tonight. I went with my friend Rita C who is from the Dominican Republic; you can say we know Caribbean food!
We ordered mostly tapas stile entrees and we started with the famous MOFONGO, excellent!
Followed by ALCAPURRIAS- not bad but I miss the regular just plantain alcapurrias, these are made with yucca also.
We also had a YUCCA AL MOJO dish and followed by a BACALAO GISAU WITH RICE (stew of cod fish with steam rice) which came with the chicken soup or green salad. The yucca was perfect and the bacalao less salty than I'm used to, but flavorful.
I most say, their chicken soup is darn good. The most authentic Puerto Rican chicken soup I've had outside of the island.
This was a Thursday evening and they were not crowded. However, the mofongo usually takes a while to prepare, so order it as soon as you are seated. While you wait, enjoy some warm bread!
================================================== =
The only Puerto Rican restaurant I've been able to find in the city. And trust me, I've looked!
Not disappointing, try the mofongo, I love their version. Maybe not before a hot date/night... Two words - garlic breath.
Small, cozy, friendly waitress and good inexpensive menu selection - I'm coming back! -
Review from Michael S.
San Francisco, CA
3/15/2009
Before anything else this place is 3.3 to 3.5 stars...
The sandwiches are really tasty. I didn't order a sandwich but ended up getting one anyways, I guess the waitress misheard me. It was really good so how can I complain? Maybe she secretly knew I wanted a sandwich and changed it for me :)? They give you cup of sauce with your mofongo that's really tasty, I recommend using it in conjunction with the sandwich for maximum taste utility.
The service isn't super quick so have the expectation when you go in and it will help.
I'm usually a tortas man but this sandwich is in the top 3 of latin sandwiches. -
Review from Jere K.
San Francisco, CA
7/27/2006
Okay, so I've only been here once, but it's not my fault. I want to come back, but it seems that every time I wander by, they're closed. What's up with the funky hours?
Anyway, on my one visit, I was delighted by the vegetarian mofongo. Mofongo is a dish I had not tried before and it was fantastic.
The place is cozy and the staff was super friendly despite a bit of language barrier. We ended up saying "thank you" to each other A LOT. Anyway, I'll keep walking by hoping to see if it's ever open again at any point other than while I'm at work. -
Review from Rufus X.
Brooklyn, NY
7/8/2006
We heard this place had mofongo, a wonderful mash of plantains, spices and pork that we enjoyed in Puerto Rico several years ago. And it did, but it wasn't that good. It was dry and tasteless until we poured some mystery broth over it -- not sure if that was the right thing to do, but it worked.
The picadillo was bland. The ropa viejo was OK. The appetizer dumplings, however, were unique + tasty. Cheap eats. Not sure it's worth visiting again, though. -
Review from michelle r.
Oakland, CA
5/24/2010
Okay so I 'm Puerto Rican from NYC and I was excited to come and try the food here. Since we are a minority on this side and there are'nt many places to try Puerto Rican food I thought I was excited to try this place . Well firstly the people who cook here are not PR's....the food is okay nothing that is going to make me crave for this place at all. - food lacks flavor...service was okay
the mofongo lacked the pork fat that is usually added to it. and the pernil lacked so much flavor. -
Review from gee l.
Los Angeles, CA
6/30/2009
I would give it 3 stars if there were more Cuban or PR restaurants in the city to which I could compare this one to, but there aren't. So 4 stars it is. Because honestly, I enjoy dining here.
They have this great chicken dish thats covered in some sort of green sauce. A little on the salty side, but pretty tasty otherwise. Standard rice and beans.
Do NOT, and i repeat, DO NOT, respond with "salad" when asked for "salad or soup"... it is the most bare salad i've ever been served, and they don't even offer dressing. At most, some olive oil and pepper. The soup, on the otherhand, is delicious and absolutely bread-dip worthy.
The city needs more Cuban restaurants... i long for Bistec de Palomilla done the right way. -
Review from Toy W.
San Francisco, CA
6/12/2007
One of us is half Puerto Rican but grew up really fond of the food. The appetizers and the pasteles are really authentic, but the mains are less so.
For instance what they call Pernil seems more like Spanish food than Puerto Rican. Real Pernil is usually one of those traditionally poor person cuts of meat such as pork shoulder marinated for about 24 hours and then roasted until it has a crust with some crunch but is still juicy inside. Something like that would be difficult to make ahead for a restaurant when you have no clue how many people will order it, so compromises end up being made. At Sofrito in Oakland they leave it roasting all day, whereas at Frutilandia it has been turned into a flattened sauteed pork chop. It is not bad, but it is not quite right either.
If you want something more authentic go to Sofrito in East Oakland. If you have been there already and are looking for something better buy a copy of Puerto Rican Cookery by Carmen Aboy Valldejuli (for Puerto Rican food its a cultural institution in the way that Joy of Cooking and Fannie Farmer was for a generation of people here), the instructions are easy to follow although you need to drastically cut the salt if you would like to live past 50. -
Review from Thomas B.
San Carlos, CA
12/2/2009
My wife and I love this place. The food is not as greesy as it once was and as puerto rican can sometimes be. But the authentic "must try" in this place are the pastellas. Go ahead and try to find them anywhere else on the west coast. We had a devil of a time finding this unique dish.
Mmm mmmmm.... -
Review from Bert K.
8/24/2007
This place serves Cuban food and Puerto Rican food. So it's not exactly cubano all the way.
The chicken with green salsa is very good.
The cubano sandwich is pretty good as well and it could feed two medium hungry people. The chuleta's come bronzed perfectly and smell heavenly and the taste is.... yummy.
Their frijoles negroes are good too. Service is friendly but sslow.
Pssst.... the Gato Negro vino is a good deal by the glass.
Update 3/4/08 : ask them to make the food quickly. Indeed, now the food comes in ten minutes or so. -
Review from Cody G.
San Jose, CA
2/8/2007
I'm no San Francisco native. I can count on a hand the times I've been here to do non-touristy stuff. One day, I was wandering around the city with a good friend of mine, and I decided to give an old friend of mine a call. She, who is far more familiar with the city, suggested that my friend and I try this place, that it was the best Puerto Ricense/ Cubano food that I'd ever find in a restaurant. Well, I took her word for it and we went and tried it.
I cannot remember what I had, for it was almost three years ago, and I've only been back once since - but I remember leaving content and not poor both times I went, which is a big deal in my book.
I love Latin American food - the spices, the flavors, the contrasts and the staples. This is a pretty darn good place. Very very small, but worth your time. -
Review from JOHN Q.
San Francisco, CA
2/1/2011
I'm a Puerto Rican from Puerto Rico, not 2nd generation or from the east coast so I know as a fact how the food from island taste. I have to say that when I tasted the mofongo I felt like I was back at home. Awesome mofongo, the tostones were great, the papa rellena was great, maduros (we call it amarillos) were great, pasteles were great. Overall the food was awesome, not 5 star because the rice and beans was just ok, not great, and the malta was not malta india from Puerto Rico, was some other brand that we dont have in the island. Hightly recommended!!! Tell Carmen that John sent you.
-
Review from Gretchen F.
San Francisco, CA
5/30/2008
Soooo...again, I am BORICUA. I have gone to Fruitilandia several times over the years. And like the other reviews, I so desperately want to give this place a great rating, BUT i just can't....
The pastellas are homemade and scrumptious. Just like my great grandmother used to make. If nothing else, at least try this place for the pastellas, because EVERYONE on this planet would be a happier, better person for having ate a homemade pastellas...
Now....back to the rest of the place... the mofongo is dry and kind of bland, BUT the garlic sauce is tasty.....
But the service is soooooooo slow here....don't go starving, cause you just might start chewing your left arm off while your waiting...
I highly suggest getting appetizers there...because the main dishes are just iffy....
to bad Sofrito in Oakland has closed. Now THAT is authentic Puerto Rican food.... -
Review from Randy D.
San Francisco, CA
12/14/2006
How do you have a Puerto Rican restaurant and not have: bacalatos fritos or empanadillas on the menu!
I did buy a dozen frozen Pastillas to take home. Yum...
I like the place and will visit it 4 or 5 times a year. Mostly for lunch. -
Review from Jonathan C.
Los Angeles, CA
1/17/2010
I'm not Puerto Rican, but does it really matter?
Good food is good food & Fruitlandia hasn't disappointed in the two times I've been in a 4-day period.
Order this and you'll be happy:
Molfondo w/Gravy: Totally F-yeah worthy & the server loves to say how good it is (and you'll love when she does).
Tostones con Mojo de ajo: Your date will thank you
Sopa de Pollo: Better than anything your mother makes (seriously, pass on the dinner salad and get the damn soup)
By the way, whoever said the wine is expensive is a total dummy. $3 is like less than 2 bus rides. -
Review from Vincent H.
San Francisco, CA
5/7/2011
Damn good and tasty too, a real find!
