Sabores Dominican Restaurant

In the home stretch to Texas, we decided one last time to get something to eat. Sabores happened to be the place we stopped at. The building itself may turn you away, but it's nice inside and clean. Pretty simple.

When we ate here it was probably about 6 pm. They have a variety of items on the menu from American to Dominican and Cuban. When we came they had ran out of several things. My hungry-whiney-ready to be back in Texas crew wasn't very happy that they ran out of certain things. They ran out of pork shoulder so we couldn't get the pernil or cuban sandwich. We could only get the fried or grilled pork chops. We couldn't get braised or garlic chicken, only the grilled chicken. The beef entrees you could only get the steak with onions which I believe was called Bistec encebellado or something along those lines.

My husband got crispy pork, which I thought was pretty good. Grandma got the lentil stew. Which came out in a pretty big bowl. I only had a bite, but it was tasty. I got the steak with onions and it was delicious. We got the Mofonguitos, but I was the only one that liked them.

The owner was nice and we talked to her for awhile. I'm not going to deduct stars because it wasn't our fault that they ran out of things. We just came too late. *I* enjoyed my meal and *I* would be back if I'm ever in the area.

They ran out almost everything we ordered so, we were only able to try three dishes. Mofonguitos, I think it tasted like fried mashed potato but actually it was made from plantains. Garlic Chicken, the chicken was okay but the sauce was way too salty. T_T Cuban Sandwich, I tasted it one bite and I liked it but, the bun was a little oily ;however, my husband enjoyed it. (and that's why he's fat lol). I don't know what the side is that comes with the Cuban Sandwich but, it was so bland and no flavor at all. Lucky that the dipping sauces were very tasty. Red beans, umm...let's not talk about it, I 100% didn't like it. T_T

About drinks, lemonade and passion fruit juice were good. Service was friendly. :") I would give between 2 or 3 stars for this one.

The food was fantastic! Simple hole in the wall. Not for big parties. The Sunday Stew with rice is wonderful! I had a papaya smoothie that was spot on. We had for appetizers the plaintains and the spicy plaintain cups (forgot the name) delish.
I saw an assortment of vegan dishes!!
Lots of things on the menu, very decently priced.
We'll be back, they're very amable, and hospitable.

This was a solid place and I'm glad that I went. I'd like to try it again, but we were driving thru on our way to Texas. I'd like to give it two or three more tries. After that I would know if I were a lifelong fan or if it was just worth a try and move on. The reason for this uncertainty was that the service was awesome and the food tasty, but just hard to work thru. Let me explain.

The restaurant is a family establishment and I give them tremendous support wherever I go. These folks were absolutely amazing. Nice, genuine, worthy of continued support. They were friendly, warm and endearing. The entire multi-generational family was there.

Had the mofonguitos as an appetizer. This was something I would get EVERY time I came. I wish I were a local just to enjoy these again. They look like little potato cakes cooked in cupcake pans. Maybe 4 or 6 of them. Plenty of food right there. They came with two sauces. One was much lighter, garlicy. The other was cilantro based. I usually don't like cilantro, but this rocked. I wish I had written down the ingredients more, but they were both wonderful complements.

I then had the fried chicken chunks. They were extremely savory and cooked well. Outside crunchy, savory. Inside succulent and juicy. But they were like chicken wings that had been chopped in half. The outer skin was tough and it was hard to know if you were crunching bones or outer cover. The meat didn't leave the bone easily making it almost a dental wrestling match. The food was great though. Made me think I was eating the poultry version of hard shelled crabs. Lot of work involved for the reward. It came with rice which was 'da bomb. I had it with peas and was very pleased.

My wife had the Dominican Stew. It was as if the whole chicken was cooked in there. Very tasty, but hard to figure out how to eat. Pour it on the rice? Eat it from the bowl? When eating from the bowl, had to pick out the bones, cartilidge and other parts of the chicken. I have cooked chicken based stew this way before, but have always removed those parts before serving. Maybe it isn't the way in Dominican Republic. Like eating a great fish, but you have to watch out for all the fish bones.

Good place. Great people. Good food. Glad I got what I did, wish I could go back and try some other items.

It was a rare date night and we spent it with friends who live in Bossier City. They picked the place and we were oh so glad to have discovered Sabores.

The place is stuffed behind a bowling alley off Industrial Boulevard, so no need to wear your little black dress. It's nice and casual. And clean -- from floor to ceiling.

Atmosphere/Service
Sabores is what it is: a place to eat. It's well-lit with small tables and vinyl-covered chairs. Again, it's clean. -- Our service was impeccable. From being seated (by the owner, I presume), to the friendly and efficient service of our waitress. If it's not a family-run operation, it certainly felt like it. And they made us feel like part of the family.

Food
This is the real reason for the review, and for driving an hour to eat. In short, it was well worth it.

We shared appetizers of Tostones (fried plantain w/ cheese) and Mofonguitos (plantain cups), served with a house-made cilantro dipping sauce. Divine.

My wife and I shared an order of Paella. It arrived hot with a side of tostones and an avocado salad (which was missing the avocado). While the dish might be more appropriately called Jollof (the West African version of Paella - seasoned differently), or Seafood Jambalaya, it was delicious nonetheless. Packed with mussels and shrimp.

Our friends had roast pork shoulder (pernil) and skirt steak (churrasco). Both said their dishes were really good.

Unfortunately, they were out of tres leches cake. Such can happen in mom & pop operations, and that's fine.

When we return to Sabores, I've already decided that I'm going for Mofongo w/ Shrimp. Or maybe oxtail. I'm sure that, no matter what I get, it'll be cooked with love and served hot. I can't wait!

This place is a gem! There are 2 things I thought I'd never experience when I found out I'd be living in Shreveport, Louisiana: 1) that I'd play more hockey here than anywhere else in my life, and 2) that I'd find world-class Dominican cuisine. Well, both turned out to be true!

After I ate at Sabores for the first time I soon found myself eating here 2-3 times a week. It's in a great location for those working on Barksdale AFB, as it is about a mile from the north gate. You can eat here 100 times and be pleasantly surprised each and every time by trying something new. The owners from New York where they own another restaurant called Estrella. They are very friendly and make you feel at home from the moment you walk in. Sabores is very cognizant of the ingredients they use and always strive to find the best local meats, fish, and vegetables.

I've tried nearly everything on the menu so far and everything has been fantastic, but a few of my favorites are the pernil, espaguetis, and pechuga al ajillo. The cubano sandwich is also an overwhelming favorite of friends who I have eaten here with, and no one does crinkle-cut fries better than Sabores! Don't forget about the guava cheesecake for dessert.

I can't say enough great things about this place, so just eat here!

This is what an authentic dining experience should be like. Seriously, these folks are taking the time, putting in the effort, and sparing no expense to put out the best food they possibly can. No cut-corners. A pride and dignity given to the food that's evident on the plate. I'm seriously impressed. (It's not "Shreveport/Bossier good" - it'd be good in NYC too!)

Also evident - this place is kept cleaner than most any other resturant that I've been into in the state. They really are DOING IT RIGHT.

Food was flawless and delicious. Served hot and fresh. I had a Dominican style Chimichuri Burger. My wife, a SPECTACULAR Cuban Sandwich. We shared rice and pigeon peas, mofongitos, and maduro (ripe/sweet) plantain. The whole meal was righteously good. Service with a friendly smile, and the genuine feeling that you've been adopted into their family.

Stop in and see - this place is earning a rightfully stellar reputation for great food. One of my new favorite craves. I'll be back FREQUENTLY!

This place is wonderful. Definitely a great hole in the wall place. From the outside I gotta admit I was a little hesitant about going in but after I tasted the food I was sold. The staff is very nice. I give it 4 stars bc the atmosphere wasnt as wonderful as the food was and the service was a little slow. But judging just on food Id give it 5 stars. I tasted many dishes and they all were wonderful! Haha one of the best burgers Ive ever had too! But the other foods that were their forte were fantastic too!

The service here was great. I had the mofongo which was excellent. I also had the chicharones de pollo and goat. All were good. The only issue was the pollo was a little greasy on the plate.

Don't let the exterior of the building mislead you. Our server was phenomenal and actually allowed us to sample the meat before ordering. The first thought that came to mind was, "this tastes like grandmas cooking!!" The food was incredible and the service was impeccable. Highly recommend this place.