El Criollo

We came here for dinner and was satisfied with the service. This was my second time here and they have definitely improved on their customer service. First time around it took what felt an eternity to get our food. This time around our food was served at a very decent time. Our waitress was kind and attentive.
I must say I didn’t like the odor that the table had, it seems they had wiped down the table with a dirty cloth, the smell was a bit overwhelming but my boyfriend and I decided to stay put.
Waitress brought out some thinly sliced bread to start off and my boyfriend had the pollo saltado, and I had the ropa vieja, which was so very delish! Portions are very good size, I shared with our son. And I still had some left over.

Place is great don’t get me wrong seems like no ones ever here besides one person attending us waited about 20 minutes to get service than left.

We got The Rabo encendido (Oxtail) with Morro (beans with rice) and the potato balls with meat inside. They were both delicious and the server Efren was Awesome! We will definitely be coming back here.

I came here with my friend and my son on a Saturday evening, it was not busy at all. The place is pretty clean, prices are decent. Must say I enjoyed my plate and the lemonade was good. Will be going back to try something else.

First time ever trying out Cuban food and I was very impress. Went on a Sunday afternoon with my family, the waiter was very nice and friendly. Food was super tasty. I tried Montuno Cubano and OMG! Amazing flavor. My 2 ½ year old loved the black beans and my 13 year old who is picky with food loved it. I highly recommended. The only thing is that they are pricey.

Food: everything was very tasty. Could have used maybe 2 – 3 more shrimp in my plate, but over all very good flavor.
Service: the waitress was very rude. Took about 10 minutes before she even brought water to the table. Took our order and didn’t see her again until it was time to pay.
Oh and one thing you should never do is talk bad about your boss or the food to your customers — she did exactly that. She told us how she didn’t like certain food, drinks and that the owners don’t let her turn on the AC.
The owner came out to bring our food and they were very nice and attentive — it’s clear the waitress just doesn’t like her job.
Location: can use a little background music and more lighting.
Overall, don’t expect an amazing experience. Food is great, but can be spoiled by the waitress.

I will start by saying, the service was excellent. My waiter was very attentive and friendly, even though he was the only one there who seemed to be working (actually, I didn’t see any other employees at all!). No complaints in this area, and if this were the only criteria, this place would get 5 stars from me.
However…
I ordered, per the waiter’s suggestion, the Fricase de Pollo. It’s chicken stewed in a wine sauce with potatoes. Um… well, the sauce was there as well as all of seven peas, one chunk of potato and one chicken leg with extra gristle at that top (maybe the cook thought there was more to that serving of chicken???). Honestly, there was so little chicken and what was there was mostly skin and bones. It was the most pitiful serving of chicken I think I’ve had at a restaurant. And mind you, I would have complained, but the only way to discover how little chicken there was, was to eat it, considering it was smothered in sauce. I was too busy picking bones out of my teeth and trying to scrape any morsel of meat off the leg bone to even think of sending it back (in retrospect, I definitely should have).
The Moro Rice and the plantains were good but nothing to write home about, and although the sauce on the chicken was flavorful, it just wasn’t special or all that unique. Oh, and the hot sauce? Not spicy at all.
Sorry to say it, but the dish I had was no value for the money and I just can’t imagine returning for another round.

I realized that I never gave my review, it was back in 2012 that I had my sons going away gathering here, it was wonderful, they were attentive and the food was delicious. I highly recommend party gathering here.
Thank you for the memories!

These are the «Maduros» we were served. These are supposed to be fried ripe plantains. We got hard stale plantains. Almost impossible to mess this up but they also failed on the «yucca al mojo. It was hard not Guly cooked.
We thought an ice cold Malta» bottle would be a no brained.
However it was served slightly above room temperature.
The service was bit welcoming at all! The waitress kept asking us to repeat our order as she didn’t understand the «accent» and kept trying to correct pronunciation since she was not «Cuban». But neither am I, however the friend I was dining with is.
I let our waitress know and she took the Maduros back and came back to say the cook agreed !
Guess the customer is not always right.
Won’t be coming back to this location

Came here in a Saturday night with a group of three. There was only one girl working there, she was doing all the work waiter, server and busboy. She took a long time to get the order for the drinks, then came back like 25 minutes later to take the order. She takes alot of little breaks and talks to much small talk with costumers. To much personal talk. While other guest are waiting on drinks and food. Now food is awful. It is not cook like how it should be and not well prepared. It was not like Cuban food. It start there chef is not cuban he might Mexican. Only there drinks are good like there lemonade. I recommend you dont come to this location, they have one in burbank that is a bar and grill. There service there is great and food has a better presentation.

Not worth the money! I ordered via Unilocal.Three orders, lechon, vegetarian plate, and a Cuban sandwich.
My order was ready when I arrived. I only waited for 5 minutes. When I got home and looked at the orders I could not believe the portions. The lechon was all unions and a couple of pieces of pork, the veggie plate had four small pieces of yuca the size of a fry and four tostones. I paid for bread for both orders which they didn’t include.
The food had no taste. I use to go to their original spot in noho when the parents ran the restaurant. That was real Cuban food. It’s a shame that whoever is running it now has lower their standards in the quality of the food. If I pay $ 15 for pork I should get pork and not just unions, beans and rice.

Service was good. Food was very bad. Came to this location with my family for dinner. I order the fried lechon. Bad very bad. I just ate the rice and beans. My 11yr order the Cuban sandwich he left almost all of it, it was so bad never again coming to this place. Trust me save yourself a trip and go somewhere else.

I have driven by this place for years and always wanted to try it out. Well, yesterday my girlfriend and I stopped in and gave it a go.
We were not disappointed in the least; the food was fresh and top-​notch.
For appetizers we had the croquetas, papas rellenas which were both delicious. Our dinner consisted of the bistec (for me) and the pollo asado (for her) with beans, rice and plantains. No complaints all around; the meats were fresh and flavorful while the beans warm and delicious!
The server was new but, friendly, knowledgeable and a hard worker.
Definitely a new stop for us; next meal will be pork for sure!
–Matt–

Food was average Seems like it was made earlier and just warmed up. The food came out pretty quick. The menu prices are higher than the menu on the website Luckily we went on monday and the plates were 25% off. Probably will not go back.

Great food! Definitely worth a try. Breakdown of our order:
Appetizer: Caesar Salad (one of the best I’ve ever had! Super fresh, and so tasty! They add avocado and their own unique croutons) — must try!
My dinner: Loma Saltado Polla. Very good!
With a try and be sure to order extra plantain. They’re so good!

Love this place! My BF told me about this place after he had a lunch here with a few of his co workers.
This was my first time trying Cuban food and I have to say I was very impressed. Everything was phenomenal from beginning to end. Our waiter was very friendly. He told us a little bit about the food and recommended a few dishes he thought we might like. My BF said I should try the ropa vieja which he said was very delicious and it was. I forgot what the name of the dish he got was but it wasn’t nearly as good as the ropa vieja. The meet in mine was flavorful, even the rice was amazing. My BF’s coworker who is Cuban, recommended that we mix all the food together as is the Cuban way of eating. We ended our meal with the butter cake dessert which I have to say tasted like heaven in my mouth! All in all everything was very yummy and I can’t wait to come back and try some of the other dishes.

First of all, our server Albert was very accommodating and kind. He served 19 of us and we didn’t have a reservation. He got everything right. The food was delicious and plentiful. I had been here once before so it was fun to bring my group who had never had Cuban food before. Everyone loved the food. Thank you, Albert and El Criollo!

BEST EMPANADAS! Get like two or three orders of these cause you won’t get enough!
People say that the Cuban food here is better than Versailles and although I think the Ropa Viejas and the Garlic Lemon Chicken was very tasty, it was not as rich and flavorful as Versailles in my opinion.
We also ordered the flan which was definitely homemade and tasty. Overall, good experience but Versailles still holds the number Cuban food in my heart!

Excellent cuban food. The best I’ve tried in Los Angeles.
Ordered to start the stuffed potatoes. Then ropa vieja and picadillo. Everything was really good and authentic.

I stopped in here to try something new, and because it’s one of the nicer looking restaurants in the neighborhood. Service was a little slow, but I can forgive that because it was in between lunch and dinner time.
The menu only has one vegetarian dish (well two, but one is just a fried version of the other). That’s what I ordered, and it was disappointing. It’s just 4 things on a plate, with not much thought put into how they go together:
Black beans — very tasty
Plantains — very tasty
White rice — plain, bland
Yuca — looks like a feeble attempt to pour garlic on top, but it was still flavorless
It was okay with hot sauce, but not something I would order again. And by the way — if you’re gonna serve bland food, put the hot sauce on the table, don’t make me ask for it.
Prices are reasonable, and they have $ 4 draughts on weekdays.

Don’t let the looks of the restaurant outside fool you, this place is the real deal! It’s the best Cuban food in the area!
The food is amazing and the service is great! We sampled yucca, frijoles negros con arroz, plantanos maduros and planchada. The pollo asado was so tender and flavorful, seasoned just right, oh and the pechuga de pollo was yummy, too! I must mention their mojito, just the right blend of mint and rum, incredible!!!
There’s street parking if you can find it and they have a lot out back.
Can’t wait to return!

One of the better Cuban spots we have found around LA … way better than Versailles, probably not quite as good as Mambo but close. Be warned, this place is a joint … you come here for the food not the atmosphere, but the food is good enough to make up for it!
We started with the fried yucca and the papas rellenas. The fried yucca is your standard central American type yucca, but nicely done, right out of the fryer, and they serve it with a ramekin of mojo (oil, garlic and lemon), which was a really nice twist. We thoroughly enjoyed the whole plate! The papas rellenas (basically little balls of mashed potatoes filled with savory ground beef and deep fried) were okay, but were a bit of a disappointment, especially compared to the yucca (or for that matter the deviled ham balls you get in Florida).
For entrees, we shared the picadillo (savory ground beef with very nice seasoning), and the lechon asado, a slowly roasted pork leg, sliced and served with sauteed onions. The piccadillo was excellent, although I like it better with raisins and olives in it as I have had at other restaurants. The lechon was off the hook, so unctuous, just enough of the rendered pork fat, and the onions were an excellent accompaniment.
Both entrees were served with black beans and rice, and some fried plantains. The beans were excellent too, creamy and smoky, and I appreciated that they served them on the side so you could add them to the rice to your taste.
We also tried a couple of their cocktails, the Tony Montana punch (which was really good, reminded us of being in the islands!), and the Criollo Mojito, which was also good but was a tad strong for my tastes.
All in all, a really excellent experience, and we would definitely go back for another try … tons of great Cuban classics on the menu, so I don’t think we’ll run out of options any time soon.

This place is super nice and clean. The décor is pretty cool and somewhat urban.
Our waitress was immensely friendly which was great.
The food was also great. I tried the sandwich Cubano that comes with a side of either fries/​salad/​chicken soup. I tries the chicken soup and yummy yummy! The sandwich was also good.
Will def come back and try more food. Oh and it’s happy hour all day long.

I wanted to love this place since I was told to come here by a co-​worker.
I did not love this place. :(
First impression was that the restaurant was very clean. My husband and I were the only patrons during peak lunchtime on a Tuesday before Christmas. Guess everyone was out shopping.
Waitress was friendly.
We ordered empanadas. They were nothing special but not extremely horrible either.
We placed our orders. I ordered the lechon and my husband ordered the Cuban sandwich. He asked for them to hold the mustard. The waitress said they cannot because the sandwiches are pre-​made. Hmmm. That’s odd. Like how many do you know how to make on any given day?
Anyway… It took 45 mins to finally get our food and we were still the only ones in there. Yes 45 minutes!
I was starving and looking forward to that nice cooked pork.
What I received was not what I would consider a traditional lechon but instead 3 thin-​cut pork chops with with onions on top. The dish did not have any flavor at all. I was really, really, disappointed. I am a huge pork fan and have had it pretty much every which way but loose. And even then I have probably had it loose too. ;)
So now to inspect the sandwich. My husband opened it to scrape off the mustard the best he could and discovered it was basically made with sliced lunch meat. Neither of us had ever seen a Cuban sandwich made that way, and he agreed that it was nothing special either.
:((
Man I really wanted to love this place. I am so bummed and will not be returning.

I was a bit disappointed with the recommended lechon dish as it was really bland that I had to add salt which I rarely do.
I enjoyed the moros y cristianos rice more than the meat.
I’m willing to give this place another shot and try the ropa vieja next time. I also ordered the flan which is better over at Versailles.
The pork at Versailles has more flavorful than the pork dish here.
Service was friendly and attentive.
Again, I was really disappointed as I had high hopes for this one.

Parked on Van Nuys Boulevard right in front of El Criollo around 7:40pm on a Tuesday, & there was nary another parked car for hundreds of feet. (free parking after 6pm.) This stretch of Van Nuys seems to cater to an «early to bed, early to rise crowd». If I were an entrepreneur, I would definitely NOT establish a swanky, late night club serving Dom Perignon, Château Lafite Rothschild, or Romanee Conti. So although many native Cubans will sup late in the evening, El Criollo closes up tighter than a drum by 8pm.
In fact, since I was the only customer there, the waitress flipped the close sign by 7:50pm so any procrastinators wishing to eat at El Criollo better get there way before 7:45pm. When I sat down at a window table, the waitress handed me the menu & told me that the kitchen closes in 4 minutes. I did a quick look-​see at the menu & came up with Croquetas de Jamon, Ropa Vieja with a side of Moros, & steamed Yuca with garlic. I ordered the Butter Cake Sundae with vanilla ice cream, Crème Chantilly, Caramel, wafer crumbles, but they didn’t have it, so ordered the Flan.
1) Croquetas de Jamon are basically mashed potatoes & pureed ham mixed together, shaped into a small cylinder, coated with Japanese Panko like bread crumbs & fried. They come out piping hot, and slightly crisp. The soft velvety mashed potato is salty & cured pork flavoured. There is a tiny ramekin of an aioli that may be flavoured with a dab of Sriracha/​Southeast Asian Chile sauce. Nice little appetizer to tide you over til the main course. Best of what I had eaten today.
2) Ropa Vieja (old clothes) is a cut of stringy beef like a flank or chuck steak that is braised & simmered for a long time in beef stock, tomato sauce, onions until the meat falls apart on itself along the lines of the grain of muscle. You didn’t need a knife to cut the meat. Just a fork or even spoon could cut the meat into small pieces. However, the overall flavours were delicate or bland depending on how you think of it.
I used the left over Ropa Vieja broth to dip in my steamed, garlicky Yuca to sop up the juices. It is a root vegetable that is slightly fibrous, starchy like a potato, & slightly sweet & creamy if cooked for a long time. Garlic flavour was «delicate». Yuca, originally from tropical Brazil, is an interesting crop since it contains poisonous cyanide compounds so that the Yuca must be soaked for many hours to leach out the cyanide before cooking. Clever people throughout the world have figured out other ways to eliminate or neutralize the cyanide. Boba Tapioca pearls are made from processed Yuca.
Some of the Moro rice, which is for the most part white with dark purplish brown and has an al dente texture with a touch of cumin flavour, was cooked with dark beans, & can also be put into the Ropa Vieja sauce since the Moro rice was a bit on the dry side. Moro means the Moors in English, and for the most part, they were the Arabs who invaded the Iberian peninsula in the 8^th century ce. Since they were darker complected compared to the European based Spaniards or Portuguese, the Cubans later called this combination of white rice & dark beans, «Christianos & Moros», harking back to a time when much of Spain & Portugal was controlled by the Arabic Umayyad Caliphate. The menu at El Criollo just named it Moro for short.
1−2a) The beer selection is rather limited with no premium, micro-​breweries even in bottles. The waitress suggested Shocktop which was acceptable, but nothing stellar.
3) The Flan was heavier, denser, heavy yolk infused. The caramel sauce was very strong, sweet, sticky to match the strong egginess of the flan. Since the restaurant was chomping at the bit to close on me, the last customer, I requested to have the flan to take out, much to the relief of the waitress. I went to meet up with friends at a Starbucks in Burbank so I ordered a Café Latte with a shot of espresso & foamed heated milk which was a fine accompaniment to the sweet, thick, rich flan.
The interior space is austere, minimalist with dark wood chairs & matching tables. Colorful Cuban posters line the restored red brick walls. The faux ceiling was ripped out to show the wood framework, and the late 20^th century/​early 21^st obligatory interior design feature: exposed heating & air ducts hanging from the ceiling. The restaurant is clean & ship shape. 3– Unilocal stars for a generally bland meal unless my next visit discovers a truly gorgeous culinary dish.

I went here for the first time and oh boy was it a good decision. I ordered the montuno cubano, pork dish. It was sooooooo good the pork was crispy but not dry, the plantain, rice, beans, and the other things that came with it made the dish sooo good. I love the taste of the food! I wish tho that they gave more plantains!
I’d definitely come back and bring people that I know. Downside – NO PARKING.
Update: Came back and had the ropa vieja and it was good as I expected!
Downside: They only give you 3 tiny pieces of plantains which sucks because it helps make the eating experience even more amazing if the portions for the plantains were bigger.
Originally gave them a 5 then realized it’s really a 4.5 place.

I loved the pork so much that I’m sad it is finished. My wife had the chicken somethingorother. We had the platter that had a potato covered meatball, ham thing, an amazing meat empanada and another delicious thing I can’t remember.
I used to think Cuban food was crap, thanks to Versailles, which is a lie.
Cuban food, as executed by the fine family who run this establishment, is AMAZING. The service is also excellent and the waiter who took care of us was friendly and knew the menu well. His recommendations were excellent.
I want to eat here every day.
Right now, I am so full, that I need to take my trousers off. However, I feel full in a satisfied way, not that filthy, oily, shitty way you get at places that are grubby with their ingredients.
GO TO THIS PLACE. EAT THE FOOD. YOU WILL BE HAPPY.
I love this place.

I came here this week for lunch for the first time and the place was fairly empty. Located in an unpretentious and dingy section of Van Nuys Blvd, it doesn’t look like much from the outside bunched up with other store fronts. However, inside it’s actually quite charming and spacious with plenty of seating. The sleek, brick-​exposed dining area and high open ceiling provides a warm and casual atmosphere.
Love their money saving happy hour specials. While most deals kick-​in on weekdays just after work (the traditional happy hour time), Criollo is Tues-​Fri from 11:30am to 6pm. I started my early libation with a refreshing glass of Stella Artois draft beer for $ 4. My server brought over a complimentary basket of bread with side of butter. Controlling myself to only a few bites and minimizing my intake from these addictingly good buttery carbs, I made sure to save maximum space for the main dish.
As a big fan of Versailles, I wanted to find out if their pollo asado (aka garlic chicken) was just as good, but unfortunately it wasn’t available and I had to settle for ropa vieja. The meat was tender and tasty, but the sauce was a bit to soupy and lunch portion was way too small. I would have enjoyed a larger portion. Three small pieces of plantains was surely not enough. Overall the dish was okay, but nothing spectacular. I did enjoy the black beans which were rich and flavorful.
First impressions are important because it’s what you are solely judge on. For me, the food was simply «alright.» With exception to the lunch portion, prices were reasonable. The atmosphere and service were great. Hopefully, my return visit they’ll have pollo asado available.
Parking — Available back lot and street meter.