Where to Find the Best Puerto Rican Food in Greater Boston

Bring on the mofongo, jibaritos, and pastelón. Greater Boston has a small—but delicious—Puerto Rican dining scene; here’s where to go, whether you’re looking for a plantain-filled breakfast in the South End, charcoal-roasted suckling pig in Roslindale, or a music-filled night out in Cambridge’s Central Square.

This guide was most recently updated in February 2025; check back for periodic updates.

See also: Where to Find Boston’s Best Caribbean Food

El Mondonguito

This decades-old, family-owned Nubian Square institution is a homey restaurant by day, lively (and a little bit dive-y, in the best way) bar by night, complete with jukebox and dominoes. Whether you’re there to dance, watch sports, or relax, be sure to dig in to the namesake sopa de mondongo, tripe stew. The ultra-crispy pork chicharrones are also a popular pick, not to mention alcapurrias, cassava- or green banana-based fritters stuffed with beef or crab meat.

221 Dudley St., Roxbury, Boston, 617-522-3672.

Mojitos at La Fabrica Central. / Photo by La Fabrica Central via Yelp

La Fábrica

Best of Boston Winner, 2018 (Best Caribbean Restaurant)

This Central Square restaurant and club bursts with energy thanks to the regular lineup of live Latin jazz and dance bands, as well as DJs, plus cocktails that have a strong tendency to lubricate hips. While the menu touches on a few Caribbean cuisines, it’s no surprise that Puerto Rican food gets a bit of a showcase—La Fábrica’s opening chef was Giovanna Huyke, who has been dubbed “the Julia Child of Puerto Rico” because of her cooking show on the Commonwealth that ran for years. She left her mark on a menu that still incudes pastelón, a lasagna-like layering of ground beef, sweet plantains, and cheese. Diners will also find Puerto Rican-style fried chicken, marinated in an achiote-garlic adobo, on the current menu.

450 Massachusetts Ave., Central Square, Cambridge, 857-706-1125, lafabricacentral.com.

La Lechonéra Restaurant

Lechón asado, or charcoal-roasted suckling pig, is definitely a specialty here; the big-for-a-buck bacalaitos (Puerto Rican codfish fritters) are great, too. There are also nods to Cuban food along the way—including, but of course, a highly satisfying Cubano sandwich. Overall, though, the menu at La Lechonéra is a direct flight to sunny San Juan, with plenty of guava, banana, mamey, and other fruit smoothies on hand to cool you off when you arrive.

342 Cummins Hwy., Roslindale, 617-323-0311, lalechonerarestaurant.com.

Salami breakfast plate at Mana Escondido. / Photo by Mana Escondido via Yelp

Mana Escondido Café

Best of Boston winner, 2014 (Best Latin American Restaurant)

For such a tiny place (you can count the tables on one hand), Mana Escondido manages to pack a lot into a day. Breakfast, lunch, and dinner are all ordered at the counter here, so step right up and start your morning with a plate full of salami with fried cheese, sweet plantains, and tangy mayoketchup sauce; refuel later with an jibarito sandwich of roasted pernil or pollo; and make a final mealtime of mofongo, mashed and fried plantains crowned with, for example, rich beef stew or pork rinds.

68 Aguadilla St., South End, Boston, 617-266-0900, manabostoncafe.com.

PapiVivi

Sam Cortiella grew up eating Puerto Rican food with his father’s side of the family, and today he makes it with his own child, Vivi. What started as a father-daughter bonding activity in their Brooklyn home kitchen turned into a traveling pop-up and eventually a brick-and-mortar restaurant in Lynn, serving super-flavorful sandwiches that stand up to the best bodega. In particular, Vivi’s tripleta is to die for—the toasted, garlic butter-brushed bread a crunchy complement to tender pernil (slow-roasted pork), beef, and chicken, plus melted cheese, snappy potato sticks, and the signature PapiVivi sauce of mayo, ketchup, garlic, and cilantro.

816 Boston St., Lynn, 339-440-5562, papivivi.com.

Vejigantes Restaurant

Best of Boston winner, 2024

The team behind a few different Caribbean restaurants in Boston—including Roxbury’s much-loved Dominican mainstay, Merengue—turns its attention to Puerto Rican cuisine at Vejigantes. The place is tucked into Villa Victoria, a storied South End housing and retail community founded by Puerto Rican activists, and it’s a genuine gem. Named after a folkloric character represented at the Carnaval de Ponce and other festivals, Vejigantes is a celebration of mofongo, pastelillos, and maybe most of all, seafood specialties inspired by the bumping beach town of Boquerón: shrimp, snapper, and lobster arrive in spicy sauces and accompanied by mashed malanga and cassava fries.

57 W Dedham St., South End, Boston, 617-247-9249, vejigantesrestaurant.com.