Culturas Cafe

I’ve had a lot of Puerto Rican food in my life but this is definitely one of the best (almost as good as grandma’s!)
The only problem I had was that it’s overpriced. For some meals you get good portions, but others not. I got mofongo with shrimp — it was a relatively small portion of mofongo and maybe about 6 shrimp with a «side salad» (literally just shredded lettuce and a tomato slice)… For $ 18 !! That was a huge turnoff.
If you’ve never had Puerto Rican food or don’t normally eat «ethnic» foods, definitely give this place a shot and don’t be afraid to try something strange or new! You can never go wrong with ceviche, mofongo (five stars!), tostones (four stars), or empanadas.

Don’t let the simple storefront and the minimalist décor inside chase you away– you will not be disappointed with their food! The Cubano Sandwiches are to die for. They are made with savory, succulent roast pork, lean ham, tangy pickles, bright mustard, and deliciously melty cheese! To top it all off, the bread is so fresh and homey, it tasted like it literally just came out of the oven. Grab one with some of their fried plantains, in lieu of French fries, and this ~$ 7 meal will make your day!

Sadly the pernil was rehashed. Up your game guys. other than that the staff were amazing

Highly, highly recommend the tripleta with tostones. It’s soo yummy! I have to be honest I haven’t really tired anything else because when we go that’s all I really want to eat… its just that delicious.

Since I was back in town for the holidays I gave them a second chance and called to inquire about a special holiday meal I wanted to order. The guy who answered was rather attentive and told me he would take my name and number so his manager could call me back in around 30 minutes to better inform me about the cost and so I could place the order.
THREE days later I’m still waiting for said call… Nevermore.

In my culinary quest I spotted a well rated Puerto Rican restaurant. I had to go! We were all unsure at to what we were getting into. We found the place and it was a bit ‘Oh My! what are we getting into’ looking kind of place. We entered and is was sparkling clean and roomy and lots of families happily enjoying lunch. The waitress came to our table and announced that she spoke very little English. I speak a medium level of Spanish, so all was really fun. The names of the foods were unknown to me. Yes I knew empanadas from my Cuban restaurant experiences, however the other names were unknown. So we read the details and ordered a bit of this and that and cleared all plates. Judge by results I always say, and empty plates tell a lot of the story. The chicken sandwich made like a Cuban sandwich was flavorful and had a wonderful crunch. The fried plantains (bananas) dipped in the sauces were good. The rice was perfect and the beans had chunks of potato and were excellent. the empanada had a nice crunch. and with a little of the dipping sauces added made it come to life. All in all a fun experience. I need to come back and try other Puerto Rican treats. Ahhhhhh… So many things to learn…

I was glad to find a place in El Paso where I could eat Dominican/​Puerto Rican food. The food was great, a little salty for my taste but very flavorful. The waitress did an outstanding job explaining the menu and taking care of the customers. I will definitely go back until I try everything in the menu.

Amazing… great flavor, large portions, fair price, excellent service! We had the mofongo, Carne frita, pernil, arroz/​abichuelas, tostones… everything was delicious!

Really nice taste of home. The service was a little slow and didn’t get a refill on our water but the food was delicious. Will definitely return.

New owner better not quit day job. Puerto rican food not what it used to b! Grand opening tomorrow better bring their A game. Tonite they didn’t. Sad sad sad

We had lunch on Saturday, I can only say that it was very disappointing! Mafongo was dry and tasteless, the meat was supposed to have chimmichurry sauce, was served dry and tasted old. I told both waitresses that it was minus the sauce and they just stared blankly at me, they never brought the sauce!!! Also ordered the most expensive appetizer on the menu… Greasy… Terrible!!! Don’t waste your money!

Wow the Trifongo with shrimp is amazing!!! The Tripelta is spot on but the service shines through owner is on the ball and works the room well. Try the coconut flan wow!
Maria the owner is awesome and for an El Paso spot this is s real treat!

The food today was AMAZING!!! we had the chicken stew with rice and beans and the cod fish salad with white rice. Delicious!

Now, when I tell you that my experience with Puerto Rican food is limited, I mean that with all my heart. I have always been curious about this cuisine, but never had the guts to sit down and dedicate an entire meal to its discovery until reading reviews from other Unilocalers about Culturas Café. And after today, I am a believer.
It’s easy to overshoot this restaurant, set back from the west side of Zaragoza Rd.; it’s almost directly across from the bowling alley, right next to Ricky’s paintball. There are no flashy signs, and the exterior looks modest. Don’t let these things dissuade you from going in with confidence, because there are some serious flavors going on in their food, plus a variety of new dishes for you to help expand your culinary lexicon.
When I went in, the place was cool and clean, with some Cuban music playing. I was met immediately by a nice guy who let me choose my table and he gave me a menu; I had some questions about the mofongo immediately – the other writers had some comments about it and it IS explained on the front of the menu, but I wanted to hear what this guy had to say about it. He explained that it’s plantains, garlic and chicharron formed into a ball, and served with a savory broth. And, you can substitute this for the rice/​beans in any entrée for $ 3. I asked for a few extra minutes and settled on three entrees to take back home for my family, plus some tostones and fried yucca.
CHURRASCO WITH RICE AND BEANS; this was tender and charbroiled goodness but they forgot to include the chimichurri sauce. The beans, with chunks of ham, were flavorful. The white rice was perfect.
POLLO AL AJILLO WITH ARROZ CON GRANDULES; flavorful chicken breast with a garlic butter sauce and sautéed onions was tender and delicious. Rice with beans cooked-​in (granudos), was the star of the dish; this was full of flavor and very deceptive-looking…I didn’t think I would like it as much as I did.
POLLO FRITO WITH MOFONGO; the pollo frito was also deceptive-looking…basic-looking unbreaded fried chicken pieces cut thru the bone, but their flavor was strong (maybe even a bit TOO salty) but nothing that the rest of the dish couldn’t balance out. The mofongo was like a big plantain sponge ball that soaked up all of the broth to create one amazing flavor/​texture combination.
TOSTONES; fried plantain slices.
FRIED YUCCA; fried pieces of yucca root. Both of these sides are served with a ketchup/​mayo sauce, and a garlic sauce for dipping. If you combine the two sauces together, it’s an amazing flavor punch. We overwhelmingly favored the yucca to the plantain and thought it was just fantastic: like a potato with a slightly firmer texture that melted in our mouths.
There wasn’t one thing that we ordered that we disliked; on the contrary, we were introduced to this culture’s cuisine with a overwhelming slap to the palate. Our senses were awakened and we fell in love with Puerto Rican food. And we shall return, soon.

Highly recommended! Great Puerto Rican food in El Paso!

This place is money, and it’s cheap. We came pretty close to closing inadvertently, and the server didn’t even mention it. You feel like you’re in someone’s kitchen (almost), which I liked. A good place to bring kids without having to eat kiddie food. El Paso has good Mexican food, but other cuisines can be lacking, so this place should be really high on your list when you want something different.

So damn good
$
Hands down, I am returning here every time I visit El Paso. We love this Puerto Rican restaurant near our place in California, but this place is just as good too. I love plantains!
Service was good. They never made us feel rushed and when they got one of our orders mixed up, they corrected it and apologized. Everyone in our group was happy and full :)
Good selection on the menu. Several of us in our group had mofongo and it was delicious. We were all quiet when we were eating because it was so delicious and flavorful.
Highly recommend this place if you’re looking for authentic Puerto Rican food that’s inexpensive.

I am from Adjuntas, Puerto Rico and I currently live in Chicago where there are plenty of good Puerto Rican restaurants. I’ve been working on a temporary assignment in El Paso, Texas for about a month now and was really missing home cooked PR food. A friend took me here today and I was blown away. They probably have the best «mofongo and carne frita» in the west. Hands down! I also had their delish empanadas, alcapurrias and tres leches cake. All were very good.
Service was good and prices were reasonable. GO EAT HERE. You won’t be disapointed. Gracias Culturas Café!

Great food! Always taste good and fresh.
Definitely worth it. Just writing this review makes me wanna go back now.

I have to give credit where credit is due and I would not have found (or tried even if I had found) Culturas Café if it wasn’t for Jason J. You may look at the review and think, «One sentence? How could one sentence entire anyone to give a place a try?» Go check out Jason’s profile. His reviews go into serious detail so any place he’d give a 5 star rating too without the need to elaborate is definitely worth a try.
So I went. I loved it. I’m gonna be back. A lot.
Now, I’ve never been to Puerto Rico, but what I found inside Culturas Café just felt authentic to me. I almost don’t know how to explain it, but just like mom-​n-​pop without being dingy and really without the need for the mom or pop. I just felt like if I went to Puerto Rico I would find a ton of restaurants that would have the same feel. And the Puerto Rican pride was very present without being overbearing.
Our waiter started off in Spanish, but made the quick change when my responses were English… thanks man, I appreciate that. I just don’t like answering anything in Spanish because I’ve been told I have the vocabulary of a small child (not in so many words, but I got the gist of what they were saying). He was pretty dang swift too. He returned with our drinks moments later and returned right as we were ready to order.
I ended up on the Carne Fritas with the beans and rice. Oh my gosh… you really can’t beat the flavors for the price! When I was younger I had a nanny who couldn’t cook (don’t ask… I’m still not sure what made her think she was qualified to be a nanny) so meals were typically at her parent’s house. Her mother was an amazing cook though so I didn’t starve. Pork, beef, rice, beans… all super flavorful and always delicious. I had a flashback eating the Carne Fritas. Holy cow, are those things good. It’s pork chunks deep fried and it’s just so damn good. And the other plus was that I thoroughly enjoyed the beans. The rice was just simple white rice, but was great throwing it in with the beans or eating it along side the golden pork nuggets. They also threw on some pickled? onions that gave the dish an acidity that I really liked.
Go to Culturas Café. Go here now. You’ll be hooked and you won’t find anywhere that can compare.