Gusto Criollo Restaurant

They always have great food! Don’t know what those other two people are talking about my have just had a bad day!!!

Very good mofongo!
San Antonio has way too many Mexican restaurants, so I was happy to stumble upon this Boriqua place off of Culebra. The food was very good and the staff was polite and helpful. I will be returning for the mofongo.

Been here a few times already. Food is ok. Ordered «Biftec Ecabollado» and it always arrives with plate soaked in steak grease. My tostones were a bit over cooked.
Service is always less than average. Servers never come by to check up on you for refills or how the meal is going. They show up with food and then win the check. There were only three other patrons so it wasn’t even 30% full.
I recommend hiring servers who are more outgoing and do more than the minimal duties.

AWFUL! I had the regular pork chop with the fried plantain. The pork chop was very overcooked, tough as an old shoe, and so salty that I could not taste anything but salt. It was served with fried plantains that were equally tough, salty, and tasteless. Had only a few bites of the pork chop (I couldn’t cut it with the knife — I had to pick it up with my hands and gnaw a piece off, very ladylike), and even less of the plantain.
My husband had the fried pork and the mashed plantain — same result. We left our plates mostly full. The waitress was rather surly, like she was doing us a favor by taking our orders. And the chief didn’t look like someone who would be receptive to any requests for a different dish.
The worst part of this experience is that, since I have never tried Puerto Rican cooking before, now I am quite loath to try it again.

Cada vez que los visitos es una nueva experiencia, excelente. Hoy almorcé sancocho con arrocito blanco y un mofonguito por el lado para pisar. Verdaderamente que cada vez superan la anterior. Los felicito y sigan adelante que sus esfuerzos están rindiendo frutos.

Overall, it was an O.K. experience. The food is forgettable definitely not chef quality. Enviroment very loud. We didn’t desire to finish our plates, which is a first at a PR restaurant.
##Food Details
I ordered Garlic chicken with Arroz con gandules and sweet plantain and my husband ordered Carné frita with monfongo. First impression was that it did feel like a home cooked meal. Like you went to someone’s house for dinner but that some one was not a chef. I’m not saying the food was bad but it was ok. I really can’t put my finger on it, the chicken was juicy but something was off and the monfongo too. Surprisingly my husband didn’t finish his plate and didn’t want to either.
## Environment
The restaurant is located in a shopping center. My husband said the style reminds him of a Puerto Rican cafateria. There is several tables and they make good room of the small location. However, there is a loud echo so it is very noisy and can get annoying. I must admit that I’ve been fighting a headache today so maybe I was a little sensitive.
I did read a review about it being hot inside. It actually was lukewarm, (can you describe temperature like that?) it was not hot or cold but I can imagine if there were more people (only one other couple there at the time) or if it was during lunch time it could start to feel hot.
## Service
We were tended to promptly and food came out quickly. However once we finished we didn’t know if they bring the check or if we should go to the back where the cashier was and pay. We waited a bit for someone to take our plate and advise us how to pay until we got restless and my husband decided to just go to the back. The thing is the manager and waiters were sitting near by talking (which was awkward BTW), so if they paid just a little attention they could have seen us finished and gestured about how to pay.

Great food, good service, and decent prices. The menu is not huge but you will find some of the classic dishes that define Puertorican cuisine such as mofongo and pernil. My daughter loved the Cuban sandwich! The vibe is laid back. It’s not too far of a drive for folks who live on the west side of 1604. This will be one of my spots from now on!

This place is definitely authentic! I’ve had PR good before and this was better than I expected. First time eating at A PR restaurant though. Although it was very hot inside the restaurant, also empty, the women working were very nice. I like that the actual cook went back after we ordered and made our meals. I order fried pork and arroz con gandules, and my husband ordered the fried pork and mofongo. I enjoyed my dish and omg those plantains! I may go back if I ever crave it again!

Super tasty and affordable! You should try the mofongo and the mayo-​ketchup sauce… delicious. We ordered the mofongo with grilled chicken breast and the mofongo with red snapper and both entrees tasted really good. The venue does not look fancy; however it reminded me Puerto Rico big time. The staff was very friendly and serviceable. I will definitely go back!

the «bistec encebollado» was not worth the $ 9. The meat was tough and lacked flavor. If they are going to charge $ 9 for this plate they need to make it with the right cut of meat.
The mofongo tasted reheated and bland.
Habichuelas were made out of pinto beans. Thought habichuelas are made with red kidney beans?
Gave this restaurant one star only because their arroz con gandules was good.
The service is slow and a long wait time to be served.

Been here on numerous occasions. Love it! Food is pretty good & affordable! Family owned with very friendly staff. I like the carne frita with yellow rice & pigeon peas

Hearty food in a clean environment. The staff is very friendly; it’s one of those spots that looks to be family-​run. I had the fried pork with a plantain hash and a Malta to drink. It didn’t look like a lot of food, but I was so stuffed I had to take almost half of it home. The Malta was good, my first time having one. It was definitely malty, hoppy, and sweet. I’ll be back to try some of the more adventurous stuff in the future.

Limited menu, not uncommon to order something that they ran out of if you come in the afternoon. Food is good, authentic and filling. The staff could be more hospitable and friendly. It was weird to eat food while the owners and their family were sitting at a table managing the business end at another table. It was also odd to have kids running in and out of the kitchen as we ate. Good place, just needs to pick it up in professionalism.