Where to Get Mofongo in the U.S.

These mofongo restaurants will have you feeling like you’re in Puerto Rico.

Best Places to Get Mofongo

Mofongo is Puerto Rico's gift to the world. The mouthwatering dish is made by frying green plantains, then smashing them and mixing them with different fillings before forming them in a cup. Fillings for the African-influenced meal can include anything from seafood to pork cracklings, beef or vegetables.

In Puerto Rico, you will find mofongo at virtually any traditional food restaurant. Stateside, you'll find it in any decent Puerto Rican restaurant. This is great news since you can get a taste of the island without having to pay for flights to it. And for however long the meal lasts, you can feel as if you're in the Caribbean.

Ready for a taste of Puerto Rico? These are the best restaurants for mofongo in the U.S.

10 La Perla

Location: Oakland, California

For obvious geographic reasons, the West Coast can't compete with the East Coast when it comes to the number of restaurants serving Puerto Rican flavors. But this Oakland establishment gives its counterparts a run for their money.

Try La Perla's pollo encebollado mofongo, which is made with chicken and sauteed onions.

9. La Famosa

Location: Washington, D.C.

La Famosa's slogan is "born in Puerto Rico, made in D.C.," which we find quite fitting. The restaurant and bar serves up delicious dishes from the Isle of Enchantment that follow traditional recipes. Not surprisingly, the mofongo is a customer favorite.

Accompany your food with a delicious cocktail, preferably one that uses Puerto Rican rum.

8. El Sabor Restaurant

El Sabor Restaurant Philadelphia mofongo

Location: Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

El Sabor restaurant has no menu, no website and no social media presence. If it's managed to survive in Philly's cutthroat restaurant business, it's for a single reason: The food is that darn good.

The very informal restaurant has a loyal customer base that expands through word of mouth. Everything is cooked fresh every single day, hence the lack of a menu. The good news is that mofongo is such an important part of Puerto Rican cuisine and so popular with customers that it's almost always being served.

7. Chago's

Location: Austin, Texas

Open since 2011, family-run Chago's promises that its food tastes just like your grandma's. Even if you don't have a Puerto Rican grandma, you will recognize the taste of homemade meals that fill up your soul as well as your body.

The mofongos here are sublime, but for something a bit different, try the trifongo, which is made with green plantain, ripe plantain and yucca.

6. Vejigantes

Location: Boston, Massachusetts

Vejigantes tries to bring the colorful soul of Puerto Rico to Boston. The restaurant's gigantic, delicious cocktails and lit-up carnival masks adorning the walls make any dinner here feel like a party.

Needless to say, the mofongo is also divine. You can choose between traditional plantain mofongo or stuffed mofongos. Or, if you want an interesting twist on one of Puerto Rico's best dishes, you can try a yucca mofongo.

5. Buen Provecho

Location: Hamilton, New Jersey

One of the best things about Puerto Rico is its laid-back, informal attitude. You can get a taste of it at Buen Provecho, which is the Spanish way of saying "bon appetit!"

Here, you'll be welcomed by family and served meals made in-house and with fresh ingredients. You're also encouraged to bring your own beer — no corkage fee added! So kick back, order a mofongo (of course), and enjoy a drink without the markup.

4. Ponce

Location: Chicago, Illinois

Serving elevated yet homemade-style Puerto Rican food, Ponce has made a name for itself in the Chicago scene. The restaurant is named after the island's second city, located in the south and known for its gastronomy. It's also been owned and managed by the same Puerto Rican family since 1998.

You have a choice of five stuffed mofongos, with garlic shrimp being our favorite.

3. Boriken Restaurant

Location: Beaverton, Oregon

Have you ever wondered why Puerto Ricans are called "Boricuas?" It's because Boriken was the indigenous Taino word for the island that we now call a rich port. Boriken restaurant takes back this original name and proudly serves Boricuan fare.

The mofongos come served in a large wooden chalis, bathed in your choice of sauce and stuffed with your preferred filling.

2. Ay Bendito Con Sabor a Puerto Rico

Location: Miami, Florida

The name of this restaurant roughly translates to "oh my, with the taste of Puerto Rico." It sounds incredibly awkward in English, but in Spanish, it mimics a very common island expression.

And the name is not where the restaurant's authenticity ends. Ay Bendito Con Sabor a Puerto Rico is simple and has a relatively small menu. But you can count on every dish here tasting exactly as it does in San Juan. The mofongo is a side or a starter, but it's a perfect way to begin the dining experience.

1. Sofrito

Location: New York, New York

Obviously, the best place for mofongo in the U.S. would have to be New York, the city with the most Puerto Rican transplants in the world.

Named after a typical blend of spices and herbs that makes everything taste good, Sofrito promises satisfaction, and it definitely delivers. You'll find many Puerto Rican dishes, but we'd recommend — surprise, surprise — going with one of their six mofongos. The lobster one is particularly delicious.

Best Traditional Mofongo Recipe

If going out to eat mofongo isn't an option, you can easily make it at home in less than half an hour.

Salima's Kitchen has a mouth-watering traditional mofongo recipe that requires few ingredients and packs a whole lot of flavor.