16 restaurants for Puerto Rican mofongo in Northeast Ohio

CLEVELAND, Ohio — While Sept. 15 to Oct. 15 is National Hispanic Heritage Month, it’s never a bad idea to explore Cleveland’s Latin culinary cuisine any time of the year. Cleveland is a melting pot of a city and that is reflected in its food. One major cultural influence on the area is from its large population of folks from Puerto Rico.

Puerto Rico is known for many dishes, one of the most labor-intensive being mofongo. Mofongo is made from a mash of fried green plantains mixed with garlic, pork (like bacon or chicharron, which is fried pork skin), and other seasonings. It’s an ultimate comfort food as well as versatile — mofongo can be eaten on its own or with other dishes like meat or broth.

Here are 16 Northeast Ohio restaurants where you can try Puerto Rican mofongo

This is the first in a series of Hispanic Heritage Month dining guides to Greater Cleveland’s rich Latin-American food scene.

Cleveland Mofongo

111621 Lorain Ave., Cleveland

Cleveland Mofongo takes the Puerto Rican dish so seriously, that it’s in its name. The restaurant serves up several iterations of the meal featuring meat options like roasted pork (pernil), fried chicken (pollo frito), and sauteed cod (bacalao in criollo). The mofongo base takes fried and mashed plantains and mixes in garlic oil and pork cracklings. The dish comes with a green salad on the side to cut through all of the richness of the dish.

Cleveland Mofongo opens dining space after five years of takeout, with second location on the way

Quisqueya La Bella

2317 Denison Ave., Cleveland

Another Denison Avenue spot is Quisqueya La Bella, a Dominican bar and restaurant. The menu features many Latin plates including a side of mofongo. It’s an ideal way for customers to make their plates loaded with plantains, meat, beans, eggs, and beyond just the way they like it.

Twisted Taino

5633 Pearl Rd., Parma

Twisted Taino’s menu is all about celebrating the vibrancy of Carribean cuisine. The classic mofongo is made like it is in many Puerto Rican homes with garlic, oil, and bacon and topped with more meat. For a smaller portion, the mofongo bites provide the same great flavor as their entrée counterpart. The star of the show is the Trifongo rice bowl. It starts with mashed plantains, yuca, bacon, and sweet plantains stuffed with rice and beans (Arroz Mamposteao), meat, queso blanco, potatoes, sweet and spicy BBQ, buttermilk ranch, cheddar sauce, and avocado-based Jaramillo sauce. It’s a dish to eat when your hunger is insatiable.

RELATED: Twisted Taino’s Parma location to open in August; Ohio City location to close

The Blue Palm Restaurant and Lounge

5517 Memphis Ave., Cleveland

Many people frequent the Blue Palm for its fun vibe and lively Latin music, but the food menu isn’t to be overlooked. The Blue Palm offers mofongo with fried pork (carne frita), flavorful skirt steak (churrasco a la criolla), shrimp (camarones al ajillo), sauteed chicken (pechuga al ajillo), and lobster (langosta a la criolla). The portions are massive, so it can even be a good plate to split with a fellow diner to try more menu items.

Mi Casa Sabor

2229 W 21 St., Lorain

Lorain is full of good Puerto Rican food, including the dishes served at Mi Casa Sabor. The enticing menu, which includes fun flavor mashups like BLT tostones, also sells mofongo. Customers can get the mashed plantain dish on its own or with pork, steak, or stewed chicken. Mi Casa Sabor also has a mobile food truck that can be found parked around Northeast Ohio.

Jibaro Latin Restaurant

6152 Broadview Rd., Parma

It feels like you’re arriving in Puerto Rico when you walk into Jibaro Latin Restaurant, if not for the smells alone. Jibaro serves both mofongo and trifongo, the latter of which is mashed plantains, yuca root, and sweet plantains with garlic. The meat options are vast as well, including options to top it with mixed seafood like octopus, shrimp, and conch.

Las Villas Deli and Pastries

3216 W. 41 St., Cleveland

Las Villas might sound like a place for Latin pastries or sandwiches on fresh bread, but the restaurant offers ample entrée options, including mofongo. It’s not always available but when it is, it’s a necessity to try. Usually, Las Villas tops its mofongo with proteins like shrimp, chicken, steak, or ribs, and every rendition is delicious.

RELATED: Las Villas Deli and Pastries: Puerto Rican fare at its finest in Cleveland

El Turpial True Flavors

4914 Main Ave., Ashtabula

El Turpial in Ashtabula has a rotating menu, so there’s always something special cooking. Often, those offerings will include mofongo. Sometimes, the folks in the kitchen get creative by offering a burger with mofongo as its bun, or a “mofowrap” which uses mashed plantain instead of a tortilla.

Gually’s Bakery and Restaurant

6201 Denison Ave., Cleveland

Gually’s will have lines out the door for its loaves of fresh bread on the weekends, but it’s far from the only standout on the menu. It’s a reliable spot for mofongo made the authentic way. Gually’s offers mofongo with shrimp, octopus, fried pork (chicharron), steak, and chicken for a complete meal.

Gually’s Bakery & Restaurant opens today in Cleveland

Nono’s Happy Kitchen

1663 Pearl Rd., Brunswick

Nono’s Happy Kitchen brings Puerto Rican flavor to Brunswick with its menu of empanadas, rice combo plates, and more. Mofongo is always on the menu made with plenty of garlic and topped with either pork or chicken.

Lorain Pastelillo House

1700 E. 31 St., Lorain

The Lorain Pastelillo House is known for its pastelillos, the Puerto Rican version of empanadas. They also sell larger entrees like mofongo regularly. The plate comes with a choice of meat with basic options like pork chops (chuletas), roast pork (pernil), and fried chicken.

Rincon Criollo

6504 Detroit Rd., Cleveland

Rincon Criollo is the Detroit-Shoreway district’s tried-and-true Puerto Rican restaurant. They serve all of the classic dishes, including mofongo. Customers can opt to top the mashed plantain base with chicken, pork skins or chops, beef stew, or steak for a hearty and filling meal. Rincon Criollo has a second location on Denison Avenue, but its menu is less extensive and changes daily.

RELATED: Rincon Criollo always looking for new ways to bring flavors of Puerto Rico to Northeast Ohio: Best Caribbean Restaurant

Guaterriquena Bakery

4239 Fulton Rd., Cleveland

Guaterriquena Bakery is another Latin restaurant with Guatemalan, Puerto Rican, and American influence that tends to put mofongo on its special menu for customers lucky enough to catch it. Like everything from the restaurant, Guaterriquena makes its mofongo with just the right amount of garlic, spices, and oil to complement its rich meats.

Tropical Bay

8130 Broadview Rd., Broadview Heights

Tropical Bay’s menu is a mashup of Puerto Rican and Dominican dishes, including mofongo bowls. Customers can choose from traditional mofongo, yuca mofongo, sweet mofongo, or different combinations of the three. The meat options are pretty typical, aside from the mofongo bowl topped with chicken cordon bleu that’s an absolute explosion of flavors.

Empanadas Latin Street Food

5543 Ridge Rd., Parma

Empanadas has its home base in Parma, but the Latin food concept also has an on-the-go food truck to try its empanadas and entrees outside of the city. It’s required to try one of the restaurant’s namesake empanadas, but don’t overlook the mofongo meals. The dish comes with mofongo, a choice of meat, rice, salad, and mayo-ketchup.

El Cibao

3553 W 117 St., Cleveland

Another Puerto Rican and Dominican concept on the west side is El Cibao. The menu includes a few ways to eat mofongo, both traditionally served under meat or as small balls that act as more of a side dish. El Cibao uses plenty of bacon in its mofongo mash to amp up the flavor. They also offer “duofongo” which contains green and sweet plantains and is served with proteins like tilapia, garlic shrimp, and steak.