4. Restaurants

La Isla Cuisine

16505 Redmond Way,Ste A, Redmond, WA, 98052
  • (425) 298-0374
  • Store is closed

La Isla Cuisine Menu

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  • Caisie K.

    Mmmm I love coming to this restaurant. I absolutely adore the staff here. Granted, I'm usually only in the bar eating appetizers... So really, I adore the bartenders here. They are so friendly and they never mind helping me make a choice on a drink. As for the food, I really like the blackened salmon, the tripleta, and the lentil soup! The food can SOMETIMES be a bit inconsistent but its delicious 9/10 times for me

    (4)

  • Maria S.

    Delicious puertorican food!!! They make the best piña coladas. As a family of 5 we prefer to go to the Redmond restaurant. Is a bigger place, with a private room that we can reserve for larger groups and is closer to us. We LOVE the empanadas (carne and pernil are our fav), mofongo, biftec encebollado, pollo and carne guisada, yum yum.

    (5)

  • Charlene L.

    Puerto Rican food in Redmond? Oh Washington, you are so culturally diverse. Thanks for allowing my palette to roam free and explore! The best Puerto Rican food I've had is in Miami.. and makes sense of course due to the close vicinity. However, other than there, it's rare to even see a Puerto Rican restaurant make an appearance anywhere. I decided to come check this place out.. and even better, I found out they accept the passport dining card (Buy one entree get one free!). My friend and I ordered the Pernil Divino and the Ropa Vieja, with the intention of sharing of course. Both dishes came with salad, tostones (flattened and fried plantains), beans, and a bed of rice. The only difference in the plates were the meat. Both meats were seasoned well and tasty. However, I think the Pernil Divino is more tender and not as salty. The tostones were a bit on the bland side, needing some flavor to it, and maybe a different sauce to dip in (they use a mayo/ketchup mixture). Overall, with the passport card discount, it was a steal making the total bill only the cost of one plate. Good enough to try if you've never had Puerto Rican food, but a bit on the fast food style of food, even though it is a sit down restaurant.

    (3)

  • Alanna M.

    Came to meet a girlfriend for lunch right when they opened so it wasn't quite busy yet. The service was attentive as expected for not being busy. Ordered the fried catfish. It was such a huge portion I had to take most of it home. Surprisingly the left overs were still good. My sides included salad, rice and beans. Definitely worth trying if you're on the eastside. Great addition to the area -- culture and non-chain restaurant. I found the staff to be helpful and attentive. Nice, chill & polite.

    (3)

  • Wisgary T.

    I could eat the pollo guisado here for the rest of my life. These guys catered the heck out of my wedding (Empanadillas, Tostones, Rice, Beans, Pollo Guisado and Pernil) and my relatives from Puerto Rico all agreed that it was delicious and authentic. It even tasted better than usual at the restaurant! These guys rock and I'm super happy we had them cater our wedding here in WA, and am super happy they're around to satisfy my cravings for PR food.

    (5)

  • E. P.

    Yum! My husband and I finally tried this restaurant. The inside of the restaurant is very nice and festive and everyone that works there is very nice. We got the appetizer sampler and asked it be vegetarian, but they included a cod fritter. My husband is a meat/fish eater so he had that one, but I assumed everything on the plate would be meat/fishless. Everything was delicious, but leans to the heavy side. I would love to eat the lentil stew over rice on a chilly day. I wish there was a vegetarian sandwich too. But there were a few options for me so I was happy.

    (4)

  • Clark B.

    Solid, enjoyable food, very good service. I'm tempted to give it 4 stars but have never had Puerto Rican cuisine before so don't have a good comparison point We visited at lunch and had two dishes, the Pernil Bowl and the Cuban Sandwich. The Pernil Bowl was by the far the better of the two and had very well cooked and subtly seasoned pulled pork on a bed of rice with pigeon peas (arroz con gandules) which to me were reminiscent of small green olives. The sauce that accompanies this dish was excellent and made for a very enjoyable meal. The Cuban sandwich was fine but nothing that really got us excited. We opted for the Yucca fries with the sandwich which were nice. We will definitely return.

    (3)

  • Kristine H.

    I came here for the first time with my husband and a good friend of ours. Our friend brought his delightful son with him and the restaurant ended up a place where having a kid with you wasn't a hindrance. Our server was patient and brought us rubber bands to craft a tunnel out of menus to occupy our littlest guest. We stuck with the HH menu, which if you haven't been to either La Isla, is the way to go. I could rhapsodise about their menu but here are some of my personal favourites: - Carne frita. Bone in 'pork wings' marinated with garlic, olive oil and spices, flash fried, and topped with sautéed onions. Served with caldo sauce. Trust me when I say that meat lovers might fight over these tasty morsels. - Bacalaitos. Crispy fritters of salted cod, cilantro, and seasonings in a house made batter. Accompanied with ajili mojili and limes. These can be greasy but just ask for extra napkins and blot. The flavour is quite good. - Gandules dip. A refreshing blend of green pigeon peas, red peppers, onions, garlic, olive oil, vinegar, and spices, served cold. Fill up the tostone cups provided and they are a wonderful burst of tastiness. - Empanadillas. These fried, flaky turnovers are made to order with your choice of several fillings. I prefer the pernil or the pollo. Dessert: save room for their tres leches cake (husband's favourite) or their tembleque, a coconut dessert pudding that's completely vegan and MY new favourite. After a couple of bites, I was astounded by how good it tasted and actually asked two separate servers if it was dairy-free. It was and it was SO GOOD! All caps completely deserved. Parking is plentiful. Bathrooms feel like they are a mile away (hyperbole) from the front door but you will have to snake around the building to reach them. Overall the food was nearly on par with Ballard but the vibe wasn't the same. Maybe the restaurant is too big or maybe eastsiders aren't a fan of Puerto Rican fare. At any rate, I'm still pulling for them to succeed. I gave them an extra star because our server checked on us and the child at our table.

    (4)

  • Marvie L.

    Good food, good drinks & attentive server. We waited a little bit to be seated and I guess because it's during happy hour and the other servers aren't there yet, we almost walk away then the guy from the bar noticed us, he was very attentive and keep checking in on us if we needed anything else, which is good. All in all our experience was great after one tiny bump.

    (4)

  • M. S.

    Went to La Isla as a late birthday dinner. Having eaten at their Ballard location, I can say the food in Redmond lacks flavor compared to Ballard. Tosterones were dry, harder than normal and overly salty. Coconut sauce it came with was bland at Redmond. Not the flaky flavor-fest like I tried at Ballard. The only thing that had any flavor was the Mai Tai, which washed down the extra salt of the tosterones. Not a bad restaurant. When I'm craving Puerto Rican, I'd just as soon drive over to Seattle though than to be disappointed again.

    (2)

  • Scarlet L.

    Between my friend and I, we each got to try their fried catfish and pulled pork platters. Their pulled pork sandwich is the most highly acclaimed, so my review on this meat is assuming they use the same meat for their platter. I've had wonderful pulled pork, and the pork I received here wasn't really "fall-apart" tender, nor was it especially tasty. It came with a sort of vinaigrette sauce that didn't compliment it too. The fried catfish had an especially salty batter--a bit too salty. It also came with some sort of thin, liquid dip that had no memorable flavor. All it did was make the fried batter wet when dipped. Sadly, I would say the best parts of our platters was the fried eggplant. This was the consensus between both parties. The dishes are about $15 or so each. We also tried their tres leches cake. It seemed heavily soaked in condensed milk. The sweetness was taken down a notch thanks to their a la mode. I also wouldn't say it's my favorite tres leches experience. For the cost, I would have liked to have left with a more satisfied palate. The portions are generous of course, but if I wanted to go somewhere to simply be stuffed, I could have done so with less of a dent on my wallet.

    (2)

  • M S.

    Went here after a hike in Granite Falls and decided to end the day on a good note with good food. It was our first time and we will be back for their Appetizer Sample of delicious Tostones, Empanadillas, Bacalauito. I had the tasty Mofongo which I hadn't had in YEARS since my last visit to my grandparent's home in Puerto Rico. The rice and beans were excellent! My husband's Pernil was dry though but he says he will be back to try more off their wonderful variety of puertorican food listed on their menu. The Alcapurrias did not disappoint either...those I will order next time to take home to enjoy again and again! Mojitos are a must to try at La Isla too. The Velvet Mojito made of tamarind juices was AMAZING! A complaint we do have was the tight booth seating on hard wooden benches. We may have to bring pillows for our bottoms for the next time due to the uncomfortable seating :-( But over all we were very pleased with La Isla Restaurant! Gracias to our new Amigos!

    (4)

  • Andrea V.

    If you have never had puerto rican food or don't know what to expext, you will probably like it. But if you've been to PR, familiar with PR food, or have close friends that are puerto rican...then this is not the place for you. Disappointed in the food and embarrassed that the friends we brought who were born and raised in PR were not impressed and felt as if it was an insult to them. Sorry but will not be coming back. Only good thing is the waiter, Jonathan I believe, was very nice and attentive.

    (2)

  • Katelyn P.

    We split the tripleta sandwich of three meats and sweet potato fries. This was amazing!! We have been talking about it ever since. I also got the guava mojito. It was yummy but wasn't worth the almost ten dollars it cost. It was almost as much as the sandwich!! We will definitely be going back for the sandwich but might wait on the drinks until their happy hours.

    (5)

  • Jennifer K.

    This was my first experience with Puerto Rican food and I absolutely loved it. I am gluten free and there were plenty of things on their menu that I could enjoy. I enjoyed it immensely. I started with happy hour and the shrimp is to die for and then moved on to dinner and fell in love with the rice and beans, which are served with almost every dish. Not a fan of plantains, but that's just me. Always go with pork! It will not disappoint.

    (5)

  • N V.

    I didn't want to keep them hanging on the one star because the owners did take action regarding the issue and they did send me a message on yelp explaining the situation; I appreciate when the management cares about their customers and take out the time to get in touch with them to clear the air. I am giving 3 because our server Megan was extremely sweet and warm and this place does have a nice decor. I might have not found the food exceptional but it definitely is worth 3 or more stars. I might give this place a second try and have another review. Here's is a part of the email I was sent by the owner, which I highly appreciate. On behalf of my staff and my business partner, I'd like to offer my deepest apologies for this. I was a vegetarian for over a decade and know how frustrating it can be when this kind of stuff happens. I am afraid that in this instance, the server you are referring to is actually one of our busers who is both very shy and knows very little English. I am sorry if that came across as rude or uncaring. It is not who we are. This is a great learning experience for her and for that I am truly grateful. I am also very glad Megan was there to take care of you. If you are ever inclined to give us another try, please let me know as I'd love to leave you a token of my appreciation waiting for you at the restaurant. In any case, thanks once again for taking the time to write a review. It is the best way for us to get better at what we do. Take care and please do not hesitate to contact me with any further comments, questions or advice either through Yelp or via email to the address below Cheers

    (3)

  • Sa Y.

    Best food better than metador. No tortilla chips no carbo. Their salad is heavenly and thanks for Alfonso's wife we have salads! Fun selections of Rum, happy hour drinks.. If I can, I wanna one every day!

    (5)

  • Jill H.

    Bored with Redmond restaurants? Looking for something different? Give La Isla a try. We did and we have no regrets. In fact, our only regret was not trying this little gem sooner. The food was really good. The cocktails (mojitos) were amazing. The service superior. An added plus - they offered a Saturday night happy hour menu (after 9 pm) so we had to try a lot of their menu items at a discount. Awesome place. We will definitely be back!!!!

    (5)

  • Daysi R.

    Been here a few times , food is good we had some little hipcups nothing mayor we will keep going.

    (4)

  • Jonathan A.

    Expensive for the type of food/nutrition content. A Mexican food restaurant would easily be half as expensive. Schizophrenic interior: they start playing dance music at night, but the place definitely does not have a club feel. The decor is boring and outdated and not very interesting. The food is pretty good. It's definitely different than what I'm used to. The service took a while. The front hostess didn't acknowledge me for about 5 minutes that I was standing there. She seemed indifferent the whole time and even creeped out at the fact that I wanted to eat at a table by myself instead of at the bar. I later knew I made a good choice as there were lots of boisterous drunks at the bar and I also didn't want to be pressured into ordering drinks. The waiter was friendly and he seemed to try and be accommodating. He was a bit slow to bring the check and I had to look around for him to get his attention for him to finally come over and give me my bill, at the end of his service.

    (3)

  • Melanie A.

    I'm torn if I should do 3 or 4 stars. But I think I'm leaning towards 3. LA isla has a great happy hour! The drinks are very well made and the empandas are fried greatness. Comes with a really yummy sour cream herb sauce as well. The service isn't the greatest...but they are open late and probably under staffed the bar tender was by herself and was taking care of the whole bar also a few tables in the restaurant so it probably wasn't her fault. Food is good though and will still come back here if I have a late night craving again.

    (3)

  • Jeremy P.

    I'll keep it brief, since I'm still in a pork shoulder coma. The food here is amazing. The drinks are on point. I could die face down in a bowl of their pernil, and at least take solace in the fact I died happy. The staff is polite, friendly, and engaging. The music sets a good atmosphere, without being obtrusive. I couldn't ask for a better lunch spot.

    (5)

  • Sarah D.

    Truly, truly good food. I am in love with the pastelon! I get the vegetarian version - plantains, cheese, veggies, all layered like a Puerto Rican lasagna. So many flavors - that nice spicy vinegar kick, sweet plantains, then couple it with rice, beans and tostones. Heaven! I also really like the gandules appetizer. Another great flavor combo. Hubby likes the pork appetizer. Really solid food, consistently good, reasonably priced and good service. PS: Yes, you do want the coconut flan

    (5)

  • Angelica R.

    If you are a party of 5, reserve for 6 or you will be very uncomfortable, and crammed into a 4-seater. Seriously. But... The service is good and the people are friendly. I want to like this restaurant more, because it has the potential to be truly excellent. It's just that a little more work needs to be done on some of the dishes, which are pretty good - but inconsistent. Sometimes items are a little too crispy, or a little too salty. Chef could use more training, but he's good. Love the drinks here too - they're delicious. They just need to cut back on the ice a bit - so I usually make a point of asking for less. I have given this restaurant an extra star just for being a Puerto Rican restaurant in Redmond. This is very cool, and was very unexpected. Mofongo is usually excellent too!

    (4)

  • Paul L.

    Island oasis Ambiance: 3 Food: 4 Value: 4 Situated in the middle of Redmond, the east side outpost of La Isla restaurant is a nice little island get away. The island inspired food, headlined by their slow cooked pork, is a quite good. The fixing are also delicious (I like the plantains). They have various nice happy hour and late night drink specials. They open up most of their menu, including the sandwiches, to the Prime Card. This makes it a great choice to chillax.

    (4)

  • Brian L.

    Wow! First time out a La Isla and food was great.. You have to try the triplelata of your looking for a simple a dish loaded with lots of meat. Fast service and good music. Happy eating!!

    (5)

  • Lily L.

    Delicious! The menu is not as massive as the Ballard branch, but I guarantee the quality and service is at the same level. Hearing the restaurant opened in Redmond, I was foremost exhilarated I no longer had to drive 40+ minutes out for good Puerto Rican food. I surely hope this branch sticks because the location it currently sits as changed about 2-3x in the last 4 years. Waitress service was wonderful; our waitress was brought over from the Ballard branch and the bubbliest waitresses I've seen in Redmond. She gave great recommendations cuisine and drinks wise. My mango passion fruit mojito was refreshing and the Ropa Vieja was tender and the Pastelon with a plaintain and mozzarella lasagna was to die for. I'd say order anything with a side of plaintains and you're enjoying an authentic Puerto Rican dish. Excited to come here for a quick lunch or even order to go. The food is amazing! If you haven't had a chance to visit the one in Ballard, visit the one in Redmond. You won't be disappointed!

    (5)

  • Jaè D.

    I ordered the stewed chicken I think it was. It was pretty good needed a little more flavor. Also, ordered all the flavors of empandillas they were all tasty. All in all this place is pretty good I would go there again the only down fall is the parking and the cost, they are a little on the pricey side. I would recommend hitting up the happy hour!

    (4)

  • Shane M.

    Seems legit! Authentic PR food. The owner is around a lot and he is a hoot. Lots of rum options - it's a thing here. It made me thirsty thinking about it and I don't even drink. I have had a crazy good sandwich here from the main menu a time of two. Or three. I kind of want to marry it, but for the time being we are just going to date and see how it goes. I have only had lunch here - it is close to work, but not home. Give this place your business. I am sure you will be glad you did!

    (4)

  • Freddy and Danie N.

    To all those on the Eastside: it's time we introduce you to La Isla... Our favorite restaurant in WA (located in Redmond). Bomb food & drinks. Excellent happy hour 3-6 & 9-close. Can't wait til next time :)

    (5)

  • Vyjayanthi R.

    Hurray for trying out new cuisines! This one's a late night destination too - open till midnight on most days and until 2AM on Fridays and Saturdays. Let me start with the obsession with plantains, they have plantains on practically everything! I think it would be hard to go here and not have plantains. Good thing plantains are awesome. 9PM - close is their happy hour. Granted, I was a little disappointed that their were no entrees on the HH menu and the drinks were only a $1 off. However, there were a great many appetizers on the HH menu and that worked for me since I was keen to try as many items as possible. I ordered the Medley of Platanos (usually $5, $2.5 on HH) and the super friendly waitress suggested that I sub out the tostones for yuca fries (since tostones would come with my entree most likely). The end result was a set of potato-wedge like yuca and sweet plantain fries - so unusual but so delicious! Pro tip : Pair the yuca fries with the mayo ketchup and the sweet plantains with the Michael sauce - our server pointed this out and she was absolutely right! As a vegetarian, the only entree I could go for was the Pastelon (Puerto Rican lasagna), with a veggie filling. It was priced at $16 which suggested a large portion of food so I decided to share it with my boyfriend. And my, was that a sensible choice! Each entree comes with rice and beans, tostones (crispy plantains, no duh) and a side salad - what a pile of food! While the plantain layered lasagna was excellent, my favourite part of the meal was the beans. I expected these to taste similar to the standard Mexican beans but I was so wrong, these were remarkably different and so much better! After trying hard to figure out the unusual flavour that was giving the beans their deliciousness, I asked the waitress and she said it was the sofrito sauce - a blend of onions, peppers and some spices. I'm completely sold on sofrito, I need to buy some of that for cooking at home! And even though we were full by this point, we decided to try the Tres Leches (only $3 on happy hour) which are sweet milk cakes. This was delectable and the cake itself was surprisingly light. I kind of wish they hadn't doused it with whipped cream and ice cream - these were far too sweet and somewhat hid the taste of the cake itself. This was a real good HH deal btw, the portion size was monstrous. Even with the limited vegetarian entree options, I will happily come back here, order sofrito beans with something plantainous and thoroughly enjoy myself. I can really get on board with this plantain craze!

    (4)

  • Aiden S.

    After years of looking for a Puerto Rican restaurant (I'm a NJ transplant), I found this place and walked away with a smile on my face. Authentic flavors and spices, a wide variety of the dishes I grew up with and, OMG, rums from over 21 countries and various levels of price, taste, and age. I had pastelon for the first time ever and it was very delicious, the pernil it was stuffed with cooked to perfection. The alcapurrias were perfect. I also had the Guayabitas Vivian and was pleasantly surprised to find not the pinkish reddish guava paste you might find in a bodega, but real guava pulp and it was delicious and balanced by the ice cream. I will have to bring people next time, and maybe get a hotel reservation just to try all that rum.

    (5)

  • Kit K.

    Bomb food, friendly service, damn good mojitos.

    (4)

  • Kirk K.

    This is a family-owned place, and they know how to cook! I hate the 'small bites' portion size on many of the entrees, but *God Almighty!*, the pork empenadas make up for all other sins. Each one has a big, steaming hunk of tender, flavorful marinated piggy inside the crispy deep- fried skin. And the sauce on them is to die for. And they are only two bucks each during happy hour; this along with the absolute best rum bar on the eastside. Killer place!

    (4)

  • Maria G.

    ***************** My original 1-star review posted below was written on July 26th, 2013. After my review was posted, its owner immediately contacted me via PM on Yelp. I just want to say that because I never got a chance to try La Isla again before I moved away from the PNW, I am now upgrading my original review to 3 stars because I do appreciate business owner who take time to read yelpers' reviews. I do hope I will re-visit La Isla if I am back in the area and do another review upgrade at that time. Part of the message from its owner is pasted here, "Thanks so much for your review of our Redmond location. It is eye opening and not the way we like to do things. I am sooooooooooooooo sorry this has happened. There is really no excuse for any of it and no need for you to apologize either. I'm amazed you left any money and frankly, incredibly sad about such poor performance from one of our crew members. We talk about communication all the time but obviously that went by the way side this time around. I'd like to reimburse you for your drink and perhaps have you in as my guest if you do decide to give us another chance. If that is the case, please do ask for me or shoot me a message ahead of time in case I can't be there so that I can have a token of my appreciation waiting for you. I completely understand if you'd rather not but I figured I'd offer anyway. At the very least I'd like to let you know that because of your review, we had an emergency meeting with the whole staff to address all the breakdowns that happened during your visit and how so much went wrong at once... Take care Alfonso Gonzalez Owner" My response, "Hi Mr. Gonzalez, Thank you so much for your message. I have friends' families who are business owners in this area and it always pains me to write low reviews for any business. I do appreciate your response as well as the fact that an emergency meeting was held to address service breakdowns. I would love to give this location another try in the near future. I will let you know if I do plan to visit again. Thanks for your reimbursement offer but that is not necessary. Thanks again. Maria" *****************ORIGINAL REVIEW BELOW***************** I have seen reviews reflect what I am about to write below. It really pains me to write this review. But I hope they can improve for the better. I was here for dinner earlier tonight. I was a little hungry at that time. It was my first time here so I didn't know what to order. I just scrolled through yelp pictures and picked a dish that looked good. My waiter came around and asked my choice. I told him my drink and food order. Several minutes after I have ordered food, I realized I had to return a friend's call. I placed that call at 7:40pm as it was recorded on my phone. Then I started waiting. My drink was brought over by another lady server. I ordered the margarita and it was pretty average. Then I just realized there is another menu on the table that is full of rum drinks. The rum menu has an extensive selection and look so yummy. I wish I had known about this drink menu but that was not a big deal. I waited for the food. I looked around and waited longer. At around 8pm, I started observing my server and other servers. He spent much time chatting with the bartender. Some other server was also chatting with the bartender. I started noticing a lot of servers were running around serving drinks and more drinks. I didn't see any food brought out for a long time. By that time, I was already pretty hungry. I waited longer but only to see my waiter chatting. When my waiter walked by, I kind of looked him with questions. He said "did you order?" I was like yeah. He asked again "did your food come?" I was like no. He said I will go check on the kitchen for you. So he went around and served more drinks, chatted more with the bartender, and went to the kitchen for some time and brought out some dishes for this other table. While passing, he said your food will come out soon. I was like okay I will wait. But then my server went back to chatting for at least a couple of minutes. After observing him for a couple of minutes, I decided to leave at that time. I looked at the time and it was 8:20pm. So I waited at least 45 minutes for the food. I would have had more patience but I was really hungry. I left cash for my drink and walked out. It looks like other people really enjoy this place a lot. It is too bad that I didn't get to enjoy the food here. The drink was average. I wish I had tried its rum. I hope you have a better experience than I do and you don't have to wait so long for the food. I feel bad that I am leaving a low rating review and maybe food does take a looooooong time here but sorry I was really hungry! I didn't understand why my server kept chatting. I still think this place has a nice atmosphere and would like to give it another try some time in the future.

    (3)

  • Linda Z.

    The food at La Isla is flavorful and very hearty. The empanadilla with ground beef was flaky and not overly oily despite being deep fried. The pernil divino entree was good and substantial - the pork was tender and the sides were just ok (tostones were just hard and bland, rice & beans and salad were average). The favorite was the tripleta sandwich with ham, steak and pork (came with sweet potato fries). The sandwich was incredibly juicy and flavorful, and the bread was perfectly toasted and soft. The portion is huge and can be easily split between 2 people. Our server was friendly and outgoing. Overall, we had a great experience at La Isla and will return (and will make sure we save room for tres leches cake!).

    (4)

  • LB D.

    A funtastic place to enjoy food that is less than ordinary! And if you enjoy rum you are in for a big surprise with their rum club! A must check out!

    (5)

  • Burly B.

    Amazing food, Great drinks and Good service

    (5)

  • Cody S.

    Well i was rather disappointed. .. i took some people from puerto rico here for dinner. Let's just say i should have had paid them to cook at their house. The atmosphere was nice and had lots of little things that was nice to see but the food was a disappointment. The wait staff was good and tried well. We ordered mojitos, they were not mojitos. The staff said they tried it and agreed it didn't taste right. The appetizers were good i enjoyed them. We all had mofongo. The plantains were not mashed all the way abd they ran out of the fried pork. So we had roasted pork on top. Sooooooo much salt. I was almost embarrassed i took them here

    (2)

  • Ovidio B.

    My wife and I recently moved from NYC to Seattle where panaderias and PR/DR food is available on most corners. The food at La Isla is plentiful, flavorful, and make us feel like were back home. The service is great, atmosphere is family friendly, prices are reasonable and the food is on point, especially the Pernil, Bistec, Empanadas, Chicharones de Pollo! Check em out

    (5)

  • John M.

    We tried this restaurant located in Ballard. The Redmond location is every bit as good. This is AUTHENTIC Puerto Rican food. We know since we lived there briefly. Excellent restaurant.

    (4)

  • Chris K.

    Best sandwich I've ever had. The first time I ate this food it was brought home to me by my girlfriend. Even after sitting in the fridge and then being warmed up in the oven, the "Tripleta" sandwich left me speechless. I also tried the Carne Fritas which are basically the meat version of a lollipop. It was the best pork I've had in my entire life. I got a craving for a Cubano after watching the movie "Chef," and La Isla popped into my head. I also wanted to have at least 2 orders of Carne Fritas to myself. We were extremely disappointed to find out that they were out of Carne Fritas. We weren't informed that they were out until about 15 minutes after ordering them so there was most likely a lack of inventory awareness. Once you are running low on a popular product usually a good Chef will 86 the product far in advance to avoid disappointed customers. We were hoping that because of the inconvenience that any substitute order would be discounted but no such luck. We ordered an additional sandwich and the amazing meal made us completely forget about the missing pork candies. Would love to make the drive again but I will call first to make sure they have enough Carne Fritas.

    (4)

  • Yumiko K.

    I had a lunch date with a girlfriend of mine here. I ordered a cup of sopa de lentejas (vegan soup) and a lunch special with an empanadilla (ordered a papa, which contains garlic and onion mashed potatoes with mozzarella cheese). The soup came out real quickly, and it was quite hearty and delicious. My empanadilla came with delicious rice and beans. Although the crust was light and crunchy, the filling (potatoes and cheese) was a bit boring. Vegetarian food should not taste boring or bland! The dipping sauce, however, was quite tasty. My girlfriend brought her baby boy. The staff made sure we had everything we needed to look after the baby. (FYI: He was such an angel through our entire lunch date!) Good food, friendly service, and no line = Awesomeness!!

    (4)

  • Anu M.

    The da bomb. Empanadas on point. Banana fritters.....oh yeah and the beans reminded of indian beans with all the right kick to it. Highly recommended to try out the other goodies.

    (4)

  • Smart E.

    I was really excited to try out this place given the reviews and my love for good Cuban food, but I left disappointed. The food was mediocre at best and the service was *extremely* slow despite there only being 2 other customers in the restaurant. It took about 40 minutes for our food to make it to the table. Empanadillas: Just fluffs of pastry with so little filling it was sad. The filling itself had great flavor, I just wish they had put in about quadruple the amount. They were $4 a piece. Pork Mofongo: The mofongo itself was hard, cold, and all you could taste was salt. The pork was very flavorful and that's all that was edible from that dish. Pernil Bowl: Pork shoulder was well-prepared and flavorful. I enjoyed the meat very much, but didn't care for anything else that came with it. Pastelon: Again, the pork shoulder is a win, but the dish is more than pork and unfortunately, it was a flavor flop.

    (2)

  • Brittany B.

    Love this place. I come here all the time and everyone is always super friendly. The owners are even more friendly if that is even possible. The food is also great. I love their happy hour menu, one of the best on the Eastside. My favorite drinks are Puerto Rican Coffee and Iced Frecking Coffee.

    (5)

  • Lydia H.

    Delicious!! I'm not sure how authentic it is, but either way, it's super tasty. I had the mofongo with chicken. Chicken was perfect & the plantains were great with it. Even the rice & beans on the side were awesome! I can't wait to go back & try something new!

    (5)

  • Steph D.

    Should have been great - everyone raved about it - disaster. Kitchen was out of synch that night I guess. We ended up with poorly timed delivery of our order (one of our party did not get their entre until 20 mins after everyone else as just one example), no delivery of one appetizer, another guest did not get their drink order...etc. Some of the food was served cold, much of it lacked flavor to be honest and barely reached anything like the positive reviews I had heard and read about. The appetizers were overcooked and most of what they served barely reached a classic diner food level. needless to say, this is not a place I would waste another meal on.

    (1)

  • Dean Y.

    Had lunch here on the recommendation of friends, and we were not disappointed. I was in the mood for fish so I ordered the (whole) fried trout which was crispy on the outside, moist inside and full of flavor. So good, I would go back just to have it again. My wife loved the catfish. The plantains and sweet potato fries were hot and tasty.

    (5)

  • Amanda G.

    My husband and I finally dined at this restaurant after driving past countless times. This place have really nice Puerto Rican decoration. We can't help but to feel that we are in Puerto Rico!! The service was excellent! since it's our first time eating Puerto Rican food, we had many questions. Our server and even usher took time to answer them politely. Food wise - My husband ordered Salmon a la parilla. It was nice. The salmon was cooked well and the portion was quite substantial. I ordered the Mofango with fried pork chops. ($13) I really enjoyed it!!! The presentation of the dish is unique. It is served in a wooden 'chalice'. To eat this dish, I would need to pour it on the plate. I feel that the plantain stuffing went well with the pork. However, I thought the pork was a little too dry. Order this dish if it's your first time here - Highly recommended !! We also had Rumgria - it is really refreshing on a warm summer day! The best part... Show your Prime card to get one entree free when you order an entree!!! It was a nice overall experience!!! We will come back again to try their happy hour!!!

    (4)

  • Amy C.

    La Isla has awesome food and drink specials for happy hour, which is everyday from 3pm to 6pm and again from 10pm to 1am. Plus, the service was great, food was truly delicious, and the drinks were tasty. I strongly recommend the shrimp with garlic sauce (Camarones with al ajillo) and the mofongo (garlicky fried mashed plantains = YUM!), which is not on the menu. My mouth is salivating just thinking about these two dishes. Will definitely be back to try more things!

    (5)

  • Daniele S.

    My whole family just love this place. The food is so tasty! The pollo guisado remembers me of Brazilian chicken soul food. I really enjoy the salmon a la parilla and the bistec encebollado. I could go there to eat only their rice and beans! They are that good! My son loves the sandwiches, he mentioned that they are similar to the ones from Paseo. I stopped eating sandwiches lately because of pregnancy aversion to bread, so can't say anything about them. The staff is very polite and friendly. The service is quite fast as well. I try to eat in or have a take-out every week. It is always a good day when I eat their food!

    (5)

  • Jesus L.

    I would like to start saying at this place is really nice. But if you're going to thinking that you going to eat a Rican food its not it might have to mean but it doesn't have the flavor. I'm from Puerto Rico only been in Washington fir 2 years. This place it's a small disgrace to Puerto Rican cuisine. The food was missing the correct flavors the correct delivery . I came here with my fiance because she was looking forward to eating some Puerto Rican food from a restaurant I myself consider the food good not traditional what so ever but my fiance was completely disappointed the food it was eating what's not at all Rican food in a funny thing what's the waiter what telling us how to put a Rican food was I don't think never been in Puerto Rico and I'm pretty sure he did not know we were put a Rican so we ate a little food not all a bit disappointed and paid for overpriced food. I would like to know if the owner this place even Puerto Rican or been to Puerto Rico find recipes online doesn't make it Puerto Rican food. I have work 6 years in the culinary world working for hotels like the Marriott Hotel in Aguadilla and Mayagues Resour and one of the biggest hotels in Puerto Rico El Conquistador. So yes I know how food specially Puerto Rican food suppose to taste. So if you want to eat food that is non traditional Puerto Rican food come to this place.

    (1)

  • Tony D.

    I have only been here once for happy hour. But it was spectacular. I'd never had an empanada before. Now I've had like four (sorry, my arteries). They are so freakin' good though. I had some with cheese in them. Some with potatoes and garlic in them. Some with sauce. Some with fried mini-banana thingies. And I had a mojito. I'm definitely going back soon.

    (4)

  • Javier C.

    I heard good things about this place but I was very disappointed I grew up eating Caribbean food and this was a disaster. we had the Cuban sandwich and their plantain special dish that I had to wait to be cook for 30 minutes to find out that wasn't good at all. I Spent about $50 for 2 people and it was so bad that my wife was very mad at me for taking her there...NO BUENO!!!!!!!!!!

    (2)

  • Riss J.

    It is better in Ballard. The food, the service, the decor. All of it. I made the mistake of joking with the bartender about the reputation they have of 'burn your eyebrows off' strong pours, and was punished with a superbly weak drink for it. Only did the appetizer sampler plate, and of the 4 or 5 things on it, only one (the empanadillas) was memorable a week later. Mainly, everything seemed just bland. The service wasn't even slow, it was basically non-existent. For the hour+ the Burck's and I were there, front and center at the bar, we got our initial food and drink order .................and then nothing. No offer of more drinks, no checking on our food (half my order was missing), no water refills, nothing. When Evan asked for a to-go box for his food, I waved frantically at the bartender to alert him I was still missing half my food order, and he actually yelled at me and tried to ignore me. Well, excuse the fuck out of me, dude. I'm sorry your life is so damn difficult? You charged me for the ceviche, can't I at least get some of it before I pay? But let's compare what their lack of service cost them: My last trip to La Isla in Ballard---the bar tab alone was well over $150.00 for the same number of people and I personally left a huge tip (on top of the tips the other 2 gave, on one tab) Here? I spent less than $30 and did not tip with generosity. Maybe, in the future, I will stroll by again and give it a shot...but I can't see how. Downtown Redmond is a dead zone after 8pm, and this place is not worth the extra effort.

    (2)

  • Julia R.

    I was so excited to finally try this place with a friend of mine. We got to La Isla around 4:30 on Valentine's day. It was comfortably busy. We both tried a couple of their signature rum drink. The one she got was a spicy mojito and was so good! I basically got a really expensive rum and coke with ginger but because it was chunks of it, there wasn't much of that ginger taste. The menu was a little hard to read as can be expected when trying new food, I decided to go the easy route and order an appetizer that sampled a few dishes (plato de apertivo) I loved that I could make it vegetarian too. The flavors and sauces were amazing! I can't wait to come back and try more!

    (4)

  • Scott O.

    Nice to have something different in the Redmond area. I'm not that familiar with Puerto Rican cuisine, but am well versed in a number of other Latin/Caribbean cuisines. I've been twice now, having tried the Pernil Divino (pulled pork shoulder) and the Pollo Guisado (chicken thighs simmered in a sofrito-based stew with olives, capers and potatoes). Both are comfort food and decently executed. I've also tried the Camerones (shrimp appetizer) in the habanero-tinged Isla del Fuego sauce. Yummy and hot. Staff are well-trained - knowledgeable and engaging without over-doing it. Overall, I recommend this place if you are in a food rut or looking for a decent meal in the cultural dead zone that is downtown Redmond. For that alone it deserves four stars.

    (4)

  • Julie S.

    Started with an empanada. It was flaky and delicious! I then got the pernil divino. So good! And lots of food. The piña colada was also good. Great service.

    (4)

  • Gina C.

    Let's see...... I grew up in PR (my dad is Puerto Rica), I grew up on this food. I have to say that bringing my husband here was the biggest disappointment EVER! I ordered the appetizer platter and couldn't even eat half. Overly fried and the tostones (PR staple) tasted stale or frozen, still not sure. The service was terrible, very unwelcoming which is so not the culture at all. I had to reassure my husband that this place does not correctly represent PR. So disappointed :-(

    (2)

  • Deven T.

    Puerto Rican cuisine must require an acquired taste...definitely NOT mine! Ordered the flank steak dinner. First, it comes on a small dinner plate (for $16). Second, the traditional flavor is nothing like I've ever tasted- vinegar-y (sour). Third, the sides (white rice, beans, small I-could-make-this-at-home salad, and overly-deep fried plantains) were unremarkable, even bland. The sauce on the side was just mayo + ketchup. Yuck! I will admit that my family LOVES this place, and eats here often. I will however not be returning!

    (2)

  • Delgado H.

    Great rum selection. Awesome service. Mediocre food. I have heard the sandwiches are amazing, but I haven't been back since hearing that, so I can't confirm.

    (3)

  • Sara H.

    3 stars with plenty of room for improvement. I too had trouble finding it. I had to call my friend who was already waiting inside and she came out and waved me down. A few other people were doing the same thing. Might be time to think about a sign! The food: The plantains and tostones were really good. The dipping sauces were also tasty! Our table of 4 ordered two "Pernil" that is how it is listed on the menu. Apparently you need to differentiate between the Pernil Emparadados or the Pernil Divino. Both people at our table wanted to sandwich- but ended up with the plate. I would like to see the restaurant devise a way to better differentiate their menu items. I ordered the pastelon. It came hot, but the cheese was not at all melted. Over all, I liked the sides more than the main menu item. In the future, I'll just stick to ordering the delicious sides and skip the $16 plate! I hope the kinks get worked out because this is a great addition to the Redmond food scene. At least in theory!

    (3)

  • Jay Marie R.

    As a Puerto Rican, I can tell that this place, specially the food is authentic Puerto Rican. When I feel homesickness this place makes me feel like I'm in PR. The food is soooo tasty and great!! I'm so happy that I have a Puerto Rican restaurant near from me. The service, the employees are friendly, the drinks are really good. I recommend the mojitos. Really I like this place!

    (5)

  • Susan R.

    My nephew and I had a fantastic time last night at La Isla in Redmond. The food was fantastic but what really set the night apart was our server, Paula. She was interesting, sweet and attentive. Bravo, Paula. We will be back

    (5)

  • Aly M.

    Delicious food with great sides but check your receipts! We ordered the Pernil Divino (seasoned pulled pork), Salmon La Isla (seasoned grilled salmon), and the Pastelon (pulled pork, plantains, & cheese lasagna). All three entrees came with rice, small salad, beans, and fried plantain fritters. They were around $15 which was a bit higher than I was expecting, but we had heard great things about the food. I called ahead to pick up the food and it was ready in about 25 minutes. This was where the restaurant really disappointed us. A 18% gratuity was automatically added to our bill even though it was a to go order. I was told this was a standard charge for all carry-out orders, but could be removed if I wanted them to. This entire process took about 10 minutes and I felt like they were trying to pull a fast one over their customers. The food was great and well-seasoned, but the automatic gratuity for carry-out orders left us with a bad taste. I'm undecided about a return visit because the cost and hassle aren't ideal when there are other great-tasting places around that don't offer those negatives. UPDATE: The owner sent me a message to let me know that the gratuity charge is not normal, so that's good to hear. I am still undecided about returning, and I would still doublecheck my bill if I did go.

    (3)

  • Anne M.

    My husband and I went back for a second try at La Isla last week. Initially my review noted that the service was a bit strange, this time around, it was an awesome experience. The food was again very good, plenty of everything on the plate, really good value for money (in my opinion at least), and we were not left waiting for anything. Overall, we were very satisfied with the overall customer service and food experience, and will go back.

    (4)

  • Kathryn M.

    I have never tried Puerto Rican food before, so I have no idea is this was authentic or not,. I do know that everything tasted great! We had the Pernil and the Ropa Viega. Each entree and side dish was a taste experience in itself. They even had lots of non-glutten choices. The service was good enough, not outstanding. Whatever. We'll be back!

    (4)

  • Jared L.

    I can never be dis-satisfied with HH empenadillas. mmmmm! Plus there are few places that cater to the rum lovers like myself and Johnny Depp, just sayin.

    (5)

  • Mike R.

    I was meeting my sister for dinner and found this place on yelp when I was in Redmond. I love Cuban/puerto Rican food and since I'm a fan of a local place instead of a national chain I thought I'd check it out. Sam, the bartender/waiter greeted me and showed me to a table, while waiting for my sister he had several recommendations, all of which sounded great. When my sister arrived I ordered ceviche as a stater along with the coconut shrimp. Ceviche was tasty but the pieces were a bit large, not diced. The coconut shrimp was outstanding, highly recommend! I ordered the pork chops and my sister the pulled pork. I had the chops done two ways, blackened and fried. The plates arrived with huge portions and smelled great. Beans and rice were good, my pork chops were a bit thin and cooked just a bit too long. The pulled pork was fabulous according to my sister and highly recommend. Overall a great place, although one big disappointment were the nasty hand blow dryers in the bathroom, very unsanitary to blow germs/bacteria back on your hands! Get some paper towels! (also gives you something to use to open the door)

    (4)

  • Pedro R.

    Very low quality food. I was expecting a lot more and flavor. Seem like the chef was having a lazy night because I did not see what all the previous reviews were all about. As a Dominican, it was really not impressing. I could have stayed home and cooked better.

    (1)

  • Jan C.

    We've been here several times. There are some very tasty items on the menu as well as an interesting drink menu (if you like rum, you're really in luck they have tons of different rums). That said there are some misses as well as hits. They serve the tostones (which are fried plantain slices) with everything. Now if you like tostones that's great. We are not fans. While they do have other sides you have to get a substitution. Wish they would use something other than the plantains. In addition, there seem to be good nights and not-so-good nights as far as service. Al-in-all we like it and will return, but will probably not stay when they are packed.

    (3)

  • Kim H.

    Great food and ambiance. We are in town for a wedding and needed to find something for dinner after a late arrival in town. Thankfully this was the only sit down restaurant that was rated well that was open after 9:30pm. The famous salmon dish, the pulled pork and the lentil soup...all delicious. Meal topped off with two different plantains which were also great - especially for someone who doesn't really eat them! Justin was a super helpful, personable waiter!

    (5)

  • Ed A.

    We love eating here on the outer deck. One of our favorites is the Alcapurrias with beef. Danielle recommended the shrimp with garlic and that was outstanding. She makes a mean Mai Tai, very strong. This place is quickly becoming our favorite place especially with the service provided by Danielle.

    (5)

  • Cordy B.

    Food was pretty good.. Atmosphere and service friendly. Nice bar with many rums to sip . barkeep was knowledgable guide. Happy hour appetizers give you a lot of food for great price. I liked the ceviche which came with those yummy mashed fried plantains. It would have been enough for a light dinner for only $5 a plate. The night we were there, there were two large groups in the dining room being extra happy after happy hour. Staff graciously moved us to a quieter table. Dinner servings are very generous. We had the Ropa Vieja which was tender. But it snd the sides, were a bit blander and less flavorful than I Expected. I will return - though next time I might just get small plates in the bar. I was glad we made a reservation. By the time we left, there were several people waiting. On a Thursday.

    (4)

  • Julianne T.

    Honestly, I was a bit disappointed with their food. After all the great things that I've heard from my friends, I found their food to be rather average - nothing memorable. The place itself and the service were good, but I don't have any desire to go back.

    (3)

  • Julie H.

    Very good, authentic Puerto Rican food. I do think that the service was a bit slow, but I'm sure they are going to figure that out. All in all, a good experience.

    (4)

  • Sumana R.

    The food does remind you of authentic Puerto Rican cuisine in both taste and items available on the menu. I had the Sounders Mojito and If you like seafood then I would suggest the tasty blackened Salmon which is tad bit spicy but super delicious topped with mango salsa.

    (4)

  • Douglas C.

    Fantastic food, great mojitos. MOFONGO, get it with spicy shrimp. The sauce is similar to the Matador wicket shrimp sauce.

    (5)

  • Muneeb K.

    Food was wonderful (we had the full trout and blackened salmon dishes). Great portion sizes and delicious desserts as well. Service was outstanding, even at 10PM. Fun, Caribbean themed atmosphere. Will definitely return, and pass the word!

    (5)

  • Tom T.

    Seeing 4 stars on Yelp and wanting to try something different, I decided to give this place a try. Honestly, I can't see what all the fuss is about. The pictures look a lot better than reality. It was just OK; decent, but nothing to Yelp about IMO. Seems like Latin American places are not too common, so maybe they get a bit of a pass just for being different. I might go back, but probably not anytime soon. Prices were a little high for the quality and places was pretty noisy and it was not even HH, so be forewarned!

    (3)

  • Matt P.

    Great food, never too busy. I can't believe this place isn't packed. Best late night happy hour in Redmond! Happy hour food and drinks are very well priced. Great cocktails! My only complaint is that service is slow I almost always have to flag down server to order & simple drink orders can be slow.

    (4)

  • Joshua D.

    Ok, I'm from New England and KNOW what good Puerto Rican food tastes like, and the empanadas here are probably the best I've ever had! I cannot contain my excitement of finding this place. The Happy Hour Menue is awesome too. Definitely frequent customer now :)

    (5)

  • Amy W.

    I've been here 3 different times all within the last 3 months. To start, everything I've ordered food and drink-wise has been great. However, I docked a star for inconsistent service. 1st time at the restaurant our server was on-point and very friendly, perfect 1st impression. 2nd time service was extraordinarily slow- our waitress passed our table and helped the table next to us 2-3 times before coming back to us , very annoying. My dad ordered tea and received a small container with only 3 tea bags (all reject decaf herbal teas). When I called to make the reservation over the phone the hostess asked if it was for an occasion- I answered it was my dad and brother's birthday. However, our waitress did not mention anything about it so I had to flag her down to tell her. She just brought out tiny aluminum sauce cups with whipped cream and a candle in it...along with the guava torte we ordered and ran off. I would have given the restaurant a 2/5 based on this experience 3rd time, which was yesterday, we came in for a late lunch and our server was very helpful, but a bit over bearing. Onto food! I'm not a Puerto Rican food expert by any means, but I do enjoy trying new cuisines and flavors. For any first timer here I would recommend the following meal: Coconut Mojito, Camerones appetizer (I had it spicy), and the Pernil Divino. All 3 of these items were amazing! The Mojito's are on the sweet side just FYI. I do wish the tostones were a bit less hockey puck like with more flavor, but maybe I just don't know what tostones should taste like...

    (4)

  • Hae Sue P.

    Went with an Amazon Local coupon for the first time and we were very happy. The service was great and very quick on a sunny Saturday evening. The Sounders Mojito was wonderful - spicy, large and perfect for a warm day! My daughter had the steak and onions and wanted it on the rare side. The server let her know that since the marinade is a vinegar base and the steak is on the thin side, it might get to a medium. My chicken sofrito stew was delicious. We both really liked the presentation of fried plantains and rice/beans on the side. Made for a well rounded first time experience with Puerto Rican cuisine. We'll go back for more!

    (4)

  • Regina D.

    Same menu and taste as the Ballard location, but.... without any line!! This was the happiest hour I've had recently and everything was beyond affordable. I tried everything on the HH menu, and I recommend it all. Especailly the Pernil EMPANADILLAS and spicy CAMARONES!

    (4)

  • Maria T.

    Had a delicious dinner with my sister. The waiter was incredibly sweet. Gave us dessert on the house for sharing my pregnancy news at their restaurant.

    (5)

  • Jason R.

    Interesting drink and food menus. Good service.

    (4)

  • Ashley G.

    Delicious food and drinks! (velvet mojito! yum! )

    (5)

  • S C.

    Really tasty flavors, creative drinks, friendly service. I can't believe how tasty even the simple beans and rice are. Nice!

    (5)

  • Troy A.

    We have eaten here many times. The food is always great, even if the service is spotty.

    (4)

  • Bill W.

    I've been here for both lunch and dinner and enjoyed both. For lunch I went with the Tripleta sandwich - three kinds of meat with melted cheese on grilled bread. It was like a torta gone wild. Delish. One issue: I was there with a group and my sandwich with the special order of yuca fries was given to someone else and I wound up with his plain fries. Neither of us realized this until too late. The fries were okay. When I returned on another day for dinner, I went with the Pernil Divino plate - just the slow roasted pork, plus rice and beans. Amazing. I can hardly wait to go back and keep trying items to find a favorite. I also ordered the yuca fries for a starter and discovered they're not really worth it. Just a few fries and not that special. The bar is also a highlight. The featured booze is rum, dressed up in amazing ways or plain. We'll have to try more of those, too.

    (4)

  • Yavnika K.

    Nice, relaxed place for late night dinning. When you are really hungry, go for the pork shoulder. Well- cooked, promptly served. A lively place that brightens up Dead-mond. Yet to try more there but definitely a good option in the area when you want it high and heavy.

    (3)

  • S. A.

    First time here, and will definitely be back. The food was enjoyable, from the appetizers through the dessert. The menu is heavy on mammal (beef and pork) which is typical of Puerto Rican food. My friend raved about the guava mojito. Best one she's tried. Service was good, right level of attentiveness. May have helped that it was a slow time of day. Worth the trip and the money.

    (4)

  • K L.

    We were really looking forward to eating here, because we had liked the one in Ballard. But after trying twice to get-in for dinner without success (because they claimed to be booked solid even though there appeared to be plenty of empty tables) - finally making reservations to get in the third time - we were ultimately disappointed. Basically nothing we put in our mouths was delicious or even good enough to warrant all of the acclaim they have been receiving in reviews. From the tasteless plantain appetizer to the mundane entrees to the most uninteresting dessert of all time....it was all underwhelming. It was such a let down. It was nothing close to authentic Latin / Caribbean cuisine - it was flavorless and dull. (Being from South America, I was looking forward to Maduros, but was so disappointed with the under-ripe, under-cooked example I was served.) It is actually sad, because we had such high hopes of finally having a new good place in the Eastside. The only reason they are getting 2 stars instead of 1 is due to the great service from our waiter and with the expectation they will improve to the same level of their place in Ballard. But, I recommend they ditch their snobby reservation policy of holding over half their tables for people who aren"t there while they have people willing to eat and pay right there and instead are turned away.

    (2)

  • Michelle E.

    Wonderful place for the east side. The rum selection is fantastic -- definitely come for that and take advantage of the great tastings they offer of the rather extensive rum selection. Also fabulous is their sangria and their mojito. You won't be disappointed on either. Food is strong and well flavored, but it depends on what you get. The empanadas are fabulous (chicken, beef, and pork are particularly good, well seasoned, and fried perfectly). The chicken chicharones (fried chicken) are TO DIE FOR. Get two orders. Intensely flavored with earthy goodness, tender pieces of chicken (no skin) are cut into small little popcorn sized bites and fried until crisp and golden. So good. Tostones, etc. are basic; well executed but not blown away either. The unequivocal star of the restaurant's food is the pernil. It is AMAZING. Seasoned pork is stewed until fall off the bone tender, served with rice and beans and is so incredibly flavorful and delicious you will stuff yourself silly with it. The steak is good too. You can skip the ceviche and the fish cakes. They have the best happy hour in town, and the service is always friendly and prompt. Also kid-friendly but come earlier for dinner before it gets too crowded if you're bringing the little ones!

    (4)

  • Jesena M.

    Best place in town for HH! The drinks are well priced and they have some delicious food options on their menu. We have been back several more times, also for dinner too and really like the place. Their cocktails are really what draws me back, where do you really get a good Pina Colada around here? Nowhere! The food is good, we tried all sorts of different things on their menu... I love the steak and my husband the Tripleta. The atmosphere is great and the service is always excellent. My only complaint would be the dessert menu, I tried most of it and somehow, not as in love as with the rest of their menu. Hopefully, they are going to try something new for that or have just a special here and there that is different from the options on the menu. Keep it up!

    (4)

  • Jeff B.

    UPDATE - La Isla kindly contacted me to get some details on my review, and provided a response. Given how considerate Alfonso's response was, I am tempted to visit again. --------------------------------------------------­----------------------- Walked in on a Saturday about 545pm to a big crowd. Rather than wait for a seat we opted for take-out, and left with our food after a 35 min wait. Not really our style so we don't plan to return. FOOD: 2.5 Fried Trout: 2.0. Too salty Pez Gato (battered/fried fish): 3.0 Pernil Divino (pulled pork): 2.5. AMBIANCE: 3.0. Mostly high-walled booths, with a bar. SERVICE: 3.0. Though it was a long wait for our food, the waitress was attentive.

    (3)

  • Katie K.

    The food here is pretty authentic and true to the food I had while traveling in the East Caribbean and the service was inviting and friendly. If it wasn't for the lack of parking and the pace of service, I would give it 5 stars!

    (4)

  • Marie B.

    One of my absolute favorite places on the Eastside. GREAT food, friendly service, and kid friendly while still being a nice place to dine out.

    (5)

  • Shruti U.

    It was my first time at this restaurant although I work very close by. I loved it. Food was great. I ordered chicken stew and yucca frita for appetizer. Yucca frita was soo good, chicken stew was great as well. Our server was very friendly and professional. I have spent couple of weeks in Puerto Rico and the food at this restaurant is pretty authentic. I will go there again and again.

    (5)

  • Leah C.

    Everything on the menu is packed with flavor and the portions are truly massive! Just thinking about their food makes me hungry. This place is an absolute gem!

    (5)

  • Larry M.

    My wife read good reviews and got a recommendation from a friend that raves about La Isala. We have been wanting to try a caribbean culture cuisine (Cuban for me) and we decided to give a Puerto Rican restaurant a try. Arrived at 6:30 Friday evening (we had a 6:45 res.) and the place was fairly full (a good sign we said) the greeter was friendly and we were quickly seated. Wait staff arrived right away, delivered water and took a drink order. We got a sampler appetizer plate and each ordered a different entree. Our waiter was attentive and checked up on us just the right amount of times. Neither of us have ever tried Puerto Rican cuisine and were expecting some spicy and remarkable tasting food. It wasn't. Surprisingly bland coming from such a spicy culture of people! The deep fried items were too deep fried and a bit greasy. The pulled pork was "meh" I've had better. The sauce sampler offerings were equally uninspiring. We just were not impressed by the food. The one word that we kept saying was it was boring, we must have been considering the "wrong region" for that spicy, flavorful Latin culture of food! To give you a comparison for how we like our food to be zingy, we order our Thai food 2 stars spicy, so it's not like were looking for a fire in our mouth. So, we will be off to what will hopefully be a great Cuban restaurant next time. I've had great Cuban food in Miami, FL so I'll know what to look for

    (1)

  • Joanne D.

    My boyfriend and I came super late for HH. We were there by 11:15 pm and was greeted right away. We ordered 4 plates the shrimp with spicy sauce, ceviche, pork empanadilla and catfish sliders. All were delicious but I probably will skip the ceviche next time. I've had ceviche that came with an assortment of seafood but it looked like there was just fish in it. Our server was super nice! Will definitely come back to try the dinner menu.

    (5)

  • Siobhan B.

    Solid! Loved all the different dishes we tried. We came here many times and the has been consistently good. Their camerones were the best with the fuego sauce! I liked their salmon, bistek, but most of all, I loved their tripleta. The tripleta sandwich is so big that I can split it into 2 meals for only $9! Also, they accept Prime card but you have to use it for entrees. Do not use it for just sandwiches.

    (4)

  • Paual B.

    This place is ridiculously good. I love it when I go out and food is this good. The velvet mohito was tasty. The empadillas were crispy and fresh with gooey cheese. award winning salmon dish was close to best I've had. The pastelons are worth the wait. If you like Mexican or island food this is better.

    (5)

  • Mayur U.

    Went there earlier this week to try out their Garlic Camarones & Catfish sliders. The Garlic Camarones are to die for. Brilliant!! Also the Don Q Mojito during happy hours was a pretty sweet deal.

    (5)

  • Janet S.

    Hate to say it, but we won't go back. The bartender, John, seems the be gone and the current staff seems to forget there are customers. We went in on a Wednesday night, they were busy but not full. The bartender said hi and that he'd be right there. Ten minutes later, nothing, not even a menu, but he was talking and chatting with the rest of the staff and a couple who were sitting at the bar. I didn't see a single drink get made in that time, and there was no sense of purpose with any other staff as well. We were not the only people in the bar being ignored. The service had been poor on our previous visit when we brought two other couples in, as well. We left and will never go back. There are too many places in Redmond where you won't be ignored.

    (1)

  • Javier H.

    I've been here countless times while I was in Redmond and I miss it now that I am out of state. The service can be pretty poor at times but I look past it because of the food. The tripleta sandwich is my go to but its hard to pass up the Chicaron de pollo, the Pastelon, the Mofongo or the Catfish strips. This place really hit the spot when I had a craving for moms cooking. I will definitely stop by next time I am in WA.

    (5)

  • Tim H.

    Saw this place prop up taking place of a sushi restaurant last year. We decided to try one night and glad we did (PrimeCard deal didn't hurt either). We've been twice and both times shared the Pernil Divino. It is a great sampling of delicious food if you have never had Puerto Rican food before. The meat is tender and delicious. We had some dessert as well that was delicious. This is a place we will definitely continue to give our business. Our only complaint so far is that both times we've been there it doesn't feel like staffing has been great. Longer-than-normal wait to be seated given empty tables and the tables all seem to be served by one staff. Last time we saw the bartender helping out. Two times and we've heard the 'short-staffed' excuse. Luckily we weren't in any hurry, but it is noteworthy. PrimeCard warning: they don't consider an appetizer an entrée, so pay attention to the deal when using this offer.

    (4)

  • David L.

    Very good food, decent prices, and great service. I have been to La Isla several times and it has always been a good experience. The carne fritas (fried "pork wings") are by far the most delicious appetizer, though the empanadillas and platanos are also very good. The tripleta sandwich and pernil divino are my two favorite main dishes. The place is usually not very busy during weekday lunch and early dinner hours. Appetizers come quickly, but they do not hurry the main dishes. It is worth waiting for the food and taking your time to enjoy it.

    (5)

  • Carly C.

    Yum! I've heard of the Seattle one & quickly jumped at the chance to try the new Redmond restaurant. I've gone twice & ordered the 'Pernil Sandwich'- (tender pork shoulder, so juicy & perfectly flavored on a sturdy yet soft ciabatta bun) and the Cuban-(pork & ham were tasty but the bread makes this very dense, good flavors but doesn't hold a flame to the pernil). Both come with fries & both sandwiches were pretty big. Very yummy, will go back again I am sure. Their Happy Hour looks very intriguing....

    (4)

  • Gaylynn F.

    If you haven't tried La Isla then run as fast as you can to the Redmond location for great food, great drinks and wonderful service. This is the place to take friends and share the huge portions and wonderful rum flights. They even have a once a month Rum Club with food.

    (5)

  • Aprameya R.

    All right, three and a half stars but not tending to four so I'll settle for three. This is a spot to watch, a place that has potential. It's big, its open till late at night, it has waitstaff that are courteous and prompt and in general has a relaxed vibe to it. It's a place to unwind this, not a place to have a power lunch or a quick bite. With regards to the food, I had the La Isla Salmon which lacked flavor - it need a little more to be going on there, some zest, some spice, some chutney, some anything. The Pulled Pork was good but not great. The Mojito was as standard as it gets. Overall, a good solid three. You will not go wrong. A little more and this place would be a 4.

    (3)

  • Karen S.

    We had the appetizer sampler and the pastelon. The appetizers were extremely greasy and not very flavorful. The pastelon was a strange flavor combination. The pulled pork was overwhelmed by the plantains. The plain white rice was boring, and the beans had no flavor. The salad was old and kind of bitter. We were underwhelmed. And it's a little pricey for what you get.

    (2)

  • Knoreen B.

    My family and I had dinner at la isla last night. The place felt about 100 degrees inside and the tables were so tippy it was everything we could do to make sure our drinks didn't end up in our laps. The food was good but service was just okay. I don't think we will be going back any time soon.

    (2)

  • Nelson Y.

    Good quality food, nice selection, decent decor (for Redmond) and quick, friendly and attentive service. Also use the Passport/Microsoft Prime card. Come check them out!

    (4)

  • Charlee S.

    This is my fifth time to La Isla, I've been to the one in Ballard. I love their food, their drinks, and their atmosphere is really awesome. I was a bit disappointed with the service tonight, cause they were very rude, didn't care to clean our table. Every time we tried asking for a simple question to the female server, she was totally rude and not care to help us. The female staff at the bar needs to be retrained to be more friendlier, if she's expecting to be treated equal or better!

    (3)

  • Emily T.

    Came here in a party of 7, generous portions of delicious food, great and timely service.

    (5)

  • Amber P.

    Thought I would pop in for lunch and give a try. Didn't have to wait long, lots of flavor and overall great experiance. Can't wait to come back and try some new things... I also had the Velvet mimosa? Different ...made right... Not sure I love the flavor but it was worth the experience I'll stick to my normal drinks. Actually really pleasantly surprised with the ceviche!

    (5)

  • Stefanie F.

    The lasagna (PASTELON) is the best thing on the menu. They have a great ladies night. They currently take passport discount so it's a killer deal with that. They have a shrimp dish (CAMARONES) that has nice size prawns. The Plantains are yummy too! but filling so watch out if you need to save room for everything else. Service is interesting. Lots of young guys who are not professional rather casual and laid back. Atmosphere is nice. Nothing special but fresh and clean.

    (4)

  • Shashank V.

    This place - for its location and crowd - can do much better. Service - meh! Menu options - OK.

    (3)

  • Helga D.

    We ordered camarones/prawns, with mixed of spicy coconut sauce! It was sooo good!! Sliders were a big hit at our table! Just ordered 2nd set of sliders. I can't wait to try tres leches cake~!

    (4)

  • Megan L.

    La Isla in Ballard is one of my favorite places to eat in Seattle. There are fancier restaurants, ones with hipper crowds and more daring food. But La Isla is where I go when I want comfort food, and comfort food is my favorite kind of food. For whatever reason, I'd never made it to the Redmond location before. While the food was certainly good, I'm glad I made the trip out to Ballard first. Not because the quality of my meal was bad, but because it felt a little tailored to the Eastside palette. I'll try to explain why in the following paragraphs. The atmosphere is much more akin to what you would find at a family Mexican restaurant than the sister location. A column of booths runs toward the back of the restaurant, and the bar is a little more hidden from the family-friendly seating. The service was fantastic. Our waiter was friendly and attentive, but not smothering. Considering the floor plan, I was expecting some booths to be ignored or forgotten, but the waitstaff was always prompt, even more so than more openly planned restaurants I've been in. Overall, I'd be much more comfortable herding children into this establishment than the one in Ballard. I should mention, for both this and the Ballard location, that you will have to wait a bit after ordering for your food. Quite a few of the dishes on the menu come with tostones (twice fried green plantains), and most of the time it seems that they are made to order. This is a good thing for the quality of your meal, but it's something to be aware of if you're in a rush. Bring something to read, or an good conversationalist. Now, as far as the food is concerned: The quality is very similar in both locations, to the credit of the management. The food is quite good, so if that is your main criteria, let this review assure you. But there are some key differences between the locations that I will try to illuminate for those interested. The first deviation I noted was the tostones, or rather the condiments with which they were served. The mayo-ketchup here is a very standard Puerto Rican dipping sauce for tostones, but it wasn't included at the Ballard location. Which was actually fine, as the dipping sauce of choice at that location is a wonderful mojo sauce, the recipe for which I'd offer a firstborn. That mojo sauce was served at the Redmond La Isla as well, but it was muted, and without the tang that made the original version sing. These changes may have been conscious choices, as Redmond has far more young families frequenting restaurants than Market Street and kids are more likely to eat a new, exotic thing if they can cover it in ketchup. This felt like a smart way to make the food more inviting to newcomers, without abandoning the Puerto Rican roots. I ordered the ropa vieja (skirt steak with peppers), as that's my standard "test" dish for Puerto Rican establishments. It was well-made, but like the mojo sauce it tasted as though it had been tamed considerably. The Ballard ropa vieja had a vinegar kick that made the simple combination of skirt steak and peppers complex in flavor (it also made a wonderful companion to the mojo dipping sauce). That taste was present to an extent in this dish as well, but it certainly seemed leashed. A final note about the food, now that I've tried both locations. The rice and beans at both restaurants are fantastic. If you've only grown up eating standard Mexican restaurant rice and refried beans, this is going to change your world. If you're familiar with Puerto Rican cooking, you may notice a lack of pegao in the the rice. Given the extra effort it takes to make perfect pegao, and how difficult I imagine it is to achieve when making large batches, I can't fault the decision serve standard rice. Which is not to say that it is amogollao by any means, but rather a happy middle that will appeal to most. If you want crunchy pegao, I recommend buying your own caldero and a copy of Cocine Conmigo. You may also notice a lack of pasteles, an omission that likely won't bother anyone who is only passingly familiar with Puerto Rican cuisine. Again, given the effort it takes to make them, this isn't surprising. Mofongo, which I can only describe as fried plantains as prepared by angels, is only served on certain days in both locations. In Ballard, this is Sunday through Wednesday. I didn't inquire at the Redmond location.

    (4)

  • Laura L.

    I thought the food was over priced for its quality. This is the simple kind of cooking my family makes every day at home (rice beans bee and salad) and its like 17 bucks for a plate here. Plus the seasoning on the beef was not good. It was plain.

    (2)

  • Kristin C.

    This is my first foray into Puerto Rican food. But considering my love of most other Latin flavors, I knew I would enjoy it. While I found some of the dishes hit or miss, I would definitely come here again, especially for their Happy Hour. The one dinner dish I have tried, their "famous" pork with rice, was just ok, and overpriced a $16. The HH though? Totally worth it. Drink prices aren't that great, but they are tasty. I've tried mojitos and daquris and have been impressed with both. The empandillas at only $2 are a great snack,. and the garlicky sauce it comes with is quite tasty. I think the queso one is my favorite, cuz who doesn't love deep fried cheese? I am also a fan of the plantains. The real winner on the HH menu though? The Tres Leches cake! For only $3 you get a good sized slice of this tasty cake, with strawberries, whip cream and some ice cream. Our server was even nice enough to let us order it from the HH menu(which ends at 6 pm), and not bring out out until later after we finished our other food.

    (4)

  • Larry Z.

    The best dish on the menu has no flavor. It came out right after the order like it was already waiting for me in the back.

    (1)

  • Shirley O.

    This isn't just a rum bar, this is a full fledge authentic, deliciously put together establishment with the flare of Puerto Rico that will make you say "mmmmmmmmm.....that is FANTASTIC!" :D I highly recommend this restaurant. The service is impeccable and you won't be disappointed!! Go in, grab a drink, eat some delicious Empanadilla, enjoy the ambience and the cheerful staff. Don't forget to try the Flan. :) it's an absolutely fantastic experience!! Thank you La Isla!! Shirley Oliphant

    (5)

  • Lily C.

    The chicken sandwich was delicious! Fun place for lunch. The empanadillas were also yum.

    (4)

  • Diana N.

    Met up a couple friends for drinks & dinner and we all wanted to try something different. What can you say, rum brings people together! They have rum of almost every kind & from every region! All of their cocktail drinks include rum, but my Sangria was disappointing. I felt that instead of featuring fruit purees, real fruit could've soaked and marinated in it for awhile. There are no chips & salsa here folks. Or guacamole. Different region. For appetizers, try the Bacalaitos (Salted Cod - Deep Fried). Great caribbean spice & flavor. Don't be afraid to squeeze a little limon on top. The tangy aioli that comes with it is what finishes it off! The dinner portions here are generous and enormous! Majority of the dishes come with a small side of refreshing salad, rice & beans, sauces, and tostones (fried plantains). I absolutely hate beans with a passion, due to its starchiness & texture. I also have a gas problem. Just kidding ;) But really though, the beans here I actually finished. They were saucy, tender, and had so much flavor! I can tell they cooked for a long time under a careful eye. I felt that everyone at my table had their tostones over cooked. We all couldn't stop commenting on how hard & dry they were. I guess the bananas had a bad night, but I can imagine that on a good night, texturally they're suppose to be soft & sweet inside. The real star was the Pernil (slow cooked pork). The flavors were tropical, the meat perfectly tender, and the portion itself was like a pound! I highly recommend this meat when dining here! Insider tip: Order the specialty "mofungo" if you want something hearty. It's not on the menu however, but do ask for it ;)

    (4)

  • Kristi R.

    Ate here last night with friends, one of which is Puerto Rican. This location is much larger and nicer than the Ballard restaurant. Since our friend was the resident expert, we let her order for us and everything was delicious! We had an array of appetizers and each of us ordered a different entrée so we could sample more choices. Definitely a great dinner! I'll be back!

    (5)

  • Kris H.

    Disappointing. My friend and I went for lunch and I ordered the empandillas plate and my friend ordered the pernil bowl. Huge red flag: the food came out in about 5 minutes. With a decently full restaurant at lunch time, this was a bit concerning. Neither of us were too happy. My rice was weirdly crunch at the edges where there were no beans. Rice and beans tasted really bland and an unpleasant texture. Empandilla wasn't too bad but not great enough to make up for the rice and beans. I also think it was kind of pricey for one empandilla and crappy rice and beans. I want to give this place another try, but every time I even think about it, the bad memories prevail and I go elsewhere.

    (3)

  • Carolyn H.

    The wait was a little long but absolutely worth it. The food was delicious. I had the salmon accompanied by a mojito. The salmon was cooked just right and came with rice and beans and plantains. The mojito was not too sweet and very fresh.

    (4)

  • Annie P.

    My first time here and my husband's second time. The service was friendly and prompt, our drinks were never empty, the food is well priced and absolutely delicious. We decided that this restaurant is going to be our new go to restaurant. We weren't there during happy hour, but the prices were just right. Plus they have a selection of different types of rum from all around the world. I can't wait to go back.

    (5)

  • Jenna E.

    My husband and I love this place. I was first introduced to the one a Ballard by a good friend who is Puerto Rican. I was so happy when they opened the Redmond location because we live on the eastside. My only complaint is that there used to be a garlic shrimp dish on the menu that I wish was still on there. The food is always good (though it can be a little inconsistent) and we have always had great service.

    (4)

  • Jessica P.

    I had the great pleasure to go here with a large group of people and we ordered a lot of the menu. I ordered the tripleta and it was out of this world! Three amazing meats all in one delicious sandwich. And the size of the food you get is well worth the money you spend! I had half my sandwich remaining and almost all my yam fries. The sandwich was the size of two literally! I knocked one star because my water got empty a couple times, otherwise this would for sure have been a five star experience. Great place to try new flavors that mix well!

    (4)

  • Jon S.

    Rejoice! True and authentic Puerto Rican food that comes from the dishes the owners mother would make. Great menu with plenty of variety. Good service. My grandmother (visiting from PR) loved it all and was thrilled by the authenticity.

    (5)

  • Kathy S.

    It was my second time here last week (TH), and I need to say--it's the real deal! I'm gluten free, so I'm appreciative of the extra effort on the menus to indicate GF for their gluten free items--I just wish they had more GF dessert options!!! Please add to your dessert menu for gluten free options. The service was outstanding. Hailey is fantastic, and all of her recommendations--from a great red wine to the tasty, award-winning Coho salmon--were divine. The one thing I would recommend would be to tone down the garnish on the salmon. Although it adds to the visual pleasure, it doesn't really add to the flavor. Keep the salmon simple. There was a fellow helping her out a lot and cleaned the tables. Thanks again for a fun night! Perhaps one day you will be able to expand your bar area. It's a bit compressed, but I can see how it would be a ton of fun there watching a game. I gave it 4 stars only because the salmon was a bit over dressed. Otherwise, you've got to try this place! p.s. Good drinks!!

    (4)

  • Angie W.

    Quickly becoming a favorite place to go! Great service - ask for Mickey! Food is flavorful and everything I have tried has been outstanding. Mickey recommended everything we tried last time and it was a home run! Check this place out!!

    (5)

  • H. H.

    Amazing, I have been going to La Isla Redmond since they opened. Very hard to find food from the Spanish speaking islands in the Caribbean in the PNW. If you like Puerto Rican / Dominican you are likely to find a great plate here. They have most of the popular: tostones, fritos manduros, empanadas, pernil, carnita frita, yuca frita, arroz con habichuelas, chuletas, ropa vieja, etc. My favorite is the pernil divino. I find the food in the Redmond location as good as the original Ballard location.

    (5)

  • Kati K.

    Yum, yum, yum! First time trying Puerto Rican food and we absolutely loved it. Great, casual atmosphere. Hostesses were so nice...our waiter? Not so much. We will definitely return in the near future to try other things on the menu.

    (4)

  • Paul H.

    I stopped in here on a whim with a buddy and we were impressed. We are both whiskey drinkers, and stepped up to the bar to taste some rum. Neither of us were big fans of rum, but being as it was a rum bar we had to try some. I asked the bartender what kinds of rum were suggested for whiskey lovers and it turns out they actually had a section put aside for people who like whiskey. The bartender was also extremely helpful in providing his own opinions and suggestions, being a former whiskey turned rum drinker convert. We found a couple amazing rums that kind of bridge the gap between rum and whiskey and left with a great experience. We only did the rum tastings so I can't give the restaurant a full 5 stars without trying the food but the bar, bartender, and selection of rums was great!

    (4)

  • Jim R.

    Wow...the Camarones with Half and Half was WICKED GOOD!!! One of the best 10 things I have ever put in my mouth!! Their Caipirinha's were AMAZING as well. Loved the atmosphere and Music. Justin, Gavin, and Mallory were spot on and made the evening very enjoyable! Great place with KILLER food. One in Ballard and Redmond. I will be back very soon!

    (5)

  • Nick W.

    My wife is Cuban and we both love the food at La Isla. The food here is not Cuban of course, but there are a lot of similarities between the dishes and the food here is better than a number of other local offerings which claim to be Cuban! Nice atmosphere, great food, nice people - definitely worth trying!

    (4)

  • Elizabeth V.

    LA Island a Cuban&Puerto Rican places 2nd at there was quality heathly foods tasteful full sides entrees. To compare sides of plantain rounds too hard like " hard-diskettes"but mayo dip or top sauce not saver. Salmon"s perfect in cajun on LA Ilsa fame,& lasagna plantain needs structure yet sweet & desserts best had so far of a "guava" torta bar!

    (3)

  • Molly H.

    As good as the Seattle location!

    (4)

  • Cory E.

    This place is Amazing!! I went from not really knowing that there was such thing as Puerto Rican food, to it being my absolute favorite food in the world. The place is beautiful inside and the staff is very friendly and helpful, I ordered a Mojito and it was so crisp and refreshing, for appetizer we ordered Pernil sliders and Carne fritas both were unbelievably good. I thought that it would be hard to top the amazing appetizers but the kitchen did not disappoint with the pernil pastelon, it was juicy pork with a layers of plantains like a lasagna, it was like nothing I'd ever had before. The savory flavors of the pork mixed with the sweetness of the plantains made is a very unique but equally amazing dish. I highly recommend it! My wife ordered the Salmon La Isla and I gotta admit that I'm not a huge fan of salmon but I think that this fish just changed my mind. My wife was not too happy with all the bites I was stealing off her plate because she thought it was to die for. For desert we got a Puerto Rican coffe (the bartender puts on a cool fire show) and a piece of the guava torte accompanied with the best vanilla ice cream I have ever had. the torte I think is made in heaven and brought down to La Isla for them to server because I have never tasted anything that good before. We will definitely be going back to Redmond for more delicious food!!

    (5)

  • Ariel S.

    Kinda greasy. Amazingly delicious. Had meat that was amazing and soft and flavorful. Try their meatless lasagna, too. Mixed drinks are pretty good. I had a Pina colada. I found out I don't like those.... Overall, I will always go to this place, will post a better reveiw when I can name some items and quote some prices. Delliiiccciiooouuuussssss

    (5)

  • Margaret S.

    Came back with some friends for late night happy hour. Wanted to give this place another go. Not very busy, but the service and food was much better than my previous experience. The bartender was very social and made us feel welcome! He impressed myself and my lady friends with his multilingualism and made the night entertaining. Cocktails were delicious (and great prices during HH). Ordered several of the appetizers and really enjoyed the shrimp with habanero and coconut sauce. SO Delicious! Overall a much better experience. Will definitely be back for HH! Also, a big thank you to Alfonso, the owner, for directly contacting me to personally apologize for the experience I had on my initial visit. I really appreciate the dedication and customer service! It's wonderful that you make an effort to form a relationship with your customers :)

    (4)

  • TJ B.

    This is our new favorite go to restaurant. Extremely authentic! The food is delicious and the service is superb, ask for Justin to serve you. We continue to try new dishes every time we go and we haven't been disappointed yet. They also have an extensive Rum menu and know their rums. So they are always able to give a great recommendation. The prices are also reasonable for food and drink. If you are really into rum, join them for the Rum Bum club on the last Wednesday of the month. Really, if you know Puerto Rican food it's worth a visit. And if you don't you should try it out.

    (5)

  • James A.

    Great spot, nice atmosphere, friendly service, and good food. I didn't give it five because I have to come back and try something else... Got to go a couple times you know ; )

    (4)

  • Francis M.

    Zach let's go over the case notes for La Isla Redmond. Puerto Rican food is a bit of a rarity out here. Not just the east side, but Seattle in general. If you're fortunate enough to live near Ballard and love Puerto Rican food, then chances are you have already enjoyed the monopoly put in place by La Isla. Bringing this food to Redmond is doing the east side a great service. Where to begin, Zach? One great way to begin when sitting down for a meal is the empanadillas. These crispy pockets of meat are very flavorful. Of the variations we tried, the carne is the show stealer. The tender and juicy meat really whets your appetite. Perhaps we have been working the case too much, but those red flakes in the meat resemble the red seeds found in Greenvale. But that's for another review. One cannot forget copious amounts of tostones and maduros to go with the meal. The tostones are deliciously crunchy and work excellently with the adjoining sauce. If memory serves correctly, it has a garlic base to it. Or was it the mojito sauce, Zach? Regardless, these tostones deserve to be dipped. The maduros are truly amazing. The sweet and salty combination is perfect, and if you're not careful, can easily end up being a repeat order. We are certainly guilty of that, aren't we Zach? But of course that's not all we've had. The chicharrones are an excellent snack as well - popcorn chicken with a tasty skin. A great companion dish to some of the other options. Sliders are available at La Isla, and the pernil sliders are pretty tasty. But perhaps the best usage of pernil at La Isla is the mofongo. If you've never had mofongo, test the waters at La Isla. Oh, and flan! Service is friendly, and we've had the chance to briefly chat with the chef. It's a great place to come for dinner, and especially happy hour. Happy hour helped tip a 4-star review over the edge for us, right Zach? All of the above doesn't cost much during happy hour, and of special note is the fact that happy hour also runs 10pm-1am. For Redmond, this is fantastic. La Isla certainly isn't the only place open late at night in the area, but it is easily the best in our opinion.

    (5)

  • Christopher S.

    Had an amazing first experience here recently! Amazing food and drinks but The staff was the highlight of our night. Kevin, the bartender, was a real treat; gave amazing service, makes a killer mojito, and made us feel like we were VIP's despite how busy he was. The manager, Amy, also stopped by to welcome us and made sure everything was perfect. Thank you again, we will be back!

    (5)

  • Ivan G.

    Really great place that does a good job of remaining true to origin and offering both a great bar area or sit-down dining experience. For lunch, the tripleta is a no-brainer and is served with yam fries. Totally yummy. Their lunch bowl and pork pernil are also good. The only item I would not get again is their Cuban sandwich - not bad, just falls short of what the tripleta delivers. A spicier salsa can be requested, but I did not find it too tasty or spicy. Service is usually good, especially at the bar. Enjoy.

    (4)

  • Carla J.

    Outstanding service! Arranged with mostly booths with stained antiqued wood posts and concrete floors. Back booths are very tight. Private room available for 10 or so but confined by walls without windows. Bar offers stools and full service. Tables set with butcher paper and paper napkins. The menu seemed a bit overwhelming initially with titles unfamiliar but good descriptions and plenty of variety. I ordered Pernil, recommended by our waitress as a favorite...pulled pork was definitely full flavored with a taste of red peppers served with rice and beans. The plate was a large portion and looked very appetizing with variety and color. Plantains in a fried pancake like form also came with the plate but were tough and mostly flavorless. Two sauces came with the meal, a red sauce that appeared to be roasted tomato and a garlic sauce. Not much to remark about but were welcomed with the mild flavored foods. Really appreciated the refilled water and fresh beverage delivered without interruption. As a special offer the chef delivered a dish of fried chicken pieces and tangy sauce which made a nice appetizer. Overall, the service stands out from most other restaurants I've experienced. Excited to add this one to my choices.

    (4)

  • Ratish K.

    A surprise, random visit to an unknown territory proved fruitful!! Never knew Latin American dishes were close to Indian dishes! # All drinks served were Strong and well better than other restaurants. # Empanadillas Pollo chicken was Served with chicken, salad with pineapple, and beans gravy with rice. The beans gravy with rice is like Rajma rice in India. # Salmon La Isla with blackened salmon was great! .. Served with same sides. # The desserts option were good too.. Great place, worth the visit!

    (4)

  • Sam T.

    They don't have a sign yet, you we walked in not knowing what it was. Was very happy to find that it is the sister restaurant to the Ballard location. We had the ropa vieja and "something else" that they referred to as Puerto Rican lasagna made with pernil, plantains and cheese. Both were delicious and good portion sizes for a reasonable price (~$14/plate). The staff was great and the place is coming along. -1 start as they are still working out a few kinks but they are brand new.

    (4)

  • K A.

    I would give this 3.5 stars if I could. I'll start by saying the food was pretty good, ambiance ok and service was pretty good. But that's it. Just overall-pretty good. There is no sign on the door which makes it somewhat challenging to find. Apparently the management forgot to order it. We started with the pork and fish sliders- both good but pork were better. Also ordered chicharonnes pollo app- it was nothing special- wouldn't order again. For dinner ordered the tripleta sandwich- highlight of the meal for sure. The sandwich is large- easy to share. It comes with sweet potato fries- careful- they charge for additional sauce. The friend I was with was familiar with the menu from the Seattle location and ordered the Mofongo (a dish comprised of plantains, garlic, spices and meat of your choice). I wasn't a fan- didn't think there was much flavor at all. She, however, liked it. Not sure that I would go out of my way for La Isla- but if you find yourself there- I'm sure you will find something on the menu that will be pretty good.

    (3)

  • Sara H.

    What a great place! I had a coconut mojito and the ropa vieja after sharing the plantain medley appetizer with my friends. The entrée portion size was generous, so I took a lot home with me. Everything was delicious! Our server was attentive and very kindly offered to split the check for us. So, because we liked everything so well and because we are ridiculous, we decided to return to La Isla with a different group of friends the very next night. This time, I tried the pollo guisado. It was just as wonderful as my meal the night before-- tender meat, very flavorful, and the rice and beans were amazing. Yeah, that's right. Rice and beans. Amazing. I'm not generally a rice and beans person, but I truly enjoyed the rice and beans that came with the pollo guisado. On night two, I think the service was even more attentive than the server on the previous night-- in other words, it was pretty much amazing. He explained the menu. He answered all our questions. He was super awesome. I've been to much fancier restaurants where the servers could have learned a thing or two from the courteous and thorough server who took care of us at La Isla. I'm so thrilled to have this place in the neighborhood!

    (5)

  • Anna H.

    Every time I have been there it is amazing, amazing, amazing. Even went there on my birthday and our lovely server, who I think could be a professional singer, sang me happy birthday and brought me a surprise dessert. I love their food and their people and their rum :-D so good

    (5)

  • Erzhena S.

    A breath of fresh air after overpriced and mediocre Mexican restaurants around. The best tres leches cake! (5+ stars) Happy hour is great, and any dish with pork is worth it! Not exactly thrilled with empanadillas (they were a bit greasy), but the rest of the dish, and sandwiches were amazing! Although they did not have their famous tripleta sandwiches, we had to settle for Pernil, which was still mouthwatering. Overall, nice servers, wait is not too long. Definitely a hidden gem in Redmond!

    (5)

  • John V.

    Only been there once. I had some appetizers in the bar. The shrimp was pretty good. There is a great selection of rums. The drink options where just OK, and the bartender did not have any great recommendations. I was hoping with the rum selection there would be some killer drinks. I think this place has potential.

    (3)

  • Paula K.

    Thank you La Isla for making Redmond a little bit cooler/hipper! We went right after they opened the service/food was very good. I had never been to the Ballard location so Redmond was my first intro, and it went well. We sat at the bar (and the bar is apparently going to be open late, thank you) the bartender was very friendly and happy to answer any of our questions. They have a well stocked bar and a nice selection of cocktails, wine, beer. We shared the Ceviche (very fresh) and the veggie Pastelon, that was fantastic! Interior has been nicely remodeled and I hear they will be adding patio seating soon.

    (4)

  • Mw C.

    Came here for lunch and for about 7.00 dollars I got rice , beans and una empanadilla. This plantilla is like homemade and it is not well homemade. If you google empanadilla you will see how it is suppose to look like. So it was kind of smashed and the quantity of rice and beans is like for a toddler. Blah! I am glad I will be visiting Puerto Rico in December and as always I will bring my plantillas, sofrito, culantro and so on. I am sorry but I believe they could do better. In fact, cooking this food is very easy specially with condiments you find in Fred Myers and some Asian groceries stores.

    (2)

  • Kim P.

    The food was Awesome! They make a great Mojito, Trout was to die for. Only drawback was no AC as the place filled it got very stuffy and hot.

    (4)

  • Natalie C.

    I absolutely love this place! My family and I have been there a few times and absolutely LOVE it. They have large portions, so I usually can have left overs for the next day. The restaurant is children friendly and it makes it easier to take my 11 month old there. Food is very delicious, especially their salmon entrée. The thing I am more impressed is that, they have very delicious non alcoholic drinks as well. It definitely is a good new and exciting restaurant, you don't wanna miss out! :)

    (5)

  • Alvin L.

    Dropped by for an early dinner, place seems to get busy later. My Latino friends said nobody spoke Spanish in the place though. Selections were decent, and the main entrees are presented like you'd find throughout Latin America; choice of meat with rice, beans and salad. Appetizers were a bit on the plain side, ceviche was somewhat chewy, and not too fresh. If you're looking for authentic Puerto Rican/Latin food, your best bet is for a taqueria truck. But if you want some filling nosh and a mojito, this place will do.

    (3)

  • Deeyin A.

    Says they're open late, but get there and "not serving dinner" It's not even 10:30! You only get one strike and you're off the late night list. I drove 20 minutes to get here! Bye!

    (1)

  • F C.

    This place is amazing! Lots of Gluten Free options for those of us that have to eat that way. Tasty, not bland, lots of food on the entrees, you won't leave hungry. The velvet mojito was wonderful-give it a try! Wait staff were attentive, restaurant was clean. Definitely recommend trying it and returning!

    (5)

  • Charity L.

    My first experience was with a group of co-workers and I had the Pernil Bowl. It was delicious but I couldn't finish it all and brought the rest home for my husband. He found it to be so wonderful we decided to go back the following week for date night. My second time, I had the Pastelon and I can see why it is reviewed as one of their best dishes. It was so delicious and again, I took home some to have the next day for lunch! The wait staff is friendly and accommodating. Both times, we thought our waiters were friendly and fun. The drinks and desserts were just as great as the entrees. I liked this place so much, I joined yelp just to give them a review!

    (5)

  • B M.

    Great authentic Puerto Rican food. Great location. Family friendly. Knowledgeable staff.

    (5)

  • Carolyn M.

    We are huge fans! From the moment you walk in, the staff is very friendly and helpful. We never wait more than a few minutes for a table, even when they are busy. We have been many times for lunch. I love that they understand people are in a hurry this time of day. The food always arrives quickly and hot; they promptly return with the check at the end. We also love it for dinner. Our appetizers and drinks are out within minutes of ordering. The portions are large, so I can't speak to their dessert menu. We love their salmon, pork and chicken stew. Their red beans and rice is simply the best in the area. I can't speak for the Puerto Rican authenticity, but I think it's great food.

    (4)

  • Geoffrey C.

    La Isla makes our short list of "worst restaurant experiences ever". It wasn't just the awkward greeter or the slow service (the bartender, noticing our plight, eventually came over and got us started); it was the food, the drinks, and the strangely rude service that made it all so regrettably memorable. We ordered a Margarita and Mojito to start. The Margarita was utterly unmemorable but the Mojito still haunts us: it was infused with rotting mint. (We thought at first the mint was just nicely bruised, but no, it wasn't just dark from muddling, it was limp and disintegrating with spoilage. About 1/3 of the mint leaves were okay; the rest we fished out of the drink. They made a dark, unseemly lump on the table.) We might have left right then but while waiting for the drinks we had ordered some food, including the "veggie" appetizer platter, so we stuck it out. When the Plato de Apertivo arrived the waitress pointed to each item and identified it: empanadillas, tostones, platanos, fried cod. Fried cod? We had asked up front for only vegetarian dishes, so the cod was a surprise. "We requested the vegetarian option", we said. "The dish comes with cod", she said. "But we had a conversation about that, and I think we were pretty clear about requesting vegetarian dishes - and you advertise a 'Vegetarian Plato de Apertivo' on the menu". "Well", she insisted, "it comes with cod. It's fried cod". We paused to consider this. "Cod", we said, "is not a vegetable". She stood there silently for a moment, staring at the irregular blot of fried cod on the plate, appearing angry and uncomprehending. Finally she said, "I'll see what we can do", as if this were a great and unreasonable burden. She returned ten minutes later with an Empanadilla in place of the fish. Since we had ordered the Empanadillas separately we now had a lot of fried Empanadillas. We also had Platanos, Tostones, Alcapurrias, and Gandules dip with more Tostones. Everything (except the dip) was fried, and not particularly well - soaked in oil instead of crisp. By the end we were feeling nauseous (even though we'd ended up only tasting each item and leaving the rest); it was hard to tell whether our nausea stemmed from the bad food, the slow service, the rotten mint, the grumpy waitress, or what, but it's an unpleasant and visceral memory. In any event, it's hard to understand the rave reviews. We were excited about the prospect of a good Puerto Rican restaurant in Redmond, but this isn't it; if you go there, good luck! We usually give places with decent reviews a second try if our first experience is bad, but life is too short to waste it on this one.

    (1)

  • Carly P.

    Came back again and am much happier with the food, specifically the rice and beans. The rice and beans were amazing. I could eat them for every meal. My chicken breast sandwich was sweet, which was kind of not a good flavor for chicken. My partner's pulled pork sandwich was good, but needed more sauce because it was dry. Service was slow and a little confusing, but over all, much better experience than the first time I came here.

    (4)

  • Phoenix S.

    In this first visit to the restaurant, we had really good service from Annie and enjoyed the nice ambience. However, the food wasn't as good as some folks have stated on yelp. The highlight was the salmon la isla (blackened salmon) which had a tasty blend of spices. The rest of the food was bland or greasy or both. The salmon a la parilla could have used more seasoning or perhaps should have been marinated longer in the lemon, oil and garlic as none of those tastes came through. Both salmon was cooked through but a bit dry. The salad was good. One suggestion is to serve the salad separately so the dressing doesn't mix with the other food on the plate. The "abuela's" (grandma's) rice and beans was bland and could use some seasoning. We also tried the bacalaitos as an appetizer, but couldn't see or taste the salted cod, just greasy fried batter. As we wanted to give the restaurant a second chance, we visited again a week later with a few friends for lunch. We ordered the medley de platanos, which was half sweet maduros and crispy tostones. It was supposed to be served with "mojito and michael sauces," but was served with the mayoketchup and ajillo sauces instead. Both were good but a bit greasy. The pollo guisado bowl was tasty. However, all 4 of us agreed that the tostones were overly salty (including some who typically like salty food). Lastly, I was dismayed to see that the salad accompanying the blackened salmon was old. The lettuce had brown edges - not very appetizing. It was noticeably brown to us, and we were surprised why it was even served. It seems that food isn't consistent. If you want to try the restaurant, suggest going to lunch or happy hour first.

    (3)

  • A M.

    This place is over-hyped. The food is decent, tasty even but not the best Puerto Rican food I've ever had. My main gripe is with the service, especially the bartender. We ordered one of their pricey rum and coke drinks and right after the first sip realized the coke was flat. We asked the server if he could replace the drink with perhaps a fresher coke off a bottle or can rather than their dispenser. If that didn't work we'd be ok with just rum on the rocks. He took it back, returned a minute later to inform us that he could swap the drink but we'd be charged twice. Granted I'm not the type to send booze back but I did not expect to hear that. The server made it a point to explain that he thought it was ridiculous but the bartender was in-charge. Overall, the food was ok. Their plantain preparations were not noteworthy, their steak was severely under-sized and their service bland. Worth a second trip? Perhaps not if I'm looking for Puerto Rican food. If I'm just plain hungry, possibly.

    (2)

  • Mrs. T.

    A friend took me here today and everything was so delicious. The waitress was adorable, and we were treated well.

    (5)

  • Brett Y.

    Arrived early for a meeting with an old friend. Their happy hour mojitos were great on a warm day as well as relatively inexpensive. I suggest the plantains along with garlic camerones. The salmon bites were tasty too.

    (5)

  • Gloria L.

    we went for late happy hour on a thursday night!!! $2 mojito, can't beat that! we ordered bunch of appetizers to share... empanadilla was great, the jumbo prawns (cajun and spicy) were both good, love the sweet plantains, and ceviche was wonderful!!! they seemed a little short staffed, but otherwise, we really enjoyed our meal!

    (4)

  • Lex S.

    I want there on a Saturday evening with my wife, after it was highly recommended to me by a coworker. The service was prompt, courteous and very knowledgeable and informative (Micky) in helping us understand the cuisine of Puerto Rico and what to expect in terms of ingredients and regional influences. We ordered a few appetizers to start (alcapurrias and bacalaitos)and we weren't not disappointed at all. The flavors and preparation left us yearning for more of the same. We then ordered the Pernil sandwich and the Tripleta sandwich for our main course. The bread on both of the sandwiches were an ethereal and divine experience that can only be had first hand and there are no acceptable words to describe how amazing it really was. The Pernil was unctuous and evocative of having angels dance on ones tongue. This my friends is how great food is done properly and with attention to detail. My wife and I will back again and again... until they put one in somewhere closer to Issaquah, then we would go there.

    (5)

  • Derek R.

    Holy cow the food here and rum is soooooo good. We had the mai tai, Pyrat stormy, pork shoulder and salmon... AMAZING. Sat at the bar and Brett was great service. Good date!

    (5)

  • Tara H.

    La Isla is my favorite restaurant in Redmond. Friendly staff, great food and a fantastic happy hour twice a day. Their drinks are also delicious. The tripleta sandwich is amazing and probably my favorite thing on the menu besides the pastelon, their Puerto Rican lasagna. Nice space and great location in downtown Redmond. I highly recommend it!

    (5)

  • Renee L.

    The first time I came, I was completely blown away by how great the pulled pork over rice tasted. It was melt in your mouth kind of goodness. I loved it so much that I brought a co-worker over for lunch the next week and ordered the same thing. The pork was super dry. Given the inconsistency, I don't think I will be going back

    (3)

  • Ron M.

    I've been here several times now for dinner and happy hour and am yet to be disappointed. The food is rich and flavorful without being greasy or overly heavy, and their rum cocktails are mixed perfectly. Will definitely keep coming back!

    (5)

  • Chris R.

    I just got back from a trip to Puerto Rico with my very Puerto Rican family for my sister's wedding. It was great to visit the island the food was even better than I remembered. The pernil, the mofongo, the ceviche - all so tasty and fresh. Since I've come back I've been craving some of that authentic Puerto Rican food and had heard about La Isla. I decided to give it a try with my family and have to say we were all pleasantly surprised! The food was authentic, full of flavor (sabor) and the menu was full of a medley of a bunch of great foods from Puerto Rico (La Isla). We absolutely loved it and since then have gone back a couple of more times. I highly recommend the mofongo. if they have it. The pastelon is absolutely. Something I would order every time if there weren't other things on the menu I have enjoyed. My parents have gotten the pernil and the award winning salmon a la parilla which were both delectable. As far as appetizers go, I'd recommend the gandules dip. Just the right mix if vinegar and sweetness and the medley of onions an peppers with the beans is very tasty. I also enjoyed the alcapurrias and emapanadilla. It all reminds me of the island. The last thing I'd mention - the drinks. Really good selection of drinks and a lot of rum - boricua style. I highly recommend La Isla. I've been to both locations (Ballard & Redmond) and the food and service was excellent. ¡Salud!

    (5)

  • Sebastien F.

    I've been there many times for lunch and dinner. Staff is friendly and food is great. I usually order their Ensalada de La Isla with Blackened Salmon, also tried their "lasagna", and just discovered they have more affordable and filling lunch menu items. Great for date nights, good atmosphere.

    (4)

  • Emilee H.

    Eaten here twice - first in the dining room and lastly at the bar. In my experience the food has been fantastic if a bit overpriced, but the portions are generous enough. Unfortunately, our experience at the bar was disappointing - bartender delivered my boyfriend's beer, but forgot about my mixed drink and left it sitting on the back bar for some time. A woman who seemed like (but didn't act like) the manager spent a good deal of time visiting with friends seated at the bar next to us, but didn't notice several other people seated all around in various stages of waiting (for checks, for refills, etc.) while three bartenders loitered against the far wall chatting together. Can't really blame lackluster service when the problem clearly begins with management. But the scary thing is - if there's no oversight at the bar, then what's happening in the kitchen? Yikes. Probably won't be back here - there are too many other options in Redmond for great food with dependably good service.

    (2)

  • chris t.

    Very delicious, unique flavors. They offer smaller portions beyond "American size", and adjust their prices accordingly. The cocktails are good and the empanadas are awesome.

    (4)

  • Barbara B.

    Puerto Rican food is so much more than plantains. But that seems to be the specialty. Atmosphere was nice and staff pleasant. Order appetizers if you want a small plate. Entree portions are large. Like fried food? This is the place for you.

    (2)

  • Ty L.

    My wife and I decided to try this establishment since 1) it was puerto rican food (we enjoy latin food) 2) happy hour was from 3-6pm 3) happy hour was served in the whole restaurant, not just the bar 4) we were able to bring out 4 month old to enjoy a happy hour! The staff was quite friendly, and our waitress was more than happy to see us, including our little daughter, as well as our friends and their 9 month old. She was quite accomodating and provided us beyond ample room to stretch out with our strollers and car seats. She provided us recommendations of what to get since it was our first time, and usually I'm very hesitant to take recommendations because I feel like they recommend dishes of which ingredients they need to use up. But we took the leap of faith. We were certainly not dissapointed. We ordered about 10 items from the HH menu, and the only thing we did not care for was the unripened plantains. The shrimp dish was fantastic in flavor, the pork wings were well seasoned and definitely my favorite as they went quite well with the beers they had on tap. The only thing preventing a 5 star review is their decor. Shore it up just a tad, and you would have one of the best happy hours on the eastside.

    (4)

  • Joe C.

    The Pionono and Pastelon are fantastic entrees. Great mix of meat and plantain delivering awesome flavors

    (5)

  • Karina M.

    Awesome mojitos... love the sliders and the carne frita.

    (5)

  • Jaci K.

    Loved this place! Went for Happy Hour and it was a happy atmosphere! Food was great! Loved the garlic and coconut shrimp and the salmon appetizer the best! Our waiter was such a friendly guy! We loved this place!

    (4)

  • Aggy S.

    We went on a Saturday afternoon for lunch and loved it ! Love the ambience, very relaxed and laid back. Loved the décor but, they need to jazz it up with more Puerto Rican art work and pieces ..the Walls were a bit bare. The staff is very courteous and friendly without being intrusive. The food was flavorful . We tried the Pollo guisado bowl- Chicken was moist and very flavorful and the sauce was delicious. Pernil bowl and Empanadas were very good too . The Tres Leches cake was awesome. We will definitely be back to try HH and dinner. Definitely give it a try .

    (5)

  • Erin-Elizabeth A.

    This place rocked. Walked in on a Sunday night and found the place still fairly busy. Hats off to the bartender working that night, he singlehandedly served twenty people including a group of seven, got our order and food to us in a very timely manner and never missed a beat. Our food was delicious and the prices during happy hour were great! Redmond definitely needed a late night spot with good food, and this is it!

    (5)

  • Brady R.

    We hit La Isla every couple of weeks - the food is great, the drinks are phenomenal (try the Tamarind Mojito). We always sit in the bar for dinner - the bartenders always give great recommendations and make the place even more enjoyable. I'd recommend La Isla to anyone. There aren't many Puerto Rican restaurants in the area. Give it a try - you'll end up returning like us-

    (5)

  • Min A.

    Yummi! Delicious awesome food. Im brazilian and my boyfriend is Puerto Rican. We were missing some good latino food and decided to try LaIsla in Redmond and this place exceeded our expectations. We started with chicken empanadillas with cheese, they were on point. For the main course he had mofongo with pollo and I chose the Grilled onion Salmon and I swear it was the best I ever had.. it also came with fried plantains. Place was also very clean and staff friendly.

    (5)

  • Pura V.

    YUMMY!!! DEFINITELY RECOMMEND!! :) My husband and I highly recommend this place- we had been to the one in Ballard- however- this location is our favorite! Staff is friends, ambiance is perfect for us:) Happy Hour is awesome! Drinks are yummy! I had a mojito and the mint was fresh! Very tasty. They have a rum club Wednesday evenings that we are going to attend with friends. We enjoy the empanadillas, chicharones are amazing, platanos- scrumptious, tres leches-- whoo hoo! This is great Latin food!

    (5)

  • Kim H.

    This was my first and last visit. My daughters order was wrong, they said they would fix it and then charged me for the new one as well. Our waitress went missing for almost our entire meal. Our drinks were never refilled, not even our water. And the food was really, REALLY disappointing.. I'd say if you have the option to go somewhere else, take it.. I was really excited to try this place, and ended up leaving angry..

    (1)

  • Larry B.

    We are big fans of Caribbean food having lived in Florida for 20 years. Our exposure was mostly to Cuban, but Puerto Rican food is similar. Tonight was our first time at La Isla. We ordered the Bistec Encebollado and the Salmon a la Parilla. Our kids ordered from the kid's menu. Both dishes were excellently prepared and very tasty. The meat and fish were both cooked properly (not raw, and not overdone). What's notable is that the meats' taste is derived from marinading and not from sauces placed on after being cooked. Muy saboroso :) It was clear that they use fresh ingredients and cooked at the time we ordered. Everyone was pleased with their meals. We finished the night by splitting a Tres Leches dessert. Conclusion: The service was excellent - we were attended well by a friendly server, the food brought back great memories and was authentic. We will definitely be coming back for more.

    (5)

  • Brett F.

    So stoked to have such a great place in Redmond, the one in Ballard is great as well but now "in the hood". The Pork shoulder is fantastic and the Mojito's rock! they always have mint on hand.

    (5)

  • Paula P.

    I'm a fan. We went last night for HH and had great drinks and HH food. Empanadilla, camerones and fish cakes. The Camerones were awesome, great sauces. . Empanadilla good too. Not sure we would repeat the cod cakes, but they were okay. I look forward to returning and having a meal there soon. They offer Mofongo, even though it is not on the printed menu. You have to request it. I liked the looks of the menu, the service was outstanding at the bar, and we'll be back. I'm so happy that they're in Redmond! The signs are being placed, but not up yet. (City of Redmond over-regulation on signs issues) they're working on getting that resolved. It's where the old Watercress Asian bistro was. :)Update - They got their signs up. I went back for the pulled pork dinner. Tender, nicely spiced pork and great beans and rice. Yummy cocktails too.

    (4)

  • Loren C.

    So happy they are in Redmond (much closer than Ballard), being from Florida need my Latin food fix and this is the best place to get it.

    (5)

  • Ale F.

    They have a nice staff and the food was pretty good but I was a little disappointed because I was expecting real puerto rican food. The menu was definitely inspired by PR but the food did not taste like it was from there.

    (3)

  • Timmy E.

    I stopped by with a friend a month ago. I've been there 5 times since then. Great food, drinks and service. The butterfly prawns with garlic are to die for. Rum drinks are delicious and really hit the spot after a long day. Every friend I've brought there is blown away by everything. One time and your hooked!!!

    (5)

  • Monica T.

    Can't say I'm a cultural expert, but holy cow - AWESOME FOOD. I want to be there every day. My spice addition is calling. Definitely start off with an empanada - it'll get the party in your belly started right. I was with a coworker who's been in the US for a few years from growing up in Mexico, and I think she judged correctly on an amazing lunch. We both also had excellent mojitos - made just right. We shared a fruity, cheesecake-like dessert (can't remember the name) and had some coffee to finish up our pleasant lunch meeting. If you're searching for some worthy calories, this is it. I wasn't able to finish my main dish, but saved it for another yet glorious lunch the next day - still AMAZE.

    (5)

  • Richard B.

    Found this place after a co-worker was raving about the food. My wife and I eat out a lot for lunch and this is one of our new favorite spots. Excellent food!

    (5)

  • Margie N.

    This was my first visit to La Isla Redmond. The food was AMAZING but the service was subpar at best. They seemed to have plenty of people working there and the place wasn't super busy at the time. But for some reason getting someone to our table was not an easy task. I would definitely go back but only because the food was so yummy.

    (3)

  • Rick D.

    I visited La Isla in Edmond in mid-afternoon of December 28. I ordered the Pernil Divino plate. I started with the crispy tostones (fried plantain patties), which were lightly salted and delicious. No fruity, banana flavor there--just a good, crispy starch side dish (better than potatoes). The pernil (pulled pork) had fantastic flavor thanks to the marinade and slow cooking - some of the best pulled pork I've ever had (and I love pork shoulder). The dish also came with "abuela's" (grandmother's) rice and pinto beans, which is topped with a sauce that gives what should normally be a relatively bland dish a very tasty, rich flavor. Lastly there is a small salad on the plate. It's not much to speak of, but it uses real spring salad greens rather than dull iceberg lettuce and is topped with a light, flavorful dressing. I finished the meal with a serving of their flan, which has a touch of cinnamon added for an additional flavor treat. I really like how they can transform what could be rather plain foods into surprisingly flavorful dishes, all well prepared and delicious. I was told that co-owner Alphonso was cooking that day, and he's apparently a very talented man. The food was excellent. I will go back again.

    (5)

  • Darryl D.

    Tasty, delicious food! We went there last night and had a very good appetizer and spectacular main courses. The salmon was cooked to perfection and each plate had a serving of rice and beans which were terrific! Our waitress was helpful in choosing the dishes and the portions were very generous. A good value for the price. Hernan the kitchen manager checked in with our table and helped us learn about the fine points of the food. We will be going back!

    (4)

  • Tracy T.

    The only reason I'm giving them 2 stars is because I live in Seattle and the Ballard location is one of my favorite restaurants in the city. The service at the Redmond location is horrific! It's clear that most of the people working there are high school students from Redmond High. I don't actually blame them for their lack of knowledge and inexperience. The HIRING MANAGER is who should be blamed for the fact that no one seems to know what's on the menu or the fact that Chardonnay is not a RED wine. The food is ok, although not as good as Seattle. My pernil pork was pretty greasy and really sopping wet. I took home the leftovers but threw them out. That never happens. Our bill got all screwed up because their computer system cannot account for happy hour items yet. It took our (inexperienced) server 30 minutes to fix it and in the end it still wasn't fixed. Thank god I live in Seattle because I will never go to this location again.

    (2)

  • O G.

    The best thing on the menu, the Mojito. Regardless of anything else I write, I'll be back for the mojitos. As for the service, well let's just say it was awkward at best. To be called "buddy" by a server fanning herself makes me think Mel's diner, not a good way to start out what could be a fun meal. The food, well it was okay. I grew up on the Filipino instance of bistec. This version was tangy, but just a bit off. It should be tart like vinegar, not like off meat. On the flip side, the kids liked the pork empanadillas and will go back for that. The prawns in a garlic sauce are delicious, and getting them spicy made them even better. Most of the plates came with a garlic dipping sauce. If you think the Med Kitchen's garlic sauce is strong, this one is for you. I was scraping my mouth clean later that night, and woke with garlic tummy in the middle of the night. The sauce was tasty, just more than my system can handle. Skip the ceviche. Just my advice. And to end on a positive, I'll go back for the prawns and mojitos, and be thankful these guys came to Redmond.

    (3)

  • Lisa R.

    Love the Tripleta sandwich! Service needs to improve a bit, but the food is great!

    (4)

  • Marijka S.

    LOVE! I am so happy to have another great place to eat in Redmond. I went here with my husband, friends and had to take my girlfriends here for a GNO and it is perfect. Authentic, amazing food and incredible drinks. I loved the Velvet Mojito and my husband had the strawberry Mojito. Both were better than any mojito I have ever had. Great job and thank you for sharing this Ballard gem with Redmond.

    (5)

  • Adam T.

    Love the food. Love the owners. Have eaten here and Ballard multiple times. I wish I could make rice and beans like that. I forget the name of the sandwich I had for lunch but it was amazing and i crave it fortnightly!

    (5)

  • Fab F.

    Loved the portion (huge!), the taste and the service is ok (I don't like overly happy waiters who bug you all the time and interrupt the conversation just to ask "is everything ok"?

    (5)

  • Todd G.

    What a gem! Wife took me here for my birthday and I can't wait to come back. Only had drinks and apps. Empanadillas were good. The Carne Fritas were really good. The sauce was great but make sure you ask for a side of their red sauce (creola) they normally serve with the pork empanadilas. The Medley de Plantanos was AMAZING. Cut my arm and IV this in my veins! Ok, I love plantains no matter what, but this app was awesome. Try ask the sauces and if you're up to it they have a habanero sauce which is great. Service was great. Prices a bit high, but what isn't these days?

    (5)

  • Karthik R.

    The place needs some renovations, but it seems to have a lot of potential. The chicken popcorn was kinda sad, but the fish sliders was good. We had a salmon entree which was OK. I would not say this is a place I want to come back soon again. Maybe next time or maybe not. But it can just be the stuff we had for dinner. I should however say that the host and hostess were very friendly and took good care of us. I should say that gets an additional half star :). But the food and the place in general needs someone to revisit it and revive it!

    (3)

  • Kelly C.

    Very happy I live so close to this place. My wallet hates me, but my belly appreciates my choices. Pastelon: A+ Empanadillas: A Tostones: Mmm

    (5)

  • Delfina G.

    I've had this place booked marked for a while (Ballard one though), its been a place I have been wanting to try. I went in with low expectations, since I do have an idea how these types of foods are supposed to taste like. Let me tell you, even the rice and beans were nicely flavored. I had the garlic prawn entree which was delish, it was a big portion, had to take the other half home. I'm not one to eat leftovers and the following day I actually warmed it up and ate it again. The staff was very nice and friendly and will definitely come back to try out more things from the menu.

    (4)

  • Crystal N.

    Wanted to try something new while we were in Seattle visiting family. Loved the housemade guava juice, so refreshing! Salmon bite appetizer was crispy and perfectly made, great little spicy mayo dipping sauce too. Tried the seafood rice soup which also had great flavors. My favorite dish was the shrimp plate, recommend mixing the coconut sauce and the spicy jalapeño sauce together for that one, you won't regret it! I got the appetizer sampler for my meal and it is a bit fried carb heavy for recommend it for sharing with the group. My husband got mofongo, not a huge plantain fan but the crispy pork was amazing!

    (4)

  • Chih-Yun H.

    Awesome place for Puerto Rican food! So happy I got to try the mofongo that my Puerto Rican friend told me about. Friendly and knowledgeable staff. Appetizers were very tasty but the sauces were the stars of the dish. Great for groups. Definitely, need to try there guayabitas Vivian for dessert, especially if you like guava! Oh, and the drinks were awesome! Love the tamarind juice.

    (4)

  • Song K.

    I'm sure a fan of this place. The wait staff is fun and friendly, the place feels clean, the bar area and selections pretty large (and clean), the food was good, prices reasonable, and things were prompt. There are certain dishes that I heard was not that great but if you have pulled pork anything, it seems to be the thing to order here. Overall a fun place to be with friends or just hang out at.

    (4)

  • Jo L.

    I love the food at La Isla! My favorite is a toss up between the pastelon and the pianono; both involve plantains, a delicious meat or tofu, and lots of good sides, such as rice with beans and potato, and salad. You can also switch out the rice for yellow rice and pigeon peas for a price, even though it's not listed on the menu. There's also a pretty decent drink list, and lots of space at the bar. That said, I find the layout of the Redmond location a bit weird, as there's the bar area which is usually full of people watching football, and then the dining area is usually empty since everyone's eating their meals in the bar. Service is usually good, even though it can be quite busy. We've also ordered take out from there several times, and the staff that answer the phone are helpful and courteous, even though from the background noise it's obvious that there's a lot going on there. Parking's readily available in the lot out the front.

    (5)

  • Linnea T.

    Best place to get a caipirinha in Seattle! The servers are super friendly and the restaurant itself is colorful, vibrant and fun (just like Puerto Rico)! I recommend the Salmon La Isla and the ceviche as my favorite dishes. It's a great spot for a casual, comfortable dinner with a bit of spice!

    (5)

  • Gretchen H.

    It's like, whatever. Not so great. Meh. We don't understand what the fuss was about. My side salad looked like it had been sitting on the counter for 2 days. My stuffed pepper tasted like hamburger helper and cheese. Every fried thing tasted exactly the same. All five of us had a completely mediocre meal.

    (2)

  • Jacques I.

    So glad there's a Redmond location since it's much closer to my 'hood. La Isla serves Puerto Rican food, and is known for the slow-cooked pulled pork, which I highly recommend getting. The pulled pork plate is 16 bucks, and is well-worth it. All of the entrees come with rice and red beans, a side salad, and plantains. I've also had the deep fried trout, which is garlicky and good. But I wouldn't recommend the plantain lasagna dish though; the description in the menu reads better than what it actually is, and the portion is small. Skip it and get the famous pork dish instead. The cocktails are about eight to nine bucks, and there are five beers on tap. There is outdoor seating, where dogs are allowed to sit. I asked the hostess if they had a doggie bowl, and although they did not, she found a to-go bowl for my dog to use. After my dog accidentally spilled her bowl of water, the waiter was kind enough to refill it and was not at all annoyed. Big plus for me. La Isla is one of my favorite places to eat in Redmond.

    (4)

  • Chi M.

    I have dined here a few times for lunch when it initially opened and thought the food was decent, but heavy. Drinks are good and staff is friendly. This review is for my recent experience with trying to set up an event for a work group. I called on 8/28, last Friday and inquired about reserving space for 30-40 people. The person that took my call was happy to help me out and told me that he would have the manager contact me. I didn't hear back, so I called this past Monday, 8/31, to follow-up. The person on the phone told me to contact the events coordinator via email. I did that and still haven't heard back. I really want to support a local business. I don't know why it is so hard to get a hold of someone when you're trying to give them business. That is why local businesses fail because they are not responsive.

    (3)

  • Yura P.

    Our favorite dishes: pantelos and pernil!!! Favorite appetizer: empanadas, potatoes and cheese! We love the flan here too! Overall great experience! Will go back here again! Delish!!!

    (4)

  • Kevin W.

    I came to La Isla for no reason other than to satisfy my curiosity. I passed by here one time and didn't expect to find a Puerto Rican restaurant in Redmond, so I just had to try it out. What a good decision that turned out to be. Let me make this promise to the owner. I'm giving the restaurant five stars, and if it's just as good in my future visits (which are bound to happen), then those five stars are staying there. I'm not too familiar with Puerto Rican food, but I do know that the pernil (pulled pork shoulder) is legendary. I ordered a bowl of this stuff from the lunch special menu, and to my immense surprise, it arrived at my table in two minutes. Not even pho takes such a short time. Two minutes isn't even a commercial break on TV. They must not have the food made to order; I imagine that they cook a whole bunch of it at once and then serve out individual portions of it, but the food is so good that I don't even mind. I got a bowl of the pork over rice, and they were quite generous with the portions. It wasn't immediately obvious from the size of the bowl, but they packed a huge amount of juicy and delicious pork in there. Accompanying this masterpiece were what appeared to be fried plantains on a plate with dipping sauce. I loved every bit of this and have not been so satisfied with a restaurant in a while. This was a nine-dollar lunch special and came to $9.85 after tax. It's a steal. Insanely fast service, amazing food, enormous portions, and reasonable prices. I have an invisible checklist that I use to evaluate restaurants, and La Isla didn't just hit every mark on that list; it completely obliterated that list. I had to Yelp this restaurant to make sure I didn't dream the whole thing. And as if it couldn't get any better, one of the waitresses here looks like Megan Fox and Elizabeth Gillies.

    (5)

  • Nikki O.

    I have never eaten food like this before & I got to say I am happy that I have tried it. Honestly not all of the food tasted amazing to me but some of them was really good. I would definitely give this place a try again !

    (4)

  • LaDonna L.

    I had heard about La Isla and also saw it on check please so I have been wanting to try this place for a while. My husband and I finally trekked it over to Redmond and walked right by the place. We didn't realize it would be in a strip mall right by the Remond Towne Center. Perfect. We were pretty tried and thirsty from walking around so we decided to stop in around 4 for a cocktail, water and the food. We plannned to eat dinner there later and was only stopping for about an hour to refocus. Hours later and a $100 lighter, we were stuffed, a little tipsy and happy. We got there during HH,which was good because the place wasn't too crowded. We had a great waitress at the bar that answered our questions and kept our glasses full. I initially ordered a mojito that was pretty sweet and not that great Puerto Rican or Miami feel. I ended up switching to the La Isla Mai Tai. Now that was good. Strong and delicious. My husband ordered two flights, the Puerto Rican flight and a smooth and sweet flight. He enjoyed all of his rum flights without a problem :) After much debate, we ordered the empanadillas in beef and the pernil (pulled pork). The crust was so light and flacky and the fillings were absolutely wonderful. My husband and I went to Puerto Rico a few years ago and that really brought us back to the great food of the region. We were so happy that we ordered another order of them. Since we obviously had settled in and not going anywhere anything soon, we ended up ordering dinner as well. The space was filling up but not too crazy so you still had great service and can talk to your significant other without shouting. I ordered the pull pork plate with salad, rice, beans and plaintains and my hubby ordered the Mufungo. He is a peron that attaches himself to something and that is all he orders. He thought The mufungo was spot on and delicious and would order it again. Overall, the experience was great and making the long distance from the South end to Redmond well worh it.

    (4)

  • Gabriel C.

    BOGO entree with Prime Card. 4/5 ijf you have access to the prime card deal, otherwise 3/5. Probably will return one more time for the empanadillas and to try out a few other entrees. Salmon a la parilla is a MUST! Carne Frita - 5/5 ($6 happy hour). What the heck is a pork wing?! Seeing this, I just had to try it out. These are delicious, flash fried bone in pork (rib?) with sauteed onions and peppers and served with a cool caldo sauce on the side, I can see why this is a La Isla favorite. Pernil Divino - 3/5 ($16). A crowd favorite, this pulled pork was very tender without being too fatty. The only thing is that I love the hardened "skin" that you get from roasting a pulled pork and there was none for me in this dish. Regardless, very tasty. Salmon a la parilla - 5/5 ($18) This won awards, so naturally this was a must-try. Very simple dish of grilled salmon, BUT the key was that this was perfectly cooked, at the point where it just starts to flake, but the salmon retains it's moistness. I have to admit I was skeptical as in the past I've had my fair share of overcooked salmon, but whoever was grilling in the back - you've done a stellar job! All entrees served with rice and beans, tostones (3 thinly sliced deep fried plantains) and small salad.

    (4)

  • Deetya K.

    I wanted to try a different cuisine. Surprisingly they had quite a number of vegetarian option. Ordered Yuko fries and Lenthil soup. Light but delightful dinner it was. I was contemplating on dessert and when I saw Trees Leches, I could not say a no. I ordered and got that on happy hour price. So double treat :) Dessert was the best :) Will go again.

    (4)

  • Ben N.

    Horrible selection of beers on tap. Appetizers choices aren't good either. I am not coming back.

    (1)

  • Jonelle T.

    Until last night, I had no idea there was an outpost of La Isla in Redmond. Post-Cirque at Marymoor, my girlfriends and I were starving and looking for dinner, so we landed here. The yucca fries and pork empanadas were on point and we all managed to demolish our entrees of bisteca and pork. Everything was super flavorful, and my only complaint was that the tostones were too hard and dry. Didn't catch our server's name, but he was probably the most courteous and nicest server I've encountered in a long time. He gets an A+.

    (4)

  • Liliane E.

    Came with a close friend. Great food, friendly staff, great happy hour. The food came to our table still sizzling from being freshly cooked. That's saying something. The drinks were stiff and delicious and all the servers were super nice. What more do you want?

    (5)

  • Chessie S.

    We enter here not really knowing what to expect because neither of us has had Puerto Rican food before, but we're usually up for a taste bud challenge. The decor is bar-like with a mix of art and interesting tiling. There was upbeat music playing. My drink was a hot tottie, because I was so cold and my partner in crime a hot tea, because he was driving. The food is very flavorful and not to be mistaken for Mexican or TexMex we get a lot up here. The beans have a seasoning that makes them worth eating, even though I don't really like beans. The fried plantains were very crunchy and there is a type of dairy sauce that comes along with it that I wish was a little thicker. I had a sizzling hot fried catfish that melted apart when you tried to pick it up with a fork and had a tangy sauce to dip it in. It's definitely a knife and fork dish. It was too salty for me to eat too much, but my partner is Czech and they love their salty everything. There was a nice mixed green salad on the plate. I can appreciate this attempt at balance with such heavy food. He had the pork shoulder and if was very tender as well. La Isla gets points for hearty dishes, stiff drinks, nice tiling in the bathroom, a plate for the tea, polite and expedient servers and boxing up my food for us With the sauce containers. We'll be back, especially since the Redmond lunch food needs some liveliness.

    (4)

  • Nikki C.

    Amazing food, great, knowledgeable staff and authentic atmosphere, what more could you ask for? Everything we have had here has been "the best ______ I've ever had". Last night it was the pulled pork (which they are known for) and the mojiots. Try the Velvet mojito for a slightly sweeter version with island flavors. We finished our meal with Tres Leches and it was at the same time, light but rich. Their dinners come with the full spread on one plate: beans and rice, fried plantains etc. A little bit of everything.

    (5)

  • Michael J.

    Firstly let me say that I love the food here. The beans and rice are transcendent and the pulled pork with green plantains is dynamite. The service though. My goodness the service. If they fired the entire wait staff and hired again they could be so much better. The server himself was polite but socially awkward. The hostess is a completely unneeded position who insisted that they were full when there where 4 tables empty. If the hostess can't serve, then get rid of them. Every step that involves the staff takes twice as long as it should. I had to ask for crayons for my kids (didn't get them) and the bill from the same waitress (she didn't respond). I hope La Isla Redmond gets new staff and a slightly faster kitchen. They have amazing food and a pretty good location. 2\3 of what you need for a successful restaurant.

    (2)

  • Cassie N.

    I took my love here on date night. He freaking loved it. We ordered a couple of drinks and appetizers to start. The drinks were very good and pretty strong. The Epanadillas were delicious! We had a few different ones but I liked the potato ones the best. Crunchy on the outside and pillowy and soft in the inside. The Pork "wings" were good too, a little bland but very meaty and tender. My love ordered the fried trout which was fantastic. It was a whole fried trout that was crispy and tender. The flavors were perfect and went great with beans, rice salad and testones which came along side all entrees. I freaking LOVE Testones!! I ordered their Pork Devina which is one of the pork dishes they are known for. It was delicious and had great fatty flavor but it wasn't out of this world. I would try something different the next time we come here. I always save room for dessert so of course I got the tres leches. OMG it was soooo good. The cake was moist and buttery but not too heavy, they served it with macerated strawberries and ice cream... Perfect way to end a meal. All in all a great place. The food was good and I liked the ambiance, it felt very cozy. The service was okay, our server only came by twice maybe three time if you count the time he brought out our check. He was polite but not the greatest. We will definitely be back soon, maybe for happy hour and mofongo!

    (4)

  • Morgan M.

    Awesome yuca fries and a really good cubano sandwich. The pulled pork is also really good and they have super crispy sweetest potato fries.

    (4)

  • T J.

    Delicious! We started with the pork ribs & empanadilla. Both very good. Then got the mofongo with pork & pionino. They were both so good. The mofongo was our favorite. The tres leches dessert was pretty good. Definitely will be back.

    (5)

  • Sierra X.

    I come here for the food, not the service. I recommend the Cubano or Tripeleta Sandwiches. It's a little bit on the salty side for me, but overall, it's delicious.

    (4)

  • Connor D.

    Every time I come here I tell myself I will get something different, but can never resist the pernil divino. It is awesome, the pork has great flavor and is moist and tender. One time I came for lunch and was able to resist and got the tripletta, and it was delicious. I love the rice and beans that come with the entrees, but the crowning jewel here are the tostones. They smash them like your supposed to do (as schooled to me by my Cuban co worker). Last time I came they offered some kind of ketchup-mayo dip for the tostones, but do yourself a favor and ask for the mojito sauce, it's really damn good.

    (5)

  • Rich N.

    Excellent Food and a great change of pace. Puerto Rico food is great and they have unique drinks here too. They have happy hour as well

    (4)

  • Pallavi S.

    Didn't like the food too much. It was not as delicious as the actual Puerto Rican food I had in Puerto Rico.

    (3)

  • T C.

    My husband took me here for date night and it was a fun venue with a new menu and food to try. Our service was great but the the food was a bit pricey and just ok. I was disappointed and wanted the food to be good enough for us to return and have another great spot to go in Redmond. Maybe I was expecting too much but to Be honest nothing I ordered was delicious enough to make me want to come back. Sorry this isn't a better review but I was disappointed and wished my experience was better.

    (3)

  • Elizabeth M.

    I really enjoy this place. The food is delicious. I admit I've never had this genre of food anywhere else, so I have nothing to compare it with, but everything is so tasty. But it is dense. I mean, you are happily eating, because it's so tasty, and then the fullness will hit you, and it will last. Heads up if you have a prime card. The prime card deal says buy an entree get a free entree But La isla just gives you the cheapest thing free, if you buy 2 or more things. For example if you buy 2 entrees and an appetizer you'll get the appetizer free. I'm not sure who is at fault for the wording of the prime discount, but if you're planning to go there and use the card, double check how it works.

    (4)

  • Melody P.

    I came here twice. The first time, I came and got a takeout. The lady who helped me recommended me something quick to go. It was shredded chicken over rice. It was very good! I might really like it! I felt I could eat another one! The second time, I came here with my girlfriend and her little girl. We had time and were able to sit for a while. She had a salmon salad and I had pork dish (it's like lasagne). My friend's salmon salad was big and looked really yummy. My dish was good, the pork was tender. We also shared a dessert, coconut custard. It was really good. And, three of us can't have enough. It's good for kids because they post all the kids' drawings on the wall and the staff is very friendly and nice to kids. I'd like to come back again! I love latin food!

    (4)

  • Ashley A.

    All of their food is awesome. Service is always great too. The empenadas are phenomenal and so are the fried sweet plantains. You will not be disappointed! You can tell they paid attention to detail and perfected their food. All of the sauces are amazing!

    (5)

  • Tammie E.

    This location is super convenient to host group work lunches and the service is always top notch. The food is pretty good, but usually fairly heavy and salty for lunch. We keep coming back because the service is so great and they easily accommodate large parties. I also love how many items there are to choose from on the menu. Definitely one of the better restaurant choices in the area.

    (3)

  • Natasha G.

    La Isla Cuisine is a welcomed change of venue for the Eastside and is the only Puerto Rican restaurant I know of in the area. Service is a bit hit or miss; I've had very good servers and borderlined rude servers that made me uncomfortable. The people who take your to-go orders are often pretty friendly. The Gandules Dip, Alcapurrias with the veggies, and the Arroz con Habichuela are my favorite. The Gandules dip is fried plantains that you fill with a pickled veggie mixture and is super delicious. Their Arroz con Habichuela is a rice and beans dish that's very simple and flavorful. The Alcapurrias is a fritter-like dish made of fried green bananas and filled with veggies with a sauce; super tasty. This is one of the only choices for late-night dining in Redmond. Give it a try if you're in the mood for something a little bit different and very delicious!

    (4)

  • Jill T.

    This review is mostly for the service. I placed an order from their website for pick-up in Redmond, and missed the fact that online orders go to the Ballard location. Still not sure whether this was a glitch in their ordering system, or my own mistake. Either way, everyone I encountered in Redmond, from the hostess to the manager who eventually came out to personally explain and make sure we were taken care of, handled the situation with great aplomb and finesse. They ended up comping our entire order (since we had already paid online) and never suggested that it might have been our fault rather than theirs. The best part? We got a chance to sit at the bar and drink delicious cocktails (seriously, the best mojito I've ever had) while waiting for them to prepare our to-go order. The food itself was delicious, though I think it would be much better eaten there than as take-out. I will definitely go back thanks to the excellent service.

    (5)

  • Aaron B.

    3.5 stars if I could... This is a decent Cuban restaurant in redmond, but if you are willing to leave redmond you can definitely find better food and value elsewhere. The salmon was definitely the best dish -- cooked well and had a nice combination of flavors. The pulled pork dish was too fatty but was overall good. For dessert, just get the regular flan... there is one "married to chocolate cake" but it doesn't come together well. The service was fast and friendly. If you're in Redmond and have a passport prime card, I would recommend this place!

    (3)

  • Vivian Clair M.

    Solid, good food, although some dishes may be difficult to eat, or are too hard and dry. Interior decor is rather casual, and could frankly use some improvement. We ordered the Trucha Frita (fried trout), Pernil Pastelon, and Bistec Empanado, a special, as well as a couple of appetizers. Among our party, it seemed the fried trout was considered the tastiest, but it is extremely difficult to eat, and arrived whole, on sitting upright on the plate curved in a circle. How to cut this and eat it? The pernil pastelon was pleasant, but probably wouldn't be ordered again. I had the special bistec dish and would never order it again. What arrived was essentially a ground beef patty, without much flavoring, cooked until dead inside a fried coating which was fried hard and crispy. The whole thing was incredibly dry, and somewhat tasteless despite the tasty sauce served with it. The sides were all very pleasant tasting, and we enjoyed the appetizers and drinks as well. In short, I would try it again, but would head toward other choices on the menu. Being ignorant of Puerto Rican food, I can't comment on authenticity.

    (3)

  • Tanya K.

    Amazing lunch menu! We got a potato empanadilla and a pulled pork bowl (cant remember the name of the dish). Both were absolutely fantastic. Pulled pork had so much flavor and was melting in my mouth.

    (5)

  • Emma F.

    Drinks are horrible, don't even bother. Food is decent and fairly authentic. I would suggest the mofongo if you can get it. The pernil is also good. It's not great, but it's ok. NOTE: This gets three stars instead of two simply because it's on the eastside and there is a serious lack of good food options, especially Latin American/Caribbean options. Otherwise, it'd be a three.

    (3)

  • Kaitlin F.

    Yay! Puerto Rican food on the eastside! My hubby and I are from NYC, and have been sad not to find much in the way of Carribean food in Seattle, and even less on the eastside. I am no expert, I only started getting into Cuban, Dominican, Puerto Rican food over the last four years, but that means I generally tend to have it only when I head back to New York. I had been to La Isla in Ballard, and wasn't incredibly impressed. I think I was hoping that it would be just like new york, which it wasn't. I think it helped that I had adjusted my expectations when I found out about the Redmond shop and decided to stop by. We've been in twice now, and I only loved it more the second time around. The first time we went it was kind of hard to find a table where the sun wasn't attacking my eyes. We went at dinner, not at HH, so we paid full price, which ended up being a little hefty for dinner. We tried a little bit of everything. Had the medley de platanos (smashed fried plantains and the sauteed sweet plantains), the empanadillos (the carne which was awesome, and the chicken which was not quite as awesome), the sliders (which were good but i thought had a little too much stuff on them, the pernil really could have stood on its own). We also had the steak, to which we had a mixed reaction. The steak (i forget what its called) came with rice and beans, mini salad, and some yuca i think. The yuca was awesome, the beans were really good, but I was a little disappointed that they served white rice and not yellow. I did not like the steak. It was too vinegary to me, but the husband was ok with it, but I don't think it was his favorite. I guess one of the waiters or the chef had heard us discussing the food and came out to see how we liked the food. I mentioned that the steak was too vinegary for me, and he said that the dish was traditionally more vinegary, which I totally understand. But what he did that put me off a little bit was to get kind of defensive, and say that their Microsoft clients want it this way, that Puerto Ricans like it this way. You don't need to name drop or convince me of the authenticity of the dish, it just wasnt my taste, and that's fine. Anyway, the waitress, who was very nice, offered us a free dessert since we weren't thrilled with the steak. We got the flan/chocolate cake combo. The cake wasn't awesome, but the flan was very good. My hubbie's grandma came from Cuba, and I use her recipe to make flan (not that its super complicated or anything), and this flan rivaled my flan. I also was curious whether they made mofongo, even though it wasn't on the menu, because I have a major hard on for mofongo. She said that they do, it just wasn't on the menu yet because they weren't sure if it was gonna be a weekend special or something like that. Squee! Definitely gonna have to try that at some point. We went back last week for the late night happy hour. It was great, and affordable. During the late night they have $4 mojitos and great deals on apps. We each had a drink, some platanos, some empanadillos, and some chicarrones de pollo (little fried chicken bits), we were full, and it was about $30 bucks. Niiiiiiice. I'm only sad that I am leaving Redmond for good in about a month, and won't be able to come back for the awesome late night hh. Oh why did you not arrive sooner La Isla?

    (4)

  • Karen G.

    We came here last night after having been to the one in Seattle a few weeks ago. Upon our arrival, the hostess told us it would be 5-10 minutes until we could be seated even though more than half of the booths in the main area were empty and clean. Ok, whatever, we get that sometimes there are other reasons. After a few minutes she led us down past all the empty booths to a cramped table for 2 next to the kitchen and back door. Our waiter greeted us immediately and was very friendly. We ordered right away and he warned us that it might take 15 minutes for food to arrive because they were "so busy". I had to laugh because when we went to the Seattle location they were slammed busy with folks practically lined up the street. Our food actually came much faster than 15 minutes. The A/C was on high so we ordered coffee which came moments before our food. Omigod the food is soooo good. I had the pastelon which is a Puerto Rican lasagna type dish with plantains instead of pasta. SO good. My husband had the blackened salmon which he enjoyed. Our waiter even comped the coffee since we had to wait for it. Very nice and unexpected. I'm getting hungry again and wished I hadn't finished my dinner last night because leftovers would be so good right now.

    (5)

  • Marilyn R.

    I have been to their Seattle location (even when it was called Sofrito) which I love. I was surprised to see some of the comments here so because I could compare with the Seattle site, I live on the Eastside, AND I am puertorrican, we decided to test it out. We were not dissapointed. The food was great and it tastes very authentic. My husband, who is from the US, mentioned more than once that the Pollo Guisado (chicken) tasted just like my aunt's. I agree. The rice and beans were perfect. I had pastelon...(imagine a lasagna that instead of pasta you use ripe plantains) and it was fantastic. I loved it and could not be happier to find great, homemade-taste like, puertorrican food so close to home. I would definetively recommend it. Don't expect mexican, don't expect Cuban, don't expect south american..expect Puertorrican. Don't know puertorrican food? Then you need to go to La Isla. The menu will explain it and the servers know about the food. Oh, by the way, today, April 27th, its been 2 weeks that this location has opened. Keep that in mind when you are reading some of the reviews and don't get discouraged. They totally deserve you trying it out. Have fun (and a great mojito)!!

    (5)

  • Paul M.

    First and foremost, let me explain that my rating is due only to the fact that the restaurant advertises food as gluten free that is not, in fact, gluten free. This is a big issue for my family, as my daughter has Celiac. The primary issue is that they do not use separate deep fryers for the food that is gluten free and the food that is not, and does not promise that food preparation is done in a way that avoids cross-contamination. To a Celiac, the difference can be a night of extreme gastrointestinal discomfort. I'll spare you all the details. I did speak with the manager on hand and expressed my concerns and she seemed receptive. I'm not sure if the menu has changed or if a caveat has been added. To those not impacted by such issues, the food is very good and I can recommend the restaurant completely. The allergy thing is a big deal to us, though, so I felt compelled to review.

    (1)

  • Sean R.

    Took me a moment to find the place since their sign wasn't yet up, but that is changing soon. Greeted by a friendly hospitable staff. Had the menu briefly explained to me (I've never had Puerto Rican food prior). They had a pretty nice rum menu, but I ended up just getting beer. I will go back for the rum soon. Ordered the yuca, knowing that fried yuca / cassava is quite a treat. As well as the Pollo Guidado Bowl ( a dish of stewed chicken and olives over rice). The yuca came out quickly, lightly golden and tender. Tasted great with their mayo ketchup. The pollo Guisado was tender, and the flavors complemented each other well. It also came with a side of mashed / fried plantains. Before I could even finish eating, they brought me out a plate of fried chicken thighs (on the house). So I got a chance to try those as well. As I was I wrapping up, they had mentioned flan, so I couldn't say no. The flan came out, a nice kick of cinnamon. Very good. All in all it was a great place I will definitely check it out again!

    (5)

  • Laura G.

    We've been here a few other times, and it was always great, but felt we needed to leave a review this time around. The good is great and always generous portions and full of flavor. The service is warm and friendly, and our bartender, Danielle, was so awesome that we'll make it a point to sit in the bar from now on. We feel so warm and cozy inside after this experience, we just might make this a regular thing. Thank you La Isla for making us feel so welcome and giving us such great service.

    (5)

  • Alice C.

    I bought a great Amazon Local deal, usually offered for restaurants that are 2-3 stars. Upon discovering La Isla is rated 4 stars at Yelp, it was no brainer for me to purchase. As we were driving through Redmond, I was thinking that Redmond is like a suburbia-toned-down Ballard with restaurants such as the Matador. I did not know at the time that La Isla also came from Ballard. Kiddo got the pernil slider with sweet potato fries, hubby got the pernil entree with tostones, I got the lentil soup and grilled salmon entree with yuka frita. All were hits with our family of three. As my five year old put it, "it is not just delicious, it is verrrrryy good!" My hubby said he usually doesn't like rice and beans, but he would eat rice and beans everyday if it was as good as La Isla's. The only slight negative was that the tostones was a little bit too crunchy and greasy. We will definitely add this restaurant to our list.

    (4)

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Map

Opening Hours

  • Mon :11:00 am - 12

Specialities

  • Takes Reservations : Yes
    Delivery : No
    Take-out : Yes
    Accepts Credit Cards : Yes
    Good For : Dinner
    Parking : Private Lot
    Bike Parking : Yes
    Good for Kids : Yes
    Good for Groups : Yes
    Attire : Casual
    Ambience : Casual
    Noise Level : Average
    Music : Background
    Good For Dancing : No
    Alcohol : Full Bar
    Happy Hour : Yes
    Best Nights : Thu, Fri, Sat
    Coat Check : No
    Smoking : No
    Outdoor Seating : No
    Wi-Fi : No
    Has TV : Yes
    Waiter Service : Yes
    Caters : Yes

La Isla Cuisine

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