We’re still thinking about this weekend’s history-making Super Bowl halftime show by Bad Bunny. Born Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio in Bayamón, Puerto Rico, Bad Bunny put on what is now being affectionately called the “Benito Bowl”: a true celebration of all things Latin America and, specifically, Puerto Rico, filled with dances, sing-along tunes and pure joy.
While watching the performance on repeat on YouTube, we suddenly feel the urge to explore Puerto Rican culture in any way we can. After all, Puerto Rico isn’t just a cultural force that got its moment in the spotlight on Sunday night: it’s a U.S. territory located in the Caribbean, about 1,600 miles southeast of Miami, roughly a four- to five-hour flight from the mainland.
Puerto Rican food culture, specifically, has been woven into NYC for nearly a century, with a major proliferation of Puerto Rican restaurants, bodegas and Cuchifritos shops taking place from the 1950s through the 1970s, alongside the massive postwar migration that made Puerto Ricans the city’s largest Latino group by 1970.
Today, while gentrification has shuttered many historic neighborhood spots in Manhattan and Brooklyn, Puerto Rican food remains a vital presence in the Bronx and Queens and is experiencing renewed visibility through newer restaurants that frame the cuisine for a broader, citywide audience. Given all of that—and the fact that half a million Puerto Ricans call New York City home as of 2023—we just had to put together a list of the best Puerto Rican restaurants in NYC. Get ready to devour authentic tostones (crispy fried green plantains), pasteles (tamale-like delights) and bacalaitos (salted codfish fritters), without even having to leave the city.
