Parada 22

It was my first time at parada and can't believe I hadn't been before. I love Puerto Rican food because it's so homey and reminds me of food I eat at home. We went in on Fourth of July for lunch and it wasn't too busy. We were greeted and sat immediately . We ordered two plates of mofongo de pernil, camarones a la criolla and a plate of chicharron de pollo.

It was so good! The pernil was doused in a creamy sauce, the rice and the beans were so flavorful and their maduro frito was ripe and sweet. The chicharron de pollo was so crunchy and juicy and that plate came with tostones. The camarones were in a very tasty sauce and had all the same sides. Ugh! Can't wait to go back and get mofongo again.

By the Port Hairs

Have you ever watched a cooking show and seen something that made you crave a certain food? It happens to us all the time, but luckily for us, most food cravings are easily satiated in the Bay Area.

Except, unfortunately, we were watching a show where they were preparing underrepresented Puerto Rican food--specifically mofongo!--and a cursory search of the Yelps turned up nothing in the South Bay.

Fortunately, I was able to turn to a trusted Yelp friend who steered me here to Parada 22 (P22) up in The City. P22 has been in business for nearly 15 years and also owns two Cuban sister Cuban restaurants, Cha Cha Cha, and two Mexican restaurants, Papitos.

The Good:

*Dog-friendly outdoor dining

*Friendly service

*Location is within easy waking distance of Golden Gate Park

*Local beers, as well as macrobrews and fermented grapes.

*Good entertainment if you sit outside from one of the local street artists.

*Reasonable prices--especially for SF

*Yucca Fries were hot and crispy, and the creamy cilantro-garlic sauce was fantastic, but we could've definitely used more as the tiny thimble didn't last long.

*Yellow rice was so good and reminded me of this "Mexican Rice" my mom used to make.

*Maduros (Fried Plantains) were fried up fantasticly and had a nice caramelization to go with the sweetness. I could eat a literal bucket of these.

*Mofongo hit the spot and satisfied my craving. The concomitant shrimp were cooked and seasoned well.

The Meh:

*Pernil Asado (pork shoulder) was underseasoned and just lacked a lot of flavor. Fortunately, their house orange hot sauce was able to help.

The Ugly:

*Parking can be challenging anywhere in SF, but this area, in particular, seemed extra daunting.

Conclusion: Great spot to get your first taste of severely underrepresented Puerto Rican food or to satisfy your craving. Recommended.

I haven't had a ton of Puerto Rican food in my lifetime, so can't really speak to the authenticity of this place. However, I can appreciate good food when I taste it, and I thoroughly enjoyed the flavors and options at Parada 22.

After walking my dog around the nearby park, we stopped here on a warm Thursday afternoon around 7pm. The staff was friendly. While several tables in the restaurant were occupied, we were able to grab an outdoor table right away.

The restaurant is casual and cozy, with about 40 seats inside and 3 small parklets outside.

*Drinks*
We got a sweet iced tea and a homemade lemonade. ($4 each) Both were pretty sweet - not the healthiest, but delicious and so refreshing on a warm day!

*Food* - We shared everything.
- Sampler ($22) It came with a nice assortment of dishes. It came with pernil asado (slow roasted pork), chicharrones de polo (fried chicken), maduros (plantains) and yuca al mojo (deep fried yuca patties). I was eyeing the full sized pernil asado but ultimately was glad we didn't order it as a main because the sampler came with a nice portion and we were also able to have a little bit of everything else too.

- Pollo a la criolla ($19) Really flavorful and moist. It also was served on top of some greens and sides of rice, beans and maduros (plantains).

We also asked for hot sauce, which seems homemade and added a nice amount of heat to the meal.

The service was friendly, food was tasty and portions were well-sized. I'm excited to come back for happy hour another time.

Parking is mostly metered nearby. A plus they have outdoor parklets, making it dog-friendly! There are also lots of shops, bars, snacks/desserts and other restaurants all within walking distance from here.

The food was great! Unfortunately I didn't take pictures of the main dishes. The mofongo was super tasty, and I liked the bistec encebollado. The service was super quick and I liked the ambiance of the place. Would recommend!

The ambience and decoration inside was really cool, and the service was good and reasonably quick. The chicken in the salad was delicious -- nicely seasoned and charred a bit on the grill. I felt they put too much dressing on the salad by default (I thought it would come with just the side cup) but this is pretty easy to fix. Yummy!

Went for HH and got the $25 sampler plate + a glass of sangria or beer, which was a great deal considering the generous amount of food included.

The sampler included fried chicken, maduros (plantains), tostones, yuca al mojo, and roast pork shoulder. It came with a really delicious aoli-like dipping sauce and the server gave us some very tasty hot sauce as well. I really enjoyed being able to sample a variety of foods and all we're quite good. The fried chicken, especially with the dipping sauce, was really good. I didn't love the yuca al mojo - it had some fibrous pieces that were very hard to chew. The pork was very soft and moist but could've used more salt; however, in combo with the hot sauce or dipping sauce, it was still great.

Overall, a really solid sampler plate to get during HH, I'd definitely go back to try some of the other dishes.

Our first time here, we ordered 2 dishes: the pollo and asado. Not sure how they do this but the pollo was so soft and tender and flavorful. The portions are pretty large. Shared 2 dishes between 2 people and we still had plenty of leftovers. Food was flavorful and appetizing. Would try again!

The service and food are terrific! Erick, one of the servers, is a fantastic host and caring individual. We have visited multiple times and 5 stars all the way. We'll come back as we are out of towners. For good Caribbean and Latin food, this is the PLACE!

Great food! Be ready to eat meat heavy. This is not for the vegetarian crowd.
Beef and pork heavy - cooked to perfection. Can't go wrong with anything on the menu.
Generous portions.

The wait time can be long if one comes late in the evening. Small restaurant. Will feel crammed and it will be loud.

It was a fun experience to eat here.

Casual place w authentic puerto rican food!!

Generous portion sizes as well (was able to share a sampler and arroz between two people)

Food was all around delicious, I simply could not decide between many of the entree dishes so the waiter recommend getting the sampler to try a little bit of everything (it came with fried chicken, slow roasted pork, plantains, and tostones). I really enjoyed the plantains, the pork was cooked wonderfully (so tender and full of flavor), I'm typically not a big yuca fan but it was done really well.