Amazing

• September 9, 2009
• Rated 4 of 5 by Mrs. Burgos from Philadelphia , Pennsylvania

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Richard's Cafe

• May 15, 2007
• Rated 2 of 5 by stomps from Houston, Texas

The owner of the Seagate Hotel, Penny, gave our group advice on where to eat in town, narrowing the choices down to “The Patio” and “Richard’s Café.” A quick look at The Patio took it out of the equation as well, since there was absolutely no way fourteen people could fit in its tiny confines. Richard’s it was.

Everyone took quite a long time to look through the Puerto Rican cuisine on the menu, trying to find something they wouldn’t normally eat. As sides and appetizers, they offered both amarillos and tostones—sweet, ripe plantains and fried green (unripe) plantains, respectively. We got many plates of both and I got amarillos (my favourite) as a side. Mofongo, the other way plantains are prepared—green and mashed—was a main dish.

It seemed like we waited the amount of time normally spent waiting for a main meal just for our appetizers. Figuring this was a combination of being both famished and impatient to get out of the dark shadows of the restaurants and onto the sunshine-coated sands of the Viequense beaches, I ate my share of the sugary goodness that is amarillos and a couple salty fried tostones and then awaited my $10.95 smothered bistec main.

An hour later, our meals finally started arriving. We thought this could have been from our large group overloading the chefs, but we found out later that Richard’s is well known for being agonizingly slow. So only eat here if you have plenty of time!

My meal came with the same number of amarillos as a plate of appetizers, so I stuffed myself silly. The bistec was smothered in onions and tasted alright, but was by no means the best steak I had in Puerto Rico. It definitely was not as terrible as the picture makes it look, though! I just found it salty, very chewy, and without much taste. However, I was more impressed than my friends who ordered a bed of mofongo for their chicken or shrimp. They paid substantially more than I did—between $13.95 and $18.95 depending on the meat—only to find out that it was not actually made from plantains—it was actually mashed yuca—and it tasted like glorified mashed potatoes.

Overall, I thoroughly enjoyed my amarillos, but the main course was certainly not worth the wait and it is debatable whether it was worth the price. Richard’s is not terribly by any means—which is good since it is one of a limited number of restaurants on Vieques—but I could have done without waiting over an hour for my meal when we were so pressed for time!

From journal Sunny Days and Glowing Nights on Vieques

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Richards Cafe

• July 30, 2005
• Rated 5 of 5 by chapparita from St. Louis, Missouri

From journal Vieques - Absolutely Beautiful

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