Now, marketing manager Carlos Banks is ready to# share his favorite spot for classic Puerto Rican flavors.

It's called Isla del Encanto, Island# of Enchantment, and it's located in Kendall.

So tell me about the lowkey vibe here.

So yeah, Isla del Encanto is a Puerto Rican# style restaurant.

It's based out of West Kendall, right there near The Hammocks near# Tamiami Airport.

Basically what it is, it's just you walk in, you feel like you're at the# island all over again.

They have a Puerto Rican mural on the wall.

They cover all their tables in# Puerto Rican, like, history and culture.

So yeah, so they have traditional Puerto Rican cuisine.

Please tell me they have mofongo.

Yes, they have mofongo.

How is it?

How's the mofongo?

The mofongo is delicious.

Sofia, what were your first thoughts walking in?

So I loved, like, the ambiance and the atmosphere.

As soon as you walk in you're just like immersed# in, like, Latin salsa music.

You see the murals, I was like, "I love it here."

Christmas, first thoughts.

I felt the same way they did.

You walk# in and there's this Latin music playing, your face just gets hit with, like, this great# smell of all the spices, it was great.

It sounds like it has a really good vibe.

Yeah, I went on a Sunday, and so there was a lot of families there.

So there was a lot# of energy that was just really happy.

All right, I can't wait to dig into this food.# So tell me what you had this last time.

[Carlos] So whenever I go, I always start off with# the sorullitos as my appetizer, which is like corn fritters.

It's a traditional Puerto Rican cuisine.# And I also pair that with a pollo a la plancha that comes with chimichurri sauce on top.

[Michelle] So let's tell them what that means.

So pollo a la plancha is basically [Carlos] Pollo a la plancha is a chicken that's pan-seared very flat, very thin.# And then, my drink always is a Medalla, which is a premier Puerto Rican beer that they# serve on the island.

So they actually imported it and they serve it there.

Oh, that's awesome.

Yeah.

So what did you have this last time, Sofia?

I got the pastel de platano, which is like their# version of a tamal, and it was delicious.

It was, you know, filled with pork, and I got some# olives in there, which I loved as well.

[Michelle] Was it very savory or did it have# any sweetness, because of the plantain?

Very savory.

Okay.

[Sofia] Yeah, and then I got mofongo and# pierna de cerd.. [Michelle] Roast pork, yeah, leg of pork, yeah.

[Sofia] Yeah, with the onions and that little mojo sauce, it was kind of acidic, and you pour# that over the mofongo and it was absolutely delicious.

And then, I got arroz con dulce, which# was, like, their version of rice pudding.

Rice pudding, yeah.

I really liked it, 'cause it was, like, heavily spiced, which I didn't expect.# I'd always had, like, Cuban rice pudding that just really had cinnamon in it.

This was,# like, heavily spiced and had raisins in it, which I actually thought was a nice touch.

[Michelle] When you say spiced, do you think like nutmeg, cinnamon, mint maybe?

Yeah, like a clove.

It tasted like cloves to me.

Okay.

Okay, that makes sense.

It was a nice difference.

Sounds like a holiday kind of a flavor.

Yeah.

Yeah.

That's the vibes I got.

I li..

I had the pastelillos, I guess are empanadas.

Pastelitos?

Pastelitos, yeah.

I probably can't see You said that's perfectly.

Look at you.

[Christmas] I didn't have my glasses,# so I couldn't really see that well.

What were they filled with?

They were filled with beef.

Ground beef was one of them, and the other one was pizza,# so that was like a marinara sauce and mozzarella, which they were both very delicious.

I was trying# to pace myself for my meal, but I ate both of them.

So I ordered the Forget about pacing.

Yeah, right, exactly.

I ordered the churrasco# for dinner, and it came with, well, I ordered the island rice and the fried yuca, and it# came with like a little chimichurri sauce, which was really good.

It was all delicious.

What is the island rice?

Do you know what was in that?

It's like a yellow rice.

Did it have the pigeon peas?

I think it did have pigeon peas and, like, some carrots or something like that.

[Michelle] So it's probably arroz con gandules, yeah.

[Carlos] Yeah, I think so.

To make it easier, it's just island rice, yeah.

Yeah, and, for dessert, I got the tres leches.

Oh, yum!

Which was delicious.

Okay.

Yeah.

How about you, Sofia?

Any drinks?

I got mavi, I th.. What's that?

It's like a, to me, it kind of tasted like a root beer, but it had like a bitter# aftertaste in the end.

I had never had it before, but it paired well with everything.

Interesting.

Yeah.

Okay, I'm guessing prices are really fair.

Yeah, pretty fair.

It was# about 50 to $60 by myself.

You had a lot of food though.

Yeah, I had a lot of food to take home.

So like it was fair in that I was able to# take food home and share it with a friend.

Right, so you had breakfast and dinner?

Oh, absolutely.

Okay.

For that price, okay, got it.# How's the area?

How's the parking?

Parking was a little more difficult just# 'cause it's in a congested strip mall.

Okay.

So just getting in was a little difficult for me.

But once you're# in, it w..

Okay, tell me about service.

Do they help people# out if they don't know the cuisine too well?

Absolutely, yeah, the service there is great.# You know, the servers are, like, bilingual, so if you have trouble ordering anything off the# menu, they can really help you out with that.

And they're really fast and really friendly.

Okay, well, Carlos, Isla del Encanto is your pick.

Sum it up for us, please.

If you're looking for an authentic Puerto Rican restaurant in the heart of West Kendall, look# no further than Isla del Encanto right there.

Okay.

Sofia?

Isla del Encanto provides, you know, authentic Puerto Rican food in a casual setting.

Christmas?

Isla del Encanto is a great place to go when# you just want to just feel good, and chill out, and just be in, like, a Latin vibe.

Lovely.

Well, for a taste of Puerto Rico with homecooked flavors, large portions, and an# artful decor, Isla del Encanto has you covered.

It's located at 12850 SW 120th Street, in# Kendall.

They're open daily from 11 to 9, no reservations needed, where the average# price for dinner without drinks is about $35.