Sofrito Mama’s

So fast forward a year. A restaurant can be a totally different animal in a year. Boy was I surprised to see this is the #2 spot on Trip Advisor. Surprised and very pleased. In the last year this couple has perfected their business. We ordered 2 times this visit. Fast service, nice people. The rise in their customer base has not changed the food quality or service.

Delicious!

Food was wonderful we had the pork platter, plantains, empanadas, and flan it was great they cooked it when ordered tasted like Homemade deliciousness. Friendly owner, great Authentic food.

If you are in the area visiting, YOU NEED TO COME HERE!!! If you live here, I ENVY YOU! Amazing food! Delicious empanadas, best ones I’ve ever had AND it was free with a Unilocal check-​in. I ordered the chicken stew and it was full of flavor and very tender with the white rice and red bean. The red bean rice was OK, but the stew trumped it so my meal was STILL amazing! My husband ordered the Wednesday special (the plantain «lasagna») with the rice with black bean and that combo was to die for! Great service, lovely smiles and beautiful people. I wish we had a restaurant like this in Indiana!!! Thank you, Sofrito Mama for a great experience here in Sarasota!

Loved this place! Had lunch there back in mid-​December while traveling in FL. Read about it on Unilocal and decided we had to try it. So good. Family run, great food, friendly people (from Philly too!)
4 of us eating so we tried a ton of different things. Fried and Sweet plantains, Roast Pork platter (Pernil), Fried Pork Chunks, and a sort of stew they had on special that day, oh, and the Pasteles were amazing. My wife is STILL talking about them. Lots of beans and rice on the side as well. The food was all so tasty and there was a TON of it.
Try some of the drinks they have in the cooler (Malta, Guarana Antarctica, Kola Champagne, etc).
Be prepared to sit outside as the shop is tiny, but you’re in Florida, enjoy the weather! Awesome place, awesome people. Keep up the great work!

I’m Puertorican, I can tell you their food is authentic, delicious… I eat there and I feel like I’m eating at my abuela house!
Try empanadas beef or chicken, arroz con gandules, lechon y tres leches. just perfect!

You won’t go wrong with coming here. Being Puerto Rican myself I can attest this is a gem of a find. AUTHENTIC for sure.

This is my second visit to Sofrito Mama this trip. I’m so glad we made the time to check them out. The food is just like what I used to eat growing up on the island. The tostones are crispy yet soft inside, seasoned perfectly, and their mayo ketchup is the best I’ve ever had. I’ve had the chicken empanada, alcapurria, carne frita, pernil y arroz con gandules. All washed down with a cold diet coco rico. Nothing fancy about this place, just good, fresh food made the right way and ran by people who care. I can’t wait to come back to Florida so I can eat here again.

Greatness!!! I am sort of picky when it comes to fried anything, lol. I can say the flavor of the food was good.
Not to salty. Not overly spicy or seasoned. Just about right.
Great friendly staff very eager to answer your questions about the menu.
My company said the drinks were awesome as well. I only drink coffee so I can’t vouch for them on that regard.
I will be back.

Delicious and good helping size. Plenty of tasty food with each serving. Loved the Bacaloa!
But this is a take out only place. Only seating outside. Still great food. But plan to take home of eat outside !

Amazing food! I ordered the chuletas and paired them with yellow rice. They were perfect and delicious. A Unilocal check in gets you the best tasting empanada you’ll ever have. Seating is outdoors only. Support this family business and you won’t be disappointed.

Awesome food and very flavorful. The position is more than enough for one person.
I had Arroz con Gandules and pernil.
Also, I tried the beef empanada with their home made hot sauce.
All I can say that this place has amazing food and very reasonably priced.

Fresh food made daily. Authentic Latin food. So good and the taste are so tantalizing!!! This is a carry-​out only place. There are some tables with umbrellas on the walkway. Totally great to grab and go. The pernil, that’s the roast pork is juicy, flavorful and generous. The Cuban sandwich is hands down the best in Sarasota.

Took the whole family here and really enjoyed our food and experience.
Prepare to eat outside (no inside seating) and prepare to taste modern interpretations of authentic Puerto Rican cuisine.
Just do it. And get the empanadas. Okay? Okay.

Oh, boy. This is the epitome of a hole-​in-​the-​wall, but the food here is SO GOOD. We were in the area and were some latin food. The portions are big (and delicious) and we were able to feed a family of five for a really good price.
We had some of the stewed chicken (pollo guisado), yellow rice and peas (arroz con guandules), sweet plantains (maduros), steak, some salads, and an empanada. We were all VERY satisfied with our meals.
Good to note that it is not a «sit and eat» kind of place, as there aren’t really any tables and chairs inside, but they have a few chairs and tables outside where you can sit an eat. Will definitely be coming back here next time I am in town and getting my grub on!

This place rocked it. Authentic to the max Puerto Rican food right here. If you are looking for that local place that is so tiny you blinked your eye, and it is gone, it’s here.
You will not be able to sit inside. If you can suck it up if you are a true Floridian who hates the heat, but lives here, you will take it home, eat it in your car, or sit outside at their tables. Those are three options. I’ll give you a fourth one, eat it at the beach, and risk seagulls jumping on your head and stealing your empanada. You will be pissed. I would.
Saturday is pasteles day — chicken or pork. Check out my pic! It’s a biggie deal. You better believe it. We also had Fried chicken, rice with peas and green olives, sweet plaintains, and salads. Yes they r all amazing with flavor. Love love love Puerto Rican rice!!! Sofrito Mama can cook!!!
We first found this place through trip advisor. Sancocho soup caught my eye, but they ran out of it at the time I called in the winter months. Finally made it out here, & it did not disappoint.

Wow wow wow! The empanadas are ridiculous! Tostones have the best sweet or salty for either palate. The chicken stew platter is out of this world, authentic and will set your taste buds off. do not forget the tres leches cake!!! mmm… husband and wife team will not let you down!

This is it folks. The «real-​deal» «hole-​in-​the-​wall» «mom and pop» shop run by a very likable man with a great sense of humor and wit and his wife. An absolute treasure hidden amongst the snowbirds and tourists, serving the die-​hard locals who know where to get the best food and the best service. How do I know? Because while I was standing in line waiting to order, three different patrons gave me unsolicited input on the menu items as I was contemplating what to order. People were raving.
* Welcome Experience
— Outstanding
Well because of the owner. You just wanna know the guy. He’s likable and CARES about what he’s doing. While bagging up one patron’s to-​go order, he opens the lid to show another patron so she can see the splendor of the dish. He’s proud of it because he cares about what he’s doing. He knows he’s not only in the restaurant business he’s in the people business.
* Establishment
— Unique
Sophrito Mama’s is a TO-​GO only establishment. You can’t eat there if you wanted to. There are tables and chairs outside provided for convenience. That’s where we ate at the tables outside.
As I stood waiting for the other patrons to collect their orders and get happy, I couldn’t help but notice how clean and organized the visible cooking and prep space was. Extraordinary! Cuban music (I think?) added to the ambiance and made my experience more enjoyable.
* Service
— Extraordinary!
Like I stated above, you just wanna know this guy. He’s super cool and witty and kinda sarcastic but in a kind way and CARES about what you’re having and how it’s prepared.
We talked for a minute and I told him I am a bit of a foodie and he said, «No foodie would order a diet coke when there are unique authentic traditional Cuban sodas in the cooler.» He was right! I switched to his recommendation and it was perfect with the meal. It’s stuff like that that makes experiences like this enjoyable and memorable.
* Food Quantity /​Quality /​Presentation
— Outstanding
I had the pulled pork and rice plate, empanadas, tostones and the cod fritter which I’m forgetting the name of right now. For dessert I had tres leches cake and flan.
The breakdown:
Pulled pork & Rice:
Moist. Tender. WELL SEASONED! Perfect hot sauce on the side to pour over it. Perfect with the rice that has big chunky olives and peas in it! That plate was so good!
Empanadas:
Made with LOVE. My favorite was the spinach and cheese. Very «espinaca con queso» flavor to it, perfect to use to scoop up some of that pork and rice for an incredible bite!
Tostones:
Perfect. Fresh, crispy, delicious dipping sauce. Omg yum.
Cod fritter:
Crispy, hot, chewy and delicious. I’m not a big «fish» guy but this thing was very tasty. I’d order it again!
Tres leches:
Perfect. Not overly sweet, milky, creamy, FRESH and delicious.
Flan:
This was just ok. I’d skip this next time and try the bread pudding. There was a bit of separation and the custard was rough around the edges. I like a super silky flan!
* What I’ll remember
This great experience compliments of the extraordinary owners. The first thing I said to my cousin when I started eating was, «We need to come back here again before I fly home in two days. Please rearrange the schedule so we can do that.»
We are headed back tomorrow. Can’t wait!

We found this one on a trip adviser search and on a day trip to Sarasota made it our first stop.
It truly is a hole in the wall. You cannot eat there and there no bathroom, but they are friendly with their neighbors and restrooms are available next door and the barber next door seems friendly!
With a Unilocal check in, we got a free empanadas. Their empanadas are delicious – flaky pastry, flavorful meat. Yum! We also tried their plantain football shaped appetizers. They were a little more doughy than I expected, but tasty.
For our main entrée, we ordered a Cuban sandwich that came with plantain chips. The Cuban was OUT OF THIS WORLD tasty. Best Cuban I’ve had. My husband ordered the fried pork with the traditional rice (rice with peas). He enjoyed it, too. The mojo sauce was different than he had expected since it didn’t seem to have any citrus ingredients, but still tasty!
The owner was great and so friendly. Would definitely come back for another Cuban sandwich!

What a great experience! First off, this is a carry-​out only establishment; however, they do have outdoor seating for your carry out! The guy at the counter was so helpful and friendly. He was so patient while I tried to make my selection. He even helped me pick out a special soda. I ordered pulled pork, rice and even macaroni salad. I left about 75% of the plate behind because there was so much food. I even got a spinach empanada with my Unilocal check it. I ate it several hours later in the airport and it was delicious. I would go back here in a hearteat and feed a family of three for $ 10! You won’t be disappointed.