Fritanga Nicaraguan Cuisine

I’m Nicaraguan living in Washington state for many years.Right now I’m visiting Saint Louis for a few days and its was a pleasant surprise to find a Nicaraguan restaurant in this city.Service,food and atmosphere were great. I 100% recommend this place.

Yesterday was my first unpleasant experience with this restaurant. I have been a big fan of Fritanga for a couple of years now — specifically the Tilapia a la Tipitapa. Most of my friends that I have invited here usually try the Bistec Encebollado. In the past whenever I tried some of theirs, it always tasted delicious with a savory flavor. I took my mother and sister here for the first time yesterday and I urged them to try the bistec. It came out looking differently from how it usually is. There was a lot of onions and sauce all over it. My mom took one bite and instantly made a face. I was surprised she didn’t like it. I took a small piece to see anything was wrong and it tasted like someone has poured sugar in my mouth. This dish has never tasted sweet before and had a weird aftertaste. My mother asked the manager could she send it back because it wasn’t to her taste. He told her she could order something else but would have to pay for the bistec. Apparently they don’t do exchanges. My sister didn’t like it either but let it go once she heard him say this. I felt that was very unfair and lacked consideration. There has been a subtle lack in consistency in the way certain dishes have been prepared for a while. The tilapia’s sauce will be watery sometimes and other times thicker with more flavor. The chicken empanadas are juicy sometimes and some days a drier. However, a dish should never do a one eighty from savory to sweet. I would’ve never recommended it if I knew it would taste so differently and as unappetizing as yesterday was. I frequented this restaurant regardless of the time I ordered my usual tilapia and they accidentally gave it to someone who had ordered food after me and there was no more tilapia left. When they told my friend they had ran out meat and needed to go to the store, we remained patient. I understand that this is a mom and pop which doesn’t pump out mass food and I love supporting local STL businesses. However, this was truly disappointing and felt a little petty considering the dish was mad incorrectly. What a shame.

As a Nicaraguan it’s really hard to find good places to eat our traditional food but my experience here was beyond excellent, I love some good carne asada and theirs just reminded me to the original, keep up the great work and putting our country’s cuisine to the highest level ♥️ Puro pinolero 🇳🇮

I'm Boricua and recently found this place. The food is extremely flavorful. The clearly know what they are doing and are running a great business. The Pollo Chimichurri is 100% recommended. Service is very friendly, and they get your food made fast. Definitely give this place a try!

The food is absolutely amazing! Wonderful, friendly service. My new favorite place!

Everything we tried was amazing! Our server was patient, nice and very helpful. Our food came out fast and was great!

Our second stop during the April 2024 Eclipse trip. Google brought us to Fritanga. We ordered a Heineken, a Cerveza Toña, and a Nica Libre (Flor de Caña and Pepsi) for drinks. For appetizers we had Queso Frito. And for entrees we had Camarones a la casa con tostones y yuca frita and Pargo a la Tipitapa con Gallo Pinto y maduros. Service was very personal, the portions and flavor were great. After our recent trip to Costa Rica, we were curious about Nicaraguan cuisine, and this visit scratched the surface of that curiosity. After a conversation with our server, we found that Fritanga has been here for 17 years. I'm glad that we found this gem.

I went here for dinner and ordered bistec encebollado with two sides: arroz con frijoles negros and maduros. The food was a good portion and I ended up taking leftovers home. I thought it was a nice simple restaurant that served authentic food. Would definitely want to go back and try again!