It’s imperative to order a sangria or mojito immediately upon stepping into Mojitos. Those visiting on the right night will be treated to live music along with notable versions of Cuban-style pollo a la plancha and vaca frita, grilled flank steak marinated in plenty of garlic and lime. Don’t hesitate to order a Cubano sandwich, it’s one of the city’s best.

Founded by a brother and sister duo who previously operated a food truck in Anchorage, Alaska, El Bacano serves a terrific array of Dominican comforts including the cuatro golpes breakfast of salami, cheese, longaniza, and eggs; and bistec encebollado with gandules guisado (pigeon peas) and ensalada rusa (potato salad) to the Valley Glen community.

Open since 2009, Mofongos serves up Puerto Rican favorites like pastelitos, yuca fries, arroz con gandules (pigeon pea rice), and pork roast with plantains. Try one of the nine mofongos on the menu, which consists of deep-fried green plantains stuffed with red snapper or shrimp with Creole butter lemon sauce.

Those in the know call ahead to place their orders at Pasadena Fish Market as the staff operates on island time. The small and superb Jamaican menu includes goat curry, rice and peas, stewed oxtails, beef-stuffed patties, and plantains. The mostly takeout spot also serves Southern favorites like fried seafood, candied yams, sweet potato pie, and peach cobbler.

Located at Blossom Market Hall in San Gabriel, this Guyanese-owned stand makes excellent meat and vegan curries, flaky roti, and a rotating selection of patties (both Jamaican style and a buttery Guyanese rendition). Chef-owner Yonette Alleyne also prepares grilled jerk chicken, baked macaroni pie, slow-braised oxtail stew, and an otherworldly crab soup.

Generations grew up on Tracey’s Belizean Restaurant’s food and it’s easy to see why. The space is unfussy and focuses all efforts on the menu starting with breakfast including fry jacks served with eggs and beans. In the later hours, go for the stewed chicken and oxtails. Don’t miss the weekends-only sweets like cassava pudding, caramel cake, and more.

The 28-year-old Cha Cha Chicken is a Santa Monica beacon for pan-Caribbean dishes, attracting diners from all corners of town. The jerk chicken is consistently delicious, as are most of the sides like fried sweet plantains, dirty rice, black beans, and tangy red cabbage slaw. If in need of something incredibly hearty, go for the Cuban ropa vieja (shredded beef stew). There’s also a location in Northridge.

Little Kingston is one of LA’s best Jamaican restaurants offering classic dishes like pimento-spiced (allspice) rice and peas, meat and seafood stews, curries (the oxtails and goat curry are particularly good), ackee and saltfish, and jerk chicken that comes with a sweat-inducing sauce. The small outdoor patio in View Park-Windsor Hills makes the idea of island time in Los Angeles feel remotely possible.

Merlin Garcia, a former LA Public Safety Department worker, started a street food stand and catering company in her spare time. Now Garcia has a proper South LA brick-and-mortar restaurant that serves fantastic doubles, stewed oxtails, corn soup, and rotis that represent the varied and deeply delicious food of Trinidad.

Though Donna’s strip mall facade is unassuming, it is quite homey on the inside. It’s not uncommon for customers to call the owner Ms. Donna and immediately order her delicious brown stew chicken, jerk chicken, oxtails, or fish tea soup upon sitting down. A glass of soursop or sorrel juice is essential to wash everything down.

Los Angeles’s only Garifuna restaurant migrated from its roving truck format to a permanent stand in South LA’s Mercado La Paloma in 2022. It’s nice to sit and order smaller bites like panades (deep-fried masa stuffed with fish masa dough), garnaches (crispy tortillas loaded with black beans or shredded chicken), and salbutes (puffed corn tortillas topped with shredded chicken breast and vegetables), as well as bigger dine-in or carryout plates like beefy oxtails, steamed rice, and vegetables.