Syracuse, NYCaribbean

A downtown Caribbean restaurant that opened as 809 Lounge and rebranded to Isla, cooking across Puerto Rican and Dominican traditions per This is CNY's Don Cazentre. Charlie Miller devoted a Syracuse Sandwiches column to its 13-inch Cuban sandwich: pork marinated a full day, sweet ham, Swiss and Dijon on Cuban bread with a pickle-infused cream cheese spread, griddled in butter and served in three stacked sections with yuca fries. Order the mofongo and the Cuban sandwich with yuca fries.

Sara Giocondo's Puerto Rican kitchen grew from a farmers-market tent to a food truck to a storefront, and This is CNY reported in 2026 that it has consolidated around its Fayetteville location. Jacob Pucci's review praised the Tampa-style Cubano, layered with slow-roasted pork, salami, ham, Swiss and pickles and pressed until garlicky and intensely flavorful, plus a Carne Frita Mofongo topped with crispy pork and mojo. Order the Tampa Cubano, the Carne Frita Mofongo, and a made-to-order empanada.

A Jamaican and Caribbean counter on North Salina Street that This is CNY's Northside neighborhood guide names as the place for an authentic Caribbean meal. Open since 2013, the kitchen builds around slow-cooked oxtails, jerk chicken, curry chicken, curry goat and stew chicken served with rice and sides. Order the oxtails with rice and two sides, the jerk chicken bowl, or the curry goat.

One of Syracuse's longest-running Puerto Rican kitchens, serving fresh Puerto Rican cuisine since 1997, per This is CNY's Northside neighborhood guide. The menu runs to generous plates of roasted pork, fried chicken and stewed beef with rice and beans, plus mofongo, empanadas and sweet plantains. Order the mofongo with fried pork, the roasted pork with rice and beans, and an empanada.