El Cilantrillo Restaurant, Central Florida’s largest Puerto Rican restaurant group, recently opened its fourth and largest store in Kissimmee’s Old Town. The new restaurant, spanning over 7,300 square feet, has been built with an investment of more than $1 million.
It is open seven days a week and can accommodate up to 450 guests. The dining area is divided into a main indoor dining room and an outdoor patio with a cozy ambiance and a bar. The patio also has a permanent stage where Latin music bands will perform every week, starting from Thursday to Sunday, late into the evening.
The new Old Town location has a lot to offer, including a gift shop called “La Placita Don Turull” that features a collection of Puerto Rican artisanal items. Additionally, there is a private room available for parties and meetings. The opening of this store creates approximately 80 new jobs, with the company’s executive office now located on the second floor of the new Old Town location, along with all its restaurants combined, more than 200 Central Floridians are employed.
Founded in 2017 by husband and wife team Hiram Turull and Dianne Santos-Turull, El Cilantrillo Restaurant specializes in traditional Puerto Rican cuisine, like mofongo (smashed, garlicky, green plantains), pernil (roast pork) and rice dishes from arroz con gandules (rice with Caribbean pigeon peas) to arroz con mariscos (Puerto Rican style paella). A full bar offers delectable cocktails with an island flare including traditional mojitos as well as mango, passion fruit and other tropical flavors.
“When we started El Cilantrillo our dream was to share the extensive culinary heritage of our island and its warm hospitality with everyone in this diverse community,” Turull said. “This new location helps us expand on that goal by enabling us also to serve the thousands of tourists that visit us every day. We want them to go home knowing that Orlando has a vibrant culinary scene worth experiencing and that they should not miss out on trying Puerto Rican food.”
The Turull’s five adult children are all involved in the business, as well as other extended family members. They can be found at the company’s offices in leadership and support positions, in the kitchen, waiting tables, and tending bar, making El Cilantrillo a true family operation both in the back and front of the house.
To mark the grand opening of its newest store, El Cilantrillo is rolling out new menu items in all locations. Among them, croquetas de mamposteao (rice and beans croquettes) and malanga nachos (taro chips nachos).
El Cilantrillo has three other stores, including two in Orlando, at 2500 S. Semoran Blvd. and 1301 Florida Mall Ave., and one at 3628 W Vine St. in Kissimmee. Additionally, the Turull family has expanded their business ventures with Turull’s Boquería – a Spanish tapas bar and restaurant in the Florida Mall area, Nona’s Urban Pizza in Lake Nona, as well as the family’s own coffee brand, Don Turull Cafe Premium Blend, available at all of their restaurants and in many area supermarkets. A cigar brand, Don Turull Cigars, completes the list of current family holdings with several other projects in development.
