The Blessed Cafe brings homestyle Puerto Rican fare to the Old Arcade. Credit: The Blessed Cafe

This past February, The Blessed Cafe joined the food offerings in Cleveland’s Old Arcade. Opened by chef Denise Santiago, who moved to Cleveland from Puerto Rico 10 years ago, the casual restaurant specializes in Latin foods.

The sunny little café evokes Old San Juan, with brightly colored walls, faux doorways and a ceiling festooned with umbrellas. There is a small dining area for customers.

Guests can expect a rotating selection of hearty, homestyle foods like roasted chicken, beef stew, fried pork chops and stuffed pork loin. Typically two or three meat dishes are on offer each day, paired with sides like white rice and beans, yellow rice with pigeon peas, potato salad and fried plantains. For dessert, there’s tres leches and tembleque, a coconut pudding.

The Blessed Cafe (401 Euclid Ave., 216-352-7077) is open Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This article appears in May 19 – Jun 1, 2021.

For 25 years, Douglas Trattner has worked as a full-time freelance writer, editor and author. His work as co-author on Michael Symon's cookbooks have earned him four New York Times Best-Selling Author honors, while his longstanding role as Scene dining editor has garnered awards of its own.