Nearly half of all restaurants fail within their first five years. But nine years after opening its first location, a family-owned and operated Puerto Rican restaurant group in Central Florida has found a recipe for success with authenticity and generous portions.
El Cilantrillo opened its newest restaurant on June 18 at Rio Pinar Plaza, 431 South Chickasaw Trail in East Orlando. That makes four El Cilantrillo restaurants spread around Orlando and Kissimmee. The new 4,470-square-foot location, which represents a $450,000 investment, is actually replacing an older El Cilantrillo location nearby that was too small. That location at 2500 S Semoran Blvd. has closed.
“We were on Semoran Boulevard for six years, but the shopping center was kind of old and had limited parking,” said owner Hiram Turull. “So we moved to a better location – Rio Pinar Plaza, where the anchor business is a Publix. East Orlando is very diverse and very residential, and also on top of that, there are lots of businesses in the area.”
His wife, co-owner Dianne Santos-Turull, added, “The decision to consolidate and fold the older, smaller store into this fantastic new prototype was driven by our goal to improve the overall guest experience.”
Located in a space that was previously occupied by a Keke’s Breakfast Cafe, the newest El Cilantrillo restaurant has a capacity of 154 and will employ about 70 people.
El Cilantrillo opened its first location in 2017 at 3628 W. Vine St. in Kissimmee. It opened its second location on Semoran Boulevard – the one that recently closed – in 2020. In 2022, it opened a third restaurant near the Florida Mall in Orlando. In 2024, it opened a fourth location at 5770 W Irlo Bronson Memorial Highway in Kissimmee’s Old Town district.
The family’s next goal? To open an El Cilantrillo restaurant in Tampa. And then, eventually, possibly, to franchise the El Cilantrillo concept. They’re also planning to use a large food truck to open temporary “pop-up” versions of El Cilantrillo, with the first stop planned for Tampa.
Restaurants are closing down regularly these days, so why is El Cilantrillo a success? Probably because it’s known for serving large portions of its signature Puerto Rican cuisine.
“We’re called ‘the House of the Overeater’ because we serve exaggerated portions on shareable plates,” Hiram Turull said.
Guests can order dishes such as El Afrentao, a 14-pound shareable platter that combines a variety of seafood, meats and sides. Or they can order the most popular dish, the Chuleta Kan Kan, an iconic Puerto Rican dish featuring a colossal bone-in pork chop that includes the rib, loin, belly and a thick strip of crispy skin. “We call it the Puerto Rican Tomahawk,” Hiram Turull said.
There’s also El Esmayao (an assortment of traditional Puerto Rican appetizers like sorullitos corn fritters, crispy popcorn chicken and tostones); El Parrandón (a shareable platter that includes the Chuleta Kan Kan pork chop and churrasco, a marinated grilled skirt steak); mofongos filled with a variety of proteins; deep-fried snapper (chillo frito); and several rice dishes including the house’s signature cilantro rice. El Cilantrillo also has a full bar.
Hiram Turull was in banking before he got into the restaurant business. He said he and his wife opened a restaurant to share their culinary heritage. They’ve built the business on serving both locals and visitors, with strategic locations in the tourist corridor.
The family-owned company employs the Turulls’ five grown children, who are actively involved in the daily operations and long-term strategy of all four restaurants. “That’s the secret to our success, to have our children within the organization,” Hiram Turull said. “It’s a blessing.”
The Turulls also have five grandchildren, ages 4 to 12, who are sometimes featured in the restaurant group’s social media clips.
“They’re adorable,” said Dianne Santos-Turull. “They’ve been racking up hundreds of thousands of views. They’ve been going viral.
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