Restaurants in Vieques
- Sort by:
- Popular
-
A
Duffy’s
Esperanza’s newest bar is a sleeker and slightly more refined version of Banana’s next door. It fills a gap in the market with fresh salads and creative seafood, but still nurtures an undone Caribbean flavor. Opening out onto Esperanza’s main strip, the laid-back street atmosphere infiltrates the shady interior where expats and locals mingle over beer and scallops.
reviewed
-
B
Chez Shack
What have ’60s psychedelic band the Mamas and Papas and Vieques’ most bohemian restaurant got in common? They both owe at least a part of their success to expat impresario and restaurateur Hugh Duffy. In the 1960s, Duffy owned a restaurant called ‘Love Shack’ on the nearby island of St Thomas, where he hosted folk-music nights with a quartet of spaced-out hippies called the New Journeymen. It was an important first break. But while the Journeymen changed their name to the Mamas and Papas and headed off to LA for some California Dreamin’, Duffy transplanted himself 13 miles to the west where he opened up Chez Shack, a quirky Caribbean hangout that quickly began…
reviewed
-
C
Belly Button’s
Make a beeline for breakfast at Belly Button’s and bring a good appetite. Your belly will be more than happy after you’ve heroically demolished the three Frisbee-sized pancakes that appear rather magically on your plate here. Consisting of a small collection of alfresco tables located outside a kitchen trailer on the malecón, this expat-run breakfast phenomenon conjures up enough food to keep you going until 6pm. Grab a copy of the San Juan Star, help yourself to a mug of gourmet coffee and make plans for a day of breathtaking action – or indolence.
reviewed
-
D
Café Media Luna
Romance is not dead in Vieques’ original ‘posh’ restaurant where candlelit tables and a tiny street-side balcony add panache to any meal. And there’s more. Isabel II’s music scene more or less begins and ends in this attractive colonial building where smooth live jazz accompanies lamb chops, seared tuna and rather authentic pizza. OK, so the price is a little steep, but with a comprehensive wine list and free entertainment provided by the pizza-tossing chefs in the open-sided kitchen, you might just be inspired to dust off your credit card.
reviewed
-
E
Blue Macaw
No birds here, but plenty of fancy metal curves and elaborate downlighting. One of a trio of plush new eating houses that could quite easily have been plucked straight out of San Juan’s SoFo neighborhood, the Blue Macaw was fire-damaged in 2005. Relaunched in 2007 in polished chrome, it’s reignited itself (the restaurant, not the fire that is) with all its old vigor, displaying a menu that’s as delicious as the decor is plush. Try the scampi, the lamb tenderloin or the tempura trout and leave room for a lavish dessert.
reviewed
-
F
Topacio
The newly opened Topacio has already cemented a firm reputation among those with a penchant for delicious seafood served Caribbean-style. Sheltered on an outside patio underneath colorful lights, you can sample the generous paella, fish in a creole sauce, seafood mofongo (mashed plantains) and lobster cooked in garlic. Unpretentious, efficient and brimming with fresh and locally caught ingredients, this place offers great Puerto Rican authenticity without sacrificing on the quality.
reviewed
-
G
Panadería & Repostería Lydia
With a 4am opening call, this veritable hole-in-the-wall bakery-cum-coffee bar is ideal for insomniacs, late-night party animals and ferry workers on the graveyard shift. On a quiet weekend morning in sleepy Isabel, it’s one of the only places likely to be open. Stop by for caffeine, pastries, sandwiches and sweet bread, and fight with the locals for one of the two plastic tables that furnish the sidewalk.
reviewed
-
H
bbh
With its high-end magazine cover setting in the Bravo Beach Hotel, you would expect this restaurant to be trendy and chic. And naturally, it is. This place is foodie heaven, with European cheeses, New Zealand lamb and plenty of infused local ingredients. Tapas are the specialty, but there’s also a wine room and the poolside Palms bar where you can enjoy an alcoholic appetizer.
reviewed
-
I
Scoops
Junk food hasn’t arrived on Vieques yet but, if you need something fast and palatable, you can grab a cheap pizza here and watch the local teenagers as they gamble away their pocket money on the arcade machines. An adjacent room holds more tasty treats with Häagen-Dazs ice cream and fresh fruit juices. They’re ridiculously expensive, but what the hell?
reviewed
-
J
La Viequense Deli
If it’s breakfast you’re after, this is the place to come for your 6am pancakes or hangover-curing coffee. If you miss the 11am cut-off you can feast instead on decent baked goods, tortillas and sandwiches. Service is no-nonsense and fast, the decor clean and modern, and the clientele local with a smattering of in-the-know tourists.
reviewed
Advertisement
-
K
Bili
Bili is the recently rebranded restaurant at the Amapola Inn. Offering the island’s finest selection of vegetarian food, it’s also a haven for noncarnivores who’ve grown tired of eating omelets. The yucca salads are good as is the seafood and you can shoot the breeze alfresco as the malecón crowds steam past.
reviewed
-
L
El Quenepo
The new kid on Esperanza’s seaside block, El Quenepo has a lovely interior and an equally delectable menu. The food’s catch-of-the-day fresh and the decor is – by normal Viequesian standards – remarkably chic. A new trend?
reviewed
-
M
Island Café
Cocooned in the Crow’s Nest in the lofty barrio of Florida, the Island Café features a variety of Caribbean mains served on a 2nd-story terrace with great views of the main island. Try the fiery West Indies pork and plantain stew with coconut.
reviewed
-
N
Tito Bloque
Head to this spot, at the foot of Calle Acacia next to the mangroves, when you want something different from Esperanza. This raised outdoor patio draws a local crowd and is known for its good, cheap grilled lobster.
reviewed
-
O
Shawnaa’s
Bring a big appetite to Shawnaa’s buffet. It’s full of superb comida criolla dishes that you can take out onto the patio or consume in the shaded interior.
reviewed
-
P
La Dulce Esperanza
On the west end of this back street, this pleasant eatery serves Danish for a dollar, thick creamy coffee for half that, fat sandwiches at lunch and pizza for dinner.
reviewed