Restaurants in San Juan
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St Germain Bistro & Café
Kudos to the chef for transforming the main course salads – so often the dullest dish on the menu – into something fresh, tasty and filling. Then there’s the aromatic Puerto Rican coffee, the delicious paninis and the homemade cakes which can only be described as melt-in-your-mouth heavenly. Nestled on the corner of Sol and Cruz, the St Germain is a bright neighborhood place with down-to-earth service, interesting clientele and a distinct European feel. Perfect for breakfast, lunch or a light dinner.
reviewed
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La Bombonera
The old-fashioned coffee machine hisses like a steam engine, career waiters in black trousers appear like royal footmen at your table, and a long line of seen-it-all sanjuaneros populate the lengthy row of bar stools, catching up on the local breakfast gossip. It shouldn’t take you long to work out that La Bombonera is a city institution: it’s been around since 1902 and still sells some of the best cakes in town. Come here for breakfast, lunch or an early evening snack attack and soak up the unique Latin ambience over a copy of the San Juan Star.
reviewed
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Tantra
For purists, eating Masala Dosa in Puerto Rico is probably about as incongruous as chomping on mofongo in Madras, but for those willing to drop the cultural blinkers, Tantra’s adventurous ‘Indo-Latin fusion’ cuisine is actually rather authentic. It helps that the chef’s from South India. It also helps that the restaurant’s Asian-inspired decor, which places exotic lampshades among carved Buddhas, sets your taste buds traveling inexorably east. The pièce de résistance is the belly dancing that kicks off nightly at nine-ish.
reviewed
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Ajili-Mójili
The waiters wear hats and the reception displays aromatic cigars from the Dominican Republic, so leave your sandals and singlet in your room and venture out to this classy Condado classic. Housed in one of the neighborhood’s few remaining eclectic mansions, the menu is high-end comida criolla – such as island-style pork loin with mofongo – while the atmosphere is refined and romantic. Expect discreet service and sky-high prices.
reviewed
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Trois Cent Onze
After putting all his creative energy into his food, French owner Christophe Gourdain presumably couldn’t muster up enough energy to think up an original name for his formidable culinary extravaganza: hence Trois Cent Onze (311), the place’s numerical address on Fortaleza St. With its well-established French connection, 311 has the words ‘elegant, ’ ‘refined’ and ‘sophisticated’ written all over it, conjuring up classy European cuisine without too many of those Latino-fusion makeovers (alas, no mofongo with a camembert twist here). Glide into one of the island’s most romantic interiors, awash with billowing white curtains, flickering candles and delightful…
reviewed
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Parrot Club
The menu’s in Spanglish, the decor’s a lurid mix of orange, blue and yellow, and the waitress could quite conceivably be sporting a pink wig. Welcome to the Parrot Club, where Puerto Rican politicians wind down and enamored gringos live it up. Until the Parrot’s opening in 1996, the concept of SoFo didn’t even exist. But, with its caustic blend of live jazz and tasty ‘nuevo Latino ’ cuisine, this restaurant quickly set new standards and spawned the ultimate in neighborhood chic – an acronym. Now well into its second decade the menu continues to win kudos with its eclectic crabcakes caribeños, pan-seared tuna and vegetarian tortes.
reviewed
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Aquaviva
Designed with an arty water/sea-life theme – all turquoise blues and brilliant whites – the house specialty is seafood, in particular the cerviches, with plenty of patrons rolling in just to savor an appetizer with a pre-dinner cocktail. Often packed to the rafters, Aquaviva was invented with the word ‘hip’ in mind. Everything from the open-view kitchen to the catwalk clientele is slavishly stylish. But the real test is the food: fresh oysters, calamari filled with shredded beef, and dorado with lightly grilled bell peppers, seasoned with garlic and served with plantains. It has been voted one of the top 75 restaurants in the world.
reviewed
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Café Berlin
You’ve probably heard about the Taíno, the Spanish, the French and the Americans, but the German influence in Puerto Rico is less well documented, unless you wind up sampling sweet pastries on the pleasant terrace here. In a setting that’s more Viennese than Caribbean, the Café Berlin serves fresh European-style food with a strong vegetarian/vegan bias. Check out the veggie pizza, the tofu done any which way you want and don’t leave without ordering a manjito (a mango-flavored mojito). The sweet Teutonic deserts are positively sinful and the German rye bread is so popular that they fly it on demand over to Culebra.
reviewed
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Dragonfly
Duck nachos – say no more! Safe in its mantle as the hippest of the hip, Dragonfly is SoFo’s most stylish culinary innovator; the G-spot of the Latin-Asian fusion movement that brims nightly with a plethora of self-assured, well-dressed and, frankly, beautiful people. Presuming you pass the dress inspection on the door and survive the shock of your initial entrance (the place resembles a dark red bordello – all dim lamp shades and decorative mirrors), try following up with a hard-hitting Dragon Punch cocktail before you dive into a menu awash with the wonderful and the plain weird (yes, those duck nachos).
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Che’s
Che T-shirts aren’t too common in Puerto Rico, where the man who promised to ‘create two, three…many Vietnams’ in the Americas is regarded with a certain degree of suspicion. That said, you might see the odd red-starred beret in here tucking into churrasco and parrillada (grilled, marinated steak), or veal chops with a kind of revolutionary zeal. Generally considered to be the best Argentinean food around, Che’s is popular with sanjuaneros and expats of all political persuasions who allow themselves to be united momentarily by a bloody good steak.
reviewed
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Marmalade
With a name liable to dupe over-excited Brits who’ve been missing out on their early morning toast and marmalade fix, it is somewhat surprising to find that Marmalade doesn’t actually serve the stuff at all, except perhaps in a marinade. Promoted as SoFo’s latest culinary innovator in a street full of them, this starkly minimalist eating establishment is decked out like the Korova Milk Bar in Stanley Kubrick’s A Clockwork Orange. Step inside the trendy interior to sample house specialties such as paella bites or grilled nectarines with Parma ham.
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Pamela’s
Right on the beach and right on the money, Pamela’s is encased inside the elegant Numero Uno guesthouse. Diners sup wine and munch on scallops beside a teardrop-shaped swimming pool while the ocean crashes just feet away. The menu specializes in fresh ingredients plucked from the nearby sea – think jalapeño-ginger shrimp and seafood chowder – though there are surprise twists with everything from Asian to Puerto Rican influences. The place is tucked away, but that hasn’t prevented it from becoming an open secret. Reserve ahead.
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Pikayo
Wilo Benet is the island’s very own Gordon Ramsey (without the expletives), a celebrity chef par excellence who has uncovered the soul of Caribbean cooking by infusing colonial era Puerto Rican cuisine with various African and Indian elements. Adding atmosphere to authenticity, Pikayo, Benet’s showcase restaurant, is situated inside San Juan’s stunning Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico where – with unprecedented transparency – diners can watch the action in the kitchen on closed-circuit TVs. Intrigued? Well, shimmy on over.
reviewed
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El Picoteo
One of El Convento’s culinary highlights is this terrace tapas bar that could rival anything in Andalusia. Perennial favorites include tortilla, meatballs, garlic prawns, garbanzos and various cheeses. If you’re after something more substantial there’s also pizza and paella washed down with sangria. Suspended above the hotel’s central courtyard the ambience at Picoteo is terrific and, during the afternoon, the canned music is punctuated by the familiar clack of dominoes.
reviewed
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La Mallorquina
A must for historically-minded food buffs, or food-minded history buffs, La Mallorquina is the grande dame of Old San Juan eateries: it’s been around for 150 years, quite a feat in the musical chairs of Fortaleza St and its surrounds. It’s worth a gander, if only to have a drink at the immense slab of mahogany that is the bar. Should the smells from the kitchen tempt you to stay, try the house specialty, asopao, a rice broth stewed with all type of herbs, seafood or meat.
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Café Cala’o
It looks just like any other small coffee bar you might roll into in Chicago or Seattle, but in reality Café Cala’o is very different. There are two main reasons for this: the Puerto Rican coffee – which is hand-picked from various small farms in the Central Mountains – is smooth, earthy and not at all bitter, and the people who confect it are trained experts who know as much about coffee as an oenologist knows about wine. The muffins aren’t bad either.
reviewed
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Zesty Bites
Organic salads, artisan yogurts, wraps, granola, oatmeal and the don’t-leave-without-tasting-one smoothies are just a few of the healthy but zesty treats on offer here. Positioned in the heart of the historic district, Zesty fills a gap in the market that few others seem to be tackling – ie fresh, delicious food served fast. It’s also dog-friendly, kid-friendly, bike-friendly, ecofriendly, computer nerd-friendly, and rather easy on the wallet.
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Spanglish Café
A homey hole-in-the-wall that does good business with the lunchtime office crowd, Spanglish Café is generally more Span than glish, so go with a decent phrasebook and get ready to order your $6 set lunch with a few por favors and muchasgracias. Try the fricassee de pollo (chicken fricassee) or the pernil asado (roasted pork) and don’t forget to leave a propina (tip).
reviewed
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La Fonda El Jibarito
El Jibarito is the kind of salt-of-the-earth, unpretentious place that you should reserve to sample your first mofongo or arroz con habichuelas (rice and beans). A favorite of local families, in-the-know tourists and passing New York Times journalists, the meals are simple but hearty with good pork and prawns, or plantains smashed, mashed and fried just about any way you want. Pull up a pew and chow with the locals.
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Chayote
Named for a flavorful island vegetable, Chayote is situated in the understated and none too trendy Olimpio Court Hotel. But with its robust criollo cooking injected with French, Hindu, African, Spanish and Central American flavors, the restaurant easily trumps the sometimes iffy rooms. International celebrities have been spotted among the traditional wicker and contemporary art furnishings here.
reviewed
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Pepin’s
Once you’ve got past the rather draconian dress code here – no sandals, singlets, shorts, earrings, hats, or people under 25 – you can join whoever’s left at this surprisingly popular tapas bar in the Punta Las Marías neighborhood, halfway between Isla Verde and Ocean Park. The tapas start at $5 and there’s usually a fair smattering of expats.
reviewed
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Ramiro’s
In the subjective battle to find San Juan’s best all-round restaurant, Ramiro’s is often in the running. Situated in the heart of rejuvenated Condado, the flavor here is Spanish with New World infusions. Expect guava sauce with your lamb, avocado with your crabmeat and banana chutney with your halibut. Ambience is elegant and reservations are a good idea.
reviewed
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Via Appia
Via Appia is a no-nonsense Italian restaurant where the pizza is classic and the gentlemanly waiters could quite conceivably have walked off the set of The Godfather. Munch on garlic bread or feast on meatballs alfresco, as the multi-lingual mélange of Av Ashford goes strolling by. There’s a small store inside where you can stock up on wine or olive oil.
reviewed
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Zabó’s
Over in condo land, this older colonial-style villa hints at something different. The variations continue inside in an intimate restaurant-cum-bar where trendsetters sup on martinis and gastronomes tuck into creative dishes such as mango and curry rice, and rosemary pork chops with garlic merlot sauce. There’s music some nights, everything from Latin jazz to Flamenco.
reviewed
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Patio de Nispero
Every great Spanish-colonial hotel has its shady courtyard and the one at El Convento is the home of the deliciously cool Patio de Nispero, so named for the 350-year-old Nispero tree that resides in its midst. You can enjoy breakfast and lunch here or, even better, escape the hot sun-bleached streets to savor a coffee or an icy mojito during the lazy siesta hour.
reviewed
