Restaurants in Southern & Western Puerto Rico
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E Franco & Co
Most of Puerto Rico’s culinary legends are less than 20 years old, but this salt-of-the-earth grocery-store-cum-café has been here for over a century and a half and is still drawing in punters from as far away as San Juan for a monthly stock up. Cocooned in the waterfront warehouse district, Franco’s is an upmarket place with tables scattered around a glass-topped deli counter in the style of an old English tearoom. Order your lunch from a set menu and you’ll receive a complimentary brazo gitano that goes down well with a cup of fine Puerto Rican coffee. Stocked with assorted condiments, fresh baked goods and opulent hampers, the store affords plenty of…
reviewed
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Galloway’s Bar & Restaurant
Snowbirds Welcome’ reads the sign out the front, but those four-seasoned spring-breakers from Minneapolis you’ve just spied sitting out on the waterfront deck aren’t the only birds pecking at the food. Small black feathered creatures will make a beeline for any spare tasty morsels, so hold on to your seafood crab salad and freshly prepared octopus before it all ends up as bird-feed. Something of a local legend, Galloway’s combines great seafood with a picturesque waterfront setting on Boquerón’s rustic downtown strip. It’s terrific for children, too.
All pretense of being a restaurant is dropped by 9pm on weekends, when a yuppie crowd shows up for live 1980s…
reviewed
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Tapas Café
Central San Germán has a perplexing dearth of decent restaurants so if you’re staying in town for more than one day you’ll probably end up here at least twice. Thankfully both the food and atmosphere are great, and on a busy night with a little bit of imagination you can picture yourself in the Triana district of Seville. Flamenco and bullfighting paraphernalia adorn the walls, while the plates are decorated with delicious fare such as albondigas (meatballs), queso manchego (Manchego cheese), tortilla española (Spanish omelette) and jamon serrano (cured Spanish ham).
reviewed
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La Casa de Los Pasteliollos
After seeing the sorry excuse for what passes for pasteliollos elsewhere – dry as dirt and trapped under a merciless heat lamp– you might not recognize the namesake of this seaside patio restaurant. The ambitious variations of the fried staple (shark? octopus? pizza?) are made to order, arriving as greasy, seafood-stuffed slices of heaven. More ample, healthful options are also lovingly made, based around fresh catches. Add in the view of crashing waves and dreamy hammocks tied between palms, and this is the best lunch spot on the south coast.
reviewed
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La Playa Minimarket
Run by brothers Evan and Irving, this little place is a well-situated (though not too well-stocked) bar and grill/minimarket, though the latter is only evident from a stock of dusty cans, mosquito repellent and dish soap. The food here is certainly a family affair: homemade sandwiches criolla and blood sausage come steaming from the tiny small kitchen, and the food is available to go. The beer is cheap and the locals feisty; they dance to a TV in the corner playing videos of old salsa bands. This is the ideal place to get away from the other tourists.
reviewed
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Smilin’ Joe’s
Wonderfully creative food is par for the course at this happening restaurant situated in the Lazy Parrot Inn. Try the sesame-ginger churrasco steak or the mango-glazed chicken breast and choose something full-bodied from the comprehensive wine list. Then there’s the guesthouse itself, which provides a strangely romantic setting (considering all the parrot paraphernalia) with its cleverly lit swimming pool and strategically positioned Rum Shack bar, which lives by its rather Hemingway-esque motto ‘Conserve water – drink rum.’
reviewed
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Pancho Villa
If you have long grown bored of lukewarm enchiladas or unpalatable refried beans, this modest place in Rincón’s main square could quite easily reignite your taste buds for all things Mexican. Though the decor’s nothing fancy and the service only so-so, the Rancho Villa delivers the goods where it matters: the food’s damn tasty. Try the house burrito or the crispy chimichanga washed down with a salt-laced margarita and beware the rose-toting mariachis on Friday nights.
reviewed
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Vegetariano La Familia
Bankers, teachers, students, office workers and itinerant travelers; they all line up here at another Mayagüez classic where the portions are huge, the tastes are rustic and the price is…well…peanuts. The lunch buffet on its own is a sight to behold – tofu dishes and salads stretching across a big table. Then there are the rice dishes, the pasta, the beans and the strangely tasty vegan lasagna. Even incurable carnivores have been known to lick their lips.
reviewed
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Cesar’s Comida Criolla
The ultimate hole-in-the-wall for comida criolla (traditional Puerto Rican cuisine), this humble joint might be rough around the edges, but the savory piles of pork, chicken and seafood (most served with rice and beans) are the city’s best home cookin’. If you can’t choose from the daily offerings scrawled on the chalkboard, ask Cesar and his wife Freda; they might even walk you back to the kitchen to glimpse in the steaming vats of bliss.
reviewed
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Ricomini Bakery
The Ricomini bakery and deli has been on this corner for well over a century and is still packing in the punters. Business deals are made here, relationships forged (and broken), and gossip boisterously exchanged. Ricomini’s is always happy to serve the odd stray traveler and you can roll up for steaming coffee, scrambled eggs or a slice of the famous brazo gitano. The decor is open and clean and the atmosphere local.
reviewed
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Mark’s at the Meliá
Long regarded as Ponce’s final word in fine dining, the cozily lit (though somewhat stuffy) restaurant within the Meliá Hotel has been lauded in every foodie magazine on the island for comida criolla treated to ‘French’ technique. Though more inventive newcomers threaten Chef Mark French’s place at the top of Ponce’s food chain, this is the place for upscale mofongo (mashed plantains), or try the salmon plates ($25).
reviewed
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Cafeteria El Aleman
If you’re of the mindset that you’re not truly vacationing in the Caribbean until you’re sipping a high-octane rum drink out of a coconut, this tiny roadside cafeteria is the answer to your prayers. Patrons park themselves on stools at the shoulder of the road, choose their coconut (and their poison – the house recommends Cutty Shark) and order thick, homemade sandwiches and sundry comida criollas.
reviewed
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Natural High
Glowingly healthy and unadulterated enough to suit even the strictest vegans, Natural High is – much to the surprise of visiting carnivores – also rather tasty. Mixing good old-fashioned home cooking with an unusual blend of raw, organic ingredients, the dishes here are as delicious as they are different. Try the crunchy fresh salads or the fruit-infused smoothies and save the muesli-munching for another day.
reviewed
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Las Tias
This bilevel restaurant and lounge has an ideal corner spot and big balconies, making for exciting people-watching. The elegant French colonial atmosphere – wicker chairs and lazily turning fans – is backed up by a haute spin on regional dishes. The food alone makes it the best fine dining in the city center, even if the unhurried service and the atmosphere still need a little polish. The key lime cheesecake is killer.
reviewed
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Ladi’s Place
Like its west-facing neighbors up and down the road, the sunset views are a nightly show from the breezy patio. Ladi’s claims to have created ‘Mojo Isleño, ’ a zesty garlicky sauce that dresses most local fish dishes. A crooner plays the keyboard in the corner and the song list calibrated to please gringo sailors, who sway along to ‘Margaritaville’ at least once an evening.
reviewed
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Fish Net
Boquerón is famous for its fish and this is as good a place as any to get it. In keeping with the image of the downbeat town center, there’s nothing fancy about the decor here. But Boquerón has always been more about authenticity than architectural awards. Owner Roberto is the local Jamie Oliver and has been known to serve up a mean pilones (mashed plantain mixed with shrimps and salsa).
reviewed
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King’s Cream
On a pleasantly warm evening, lines stretch down the sidewalk at this excellent local institution, located across from Parque de Bombas. Within the smooth blended tropical licks are big chunks of pineapple, coconut, almond and passion-fruit, which come piled high for just over $1. If the line is too long, seek out the other location a few blocks north of the plaza on Calle Vives, between Calles Union and Marina.
reviewed
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K
El Manglar
International with a Middle-Eastern flair, the menu has hummus and babaganoosh, salads, burgers, pizza and Puerto Rican food, all served in a relaxed atmosphere. It transforms from one of the city’s best restaurants to one of its most festive nightspots, featuring a live combo of some sort, playing Latin rock or jazz, folk or occasionally traditional music on a breezy outdoor patio.
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Antojos
In Spanish antojos means ‘cravings’ and you can satisfy a few at this local bar and restaurant situated on Hwy 115 south of the town. The specialty is fish served up with comida criolla side dishes, such as rice, beans and fried plantains. It’s nothing fancy, but after a day of catching the waves it will replenish a hearty surfer’s appetite.
reviewed
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Rock Bottom Bar & Grill
Rock Bottom is a ‘tree-house’ style bar situated next to the Casa Verde Guesthouse in the Sandy Beach neighborhood. It has ladies nights, surf videos, tasty bar snacks (buffalo wings and mozzarella sticks) and a novel, less tacky version of karaoke which it calls the ‘Acoustic Jam.’ Swap your surfboard for a guitar and become the next Brian Wilson.
reviewed
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Rex Cream
Rex is a small Puerto Rican ice-cream chain that was founded in Mayagüez in the 1960s by Chinese immigrants who came to the island via Costa Rica. This signature store near the central plaza is still something of a local tradition and gets full, particularly on public holidays. Among the numerous weird and wonderful flavors you can sample are corn sherbet and tamarind.
reviewed
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Rincón Argentino
With tinkling piano, soft lights and heavy palm fronds, this is one of the more romantic options in town, as long as mosquitoes aren’t feasting on diners who choose to sit on the patio. The mains veer toward slabs of garlicky red meat in a grilled Argentine preparation, but chicken, seafood and pasta creations round out the menu. It also boasts a lengthy wine list.
reviewed
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Blue Marlin Restaurant
Rather than breaking the bank on the fancy place at the Copamarina, try this family-run restaurant on the malecón. Locals consider it the best, with a large outdoor deck and economic seaside drinking ($1.50 Medalla beers). If you ask for the freshest catch, your waiter will most likely bring you something that was in the water only a few hours earlier.
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Tamboo Tavern
You don’t have to be a surfer to hang out at Tamboo, but it helps. This is actually the patio bar of the Beside the Pointe guesthouse, but it doubles up as a great place for burgers, relaxation and a congenial après-surf scene. You may not always get live music here, but the sound system is pretty good and the twilight beach panorama something to behold.
reviewed
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El Flamboyán
With its faded Che Guevara posters and vaguely bucolic setting overlooking the surf break at Pools, the Flamboyán is definitely old-school Rincón. This is where you come for comida criolla and inexpensive fish and chicken dishes and to converse with weather-beaten expats about the days before the dudes with money crashed in.
reviewed