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Puerto Rico restaurants
The Puerto Rico dining scene is, unlike that on smaller Caribbean islands, exceptionally sophisticated, inventive, and food-obsessed. True, American chain restaurants dot the landscape, but resist the temptation to indulge in foot-long subs or buckets of fried chicken, and you'll be rewarded with restaurants serving up well-executed local classics as well as cuisine imported from South America, Asia, and Europe. A new generation of fusion-minded chefs have incorporated these international ingredients into traditional Puerto Rican dishes: Try their fare at restaurants like Pikayo and Marmalade in San Juan.
Traditional Puerto Rican cuisine is based on Spain's, with African and West Indian influences. Paella with langoustines, fiery black-bean soup, and a beef stew called sancocho all include typically Puerto Rican flavors of clove, cinnamon, ginger, and sour orange. Other favorite dishes include the plantain-based mofongo and salt-cod fritters, a legacy of the country's colonial past. Tropical fruit is abundant, so you will see papaya, mango, tamarind, coconut, and pineapple everywhere, not least in the many rum libations.
For restaurants in San Juan and other cities, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays are the big nights out, so reserve in advance. Note that prime dining time is at 9 pm.
It may be located in San Juan, but Trois Cent Onze feels as if it was airlifted directly from France. A former photo studio elegantly restored and inlaid with...more
see the San Juan guide
At the end of Calle Fortaleza in a spacious, brightly lit blue space, Aguaviva anchors SoFo and gives visitors a taste of the district's energy. The restaurant...more
see the San Juan guideSet on a tiny road linking Vieques' Atlantic and Caribbean coasts, Chez Shack is very much the rustic, low-key eatery its name suggests. But though the place...more
see the Vieques + Culebra guide
Dragonfly is decorated something like an opium den—sitting inside the crimson dining room, beneath light fixtures draped with fabric, you might just find...more
see the San Juan guideAsk for a dinner recommendation in Vieques, and chances are you'll hear El Quenepo come up again and again. With good reason. This restaurant on the main drag...more
see the Vieques + Culebra guideIt's a few blocks from the trendy eateries on Calle Fortaleza, so this elegant Italian restaurant in Old San Juan is off the radar of the cruise-ship crowd. A...more
see the San Juan guideThe tiny island of Culebra is one of the last places you'd expect to come upon culinary excellence, but that's exactly what you get at Juanita Bananas....more
see the Vieques + Culebra guideIt's little more than a coffee shop, but Kasalta serves what may be the best café con leche in the Caribbean. The espresso has inspired a sort of communal...more
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The restaurant certainly looks the part of a late-night celeb hangout, with daybeds piled high with glimmering silk pillows, and a sculptural orange lantern...more
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An Alain Ducasse restaurant opening anywhere is big news. An Alain Ducasse restaurant opening on an island whose food scene basically consists of roadside...more
see the Vieques + Culebra guide
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