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restaurants
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, Budatai, and Marmalade in San Juan, or Mark's on the Paseo in Ponce.
Traditional Puerto Rican cuisine is based on Spain's, with African and West Indian elements. 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.
The latest addition to the collection of OOF Restaurants (owners of the much-celebrated Parrot Club and Aguaviva), Toro Salao forgoes the trendy fusion movement...more
see the San Juan guideThe restaurants of Condado are always crowded—with tourists. If you want to live it up with the locals, head a few blocks south to the Santurce...more
see the San Juan guideAt first glance, Raíces looks as if it caters to the Old San Juan cruise-ship crowd: The waitresses wear Ye Olde Island kerchiefs on their heads, drinks...more
see the San Juan guideLong before it found its current home in the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico—and its next planned move, to the Conrad San Juan Condado Plaza Hotel—Pikayo...more
see the San Juan guideLike the Numero Uno Guest House, the hotel in which it's housed, Pamela's is both surprisingly high-end and reasonably affordable. In posh Ocean Park—one...more
see the San Juan guideLegend has it that Marc Anthony and Jennifer Lopez threw a slamming bash at Marmalade in Old San Juan in 2008. The restaurant certainly looks the part of a...more
see the San Juan guideMark French revolutionized the Puerto Rican food scene in 1996 when he opened a restaurant in Ponce that incorporated European and American traditions into...more
It'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
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 guideThe menu at this casual treetop dining room, with views over tropical gardens and the sea, may include dishes like lamb chops, baby back ribs, and local...more
see the Vieques + Culebra guide
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