One Dinner in San Juan, PR

I'm going to be in San Juan long enough for one dinner. I'm looking for a recommendation. Has anyone been there lately and have a worthwhile place to share?

RAB and I were there two years ago. Our best meal in San Juan was dinner at Dragonfly.

But, our most memorable meal in the area was at a dive outside of San Juan called Lechonera Los Pino. Amazing roast pig. (787) 286-1917, Barrio Guavate, Carr. 184Km. 27.7, Cayey. If you have the time, it's well worth the trip.

Hopefully, others will have more current info.

We had an excellent (and not cheap) seafood extravaganza at Aguaviva in Old San Juan. The restaurant is one of a trio (Parrot Club, Dragonfly) owned by the same group. It's sort of a trendy scene, too, but don't let that discourage you--the ceviche and oysters were veddy good.

Aguaviva
364 Calle Fortaleza, San Juan
Phone 787/722-0665

If I had the time, I'd take REB's suggestion and get out of Old San Juan for more authentic, less tourist-y eats. Especially since you're such a fan of the Pig. Check out Party With Pig: In Puerto Rico, A Glorious Feast.

On my way down to St. Maarten for a business trip, I had a five-hour layover in San Juan. Luckily my sister lives there and was happy to take me out to dinner. My sister and her husband Paco were debating whether to take me out for Thai, Chinese, Spanish, or French. Because when I checked my blackberry after getting off the plane I had found my email filled with craziness from work, I snapped “I can get better Thai or Chinese in Chicago; don’t bother.” Mainly because they had recently eaten at the French place they had in mind, we ended up at Marisqueria Atlantica. It was also convenient to the airport.

The dinner was wonderful. It was a very a traditional Spanish restaurant, but sometimes the old stalwarts really perform. It was a great way to forget work, and a meal with Paco is always filled with laughter. We started with deep fried anchovies and grilled octopus. Both were very good.





Paco and I ordered a “Zarzuela de Mariscos,” mixed seafood, and a squid in its ink with rice and split each dish. My sister had monkfish. I didn’t try the monkfish although it looked good. The zarzuela was good, but I really loved the squid in its ink. It was salty, but as good as anything I had in Spain.







After a martini to start, half a bottle of wine, and an digestif of anisette I sort of forgot about the camera by the time dessert rolled around. We had crema catalana and crème brulee for dessert. The waiter said there was a distinction even though they’re really the same dish. What can I say? They were both sweet, creamy and tasty, with one a little heavier than the other.



Marisqueria Atlantica
Loixa 2475
Punta Las Marias (Isla Verde)
San Juan, PR

stevez wrote:I'm going to be in San Juan long enough for one dinner. I'm looking for a recommendation. Has anyone been there lately and have a worthwhile place to share?

Only place I really enjoyed the food as well as the value was Bebo's Cafe in Condado. It's located on Calle Loiza. More detail at my other PR post: viewtopic.php?p=363664#p363664

My wife and I are headed to San Juan at the end of July for a few days to celebrate her birthday... seems like the posts on here were pretty out of date, and wondered if anybody had some current recommendations for San Juan. Looking for anything, from street food to fine dining.

Did you hit up anything good? Heading there in October.

snap203 wrote:Only place I really enjoyed the food as well as the value was Bebo's Cafe in Condado. It's located on Calle Loiza. More detail at my other PR post: viewtopic.php?p=363664#p363664

We ate at Bebo's Cafe in San Juan also and really enjoyed our meal. Great atmosphere, lots of locals. Mofungo was well executed.

We also had a nice dinner at Cafe Puerto Rico in Old San Juan. Get there early.

We stayed at the Condado Vanderbilt, which has some highly regarded restaurants and a phenomenal, gorgeous bar. Personally, I'd rather hit local places than a hotel restaurant, but depending on your mood it might fit the bill.

Also check out the recommendations in the Puerto Rico thread.

Bebo's Cafe
Calle Loíza 1600
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00911
(787) 726-5700
http://www.yelp.com/biz/bebos-cafe-san-juan-5