El Picoteo Review

Reviewed by tiffanie from Carpinteria, CA on 5/9/09
With amazing reviews from both Fodors and Frommers, I was excited to get to San Juan and eat some authentic Spanish food. I lived in Spain for a year, so I know what I'm looking for.
This place was a HUGE disappointment. The prices were way too high and the food was disgusting. The calamari was "American style" breading, not the flaky, floury Spanish kind.
The pallela was the biggest disappointment of the night. It was expensive, had little seafood on it (one mussel, one clam, 2 shrimp, & a crawdad), and IT WAS MADE WITH TOMATO SAUCE. There is NOT any tomato sauce in pallela. It was horrible.
If you want REAL Spanish food and to spend half the money, try El Pescador on Calle Dos Hermanos across from the Santurce market. It does not have the same regal atmosphere of El Picoteo, but if you're going for the food, it is perfect!

Member Rating: 2.2
Ratings details: Food: 1.0 Atmosphere: 5.0 Service: 3.0 Value: 1.0

Reviewed by Asshan from Ohio on 9/25/08
Based upon Fodor's pick we tried the restaurant this week. It is terrific. We had never been to a tapas restaurant before and we really enjoyed it. All of the dishes we had were great, using fresh, quality ingredients and they all had great flavor. We went with a group of 5 so we tried at least 10 different plates, using our server Tony's recommendations and he was right on.

Member Rating: 5.0
Ratings details: Food: 5.0 Atmosphere: 5.0 Service: 5.0 Value: 5.0

Reviewed by beachview23 from Philadelphia on 4/7/07
Entrees were great, special drinks and atmosphere. A little under staffed but worth it.

Member Rating: 4.8
Ratings details: Food: 5.0 Atmosphere: 5.0 Service: 4.0 Value: 5.0