La Fonda del Jibarito

About as authentic Puerto Rican food as you can get. La Fonda del Jibarito is a very simple place that serves really good food in a very casual atmosphere. This is not a white table cloth high brow Caribbean food kind of place, this is what local families eat and boy it's good! I had the Pork Plantain Tamales with fried Plantains as a side; my companion has the conch ceviche and really liked the flavor and texture. The staff is friendly and efficient and you can eat like a king for less than $20, including beer. A real find.

After eating here, I had to come back to the site to review this restaurant to counter the recent negativity.

If you are looking for a place with authentic Puerto Rican food and atmosphere then this is for you.

If you are looking for somewhere that caters to tourists and will be like the US, but with different food, the look elsewhere.

It is out of the touristy area, more in the residential area of Old San Juan.

We were the only non locals in the place. Everyone was friendly. Though we speak Spanish, the staff perferred to speak to us in English.

The Puerto Rican tamales and rice and beans were amazing. Lemonade sweet, tart and refreshing coming in from the heat. The flan (custard) and other desserts looked great, but I was too full to try. If we were in the area longer, I would go back!

We went to this place based on the 4.6 review on Fodors. It was very misleading. We trekked for a while and found it, only to wait for 15 mins before someone asked us what we wanted. The server was impatient and rude and didnt explain all the details about special and sides etc. Not once did someone ask us if we even wanted more water, let alone inquire how the food was. I had to myself get up to go to the kitchen to request for more hot sauce. Not to mention, they got us a wrong order (chicken instead of shrimp) and forgot one side, till we reminded them.

After we were done, it seems only some sides come with the specials. So we got charged extra for sides we ordered that didnt 'fit' their unmentioned requirements. Worse still, we were given two wrong bills with multiple additional items in there before we had to proceed to the check out area to clear the confusion and pay for what we actually had (which was very poor value anyways). Overall, a the only poor experience we had during the entire week in San Juan and we would advise everyone to stay away from this place.

This place was surprising. Don't let the unassuming looks fool you. Inside this home-style cafe, you'll find the most friendly and accomodative service and some of the best food on the island served with no frills but lots of flavor. The soup appetiser is a to die for (and I don't even eat soups). You may wander around for an hour trying to find this place and parking is a real trial but it's worth the effort.