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We've compiled the best of the best in Old San Juan - browse our top choices for the top things to see or do during your stay.
This casual, no-frills restaurant in the residential section of Old San Juan serves some of the best comida criolla in town. The short menu is packed with flavor, featuring favorites like roasted pork with rice and beans (which pairs perfectly with the homemade hot sauces), empanadas, tostones, and homemade sausage. The sample platter, big enough for two, will leave you stuffed and with a great understanding of the cuisine locals are so proud of.
The menus are handwritten, and the tables wobble, but locals in the know have favored this no-frills, family-run restaurant—tucked away on a quiet cobblestone street—for years. The bistec encebollado, goat fricassee, and shredded beef stew stand out on the comida criolla menu. A tiny back porch is filled with plants, and the dining room is filled with fanciful depictions of life on the street outside. Troubadours serenade patrons, which include plenty of cruise-ship passengers when ships are in port.
The airy courtyard and the comida criolla are among the draws at this local, come-as-you-are restaurant—the perfect spot to end a workweek or a long day of sightseeing. The menu consists mostly of American and Puerto Rican fare. Save room for the homemade flan, which melts in your mouth.
Casita de Rones is the headquarters for all things rum with a restaurant, two bars, and the flagship store for Rums of Puerto Rico inside. Its bright pink exterior is hard to miss, and ocean views serve as a serene backdrop to your meal. There is a full menu with items like Italian longaniza sliders with spiced rum jam and grilled skirt steak with a rum chimichurri sauce. Try a variety of rum based drinks here, like a rum flight or a 1950 Hand Shake Colada, paying homage to the original version of the piña colada.
Princesa Cocina Cultura has a menu integrating recipes from little-known Puerto Rican cookbooks written between 1859 and 1950. It is the first gastrobar in Old San Juan dedicated to Puerto Rican rums. Set along the fortified wall of Paseo de la Princesa, with live music and more than 20 trees inside the restaurant, it is an enchanting and memorable location.
This lively restaurant is known for its waitresses in all-white campesina (peasant) dresses. It is a nostalgic portrayal of country life in Puerto Rico. Guests who may have seen it featured on various TV shows are willing to wait more than an hour for a table. Serving local comida criolla, signature dishes are the giant deep-fried kan kan pork chop, and mofongo with churrasco (marinated skirt steak). The garlic shrimp mofongo, served country-style in a pilón (pestle), is quite tasty. Drinks, including fruity frappés, come in tin mugs.
