What to eat in san juan puerto rico: The 24 Best San Juan Restaurants
Top 12 Things to Eat in San Juan
- Mofongo
- Pastelón
- Alcapurrias
- Chicharrones de Pollo
- Sorullitos de Maiz
- Arepas de Coco
- Serenata de Bacalao
- Chillo Frito
- Arañitas
- Lechón
- Tembleque
- Piña Colada
San Juan dishes are as flavorful as its cobblestone streets are colorful. Therefore, this is one cruise destination that always delights the taste buds of food lovers across the globe. San Juan’s food scene is known for pushing boundaries, blending tradition with Spanish, African and French influences, as well as adding its very own special twist.
While you’re enjoying the colonial architecture, sandy beaches and rich heritage of Puerto Rico’s capital, here’s what to eat in San Juan along the way.
1. Mofongo
The first dish you need to try on your cruise to San Juan is mofongo, often touted as the best Puerto Rican food. Whether it is or isn’t is debatable with so many tasty options to choose from; however, it’s certainly the most famous.
It’s a mashed concoction of fried green plantains with garlic seasoning filled with vegetables, shrimp, chicken, steak, or pork. Think of your favorite mashed potato but oh so much better!
2. Pastelón
If you love lasagna, then you’ll love the Puerto Rican version. Perhaps this dish is best to try after a full day of activities and shopping in San Juan, so you’ve worked up a hearty appetite. It’s made with layers of thinly sliced plantains, ground beef and topped with delicious, melted cheese to make your mouth water.
3. Alcapurrias
One of the top things to do in San Juan is to spend time on beautiful beaches. When it’s time for a snack after a long day in the sun, follow the lead of the locals and try alcapurrias. They’re basically fritters, with a batter made of green bananas and stuffed full of yummy fillings such as crab, lobster or meat.
4. Chicharrones de Pollo
What could be better than fried chicken, you might ask? Fried chicken, Puerto Rican style.
Often served with mofongo as a tasty side dish, these chicken legs are juicy on the inside and crispy on the outside, with seasonings of garlic, achiote and oregano.
5. Sorullitos de Maiz
Trying the staple dishes of local cultures is an exciting activity during a cruise and in San Juan that means biting into golden fried sorullitos de maiz. The corn fritters resemble a mozzarella stick that’s crispy on the outside with a soft, buttery filling. They’re best served for breakfast, as a side dish or an appetizer.
6. Arepas de Coco
Street food in San Juan doesn’t come much better than arepas de coco — just ask the locals! While arepas are served in a range of countries, in Puerto Rico the fried bread is generally made with coconut flour, as opposed to corn flour. This gives it a tropical sweet flavor, to enjoy on its own or stuffed with fillings like seafood, vegetables or meat.
7. Serenata de Bacalao
Serenata de bacalao is a favorite dish of Puerto Ricans, as a refreshing salad enjoyed year-round.
The twist to this particular salad is that it’s made with salted cod, usually complemented by potatoes, capers and eggs. It’s perfect for lunch on a hot day while you’re out and about on one of your shore excursions.
8. Chillo Frito
Trying the local seafood is a delight in any cruise destination by the sea and San Juan offers Chillo Frito as one delectable way to enjoy it. It’s a simple dish of fried red snapper, often served whole to keep the fish juicy and tender, with fried green plantains on the side.
9. Arañitas
The word “arañitas” means “little spiders” in Spanish, and that’s exactly what these appetizers look like, making them a thrilling treat for the kids. They’re made of shredded green plantain strips that are fried to crunchy perfection with squiggly tendrils of batter on the outside. If you’re looking for meat-free snacks, arañitas are a great choice.
10. Lechón
On weekends or at large family gatherings in Puerto Rico, the most popular dish of choice is lechón.
Suckling pig is traditionally prepared with loads of herbs and spices for seasoning, then roasted over wood or coals for hours. This results in moist, tender pork on the inside that’s scrumptiously crispy on the outside. So it’s little wonder why it’s the weekend family dish of choice!
11. Tembleque
To satisfy your sweet tooth in San Juan, look no further than tembleque. This coconut custard pudding dusted with cinnamon is refreshing and light, which makes it a perfect match to its tropical surrounds. However, don’t think that means it doesn’t pack a punch in the dessert stakes, as it’s decadently creamy all the same.
12. Piña Colada
It’s not food, but the perennially popular cocktail, piña colada, is worthy of a mention here. Why? Because it was invented by a bartender in San Juan, who captured the flavors of the island with an exotic mix of rum, pineapple juice and coconut cream.
Along with exciting exploration of beaches, culture and vibrant city colors, a cruise to San Juan offers an extra special culinary treat, with flavors to suit every type of craving.
Note: Onboard activities, shore excursions, and dining options may vary by ship and destination.
Where to Eat in San Juan, Where Restaurants Aren’t Just Rebuilding—They’re Thriving
PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
restaurants
Two years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria, San Juan is a sustainably farming, boundary-pushing city that’s staying true to itself.
By Aliza Abarbanel
Hope tastes like plantains and pernil. Two years after Hurricanes Irma and Maria hit Puerto Rico, rebuilding efforts have led to an increased emphasis on sustainable farming, breaking up the colonial legacy of industrialized agriculture and reliance on imported food while also doubling down on native ingredients. Now local farmers enjoy steady business from seasonally minded chefs pushing the culinary heritage of cocina criolla.
Both farmers and chefs are powered by a resilient spirit that can be witnessed in real time, as La Placita de Santurce is packed once more with dancers balancing flaky empanadillas and Medalla beer. At these upstart and legacy spots, the food of Puerto Rico has never felt more Puerto Rican.
PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
The New-School Staple
Husband-and-wife team Francis Guzmán and Amelia Dill, who met at Range in San Francisco and worked together at Blue Hill in New York before returning to Guzmán’s native Puerto Rico, opened Vianda just a few months after Maria. It already feels indispensable. Here, Guzmán puts playful twists on Puerto Rican staples, turning bacalao into aromatic tom kha, topping tender short rib encebollado with fat onion rings, and tossing local root vegetables in an herby yogurt dressing. Looking at the globe lights and hanging vines, you could be in any trendy farm-to-table restaurant, but when a passing pyrotechnic cocktail perfumes the air with burning rosemary, the magic of Vianda is clear.
PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
The Choose-Your- Own-Adventure Spot
You’ll see a lot of familiar faces at Lote 23’s rotating kiosks (Juan José Cuevas did fresh pastas at La Massería; Natalia Rivera Vázquez serves pristine poke at El Jangiri), but we’d come to the open-air food truck park just for Pernilería Los Próceres. Chef Mario Juan Pagán sells different types of tricked-out pernil sandwiches and a slew of sides (yuca in escabeche, arroz guisado). Hurricane Maria interrupted his plans to open a restaurant, but his silver Airstream swings beyond its square footage. We still dream about the Revolución es Orden sandwich, shards of crisped slow-roasted pork piled with pickled onions and plantain chips atop a pillowy brioche bun. The politically named menu items (plus a not-so-subtle stencil of Puerto Rican independence advocate Ramón Emeterio Betances) echo PLP’s slogan: “Pernil es Patria.”
PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
The Vibe-y Bar with Very Good Food
Tiki drinks flow freely throughout the island (Puerto Rico is the birthplace of the piña colada after all), but Jungle BaoBao at Jungle Bird has an edge on the competition: Paxx Caraballo Moll’s imaginative bar food.
The young chef, who promotes LGBTQ+ cooks through the hashtag #QueersInTheKitchen, works with local fishermen and farmers to create punchy plates that stand up to high- octane cocktails. Think fiery fried chicken and crispy “enoki bloom,” blooming onion–like mushroom clusters served with togarashi and saffron aioli. It’s a hands-on eating experience best enjoyed with a tepache colada, especially on weekends when DJs spin vinyl and the patio becomes a blur of tiki torches and tattoos.PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
The Fine-Dining Splurge
The sun-kissed and impeccably dressed flock to 1919 inside the ritzy Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, where chef Juan José Cuevas preaches the gospel of local produce from a fine-dining pulpit. Cuevas, who earned a Michelin star helming Blue Hill, has spent years cultivating relationships with family farms like Frutos Del Guacabo in Manatí and Josco Bravo in the Toa Alta mountains. His tasting menu deploys their produce, taking diners on a whirlwind tour of modern Puerto Rican food with local queen snapper in ají amarillo broth and crispy cochinillo (suckling pig) with caramelized eggplant, dried lime, and fresh yogurt.
It’s a full-throated salute to regional ingredients, as breathtaking as the restaurant’s ocean views. Bonus: Well-fed diners are sent off with nutty banana bread.PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
The Healthyish Hang
Tucked behind the eclectic Pública community art space, Cocina al Fondo trades in the unexpected. Chef Natalia Vallejo creates quietly healthy food with a fittingly artistic eye, like silky bowls of sweet-corn panna cotta and terrines made with candy-striped beets and goat cheese. Thoughtful design touches, like plush oversize cushions perched on ample teak benches, inspire hang-outs fueled by crispy fried malanga buñuelos and a glass (maybe two) of cava. Whether you’re swinging by for Saturday brunch or seeking a nightcap, you’ll feel the urge to linger a little longer. This is the kind of place where we yearn to be a regular.
The young chef, who promotes LGBTQ+ cooks through the hashtag #QueersInTheKitchen, works with local fishermen and farmers to create punchy plates that stand up to high- octane cocktails. Think fiery fried chicken and crispy “enoki bloom,” blooming onion–like mushroom clusters served with togarashi and saffron aioli. It’s a hands-on eating experience best enjoyed with a tepache colada, especially on weekends when DJs spin vinyl and the patio becomes a blur of tiki torches and tattoos.
It’s a full-throated salute to regional ingredients, as breathtaking as the restaurant’s ocean views. Bonus: Well-fed diners are sent off with nutty banana bread.PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
The Ideal Breakfast
Owner Kali Solack filters trademarks of third-wave coffee shops (small-batch beans, alt-milk lattes) through the rich kaleidoscope of Puerto Rican agriculture at the airy Café Regina.
Turmeric tea is spiked with fresh pineapple juice, and slices of locally made sourdough come topped with fresh ricotta, sweet star fruit jam, and neat rows of brûléed (and adorably tiny) guineo manzano bananas. But really, you’re here for the coffee: Solack cofounded the Beans for Puerto Rico initiative to keep cafés stocked with donated beans after the loss of local crops, and she now sources from Puerto Rican–American roasters like Metric and Máquina. Grab a late-morning affogato, made with ice cream from local creamery Vía Láctea, and a spot on the sunny front porch, then revel in an actually idyllic brunch.Photo by Jose Enrique
The Farm-to-Table Icon
For 12 years, crowds gathered on an unassuming front porch to wait for dinner at one of the city’s most beloved restaurants, Jose Enrique. The no-reservations, BYO spot recently moved from Santurce’s vibrant placita to upscale Condado digs, but the eponymous chef’s elevated yet unpretentious takes on criollo comfort food haven’t changed.
One of the island’s earliest farm-to-table trailblazers, Enrique changes his menu so often that it’s scrawled on whiteboards and carted around the restaurant by good-natured waiters. Blessedly, the citrusy crab salad and whole fried fish served with buttery yam mash and avocado papaya mojo remain constants.PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
The Vegetable Whisperers
Mossy mason jars and worn tin ceilings give Verde Mesa greenhouse vibes that are further reflected in the vibrant plant-focused menu. Owner Loyda Rosa opened her restaurant ten years ago and became a pioneer of sustainable sourcing, with a pescatarian approach inspired by the indigenous Taíno diet. After Maria damaged crops, Rosa and chef Gabriel Hernandez worked magic with any underutilized produce they could get from farms to keep the doors open. And their ingenuity paid off. Dig into grassy chayote, pickled to cut through salty bacalao salad, or simply served with mango, lemon, and cilantro to ease the heat of the San Juan sun.
Turmeric tea is spiked with fresh pineapple juice, and slices of locally made sourdough come topped with fresh ricotta, sweet star fruit jam, and neat rows of brûléed (and adorably tiny) guineo manzano bananas. But really, you’re here for the coffee: Solack cofounded the Beans for Puerto Rico initiative to keep cafés stocked with donated beans after the loss of local crops, and she now sources from Puerto Rican–American roasters like Metric and Máquina. Grab a late-morning affogato, made with ice cream from local creamery Vía Láctea, and a spot on the sunny front porch, then revel in an actually idyllic brunch.
One of the island’s earliest farm-to-table trailblazers, Enrique changes his menu so often that it’s scrawled on whiteboards and carted around the restaurant by good-natured waiters. Blessedly, the citrusy crab salad and whole fried fish served with buttery yam mash and avocado papaya mojo remain constants.
PHOTO BY LAURA MURRAY
Five Stellar Coffee Shops
You’re gonna need to stay caffeinated to get through all this eating. Luckily, San Juan is home to a bonafide coffee boom. Island coffee crops are still in recovery, but local shops supplement local beans with mainland roasters to keep the espresso flowing. There are two main draws at Café con Cé: cult Gustos Reserva beans and a killer patio. Café Comunión is run by a bona fide latte art champion runs this coffee shop, so expect frothy cortados. Hit up O.G. single-origin spot Don Ruiz for perfect pour-overs with house roasted beans, then walk through Viejo San Juan to Spiga, an Italian-ish café that takes its sourdough as seriously as its espresso. End your coffee crawl at Café Cuatro Sombras, which has been growing Arabica beans in the Yauco mountains since 1846. They’re best in cortaditos.
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