Old Harbor Brewery (202 Calle Tizol e/Calle Recinto Sur, Old San Juan) — Serious beer-lovers know to head to this authentic microbrewery and restaurant close to the harborfront. More clubby than pubby, it packs in locals as well as tourists who come to taste the five delicious German-style beers, brewed in European-style open fermentation tanks. […]
Café Cuatro Sombras (259 Calle Recinto Sur, Old San Juan) — If you want to try locally grown, single-origin, shade-grown coffee, this micro-roastery and café is the place to do it. Owners Pablo Muñoz and Mariana Suárez grow their beans in the mountains of Yauco on a hacienda that has been in Muñoz family since […]
St. Germain Bistro & Café (156 Calle Sol, Old San Juan) — One of the city’s hidden treasures, this charming French-inspired café-restaurant stands on a quiet cobbled street corner. The interior is just as inviting, with rustic white wooden tables and benches. St. Germain delivers exceptionally fresh, made-from-scratch food and friendly service. With an emphasis […]
Barlovento (Plaza Alberto Escudero, 1043 Avenida Ashford, Condado) — Packed on weekends, this chic outdoor bar that’s on a breezy plaza is a great place to sip tropical drinks oceanside. It also has a menu if hunger strikes.
Yerba Buena (1350 Avenida Ashford, Condado) — Tables on the terrace are hard to come by at this Cuban restaurant, one of the busier spots in Condado. That’s fine, because the glassed-in dining room is even more comfortable and has exactly the same view. Cuban classics such as ropa vieja (“old clothes”—meat cooked so slowly […]
Via Appia (1350 Avenida Ashford, Condado) — Popular for decades with everyone from local politicians and families to sunburned tourists who just dragged themselves off the beach, the food at this bustling, no-frills restaurant is just as tasty as its higher-priced paisanos. They’re particularly known for their simple Italian dishes (we usually just stick with […]
Verde Mesa (107 Calle Tetuán, e/Calle San José, Old San Juan) — With punched-tin ceilings, mason-jar lighting fixtures, and eclectic decor inspired by Versailles’ Petit Trianon, the focus at this vegeterian restaurant is on pleasing the senses. Much of the organic produce used in the regularly changing menu comes from the owners’ farm and other […]
Toro Salao (367 Calle Tetuán, Old San Juan) — The name means “Salty Bull,” and there’s something about this place that makes its moniker entirely appropriate. (And it’s not just the bullfighting posters that decorate one of the two-story-high walls.) This popular Spanish-Puerto Rican tapas restaurant was opened by Emilio Figueroa, who helped turn the […]
St. Germain Bistro & Café (156 Calle Sol, Old San Juan) — One of the city’s hidden treasures, this charming French-inspired café-restaurant stands on a quiet cobbled street corner. The interior is just as inviting, with rustic white wooden tables and benches. St. Germain delivers exceptionally fresh, made-from-scratch food and friendly service. With an emphasis […]
Señor Frog’s (Paseo Gilberto Concepción de Gracia e/Brumbaugh, Old San Juan) — Latin America’s answer to the Hard Rock Cafe, Señor Frog’s attracts both hard-partying tourists and the cruise-ship crowd—no surprise, as it’s located directly in front of the dock. (Look for the giant inflatable frog.) The just-okay menu is a nod to Mexico, with […]