Where to eat in Old San Juan?

[yvrbos]

I will be flying into San Juan the day before our cruise aboard the Celebrity Summit. We should arrive late afternoon, so enough time for a relaxing dinner. Do any experienced cruisers have suggestions as to where to go for dinner? I will be staying at the Hotel Casablanca and would like to be within walking distance.

[MerePrize]

4 hours ago, yvrbos said:

I will be flying into San Juan the day before our cruise aboard the Celebrity Summit. We should arrive late afternoon, so enough time for a relaxing dinner. Do any experienced cruisers have suggestions as to where to go for dinner? I will be staying at the Hotel Casablanca and would like to be within walking distance.

Following...

[tallyho8]

My two favorite places are quite close to your hotel. They are Punto de Vista on the rooftop of Hotel Milano, right across the street from Casablanca and Barachina which is on the same street just 4 blocks away.

[Love2CruiseTampa]

I can second Punta de Vista. However, they are first come, first served, so I would suggest getting there a bit early. Last month when we were in San Juan, the wait was 2.5 hours so we had to go elsewhere. The view is really nice and the food good, especially the mofongo. 

 

For a tasty treat, try Mallorca on Calle San Francisco. The signature there is the Mallorca sandwich- toasted bread with butter or toppings like cheese and powdered sugar. sooo good. A nice breakfast treat and the coffee is good too. 

[PORT ROYAL]

18 hours ago, yvrbos said:

I will be flying into San Juan the day before our cruise aboard the Celebrity Summit. We should arrive late afternoon, so enough time for a relaxing dinner. Do any experienced cruisers have suggestions as to where to go for dinner? I will be staying at the Hotel Casablanca and would like to be within walking distance.

 

Another vote for Milano, it's a fun place to eat.   But for a long, relaxing fine dining experience then Marmalade with one of their wine pairing menus (book well in advance as popular with locals and visitors)

[LittleYiaYia]

Just returned from the Casa Blanca.  We ate twice at Punto De Vista, no wait either time when we arrived by 4PM (to take advantage of BOGO mojitos.  This is our favorite in OSJ.  The restaurant is across the street from Casa Blanca.  Just get there early or you will face a wait.  For the first time we tried Sophia's.  Wonderful food and great service.  Walk out of your hotel and take a right, Sophia's on the corner.  Sit outside to people watch.  Casablanca has a great breakfast.  Service slow (the waiter takes your order and then goes and cooks the food).  Mallorca is our favorite for breakfast, but again, get there early or after the breakfast rush as it is also very popular with locals, especially on Sunday when the Mass ends at the church across the street.

 

[JuliaMS]

On Calle San Francisco one block up from your hotel. Breakfast for 352 Cafe. Dinner and drinks next door at El Asador. Nice casual bar and great food. The best was the Risotto - shrimp, lobster, mushroom, Appetizer sizes also. Both places had amazing friendly staff who remembered us when we came in a second time. For something different try Chocobar from breakfast or dessert.

[Ashland]

On 3/15/2020 at 2:12 PM, JuliaMS said:

On Calle San Francisco one block up from your hotel. Breakfast for 352 Cafe. Dinner and drinks next door at El Asador. Nice casual bar and great food. The best was the Risotto - shrimp, lobster, mushroom, Appetizer sizes also. Both places had amazing friendly staff who remembered us when we came in a second time. For something different try Chocobar from breakfast or dessert.

Love the Chocobar !!!

[quercus alba]

Try El Jibarito for authentic Puerto Rican food. Not much for atmosphere--but great food.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/Restaurant_Review-g147320-d904703-Reviews-El_Jibarito-San_Juan_Puerto_Rico.html

 

[Ashland]

Just hoping by the time we're there in March 2022 some of our favorites will still be open....Some I've heard have closed for good.

[Sea Dog]

We hope to eat our first night at Raices. Very popular local food fare.

http://restauranteraices.com/

[Choozin Croozin]

On 2/24/2020 at 9:02 AM, PORT ROYAL said:

 

Another vote for Milano, it's a fun place to eat.   But for a long, relaxing fine dining experience then Marmalade with one of their wine pairing menus (book well in advance as popular with locals and visitors)

I have looked at Marmalade's menu online. It looks like you get to choose one from each course and they only have the tasting menu ? That is $125pp and if you want to pair a wine with each course it is $69 more?  It sounds just wonderful 

 

[PORT ROYAL]

11 hours ago, Choozin Croozin said:

I have looked at Marmalade's menu online. It looks like you get to choose one from each course and they only have the tasting menu ? That is $125pp and if you want to pair a wine with each course it is $69 more?  It sounds just wonderful 

 

The wine pairing is a no brainer.
The food, joy, ambiance and combined with tastes and flavours are the essence of “Old San Juan”, but there’s something special about Marmalade that makes one return and the only way to appreciate it is through the experience..  To go, then one will know.

 

[Wrunkles]

Another recommendation for the chocobar cortes

[kdawg954]

Did Marmalade on Xmas day the night before my cruise. It was excellent and expensive . . . but excellent none the less and I'm very happy I did it.  

 

Best thing I did was skip the wine pairing and go for their specialty cocktails.  They have this one tequila based drink, "global warming" I think it was called and we first sipped it and it was very average.  The waiter suggested allowing the craft ice to melt for like 7 minutes as the flavors got a chance to marinate.  We laughed and said "well ok" . . . 7 minutes later and it was arguably one of the best cocktails I've ever tasted.  Left a great impression.  The wine pairing is reasonably priced all things considered but people seemed to regret their decisions a bit as our cocktails looked so interesting.  

 

They really know their flavors here. White Bean soup was the absolute star but truly it was all good.  Chef came out and added an extra course with Lobster and Risotto.  U basically can ask for more food if you are still hungry or want more of a non entree course, but you won't be (and I definitely can eat).  Was happy to take a slow walk around Old San Juan after while continuing to savor the meal and watch the Christmas celebration/decorations.

 

The only negative really is that you are gonna spend a bunch of money for a meal that you really don't classify as "Puerto Rican" but there is so much quality cheaper local cuisine options that its nice to make this your one "splurge" foodie fusion experience.

 

Truly one of the best dining experience I ever had.  The ambiance was perfect.  The service was perfect.  I was expecting some stuffiness and it was very modern and chic.  Dress comfortably nice and enjoy.