This charming spot in Old San Juan is a cafe by day and bar by night. Spearheaded by chef Martin Louzao, the menu changes constantly, driven by what’s in season. While the food is memorable on its own, every detail has been thought out, from the beautiful amber glassware to the unique tiles made from coffee beans. Located on a charming, tree-lined street adjacent to the Catedral de San Juan Bautista and Hotel el Convento, Caleta Cafe’s dreamy location is the perfect backdrop for sipping on a glass of wine as the evening comes on.

An Old San Juan stalwart since its opening in 2013, La Factoria has expanded in the years since into an institution, often appearing on the list of the World’s 50 Best Bars. It is still a go-to for its Lavender Mule, where lavender gives floral balance to a Moscow mule; the La Champeta, with Don Q Añejo rum, pineapple, and fermented ginger; and the Garibaldi Criollo, where Campari is infused with acerola, a Caribbean cherry. If wine is desired, Vino, right behind the main bar, provides a selection.

Beer bar Lúpulo is always blasting the best playlist and serving a wide array of beers on draft as well as in bottles and cans. Focus your drinking efforts on local breweries, such as those from Boxlab in Aguadilla on the island’s west coast or Zurc Brauhouse in Coamo. Everything pairs well with the bar food selection, including some truly wonderful French fries and an excellent Cubano.

In Old San Juan, Deaverdura is a staple of comida criolla, the Puerto Rican cuisine that blends local Taíno ingredients with Spanish and African influences. Pasteles, carne frita, tostones, and more create glorious smells wafting from the kitchen into the street, which explains why this corner stop is always drawing a crowd of locals and visitors alike. While the menu is meat-focused, there is seafood and they’re always able to do vegan and vegetarian dishes as well.

This French bistro in Old San Juan is known for its weekend brunch, with mushroom and blue cheese quiche, but the dinner, too, lives up to the hype. Here, the classics are on offer, from duck confit to coq au vin to trout amandine, in a convivial atmosphere that will take you out of the touristic restaurant path just one block away.

Seafood bar meets wine bar at Celeste in Puerta de Tierra, an area nestled between Old San Juan and Condado. Chef and proprietor Sebastián Martínez Tully prepares elegant dishes inspired by Puerto Rico’s bounty. The squid ink ceviche, aged tuna with Meyer lemon, tamarind brown butter anchovy toast, and grilled sepia are not to be missed. The carefully curated wines come from small wineries. 

Cuarto 16, housed in the former Toro Hotel, is now a permanent fixture on the third floor above the bustling Casita Miramar restaurant. The space, set across a quirky layout including two outdoor terraces and an open kitchen, transports guests to another era with antique decor. But it’s not just the ambiance that sets Cuarto 16 apart; chef Giancarlo Ramirez highlights Spanish influences in his creative, criolla dishes, which change monthly. Don’t miss the daily crudo, croquetas, and grilled specials.

This upscale cocktail bar on Calle Cerra hosts an eclectic mix of artists, industry professionals, and anyone looking for a superb cocktail. In an area known for outdoor hangouts with cheap drinks, Machete serves up classic cocktails and creative house drinks made with beets and carrots. The bar food here is top notch, including a perfectly cooked burger, cochinita pibil tacos, and fried cauliflower. Arrive early for a seat or expect to stand for the entirety of the night. There’s an outdoor patio in the back worth checking out.

They don’t take reservations at this narrow Miramar ramen joint, so arrive early — though if you have to wait, it’s well worth it for their house-made noodles, intensely spicy vegan broth, various mazemen preparations, and katsu. The appetizers, such as fried trumpet mushrooms, potato croquettes, and edamame, are filling, so order accordingly. This is an excellent spot for those who don’t eat meat, as there are three vegan ramens to choose from.

Chef Ruben Guzman’s superb cooking over an open fire makes the Miramar Food Truck Park a must visit destination in San Juan. Signature dishes include the choripán sandwich with chimichurri, roasted chicken thigh, and grilled catch of the day, often spearfished by chef Guzman himself. The grilled eggplant is a superb vegetarian option.

A charming renovated house with an ample backyard provides a stunning setting for chef Natalia Vallejo’s updated, vegetable- and seafood-forward takes on Puerto Rican cuisine, skipping over well-known staples like mofongo to focus on deeper cuts. Vallejo serves a terrine of beet and goat cheese with toasted bread, pastelillos (or empanadas) filled with pumpkin, ají dulce (a local sweet pepper) fried tempura-style, buñuelos of mashed root vegetables, perfectly cooked catch of a day, a vegetarian pastelón, and much more on the newly expanded menu. Dessert, a cocktail list by Karla Z. Torres, and a thoughtful wine selection aren’t afterthoughts, but complementary to Vallejo’s cooking.

Those who have followed the dining scene in San Juan for the last decade will know of chef María Mercedes Grubb, who closed her longtime Santurce restaurant Gallo Negro at the end of 2019. She’s back now, overseeing the menu at this Condado venue overlooking the ocean, putting her signature spin on comforting bar food. An oyster mushroom choripan sandwich, mussels in beer broth, soft pretzels, a signature burger, and okra fries make this family-friendly outdoor restaurant an easy choice in the neighborhood. As a bonus, local DJs are usually playing.

Long before the doors open, there is a line outside full of patrons waiting to grab a prized seat at San Juan’s newest pizza spot. Helmed by chef Francis Guzmán of Vianda and his longtime friend from culinary school, chef Stephen Reyna, La Santurcina is exactly the pizza place San Juan needed. The Neapolitan-inspired sourdough pizzas are topped with quality ingredients, and many are vegetable-forward, like the Beetaroni and Zucchini Ricotta. The fried olives and lemon-caper wings are great starters.

This industry hangout came back from the pandemic with a natural wine selection and revamped (but still exceptional) cocktail lineup. The new drink menu features a martini infused with sesame, a daiquiri made with the local agricola rum Ron Pepón, and a spicy hibiscus margarita. Thankfully, the food menu is just as well executed, with bar food you’d expect like wings and burgers, plus veggie lo mein, smoked gouda croquettes, and a barbecue portobello sandwich.

Chef Kelly Pirro has created a menu with a focus on Southeast Asia, which is a refreshing alternative to the abundant Chinese and Japanese restaurants. Thai curries, banh mi, a healing tom yum soup, and satisfying laab. This is also one of the most vegetarian, vegan, and gluten-free-friendly restaurants in San Juan, making it a safe bet when one has a varied party to entertain.

Tucked behind Cocina Abierta (worth a visit on its own), Oriundo is chef Martín Louzao’s newest experimental concept. Louzao, a long-time restaurateur and creative, pays homage to Puerto Rico’s forgotten and underutilized ingredients in a monthly dinner series. Seatings are announced on the restaurant’s Instagram page and sold out within hours. Each dinner includes prix fixe menus for omnivores, pescatarians, and vegetarians, along with thoughtfully selected wine pairings by sommelier Michelle Negrón. A few recent pop-ups paid tribute to pana (breadfruit) and the Caribbean land crab. Top chefs from the Caribbean and Latin America frequently make appearances, showing up with native ingredients of their own. If you can score a reservation, you’re in for a memorable experience. 

After staging with chefs Gastón Ocurio and Rafael Osterling in Peru, chef Rafa Ubior returned to his native Puerto Rico to open Sur, a Nikkei spot in the heart of Santurce. Here, chef Ubior fuses classic Japanese and Peruvian cuisines with locally sourced ingredients and a strong focus on sustainably sourced fish. The raw bar doubles as a cocktail bar where you can sip on a superb Negroni or grape pisco sour, paired alongside a red snapper tiradito, ají amarillo ceviche, or octopus tempura sushi roll. High Kitchen, the sister restaurant and food pantry next door, serves the best fried chicken in town (weekdays, lunch only).

After an inspiring month-long trip to Israel, chef Rául Correa opened Tía Dora alongside longtime friend and sous chef, Juan Lebrón. The duo plate up Mediterranean-inspired dishes that are a pleasant addition to San Juan’s dining scene. Dishes are meant to be shared. Start with any of the spectacular mezze, including labneh with confit tomatoes, followed by lamb kebab, pasta with local mushrooms and coconut ragu, and salmon with chermoula. Located in Ocean Park, Tía Dora is a great post-beach option.

Minutes from the San Juan airport, Piñones is a rustic neighborhood deeply rooted in African tradition. It’s famous for its beachside shacks hawking endless frituras, or fried foods, including the favorite, Kiosko el Boricua. Locals line up for the handmade alcapurrias, a green banana and yautia fritter filled with meat or crab, pastelillos filled with the same, and fried rice with jueyes, or crab. Wash them down with a cold Medalla, the local light pale lager that cuts the fat of the frituras and cools you down in the sun.