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Best Dining Bets
Best Classic Dining: Out in Miramar, Augusto's Cuisine, in the Marriott Courtyard San Juan Miramar Hotel, Av. Ponce de León 801 (tel. 787/725-7700), combines impeccable service and an elegant dining room while delivering one of the best French and international cuisines in the Caribbean, backed up by an extensive wine list.
Best Steakhouse: In the swanky Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel, BLT Steak, De los Gobernadores 6961 (tel. 787/253-1700), serves the most succulent steaks in Puerto Rico. French chef Laurent Tourondel reinvents the American steakhouse with the classic cooking techniques of his homeland, serving up aged beefs, other meats, and fresh seafood. Sauces, sides, and desserts are all heavenly remakes of your father's favorite food, and it still tastes good today.
Best Food Value: Bebo's Cafe, Calle Loiza 1600 (tel. 787/726-1008), has good comida criolla, plus steaks, sandwiches, and fruit frappes at incredibly low prices. That's why it draws crowds despite its rather slow, if well intentioned, service. It's open all the time, nearly.
Best Italian Restaurant: Across the street from Hotel El Covento, Il Perugino, Cristo St. 105 (tel. 787/722-5481), takes you on a culinary tour of sunny Italy. Plate after plate of delectable northern Italian food is presented nightly -- everything from grilled filets of fresh fish to succulent pastas. Service is first-rate, and the welcome warm.
Best French Restaurant: Housed in a beautifully renovated building across the street from the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico, Bistro de Paris, Plaza de Diego, Av. De Diego 310 (tel. 787/998-8929), takes elements of a classic Parisian bistro and kicks up the comfort level several notches. This is classic French cuisine with innovative flourishes, prepared and served with love and precision by talented chefs and a near perfect wait staff.
Best for a Romantic Dinner: It's erotic meeting your lover outside the bathroom in the dimly lit, breathtaking lobby of the Museum of Art of Puerto Rico when it is closed. And you'll still have opportunities for appreciation of the arts at Pikayo, Av. José de Diego 299 (tel. 787/721-6194), where the walls of the dining room serve as a rotating gallery, and chef Wilo Benet delivers food every bit as artful as the surroundings. Taste the masterpiece of reinvented comida criolla together.
Best Nuevo Latino Cuisine: Parrot Club, Calle Fortaleza 363 (tel. 787/725-7370), wows taste buds with its modern interpretation of Puerto Rican specialties. Even San Juan's mayor and the governor have made it their favorite. Husband-and-wife team Emilio Figueroa and Gigi Zafero borrow from a repertoire of Puerto Rican and Spanish recipes, and they also use Taíno and African influences in their cuisine. The seared tuna is the best in town, and their Creole-style flank steak is worth the trek from Condado Beach.
Best Burgers: Patrons freely admit that El Patio de Sam, Calle San Sebastián 102 (tel. 787/723-1149), is not always on target with its main dishes. But they agree on one thing: The hamburgers are the juiciest and most delectable in San Juan. The Old City atmosphere is also intriguing -- with an airy courtyard and lots of local artwork.
Best Asopao: Soul food to Puerto Ricans, asopao is the regional gumbo, made in as many different ways as there are chefs on the island. Most versions are too thick to be called soup; stew is more fitting. Try the seafood variety at La Bombonera, Calle San Francisco 259 (tel. 787/722-0658), in the Old City. The most basic version is a delicious mix of pigeon peas and rice.
Best Spanish Cuisine: You'd have to go all the way to Madrid to find Spanish food as well prepared as it is at Ramiro's, Av. Magdalena 1106 (tel. 787/721-9049). The chefs take full advantage of fresh island produce to create an innovative cuisine. In fact, the style is New Creole, although its roots are firmly planted in Spain. Their fresh fish and chargrilled meats are succulent, and any dessert with the strawberry-and-guava sauce is a sure palate pleaser.
Best Local Cuisine: Devoted to comida criolla, Ajili Mójili, Av. Ashford 1006 (tel. 787/725-9195), features food that islanders might have enjoyed in their mamas' kitchens. Try such specialties as mofongos (green plantains stuffed with veal, chicken, shrimp, or pork) or the most classic arroz con pollo (juicy chicken baked right in the middle of the pot of saffron rice).
Best Hotel Restaurant: In the San Juan Marriott Resort, Av. Ashford 1309 (tel. 787/722-7000), Ristorante Tuscany has consistently maintained high standards over the last decade in delivering some of the best northern cuisine on the island. We've found it even better in the early 21st century than it was in the 1990s.
Best Late-Night Dining: This is where your waitress and bartender go when they get off of work. With an after-hours menu that's available until dawn, Tantra, Calle Fortaleza 356 in Old San Juan (tel. 787/977-8141), is the place to go when midnight munchies strike. Try some tandoori chicken kebabs, coconut sesame shrimp in a mango peach salsa, or fried calamari in tomato masala sauce. There are plenty of tasty choices from the Indian-Latin fusion menu. Although the kitchen officially closes at 2am, it stays open until the crowd stops asking for more. It's a good place to find out what's going on around town as well.
Best Family Meals: In the Inter-Continental San Juan Resort & Casino, Av. Isla Verde 5961 (tel. 787/791-6100), Ciao Mediterranean Café offers an excellent and reasonably priced menu. Many tables are placed on a private boardwalk adjacent to the beach. Pizza and pasta are favorite dishes, and you can also choose from a large selection of other Mediterranean fare.
Best Pizza: For pizza pies like the ones from the boardwalk stands on the Jersey shore, try Mike & Charlie's, Av. Ashford 1024 (tel. 787/725-8711). As much about the tomato as the cheese, the slices are huge, but the crust is so light, they are never overfilling. We can't say the same about the huge and delicious submarines, calzones, and pasta dishes also served here.
Best Sunday Brunch: Both locals and American visitors flock to Palmeras at the Caribe Hilton, Calle Los Rosales (tel. 787/721-0303), for its delectable all-you-can-eat Sunday brunch. Good food, glamour, and live music are combined here. The freshly prepared seafood alone is worth the set price, which includes champagne.
Best Aphrodisiac Cuisine: Take someone special to Ostra Cosa, Calle del Cristo 154 (tel. 787/722-2672), for a night of romance. Even if you aren't in the mood, the owner promises that you will be after consuming his dishes, which are "chock-full of aphrodisiacs." It's not just the prawns and oysters; the romantic setting in a Spanish colonial courtyard does not hurt either.
Best Ice Cream: On a cobble-covered street in Old San Juan, Ben & Jerry's, Calle del Cristo 61 (tel. 787/977-6882), is a block from the landmark cathedral, Catedral de San Juan, across from the entrance to Hotel El Convento. This North American chain offers the best ice cream in San Juan. Any of the 32 flavors -- 10 of them low-fat -- tastes particularly good on hot, steamy days, when their names, such as Chubby Hubby and Phish Food, seem ironic and flavorful, depending on your point of view.
Best Drinks: We get thirsty just thinking about the San Juan Water & Beach Club, Tartek St. 2 (tel. 787/728-3666), the ultra chic Isla Verde boutique hotel, where water gushes through the translucent walls of the lobby and elevator, which you take to Wet. You can have sushi under the stars at this rooftop bar, and any drink you want. The elegant African, world-beat decor, which matches the music, is perfect with the ocean breeze and the view that goes all the way down the coast. Grab a seat at the long bar or one of the comfortable lounge seats.
Note: This information was accurate when it was published, but can change without
notice. Please be sure to confirm all rates and details directly with the companies in question before
planning your trip.
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