On-Site restaurant suggestion in Old San Juan

[NoVaCruiser60]

Hello cruisers,

Visiting Viejo San Juan (old San Juan) but NOT on a cruise, and we stumbled across a great restaurant in the Plaza Colon on the east side of the old city. Maybe four blocks from the cruise port area, near the entrance to Fort San Cristobal. Its called Cafe Puerto Rico, and they have alfresco seating next to the square along with an interior dining room. We had great appetizers (alcapurrias and corn fritters) and absolutely incredible Sangria (do not miss it!). Main course also great: DW has vegetable mofogno (made with casava) and I had plantain mofongo with churrasco. Desert? We didn't have room, but who can say "no" to tres leches cake?

Anyway, nice atmosphere, reasonable prices, and excellent food. Enjoy!

[bg1811]

Could you explain what you ate in English for us non-foodies? Thanks.

[NoVaCruiser60]

Sure, and one key point: Cafe PR is an authentic local restaurant ( we just went back again tonight for our last dinner on the island).

Translations as follows:

Alcapurrias are a combination of mashed yautia (a root) and green plantains, mixed with some ground pork and garlic stuffing and fried in a hotdog shape.

Corn fritters are like small, fried hush puppies.

Mofongo is practically the national dish of PR: its a ball-shaped pile of mashed fried green plantains (very crunchy) or casava (less crunchy, another root veggie) which can be filled with beef, pork, seafood, etc, Think of the plaintains as forming a bowl which the filling poured into it (a la mashed potatoes and gravy).

Churasco is grilled beef (skirt steak) heavily marinated in a barbeque-type sauce.

Tres Leches Cake is literelly "3 Milks cake": its simple but devilishly delicious: plain vanilla cake, soaked overnight in a mixture of whole milk and sweetened condensed milk. Shortly before serving (cold), its topped with whipped cream.

The theme here is (1) fried everything, (2) lotsa roots, (3) very sweet flavors. If you are visiting PR for a day on a cruise, its worth it to find a good local place and try the cuisine out. I can tell you that after 5 days, I'll need to take a break from fried food :eek: for a few months!

[bg1811]

Ok, thanks for the response. I believe I can enjoy each of those. We're going to be in San Juan (pre cruise) on May 14-17.