Authentic restaurants in old San Juan

I am looking for a local authentic San Juan food restaurant . I would like for it to be in the old San Juan area.

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I am looking for a local authentic San Juan food restaurant . I would like for it to be in the old San Juan area.

 

 

 

 

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We are staying the night before we sail on August 3 and my husband wanted to know the same thing!!

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We are staying the night before we sail on August 3 and my husband wanted to know the same thing!!

 

 

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Were are you staying?

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Embassy suites and casino. You?

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Embassy suites and casino. You?

 

 

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We decided to stay in Old San Juan at the Melano hotel nothing special, doesn’t have room service, but has a rooftop bar and restaurant. We wanted to be among the old part of San Juan and enjoy the old charm and this looked appealing.

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My daughter dances competitively and we stay at Hilton hotels - I saved all our points from that to pay for the hotel! One less expense to worry about.

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Since I'm a local, I'll just give you a few general answers with a disclaimer: I don't mean to be an ad for these places or naming them does not constitute my endorsement. Just trying to help...

That said, you can find authentic Puerto Rican food in a few places around OSJ, it depends on the overall experience you wish to have. Raices is just a block away from the port. It is authentic food, but a bit gimmicky in presentation. Other favorite of tourists are Barrachina, Punto de Vista, Marmalade (upscale, modern local food) and Mojitos. If you want a bit of a more grassroots experience, there's always the food trucks on Plaza Darsenas (a short walk to the left of the docks with the ships to your back) and Café Manolín (old-school diner-style joint where the locals have local food for lunch). There are quite a few "hole in the wall" eateries as well but I can't really remember any of their names. But you won't get any more "local" than that. The ones that I mentioned are all within 10 minutes of walking distance from the docks.

If you are staying at Hotel Milano, you have a great restaurant upstairs, Punto de Vista. Menu is Puerto Rican, atmosphere is great, service is very good. We ate there in February and loved it.

We found Punto de Vista through Yelp. They have many helpful reviews for OSJ.

We eat at Raices. The Kan Kan Pork Chop is amazing.

Did Punto de Vista back on 5-20.

Was a great choice.

Great happy hour and really great service/staff. Seating outside does fill up but nabbed a nice table for 2 when I was there.

For appetizer, try the loaded Sweet Potato Fries. . . . They are fantastic. Had the Shrimp Mofongo and the flavors were wonderful

Was glad to choose this over Marmalade which is less Puerto Rican and more French Fusion . . . .will give them a try another time but wanted something authentic and Puerto Rican.

Also Manolin is a nice breakfast spot. Good and cheap in a diner setting. All these places are literally less than a 5 minutes walk from each other.

My wife and I had dinner at Princesa Gastrobar on the Paeso de la Princesa two weeks ago.

The service was great and the food was excellent. Their menu (which you can google) indicates the origin of their dishes. Some are based on Puerto Rican recipes from the 1850s.

We started with the Molletes Criollos. My wife had the Garbanzada de Bacala and I had Shrimp and Lobster mofongo. We finished with an excellent coconut flan.

The restaurant was recommended to us by travelers on our Cruise Critic Roll Call that live in San Juan.

Since I'm a local, I'll just give you a few general answers with a disclaimer: I don't mean to be an ad for these places or naming them does not constitute my endorsement. Just trying to help...

 

 

 

That said, you can find authentic Puerto Rican food in a few places around OSJ, it depends on the overall experience you wish to have. Raices is just a block away from the port. It is authentic food, but a bit gimmicky in presentation. Other favorite of tourists are Barrachina, Punto de Vista, Marmalade (upscale, modern local food) and Mojitos. If you want a bit of a more grassroots experience, there's always the food trucks on Plaza Darsenas (a short walk to the left of the docks with the ships to your back) and Café Manolín (old-school diner-style joint where the locals have local food for lunch). There are quite a few "hole in the wall" eateries as well but I can't really remember any of their names. But you won't get any more "local" than that. The ones that I mentioned are all within 10 minutes of walking distance from the docks.

Thanks for all your help. Looking forward to my time in OSJ

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As mentioned by Stinger, Café Manolin is excellent. Went there for lunch on 6/6 during a Harmony port stop. Located on Calle San Justo, just off Calle Forteleza, an easy walk from the piers. Frequented by lots of locals. Only a few tables and a long sit in counter. Food was very good and not expensive. Get there before noon as it fills up quickly.

I stayed in Old San Juan a couple of nights post cruise in 2012. Stayed at San Juan Suites. I asked people at reception about a place to eat authentic food, and they recommended Raices which was a short walk from hotel. I loved it. Yes, as someone said it's a bit gimmicky, but that was okay by me. I was back in port for just a day in 2013. It was pouring down rain, but that didn't matter. I made my way through the rain back to Raices and was glad to be there again. I will be in San Juan again next February and plan to eat there once again.