Favorites Right Now

Celeste is my favorite restaurant on the island right now, and has been for the past couple of months. Sebastian and crew are trying something totally different - a seafood focused restaurant focusing on fresh local fish, natural wines, lots of unique flavors, and frequently taking some real risks in the dishes that really pay off. The menu rotates frequently which keeps everything really exciting. Some of the best dishes I’ve had on the island in months are the shrimp toast (hard to order only one), the salt and pepper shrimp (it’s brand new on the menu), the lobster (they have a special that isn’t the usual Caribbean spiny lobster), and the perfectly cooked octopus. Bonus points for awesome wine recommendations, fun staff, and setting the bar high for the PDT restaurant scene.

There’s nothing I don’t love about Pio Pio. Laura has curated a great selection of traditional and natural wines, champagnes, as well as awesome bites at this fun champagne bar in VSJ. I’m always impressed by the food coming out of their tiny kitchen, and I recommend going as a party of 3-4 and ordering the whole menu. My favorites are the lobster rolls, grilled cheese, tarta, and their take on morcilla, but they always have new things on the menu. I just went again (3/1) and had the gnocchi and truffle flatbread for the first time and it was all decadent and delicious. Ask Laura to suggest some wines, make sure you end your meal with the ice cream sandwich, and you’ll be set. Bonus points for consistency and perfect spot for a date night.

Santurcina not only has two of my favorite pizzas on the island right now (their namesake pizza and the mushroom pizza), but also my favorite salad on the island (a Caesar), the best desert I’ve had anywhere in a year (an insane carrot cake with cream cheese icing ice cream and shaved fried carrots), and a thoughtfully curated liquor selection. The meatballs are a favorite as well. The staff are awesome and I don’t mind waiting an hour to get a seat. The move is to walk a couple of blocks to Hermanos Lucca and drink some awesome natural wines in the meantime. But make sure to save room for that dessert. Damn.

I heard about Franco and Gemma early on when I moved to the island, and going there lingered on my To Do list for over 2 years. Maybe I didn’t go because it was a bit of a schlep from San Juan, or maybe it was because I never would have thought that the best Italian food on the island would be in Levittown. That all changed when our friends Anita and Jose brought us here which turned out to be the best Italian meal I’ve had on the island. What I didn’t know - but makes sense now - is that Franco and Gemma are Italians who moved here decades ago and have been cooking traditional homemade food that you would expect while visiting somewhere like Tuscany. Not only was the food great, Franco and Gemma are awesome, and Franco actually personally hunts a lot of the game that is used in the restaurant. The homemade pastas are my favorite on the island - don’t miss the gnocci with Gorgonzola and pear sauce (you might even need a second order), the game stuffed ravioli, and even the simple fettuccini. The cannolis are made to order (I love a good cannoli), the poached pear was an unexpected winner, and the Italian wine and beers were spot on. Plus, Levittown is cool! Get some drinks at the local bars nearby after dinner.

Santaella is the perfect place to bring visitors or a fun group dinner with friends. The food is consistently a great representation of modern Puerto Rican cuisine, and everyone there is having a good time. The best things I had on the latest menu were the pastelón (it’s huge so you really need a group to order it), pork shank, brussel sprouts, Jibarito Mule cocktail, and the bread pudding. Grab a margarita in the placita before dinner.

Funche is the best restaurant tip I’ve gotten since living here (shout out to our friends Miguel and Maite!) and since it’s a little less known, I love bringing people there for the first time. The menu always has some staples that are hard to not order second of like the Pulpo Funche and the Piquillos Rellenos. You’re in luck if they have the foie gras or langoustines. Order as many of the appetizers as you can, and you can’t go wrong with any fish or steak as an entrée. They have great wines - trust them to recommend a few wines to pair with your order.

I’m truly grateful for Paulina Escanes. Whether it’s breakfast, lunch, brunch, or dinner, everything on the menu consistently delivers, and there are also some healthy options. Two of my favorite dishes on the island are their Torta de Elote (add an egg) and the Pancakes with the blueberry compote (fun fact from my friend Eric, they bake the pancakes in the oven!), but you can’t go wrong with the Organica salad, the chicken tandoori, and the tacos. It’s really hard to go wrong here. Pro-tip: you can buy an entire sheet of the Torta from their bakery near Ocean Park, as well as full versions of their other baked goods. The salted chocolate chip cookies are my favorite.

God bless the owners of XO Asian. When they opened down the block from my first apartment in PR, I was so excited to have found a good Chinese option that I went there or ordered in almost every Sunday and it is still my go-to for delivery. My favorite item on the menu is actually the Phó (the best I’ve found in PR) but the wonton soup is another standout, and the sesame chicken, Chinese sausage fried rice, fried noodles, and lo mein are staples. They’re super consistent and open late, and they’re also really nice.

By the time I moved here, Round Eye Ramen had closed and I was hoping it would open again. When I found out it was permanently closed I was pretty bummed, but then Dashi Ramen opened up. Dashi is still new so there may be a bit of a wait to get your ramen, but it’s worth the wait and the best broth I’ve had so far in the island. I tried the tonkotsu and the miso broths which I would both order again. The person next to me was eating a lo mein type dish which looked awesome and I need to try it next time. Weird fun fact, they have kosher sake.

Vianda had been one of my favorite restaurants when moving here, but for no reason at all, I hadn’t been back in over a year. Clearly that was a mistake. Their latest menu is great and thankfully still have the homemade bread!. The steak, crudo, salad, and their play on shakshuka were all awesome. The wine was great and the staff are great too. I’m excited to have rediscovered Vianda.

I can’t figure out why, but many people who love Santaella and Vianda have never tried PROLE. PROLE is on Calle Cera, making it the perfect location to eat a great dinner before going out to the many cool bars on that block and in the area. There’s a lot to try so it’s great for groups, but it’s also a great place to eat at the bar. The steak is probably the best I’ve had on the island (it definitely serves two), and you have to get the mushroom toast, bone marrow, muscles, and any pasta. They make their own ice cream and the cookie dough is the best I’ve had on the island - get a scoop on the top of the fantastic bread pudding. Then check out some of the bars in the area after dinner.

Cappadocia is a small restaurant across from Bottles that might be easy to miss from the outside, but is definitely worth checking out. It’s an authentic Turkish restaurant with consistent execution on everything you’d expect: all the dips and salads, kabobs, mixed grills platters, and of course baklava. I’ve tried something different every time I’ve gone, and you can’t go wrong. If you want a chill night out with some of the best authentic Mediterranean food on the island, this is your spot.

If you’re optimizing for a fun and unique bar a bit off the beaten path, check out Euromotion. This auto shop (with a vintage Porsche collection) opened up an adjacent on-theme bar and restaurant for friends and family during Covid. There’s some great elevated bar food (like the great burger), but they also serve steaks that look great and they source from the same distributor as Hacidena. It’s full of regulars, it’s super fun, there’s usually live music, the drinks are good, and the staff is great. Plus you can see the cars they’re working on in the back. The most fun place that I’ve found in a while.

Via Appia’s holds a special place in my heart as one of the only restaurants to stay open and at full force during most of COVID when I first moved to the island. The cocktails are strong, the staff are awesome and have been there forever, and it’s a great place to have a drinking focused dinner that is fun but casual. The wait for walk ins is never too long, and we always order the same thing: Gorgonzola salad (important to get the dressing on the side, there’s just so much of it), a pizza with mushrooms and onions, and sometimes a chicken parm. The flan is also great. The regulars will tell you to get the sangria, but I don’t really drink sangria so I’ve never tried it. As I’m writing this I realize that next time I need to try the sangria…

La Penultima is an awesome cocktail bar indoors with a great backyard / picknick table situation outdoors. The food is definitely elevated beyond typical bar food and would stand up on its own if it were a casual restaurant in San Juan. The burger, lo mein, and chicken sandwich are all good and I think they have the best wings I’ve had in PR (I love wings). The carbonated Negroni is great, plus they import their own natural wines and have an awesome selection.

Bottles is one of the first restaurants I tried in Puerto Rico when I moved here in 2020. My husband and I sat down and attempted to order two appetizers and two entrees. The waiter politely but firmly told us it would be too much food and that we couldn’t order it all. That’s not the first time we’ve been told we’re ordering too much food, so we confidently pushed back and tried to convince him it would be ok. He insisted it wasn’t going to be ok and that we only order half and appetizer and one entree between the two of us. If you’re reading this and you’ve been to Bottles, you know that even this quarter order was clearly too much food… The portions are HUGE at Bottles. Like Cheesecake Factory huge. It’s a great place to go with big groups, not just because of the size of the portions but also because of the vast selection of wine lining the walls (with prices close to retail). My go to order there is a bunch of wine, a martini (they pour a good one), the veal chicharrones, the Iberico Ham and Cheese board, the king crab legs if they have them, the duck, and some steak. You can’t forge t the massive Baked Alaska for dessert.

Disclaimer: Joe has never been to Bottles but once he goes I am confident this will be added to The Joe List. Then again, we have yet to agree on a single restaurant besides Numero Uno. Only time will tell…

BaCoa is one of my favorite places to bring visitors if they’re staying for more than just a weekend. It’s a long drive from San Juan and not Uber-able which makes it somewhere I don’t visit so often. But the outdoor setting in the hills by a pond is lovely, the owners / chefs care a lot about the quality of the food, and I’ve had some awesome meals there. The last time I went, the best things I had were the watermelon cocktail, all the dips with the homemade focaccia, the fish, root mash, and the all the desserts. I’ve also had some great wood fired meats but haven’t tried them in a while. The cocktail program is great as well.