The best restaurants in San Juan, Puerto Rico

20.11.2024 - 19:35 / lonelyplanet.com

Nov 20, 2024 • 7 min read

Lonely Planet has partnered with San Juan-based travel community Platea to provide comprehensive guides, curated lists and insider tips for your next trip to Puerto Rico.

Riding a wave of culinary excitement and an emphasis on local ingredients and cultural heritage, the restaurant scene in Puerto Rico is thriving. 

Over the past few years, Puerto Rico’s farmers and restaurateurs have echoed the island’s resilience post-Hurricane María, especially in San Juan, one of the Caribbean’s most vibrant culinary centers. From world-class gastronomic temples to no-frills storefronts serving home-cooked staples, a progressive spirit imbues the city's acclaimed chefs, who fuse the island's rich cultural legacy with modern cooking techniques. 

Here is our guide to some of the best restaurants in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Located on Calle Fortaleza in Old San Juan, the world-renowned Marmalade put Puerto Rico on the foodie map. Celebrated chef Peter Schintler, an Iowa native, draws on the island's diverse heritage to deftly blend indigenous and international ingredients. 

His prix-fixe menu features playful, socially conscious riffs on classic Caribbean fare, best paired with selections from the award-winning wine list or expertly crafted cocktail menu. Popular dishes include pasture-raised beef tenderloin and pesto-drizzled swordfish with local heirloom tomatoes. If you’re vegetarian or vegan, Marmalade always has plant-based options.

In the elegant Condado Vanderbilt Hotel, 1919 is one of the most acclaimed fine-dining destinations in the Caribbean, thanks in no small part to the culinary genius of chef Juan José Cuevas, an alumnus of the Michelin-starred Blue Hill in New York. Cuevas is also a farm-to-table pioneer on the island, sourcing local ingredients wherever possible. (Case in point, the Vanderbilt Hotel’s eggs all come from Puerto Rico farms). 

You can’t go wrong with the sous vide salmon, vacuum-packed and slow-cooked in a water bath to preserve natural flavors, then given a twist according to the season. For an unforgettable dining experience, opt for the chef’s menu accompanied by sommelier-selected wine pairings. Plush leather seats, mahogany tables, crystal chandeliers and sweeping Atlantic views lend poise and formality to the ambiance.

This innovative Santurce restaurant is the passion project of husband-and-wife team Francis Guzmán and Amelia Dill. Both made their way through the cutthroat world of New York City’s fine-dining scene, including stints at the Michelin-starred Blue Hill and The Modern restaurants. Now that they run their own restaurant at Vianda, you can expect a sleek minimalist space that draws a posh and vivacious mix of visitors and regulars every night. 

Vianda's