My reviews unless otherwise noted. We favor eating comida criollo (local style) when in Puerto Rico.
(click on pic for larger image)
North Coast
(Arecibo to Isabela)
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El Buen Cafe.
Hatillo. Comida Criollo. Always a must stop on the road from San Juan
to the west coast. One of the Mesones Gastronomicos de Puerto
Rico. Km. 84.0, De Diego Highway #2, just east of Arecibo after
exiting the toll road (Rt 22). Updated: January 2010.
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El Fogón de Abuela. Camuy. Comida Criollo. One of the
Mesones Gastronomicos de Puerto Rico.
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Northwest Coastal Area
(Isabela to Aguadilla)
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Fritura West of Jobos.
This outstanding fritura stand opened several years ago. Hardly anyone
drives by without stopping to grab a quick bite to eat or to take
something for the road. The food is fresh, tasty and not too
greasy. Location: Rt. 466, west of Jobos, in the middle of a
sharp S-turn, before heading up the hill.
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Panaderia Borinquen.
Comida Criollo. This is one of our favorite inexpensive eateries in the
N/NW coastal areas. The Borinquen is a combination bakery, restaurant
and grocery store. You have a wide range of great choices: sandwiches,
luncheon items, baked goods and coffee. One of my morning favorites is
the jamon,huevo y queso sandwich (ham, egg and cheese) on toasted
criollo bread (about $2). For lunch, the rotisserie garlic one-third
chicken with a heaping plate of rice & beans is can't miss, or the
pasteles. The other items are also very well done. Skip the fried
plantains.
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One Ten Thai. Thai
food made with locally grown and fresh veggies. Offers a wide range of
thai-insprired entrees and appetizers. A real bonus is the large
selection of craft brews from San Juan, California and elsewhere,
including many on tap. Not expensive (see the menu).
May be reached at 787-890-0113. Directions: East of Gate 5 of Ramey
Base and the PR-110 or San Antonio Road. Driving east you will find the
restaurant on the left-hand side, just after the Texaco Gas Station,
just before La Cima Hotel. Visited: January 2012.
Photo courtesy of goseePR.com.
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Rincón Area
(Greater Rincón)
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Comida Criollo. One of the best restaurants around. Excellent variety
of appetizers and entrees. One of the specialities is the mofongo
(pictured to the right). Fresh seafood, chillo (red snapper); very good
steaks; and special "home fries." It is always tough to choose between
the killer starch of the evening. Updated: January 2010.
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Restaurante Doña Fela.
This relatively new restaurant was recommended to us by friends.
Business was slow the night we were there but the staff was attentive
and the food was great. Location: Calle Colón de Aguada. Updated: January 2010.
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Casita Rica.Comida
criollo. This establishment has been in business forever having exanded
from its beginnings as a limber stand to include now a sit-down
restaurant. Excellent criollo food at a good price. The line for
frappe/limber was quite long! We enjoyed grilled chillo al ajillo,
arroz con camarones, churrasco and mofongo. Location: Km 20.0 on
PR-115. Visited: January 2012.
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Platano Loco.
The "Crazy Plantain" specializes in food made by plantains. You name it
and you can have a plantain version: plantain sandwiches, plantain
pizza, plantain soup... and so on. Of course, El Platano Loco
specializes in traditional foods made with plantains such as tostones,
pasteles and mofongo. Inexpensive. Closed Mon-Wed. Directions: Click on
this link for the address and directions. [Note: In Spanish]. Updated January 2010.
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More pics: Front | Sign
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Ode To The Elephants. Thai. Great
sunset view from atop the mountains overlooking
Rincón surfing beaches of Punta Higuera. The food wasn't bad either!
Not a huge beer selection but some good drinks and fresh ingredients.
The curry smelled very good. We would go again. Address: Barrio Puntas,
Rincon. Moderately priced. Visited: January 2012.
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Lazy Parrot. Comida Criollo. Great sunset view from atop the mountains overlooking
Rincón surfing beaches of Marias, Dogmans. The food can also
feature some very good latin fusion meals. Last time not as good, but
it has had a good track record. Believe it is under new management (and name),
but located at the Lazy Parrot. Address: On Rt 413, north of Rincón and
Puntas. Moderate to expensive for the area.
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The Brothers Pizza. Comida Criollo.Sandwich criollos at The Brothers in the
evening. Across from the plaza (southside).
January 2010 Update: Still the reliable place for a sandwich, frituras or pizza. Check out the Black Out.
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Panaderia Rincoeña. Comida criollo and bakery. Sandwich criollos and luncheon menu. Really
good wood-fired baked bread (pan horneado con leña) and pan
frances. We used to be regulars at The Paradise so when it was closed
during January 2008, we had to find an alternative. This is no true
alternative but it was very good. There is a popular Mexican restaurant
next door (note: we don't go to PR to eat Mexican food - eat criollo
style!). Across from the plaza (northside). Updated January 2010.
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La Napoletana. Comida Criollo and Pizza. Sandwich criollos, pizza and frituras. Side street a few blocks south of the plaza and across from skate park.
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The Paradise. Comida Criollo.
Breakfast and lunch. Good Criollo food and usually some
American items (if that is necessary!). Home cooked. Reasonably priced.
New Location: As you enter Rincón from the south where the road
bends to the right there is a one-lane entrance; or, drive further into
town and turn right at Calle Nueva Final, drive past the La Napoletana
and turn into the Publico Station (across from Skate Town). See
more here.
Updated January 2010:
The Paradise is now closed. We heard that El Capitán passed away this
past year and that the restaurant had declined. Sweet memories.
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Rincon Tropical. Comida Criollo. It has been around awhile but we just started eating there the past few years. Good menu selection and reasonably priced. Route 115, km.12.
Updated January 2012.
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Villa Cofresí Hotel & Restaurant. Comida Criollo. Excellent Puerto Rican
food, seafood and special dinners during holidays. Also a bar and grill
next to the beach featuring the El Pirate (coconut drink), pinchos (pieces
of chicken, seafood, shish-kabob style with a bbq sauce, grilled over a
fire) and a good hamburger & fries (the only gringo food I allow my
wife and son to indulge during our visits). Inside dining is air conditioned. Moderately priced. Located south of
Rincón town on Rt. 115, km.12.3. Updated January 2010.
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Bambinos. Comida Criollo. Dinner (maybe also open for lunch). A good mix of American,
Italian, seafood and Criollo selections. More expensive than eating on
the economy.
Update January 2010: Still a good dining choice.
Broke my rules and ordered a take-away pizza so we could watch the
Ravens football game back in our room - mistake. Salads, garlic bread,
seafood and everything else was very good. Served the best piña colada
we had in the Rincón area. Located south of Rincón town on Rt. 115, km.12.3, at the
turn off to Villa Cofresi.
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El Tropical. Comida Criollo. They've come a long way in the past 5 years. Update January 2010:
This restaurant continues to improve. Great empanadillas (seafood,
shrimp, meat and cheese), rice & beans and everything else on the
menu seemed to be enjoyed. Located across the road from Bambinos, in the Plaza Bonet, Route 115, km.12.3.
Update January 2011: Seems to have become more of a bar than a restaurant. Disappointed about that!
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BBQ SmokehouseSimply Delicioso [formerly El Cerdito del Cielo (smokehouse)].
Comida Criollo and barbque. Sells fresh fish. Good reviews on Trip Advisor. We ate there in
January 2009 - very good pulled pork with a boricua twist, excellent
rice cooked with gandules type beans and bits of pork, and mofongo.
They prepared tostones as one my sides even though it is not on the
menu. We understand that the fish is very good. New name under new ownership in Spring 2009.
January 2010 Update: The restaurant is under new management and in our
opinion the quality was uneven. My wife's ribs were good but my pulled
pork was delivered luke-warm, consisted of cut strips of pork (not
pulled) and was rather fatty. The tostones were average at best. There
is a new lechonera at Las Curvas de Rincon that we have not visited but
have heard good things about. Directions: Just down the road south
from
the Econo on the right.
January 2011 Update: Appears to have closed.
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Antojos. Comida Criollo. For
dinner we tried a new place in Rincón, just south of
Cofresí, Ajontos. It was ok, but no great shakes. Road 115, Km.
11.2, corner of Calle 11.
January 2011 Update: Doesn't appear to have improved from what we have heard and it is never very busy.
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EC Bakery. Panaderia
typical. Good baked goods and criollo sandwiches. My free
WiFi access point when in a pinch. Excellent coffee made from an
espresso machine and thick frothed milk. The sandwiches are very good
and were available until 8pm or so (in 2010). Some good pastries and
flan. Directions: South of Rincón, on Route 115, km 10.9. Updated January 2011.
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Panaderia Calvache. Delicious pressed sandwiches and rotisserie chicken. Inexpensive. A couple of kilometers south of Rincón - just beyond the school with large track on the right. Reviewed on Trip Advisor.
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El Fogón de la Curva. Specializes in lechón (roast pig). Comida Criollo. Inexpensive.
Fresh fish market from 1p-6pm. The reviews were on the money: tasty and inexpensive. I had the plate dinner of lechón and two sides (arroz con gandules and amarillos). We will return! Bonus: Rex Cream (ice creams/sorbets of tropical flavors)! Click here for the menu. Directions: South of Rincón on Rt. 115, Km. 7, in the Curvas de Rincón area overlooking Mayagüez Bay. Updated April 2011.
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Kaplash. Comida Criollo. Empanadillas! are the speciality. Must be over a dozen
varieties. These empanadillas are baked and not deep fried. Directions: South of Rincón on Rt. 115, Km. 7, in the Curvas de Rincón area overlooking Mayagüez Bay. See the menu. Updated January 2010. |
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Western Coast
(Mayaguez to San German)
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Panaderia Franco. Mayagüez. Comida Criollo.Our first stop was the old panaderia down near the water in Mayagüez, Panaderia Franco,
renown for their brazo gitano (jelly roll cake). Staying for lunch was
impossible to resist, so a cubano and sandwich de tuna we had, followed
by the complimentary slice of brazo gitano topped with a scoop of
helado vanilla. Address: Calles Mendez Vigo and Manuel Pirallo 3 Oeste, Mayagüez,
PR 00680. Directions: West on Calle Mendez Vigo from Rt. 2. You can
also exit towards the Ferry Terminal and go south along the coastal
street (Calle Clemente or Concordia), over a bridge and you'll see
Mendez Vigo on the left. January 2010 Update: Service
was a little rough and there were too many beggars hanging around the
front entrance and parking areas for our comfort. Will check it out
again in 2011. No complimentary slice of brazo gitano topped with a scoop of
helado vanilla. Wassup with that!?
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| RicoMini Bakery and Restaurant. Mayagüez. Comida Criollo. In
the early evening we drove into Mayagüez to have a look at the
holiday decorations of the renovated plaza and city hall and to grab a
bite to eat at the old time panaderia RicoMini(awesome
medianoches and flanes and excellent espresso café con
leche. Fodors notes 'this popular bakery is a good spot to try one of
the city's trademark delicacies, a brazo gitano (literally "gypsy
arm"). These gigantic jellyrolls are filled with anything from guava to
lemon to sweet cheese. You can also find another famous local product
here, Fido's Sangría, made from the closely guarded secret
recipe of Mayagüez resident Wilfredo Aponte Hernández.
There are also tasty pastries, freshly baked bread, and a selection of
sandwiches." If you are not full you can top off the evening with
Rex Cream cones of parcha (passion fruit) and coco or other flavors
nearby. Address: 101 - E Méndez Vigo Mayagüez, P.R. (two blocks north from the plaza). Updated January 2010. |
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Elsewhere In the Mountains
(West to East)
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| Heladeria Lares. There
is a great ice cream shop across from the plaza in Lares where we
purchased some cones of smooth parcha and coconut full of shavings and
enjoyed on the Plaza de la Revolución.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia, for Lares, PR, "the Heladeria de
Lares has become very popular for it's very unique ice cream. Flavors
like corn to rice and beans are some of the clever flavors you can get.
It's a nice place little place to go get some really good old fashion
ice cream while shopping in the town square."
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The local news monthly: http://www.coquirincon.com.
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