The Best Restaurants
Chef Marisoll (San Juan; tel. 787/725-7454): One of
Puerto Rico's best chefs, Marisoll Hernández, prepares Old
Town's finest cuisine in this Spanish colonial building in the
heart of the historic district. With a strong background in
classic cooking, she has expanded her repertoire to include
innovative and memorable dishes, including curried chicken with
fried sweet bananas, homemade mango chutney, and saffron
risotto. Or try her grilled swordfish with calamata olives.
Parrot Club (San Juan; tel.
787/725-7370): This recent addition to the San Juan scene
has already been claimed as one of the finest and most
innovative restaurants on the island. Its chef serves a Nuevo
Latino cuisine that is a happy medley of Puerto Rican delights,
drawing upon the Spanish, African, and even Taíno influences of
the island. Menu items are based on updated interpretations of
old-fashioned regional dishes--everything from criola-styled
flank steak to a pan-seared tuna served with a sauce of dark rum
and essence of oranges.
Ramiro's (San Juan; tel.
787/721-9049): Chef Jesús Ramiro has some of the most
innovative cookery along the Condado beachfront strip, along
with the city's best wine list. Ramiro has made his culinary
reputation with such dishes as quail stuffed with lamb in a port
sauce and lamb loin in a tamarind coriander sauce, both equally
delectable. His dessert menu is two pages long, including the
town's best soufflés. His death-by-chocolate mousse on a green
grape leaf is equaled only by his caramelized fresh mango
napoleon.
Ajili Mójili (San Juan; tel.
787/725-9195): Also on the Condado beachfront, Ajili Mójili
provides the most refined interpretation of classic Puerto Rican
cookery on the island. Locals find it evocative of the food they
enjoyed at their mother's table. Examples include mofongos,
green plantains stuffed with veal, chicken, shrimp, or pork. The
chefs take that cliche dish, arroz con pollo (stewed
chicken with saffron rice), and raise it to celestial levels.
The restaurant takes its name from the lemon-garlic sweet chili
salsa that's traditionally served here with fish or meat.
Augusto's Cuisine (San Juan; tel.
787/725-7700): Originally from Austria, much-awarded chef
August Schreiner is a five-time winner of El Nuevo Día's
Five Fork Award, honoring the island's great chefs. Try any of
his lobster or game dishes, such as venison. His chocolate
soufflé Grand Marnier is the island's finest. His mother may not
have taught him how to make one of the city's best seafood
paellas, but somebody did--or else he invented it himself.
The Landing (Barrios Puntas/Playa
Antonio; tel. 787/823-3112): One of the best dining spots
along the western coast of Puerto Rico, this restaurant has a
setting like a stylish private home. Its international cuisine
draws hundreds of patrons nightly who enjoy jerk chicken and
lobster kebabs, among other dishes, while taking in a view of
Ricón legendary surf.
El Ancla (Ponce; tel.
787/840-2450): One of the best restaurants along the
southern coast, this is the best place to go for regional
specialties and fresh seafood. The cuisine is prepared with zest
and flavor, as exemplified by its red snapper stuffed with
shrimp and lobster. The chef specializes in paella for two
persons and makes a wicked sautéed conch, which one frequent
habitué calls "sexy conch."
La Cava in the Ponce Hilton
(Ponce; tel. 787/259-7676): The stellar restaurant of
this first-class hotel, La Cava was designed to resemble a
19th-century coffee plantation. It's the most elegant restaurant
along the southern tier, and it serves a delectable
international cuisine. From the ever-changing menu you are
likely to be served everything from grilled lamb sausage on a
bed of couscous to tuna loin seared with sesame oil.
