Food Tour – San Juan, Puerto Rico

Puerto Rico is known for its great beaches, reggaeton, and rum, but the food scene can be hit or miss.

There are some cutting-edge chefs and great local spots – but for every one of those there’s also a tourist trap that over-salts its food.

In this guide we’re sharing three of our favorite San Juan spots that are well worth the trip.

Kasalta (Loiza, San Juan)

Kasalta is a must-try bakery and sandwich shop. This is far from a hidden gem since they have a parking attendant to keep up with all of the traffic. The two sandwiches that we recommend are the cubano and the bistec. The bread is baked in-house – it’s that perfect cubano bread with a crunchy outside and a soft, chewy inside. The cubano is loaded with tons of ham and shredded pork, and covering it all is warm melted cheese and tangy pickles.

The bistec is unlike any sandwich we’ve had before. It combines savory, sweet, and fatty elements all into one flavor-packed experience. The base is a chopped beef similar to a cheesesteak, then there are juilenned onions, fried crispy onions, mayo, and a sweet ketchup. Those crispy onions brought an umaminess that had us going back bite after bite.

Lastly, don’t sleep on their pastelitos which are essentially the Puerto Rican version of an empanada. These have a lighter dough than an empanada, but they are filled with a similar ground beef or chicken. These are made fresh, so they are piping hot and bursting with flavor. Kasalta’s pastelitos are a step up from the many roadside stands that also sell them.

Los Chamos Arepas (Isle Verde)

We love hole-in-the-walls and this is the exact definition. You walk up to a window order and then there’s one outside table to stand at and eat. The place is open 24 hours and there’s a full bar as well. If you’re hungry and trying to continue your buzz at 1 a.m. this is the spot for you.

We’re from East Boston, which has no shortage of great arepas spots, but this blows them out of the water. Los Chamos is making each one fresh to order. We also recommend getting a side of fried plantains for the table. This appetizer, which eats like a dessert, is sweet and gooey. Also, if you want to go big – we recommend getting the Alicia Machado. This is loaded with both their shredded beef and chicken salad as well as avocado and sweet plantains. It’s a crazy combination of flavors that all work together.

And if you like it spicy, this place has easily 5-10 hot sauces lining the table outside to kick the flavors up a notch. But choose carefully, as some look like they’ve been there longer than others.

Casita Miramar (Miramar)

The first two spots were delicious cheap eats, but if you are looking for a nice restaurant to have a date night, celebrate an occasion, or you just want great more upscale food – then get yourself a reservation at Casita Miramar.

The menu is not extensive, but everything they do is of quality. At this point in our trip, we had eaten about as much local Puerto Rican cuisine as humanly possible, so we were excited for some fine dining. One of our favorite dishes is schnitzel. We were very surprised to see this traditional German dish in the Caribbean, and naturally we had to try it. The chicken was pounded and breaded to crispy perfection. There was a delicious chorizo cream on top as well as crispy chorizo crunchy bits to add to the texture. We loved the unique Hispanic twist on this European dish.

The pastelon was another amazing experimental dish. It was beef packed together in a long rectangle and covered in cheese fondue. This was a show-stopping plate with the flavors to match. And finally, if your order does not come with beans, we highly recommend you reconsider – since these were no ordinary beans. They come served in a thick sauce paired with large, juicy chunks of meat. It’s clear to us that Casita Miramar’s vibe is aesthetically pleasing, and it has the food to match.