There's a lot more on the menu in Puerto Rico these days.
Since the opening of the Puerto Rico Convention Center nine years ago, followed by a bustling convention center district growing up around it—including the Sheraton Puerto Rico Hotel & Casino headquarter hotel—the island has come on strong as the premier meetings hub of the Caribbean.
In addition, there has been an island-wide surge in hotel development, from the stylish W Retreat & Spa on Vieques to the ultra-secluded Dorado Beach, a Ritz-Carlton Reserve, and the casual Hyatt Place Manati, located west of San Juan.
Now Puerto Rico’s dining scene is stepping up to the plate with new restaurant concepts and innovative menus fusing international flavors and cutting-edge methods with traditional and beloved ingredients like plantains, rice, pigeon peas, indigenous fruits and vegetables and seasonings that define the Puerto Rican palate, including cilantro, achiote and sofrito, a base for countless dishes.
“Our island hasn’t just become a magnet for foodies. It’s grown into the gastronomic capital of the Caribbean,” declares Milton Segarra, president and CEO of Meet Puerto Rico. “Today we have more professional chefs who embrace and are proud of our culture and history of food. Three of our chefs have made regular appearances on Bravo’s Top Chef Masters and the Food Network’s The Next Iron Chef.”
“We’ve really stepped it up during the last 20 to 25 years,” agrees Daniel Valentin, manager and event coordinator for Budatai, whose kitchen is helmed by one of those star chefs, Roberto Trevino, who has made multiple appearances on various Iron Chef programs.
Blending delicacies from the Orient with traditional Puerto Rican cookery, Trevino’s menu keeps locals and visitors coming back for more, while groups are hosted in a private dining room that accommodates 32.
“We do a lot of business meetings, private events and press conferences,” Valentin says.
Savory San Juan
Budatai is located in San Juan, and while Puerto Rico’s dining renaissance is slowly permeating the entire island, the delicious epicenter is in the capital city, with many of the most acclaimed eateries accommodating groups in a variety of ways.
For example, Rosa Mexicano at The Shops at Paseo Caribe has a private room for up to 30 and a semi-private space for 50 while keeping groups busy with guacamole cooking lessons that feature the traditional mortar-and-pestle method of ingredient blending. Groups will learn traditional Puerto Rican culinary techniques during lessons at Casa Lola, famed for its typical criollo-style menu and boasting a number of private dining rooms, including one that holds up to 80.
Meanwhile, wine tastings and cheese seminars, along with private dining for 22, enhance the Italian specialties at Il Nuovo Perugino Enoteca.
Also in San Juan, Cocina Abierta offers two private rooms, one seating 12 and the other 16 or they can be combined. Directly adjacent is the restaurant’s bar, which makes for great flow, says manager Melissa Montanez.
“We can also set up a satellite bar outside, if groups want to dine alfresco,” she says. “We try to customize the experience for them. My chef Martin Louzao likes to create concepts for events.”
Louzao’s menu, meanwhile, is fusion cuisine at its best.
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“There’s always that local touch in it, whether it’s the product or the influence,” Montanez says, pointing to such dishes as plantain carpaccio brulee with tuna tatake and duck confit-stuffed mofongo, which puts a unique twist on one of the island’s most traditional foods, the plantain-based mofongo.
Montanez has taken note of Puerto Rico’s ascent in the culinary world, though she feels there is still room for growth.
“We’re starting to open our eyes to all the possibilities in the culinary world. Puerto Ricans are traveling more and are more in touch with worldwide cuisine,” she says. “It’s exciting. I’m looking forward to what the future holds.”
The future is very much in mind at Laurel Kitchen: Art Bar, set within San Juan’s Puerto Rico Museum of Art and showcasing Chef Mario Pagan’s Nuevo Caribe Cuisine, which makes delicious use of fresh locally sourced ingredients.
“It’s taking traditional dishes and applying international techniques,” says Paola Ramos, the restaurant’s manager. Ramos says groups can order off the menu or customize their meal, while Pagan is happy to make a personal appearance at their table.
If one restaurant just won’t do, try a food tour with Flavors of San Juan Food & Culture Tours, offering three-hour morning and afternoon walks that stop at six off-the-beaten-path restaurants where groups savor iconic island food and drink.
Flavors of San Juan recently uncorked a Boozy Bites rum tasting tour—this is the land of the pina colada, after all—which lasts an hour and treats visitors to four premium Puerto Rican rums and a sampling of tapas. The company also offers private cooking classes for up to 20, sending participants home with recipes so they can keep Puerto Rico on the front burner.
“Puerto Rico’s culinary scene is very vibrant. New restaurants are popping up all over the place,” says Mikol Hoffman, manager at Flavors of San Juan. “A new Thai place just opened last week. Ten years ago you couldn’t find Thai food anywhere in Puerto Rico. Coffee shops are opening everywhere as well. There’s definitely a surge in the foodie scene.”
Island Dining
Hoffman says Puerto Rico’s culinary evolution is not confined to San Juan, noting that the food truck craze has come ashore; in fact, a food truck festival was planned at the St. Regis Bahia Beach Resort in Rio Grande that weekend.
“There’s an underground dining club and pop-up meals in different spaces, sometimes in a shop, restaurant or even someone’s house,” she says. “And there’s an amazing new restaurant at El Blok on Vieques.”
Indeed, the new restaurant is part of the new 22-room El Blok inn set in the seaside village of Esperanza. El Blok features a rounded-edge concrete design that is very block-like and minimalist, and Placita, a restaurant serving fresh, simple dishes with Creole influences.
Esperanza is also home to El Quenepo, a popular eatery located on the malecon or oceanfront walkway.
“For groups that have attended meetings all day, we recommend a stroll down the malecon with a cocktail to watch the sunset,” says Kate Cole, the restaurant’s owner. “When they return, a three-course dinner awaits.”
Another choice on Vieques is Sorce at the W Retreat and Spa, which works with local farmers to create dishes made with fresh seasonal ingredients.
“Resort dining takes you on a culinary adventure around the world,” says Meet Puerto Rico’s Segarra. “Whether you choose to stay at the hotel or explore local restaurants, you won’t be disappointed.
