The Best Foodie Experiences In Puerto Rico

I’m going to call it. Puerto Rico is the go-to island in the Caribbean for a taste-filled getaway. Here’s why, plus some of the best foodie experiences to satisfy your tastebuds. 

One of the things I was most surprised about on my recent visit to Puerto Rico was the food. I don’t know what I was anticipating, but it wasn’t the number of restaurants, the freshness of the ingredients, the love and care that is poured into crafting dishes, or the sheer variety of tastes I was about to experience. 

In hindsight, I’m not sure why – or what else I expected. After all, this is an island with a wide-reaching culture – spanning Latin American, Taíno, Caribbean, African and European – that inevitably spills over into its dishes. Then there’s the fast-growing agricultural scene, led by young entrepreneurs, farmers and chefs who are working to cement the island’s long history of fresh fruit and veg production for the modern day. And of course there’s the piña colada, which was invented in Puerto Rico using the island’s (and the wider Caribbean’s) favourite spirit – rum. 

This is an island and a nation that has perfected age-old recipes, or sometimes reinvented them, instead offering creative takes on traditional tastes, and these are the best foodie experiences in Puerto Rico.

In partnership with Discover Puerto Rico

Try Traditional Puerto Rican Food

If you haven’t tried traditional Puerto Rican food yet, well, you’re in for a treat. The island’s culture is well and truly infused into each and every dish, such as its plantain recipes – sweet or savoury. The first is known as amarillos and uses chopped, fried ripe (sweet) plantain while the second, tostones, is made from the more earthy-tasting green plantain which is deep fried with water and lashings of garlic before being smashed, softened, and fried again until crispy.

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And do try the pasteles (a personal favourite) which combines ingredients that might include stewed pork, chicken or salted cod, paired with a masa and a whole host of root vegetables – think yucca, malanga and green pumpkin – before finally being sealed in a plantain leaf tied with string and boiled. No Puerto Rican menu would be complete without mofongo either – deep-fried plantain mixed with garlic, some form of pork and butter, and commonly served stuffed with meat. Got a sweet tooth? Look to the arroz con dulce, a rice pudding made with raisins and cinnamon, or perhaps the coconut custard, or pastelillos de guayaba – a buttery filo pastry filled with guava sauce and sprinkled with powdered sugar. Deliciosa, indeed.

Explore The Island’s Agrotourism Scene

With such a rich culinary offering – paired with a tropical climate and a rich biodiversity – it might seem only natural that local farming and farm-to-table experiences are plentiful. But, while historically correct, large-scale imports from the US saw the industry die down over the years until more recently when a new generation and a new wave of chefs, farmers, entrepreneurs and locals decided to do something about it, bringing agroecology (small-scale, sustainable farming) back to the island. For the family who run the eco-farm and agroecological business, Finca La Zafra in Gurabo, close to San Juan, the idea was born in the wake of Hurricane Maria, when many islanders ran out of food due to halted imports from mainland USA.

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Finca La Zafra

As I tour the farm, co-owner and president Jan Díaz tells me that he and his family questioned why so much food was imported into Puerto Rico, rather than grown locally, and so, the finca was brought to life. Today, they cultivate cassava, corn, sugarcane, peppers, guava, banana – and a whole lot more – in order to support and grow agriculture on the island, even offering plots of land for locals to start their own farming businesses. Visit for a truly unique farm-to-table experience, where you’ll tour the land learning all about the food cycle, before making local dishes and feasting on them in a dedicated outdoor kitchen and dining space. You’ll find plenty of similar experiences across the island too, at: Finca Don Manuel in the South; Frutos del Guacabo in the North; and culinary farm stay El Pretexto in the island’s centre.

Wake Up And Smell The Coffee

Perhaps the most important drink of the day (I’m fuelled by it): coffee is a big deal in Puerto Rico. And rightly so, given the island’s production of coffee beans stems back centuries. And it’s good (read: tasty and strong!). While you’ll find a decent cup of joe at plenty of cafés across the island, I’d recommend Finca Cialitos, Cuatro Sombras and Café Con Cé in San Juan for a single-origin Puerto Rican cup.

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Hacienda Lealtad

But if you want to really dig into an authentic coffee experience, visit a coffee hacienda (working estate) to tour the grounds and learn about the island’s production menthods – both traditional and modern. Hacienda Lealtad in Lares, Hacienda San Pedro in mountainous Jayuya or Hacienda Muñoz in San Lorenzo will all hit the aromatic spot. Quick tip: if you’re planning to bring some beans home (I did), be sure to read the label to make sure they’re 100 per cent Puerto Rican for the best at-home olfactory stimulated memories.

Visit These Must-Try Restaurants In San Juan

“Food from the seed, it’s sacred,” says Loyda Rosa, as I sit down to speak to her in her bohemian-chic San Juan restaurant, Verde Mesa. Another staunch advocate – no, pioneer – of agrotourism, Rosa was the first to bring the farm-to-table concept to San Juan and talks about her restaurant as a “pilot project” for others in the city, musing that it “was a new idea when I opened 16 years ago”. Rosa raised money by waitressing and selling jewellery in order to open her restaurant, and uses fresh vegetables from her farm or the local farmer’s market to craft dishes such as a curried chickpea stew, chicken kofta with Moroccan-style beans, and the signature rice dish whipped up using sauteed rice, eggplant, cherry peppers, walnuts, cranberries and more.

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Verde Mesa

But in San Juan, there’s no shortage of delicious places and dishes to try; other favourites include Cocina Abierta, where chef Martin Louzao and team have reimagined seasonal, local ingredients resulting in a creative five-course degustation menu of dishes such as criollo duck mofongo, root vegetable pasteles and breadfruit gnocchi, or La Casita Blanca for traditional Puerto Rican cuisine served in a 1920s house (and yes, the house is painted white). For a quick and cheerful bite, Lote 23 is a series of food trucks and stalls serving up everything from ramen to pizza, pasta, burgers and Puerto Rican chinchorro.

Drink A Piña Colada

Did you know the mighty piña colada was invented in Puerto Rico? Its origins are disputed however, with three separate bartenders claiming to be the first to craft it, two in 1954 and one in 1963. Some locals further dispute these claims too, instead claiming it was Puerto Rican pirate Roberto Cofresí’s invention. No matter the original creator, one thing is for sure – it’s become one of the world’s most-loved cocktails, mixed with coconut cream, pineapple juice, white rum and ice, best served into a freshly hollowed pineapple (paper umbrella optional).

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It probably goes without saying, then, that in Puerto Rico you’ll find the tropical cocktail to try on menus island-wide – or go one step further with a piña colada-focused tour run by ACR Tours who delve into the flavour and history of the refreshing classic. On a personal note – and while aware that this might sound like a made up story – I really did get caught in the rain while sipping on a piña colada in Puerto Rico. Rupert Holmes, the writer and singer of the late-70s song Escape (also known as the Piña Colada song) would be so proud.

Immerse Yourself In The History Of Rum at A Distillery

For those who enjoy a tipple or two, no trip to the Caribbean would be quite complete without a rum-based cocktail. Rum is the most popular spirit in the region, after all, and in Puerto Rico there’s plenty of opportunity to learn more about it, from its beginnings as sugarcane juice to its fermentation and distillation process. Find the oldest rum distillery in Puerto Rico – Hacienda Santa Ana, producer of Ron del Barrilito since 1880 – just a 15-minute drive from San Juan. Crafted by hand, and using the same method since its inception, tours here lead you through their historic warehouses, introduce you to its production methods, and end with a mixology class – should you wish.

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Ron del Barrilito’s Hacienda Santa Ana in Bayamon

Elsewhere, look to the Casa BACARDÍ distillery in San Juan (which produces most of the Bacardi rum found across the world), PitoRico in the Jayuya mountains, which was once a moonshine operation and today produces a (legal and stronger) version of rum, or the Serrallés Castle Museum in Ponce, a Spanish Revival mansion and once home to the Serrallés family, producers of Don Q rum – but note that while the mansion grounds are open to the public, its distillery isn’t.

Take a Food Tour

The best way to really understand the influence and impact that food has on the island and its people – from the traditions that still run so deep in Puerto Rican cuisine, right through to grasping some of the more modern, ingredient-led concepts that are leading the foodie-scene today – is to take a food tour. And there’s no shortage of great options in Puerto Rico.

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Puerto Rican bistec and chimichurri

A long-time favourite is the Old San Juan tour led by Flavors Food Tours – book the three-hour walking tour, with four to five tasty stops and a deep-dive into how Puerto Rican culture and history is so intertwined with its food. Spoon is another great option, offering multiple food and drink-themed tours that also take in the San Juan landscape and vibe – ranging from the evening Sunset Walk and Taste experience where you’ll dine on dishes such as mofongo and roasted pork (rum cocktail included), or the morning stroll through Old San Juan stopping for local coffee, chocolate and fritters. Want to explore further afield? Opt for the Spoons Driving Food Tour which branches out into neighbourhoods such as the nightlife hub, La Placita de Santurce and the coastal region of Piñones.

Lead Image: Verde Mesa, San Juan, Puerto Rico
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