Puerto Rico offers delicious food in great restaurants all over the island. It’s one of the reasons Puerto Rico is a top travel destination. Below is a list of some of the best Puerto Rican food we eat when we’re there.
What we cover:
Best Puerto Rican Food Dishes
Mofongo
Mofongo consists of fried plantains mashed with salt, garlic, broth, and olive oil. It’s formed into a tight ball and is typically served with fried meat and soup. It’s usually offered as a side dish at restaurants, so you can add it to any meal.
As someone coming from the midwest I wasn’t sure what to think of mashed plantains, but Mofongo is now my favorite Puerto Rican food and I can never get enough of it.
Pasteles
Pasteles are like a Puerto Rican version of a tamale. The main ingredients include stock, green banana, squash, plantains and starch roots. They can also contain meat and other various ingredients.
Pasteles are especially popular around Christmas time. It’s a very common Puerto Rico holiday dish.
Asopao
Asopao is another Puerto Rican food spin on a familiar dish, Gumbo. The soup consists of shellfish, chorizo, chicken, rice, and other ingredients.
Like Pasteles, Asopao is a popular holiday dish and often served with plantain dumplings.
Arroz con Gandules
As I’m writing this I find myself unintentionally following a pattern of holiday oriented foods. Arroz con Gandules is yet another popular Christmas food in Puerto Rico. It can also be served for other special occasions.
It consists of rice, pigeon peas, and pork, cooked in the same pot with sofrito. Sofrito is commonly used when cooking rice in Puerto Rico and includes a variety of ingredients including recao (culantro – tropical herb), aji dulce (sweet peppers), pimientos, red bell peppers, red and green cubanelle peppers, yellow onions, garlic, tomatoes, and cilantro.
Aranitas
Aranitas are another great side dish or you can get them at kiosks from street vendors. They have a shape sort of resembling little spiders. Don’t let that deter you though, these little treats are delicious.
They are shredded green plantain fritters that are mixed with mashed garlic, cilantro and fried.
Best Puerto Rican Food – Top Restaurants
Now that you have a few items to look for on the menu you need to find the right local Puerto Rican restaurant. There are countless great restaurants, especially in bigger areas like San Juan, so you have plenty of options. Our recommendation is to not shy away from small restaurants, and venture away from tourist themed restaurants. Oftentimes the best food in any given area is at a restaurant where locals are willing to eat.
Bebo’s Cafe
Bebo’s Cafe is a great spot to try local foods. They have a big menu full of authentic Puerto Rican food. It’s a great lunch spot and was packed every time we went.
Don’t just judge it for the restaurant atmosphere and service. While the layout looks more like a large cafeteria with as many tables as they can fit, and the service was at island pace, the food was excellent.
Bebo’s is located in between Condado and Ocean Park in San Juan.
El Jibarito
El Jibarito is another great spot for local Puerto Rican food. You might have to wait for this popular venue, but the food is worth the wait.
They serve many authentic options and you should definitely try the mofongo and bistec encebollado (cube steak with onions).
El Jibarito is tucked away on a small side street in Old San Juan.
Casita Miramar
Casita Miramar has one of the best atmospheres. This colorful and vibrant restaurant serves delicious local cuisine and handcrafted cocktails.
This is a slightly pricier option, but the authentic and often creative dishes make it worth the extra money.
It’s located in the Miramar district of San Juan.