Puerto Rico Food

The wealth and diversity of restaurants in Puerto Rico, and especially San Juan, make it easy to visit the island without ever sampling regional cuisine. Don’t make that mistake. Though similar to many other Latin American cuisines, Puerto Rican food (comida criolla) offers a unique blend of spices, textures, and tastes.

Main Dishes. The Puerto Rican day starts with desayuno (breakfast), a casual meal enjoyed before work frequently in a cafetería. For many locals, breakfast consists of a cup of hot coffee with milk and toast. Most restaurants also serve a larger American breakfast, including fried eggs, scrambled eggs with ham, bacon, oatmeal, pancakes, and, from Spain, tortillas españolas (Spanish omelets; a mix of eggs, potatoes, and onions). Unlike Americans, Puerto Ricans also enjoy a good sandwich for breakfast.

Sandwiches are some of the cheapest ways to fill up for almuerzo (lunch) as well. Puerto Rican sandwiches are typically served on pan de agua, a fresh, tasty, local version of French bread, and made with meat, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise or butter, then grilled in a press and served hot. Local favorites are the cubano and the media noche, two sandwiches made with roasted pork, pepinillas, ham, and swiss cheese. The local fast-food chain El Mesón Sandwiches, based in Aguadilla, makes terrific sandwiches and has a couple of vegetarian options.

Most Puerto Ricans head to a cafetería or an American fast-food restaurant for a quick lunch on the go. A traditional lunch includes a heaping pile of rice, either plain or served with pigeon peas, chickpeas, or red beans. Next is the meat; some common options include: biftec encebollado (strips of beef with onions), fried pork chops, fried chicken, chicken breast, breaded Spanish steak, and fried seafood. Finally, add either tostones (dry, fried plantains; good with salt or hot sauce) or amarillos (fried sweet plantains) and a small salad to complete the meal.

Cena (dinner) tends to be a more formal affair eaten at home with the family; smaller towns may not have any restaurants open late at night except fast food. You can’t leave Puerto Rico without trying the famous mofongo, mashed plantain served with meat or fish inside. This traditional dish has been referred to as “the poor man’s food” (despite the fact that it can be quite pricey), and one serving will leave you stuffed for days. Soups are another popular option—many are hearty enough to serve as a meal themselves. Asopao is a thick stew served with fish or chicken and occasionally pigeon peas. Soncocho is a salty, thinner fish soup. Travelers with adventurous palates may want to try less conventional options such as sopón de garbanzos con patas de cerdo (chickpea soup with pig feet).

Puerto Ricans love their seafood, though it’s surprisingly expensive given that the nation is surrounded by water. The unofficial national fish is red snapper, served in most nice restaurants as a whole fish, head and all. On the coast you will find an abundance of seafood restaurants serving up shrimp, conch, octopus, trunk fish, crab, and, of course, lobster.

A few popular spices dominate Puerto Rican cuisine. The basic flavoring of most stews and soups is sofrito, olive oil seasoned with sweet chili peppers, onions, bell peppers, tomatoes, cilantro, oregano, and garlic. Meat dishes are typically marinated with the more simplified adobo, a mixture of vinegar, oil, black pepper, oregano, salt, and garlic. Many cooks also add a bit of achiote, a cooking oil made out of annatto seeds, to give the food a slight orange tint.

Vegetarians will have a hard time sampling local cuisine. Most beans are cooked with pork, many dishes are fried in lard, and almost everything comes with meat inside. There are vegetarian cafeterías in most big cities, but these typically only stay open for lunch. Puerto Rican restaurants can usually conjure up some type of vegetarian option, but be prepared for less-than-inspiring plain mofongo and frozen vegetable medleys.

Snacks. Puerto Rico is not the place to travel if you want to lose weight, as it’s hard to resist the delectable fried snacks. Roadside stands, food kiosks, and some restaurants sell empanadillas, fritters filled with meat, seafood, or cheese. For even more calories, try an alcapuria, fried plantains stuffed with beef or pork, or a pinono, a fried plantain wrapped around ground beef. To round out the fried family, sorullitos de maíz are tasty fried sticks of ground corn. Puerto Ricans go crazy for pinchos, hunks of meat barbecued on a stick like a kebab.

A couple of popular frozen snacks provide a great way to cool off during the day. Street vendors, mostly in big cities, sell piraguas, shaved ice with flavored syrup on top. Private individuals put up signs advertising the sale of limbers, frozen fruit juice. Puerto Ricans also enjoy pastries, and at any repostería you’ll find quesitos (long pastries filled with white cheese) and pan mallorca (sweet bread).

Desserts. The combination of Puerto Rico’s Latin heritage and its plethora of fresh fruits make for some delicious post-meal treats. The most common dessert is the popular flan (egg custard), served plain or with coconut or vanilla flavoring. Another dessert common throughout Latin America is tres leches, a sweet cake covered with condensed milk sauce. The fruit in Puerto Rico (see Fruits of Paradise) is so tasty that it is often served for dessert; look for guayaba con queso (guava with cheese). Puerto Ricans also serve a variety of fruit-flavored helado, a smooth ice cream that resembles Italian gelato.

Eateries. The cheapest place to dine is at one of the many panaderías y reposterías (bakery and pastry shops) found throughout the island. The local eateries generally have long hours (typically open daily 7am-9pm), but rarely have English menus, and many are so small that they don’t have tables. Another cheap option is the ubiquitous cafetería, found even in Old San Juan. At some cafeterías—at least those open for lunch only—you order from the glass counter filled with steaming hot entrees. The cafeterías that are also open for dinner and breakfast are often informal sit-down restaurants with $5-6 lunch specials. Formal, sit-down restaurants are the most expensive option; even outside of San Juan it’s hard to find an entree for less than $12. The Puerto Rican Tourism Company has recognized many of the best comida criolla restaurants around the island as mesones gastronómicos. These fancy eateries are a great place to splurge on a quality Puerto Rican meal; check ¡Qué Pasa! for a complete list.