PRICE:
Frommer's Highly Recommended

One of San Juan's new oceanfront restaurants, the food here matches its impressive setting on a white-sand beach free of the high-rises that dominate much of the city's coast. The menu takes flavors from distinct Caribbean cuisines and wraps them around classic continental fare. The result is appetizers like green lip mussels served in sofrito (a Puerto Rican blend of onion, garlic, sweet peppers, and herbs) and spicy tomato sauce and plantain-crusted calamari with toasted African peanut and chili vinaigrette. Main courses include roasted chicken over caramelized ripe plantain in a coriander au jus and grilled lamb chops with dark rum and star anise sauce. Diners can eat in a courtyard, marked by hand-painted tiles and stone fountains, or take a table under a palm tree outside and listen to the rumble of the ocean. Tasty snacks-like club sandwiches stuffed with barbecued shrimp and cilantro-flavored mayonnaise or Jamaican jerk chicken-and a full-service bar make this a great spot for a beach break, too. Service is friendly but a bit laid back during the day; it improves for dinner. Actor Benicio del Toro has said this is one of his favorite restaurants when visiting his hometown.

Copyright: Excerpted from Frommer's Puerto Rico, 9th Edition, (c) 2008, Wiley Publishing, Inc.

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