San Juan's food scene splits into three. Old San Juan is where the upscale and tourist-facing restaurants concentrate — good but expensive, with strong contemporary Puerto Rican cooking at the top end. Santurce and Ocean Park is where you find the most interesting newer kitchens, often in converted houses or warehouse spaces, along Calle Loíza and around La Placita de Santurce. Condado and Isla Verde lean towards hotel restaurants and steakhouses.
The signature dishes to try: mofongo (mashed green plantain with garlic and pork crackling, served with shrimp, chicken, or beef), arroz con gandules (rice with pigeon peas), lechón asado (whole spit-roasted pork), and a tripleta sandwich — three meats (steak, ham, pork), cheese, lettuce, tomato, and a Puerto Rican sauce, on a soft long roll. For breakfast, ask for mallorca de queso, a sweet butter-and-cheese pressed roll dusted with powdered sugar.