We had a wonderful waitress who explained the dishes in detail. Casita Miramar, Jose Enrique Puerto Rican Restaurant, El Jibarito and Barrachina for the best pina colada - these are Top 4 Restaurants in San Juan Puerto Ri. The crudo was PERFECTION. They were also not to be missed. The fish lays on a portion of earthy deep flavored yam mash and everything is topped with a classic Caribbean combination of papaya and avocado. When I wasnt camped out at Jose Enrique, I was devoting my appetite to other restaurants serving Puerto Rican cuisine, both classic and modern. "This is what would happen: We would go to the beach and start drinking at noon. Enrique is the chef and owner of his self-titled restaurant in San Juan, where he has brought the world of Puerto Rican cuisine to the limelight of the American food scene. At his flagship restaurant, he does not attempt to alter traditional Puerto Rican cooking, but rather elevate it by using the freshest local ingredients. Beer is served in a short glass with paper napkins, the art on the wall is modern and entertaining. He and his staff were in the throes of a hectic lunch service. Late last year, chef Jos Andrs was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize following the disaster-relief work his organizati Don Juan SerrallsDon Juan vastly expanded the family sugar cane business and founded the Serralls rum making tradition. Calle Duffaut 176, Santurce. Cond Nast Traveler may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. Fish and fruit can make for odd mates, but the trilling note of lime juice helps to achieve tight harmonies. Our fried appetizer was tasteless, the steak with rice and beans was nicely done but not out of the ordinary, and a chicken dish was a C. My uncle would make Thanksgivinghuge turkeys stuffed with blood sausage. Any information published by Cond Nast Traveler is not intended as a substitute for medical advice, and you should not take any action before consulting with a healthcare professional. But on the whole, now is prime time to experience San Juan; the capital city is well into its recovery and businesses certainly welcome the return of tourism. Blood sausage also appeared on the menu. For those planning a visit, reservations are almost certainly necessary. Jose Enrique. 1 022 reviews #38 of 849 Restaurants in San Juan RR - RRR Caribbean Latin Seafood. Reviews were certainly honest about that. The Puerto Rican cheeses were a bit lighter. Marmalade Restaurant and Wine Bar. JOSE ENRIQUE IN SAN JUAN - RESTAURANT | FROMMER'S. Jose Enrique. Are you closing already? I asked Enrique. 1/26. But Jose Enrique and his bright, sharp, fresh flavors have changed my mind. Bon Apptit may earn a portion of sales from products that are purchased through our site as part of our Affiliate Partnerships with retailers. When he started the restaurant, he could reliably count on about five percent of his food coming from nearby farms and fishermen. While not cheap the ingredients and island flavors impressed and Id highly recommend you visit on your next trip to Puerto Rico. La Marqueta's four distinct food and drinks menus make for an eventful chinchorreo. Restaurants near Go In Puerto Rico, San Juan on Tripadvisor: Find traveler reviews and candid photos of dining near Go In Puerto Rico in San Juan, Caribbean. The Snapper is the prized possession at Jose Enrique for a very, very good reason. Im partial to La Casita Blanca, which serves homier specialties like patitas con garbanzos (pigs feet with chickpeas, a treatise in melting textures) and bacalao guisado, a thick soup of cod and vegetables. We had a reservation but there were plenty of empty tables.'' A chance to support a civic-minded chef who also happens to be a James Beard award semi-finalist, and one of the island's most lauded culinary ambassadors to boot? Blood sausage also appeared on the menu. This was one of our favorite places we dined while staying in San Juan. The menu changes constantly so it iswritten daily on white eraser boards. Find Jose Enrique, Condado, San Juan, Puerto Rico, ratings, photos, prices, expert advice, traveler reviews and tips, and more information from Cond Nast Traveler. Though if you want to make it a truly island-style party, do as Enrique does and don't rush. Web Visit website. ". All rights reserved. Priding themselves on creative dishes using sustainable foods, Marmalade is not about following the latest cooking trends. It's like, this is actually what people want to eat, so give it to them. A must visit for a relaxing and surprising evening in San Juan! 176 Calle Duffaut, San Juan, Puerto Rico, (787) 725-3518, joseenriquepr.com. Please enter a valid email and try again. Very delicious and a good pair with the dense chocolate cake! The menu offers a variety of flavor-packed small plates that swing between Puerto Rican and Asian flavors: smoked pork belly dumplings, brie-stuffed pastelitos (mini empanadas), sliders filled . Theres always going to be space for Italian, French, and Thai food, but we should be proud of our Puerto Rican food. One of our favorites for sure. Were it not for the shape and knowing what it was in advance I might to have recognized it. 2023 Cond Nast. . Reviews were certainly honest about that. (787) 936-7317. A few hours later, you head to your backyard to barbecue. Having been the chef at one of 30 best restaurants in the world by Food and Wine, Enrique might be a "culinary renegade" but he knows how to highlight fresh Puerto Rican produce. Something went wrong. What do you do when that happens?The way that my restaurant runs in San Juan, I have a whiteboard menu thats written down according to whatever I happen to have. One year after opening, CondeNast Traveler magazine included Jose Ambience is nice. The yellow is my favorite! It paired perfectly with the chocolate ice cream. Then he flips it over and the skin gets blown up and crispy. And, on top of that, with the Jones Act, not only do I have to buy from you because I dont grow anything here, but I have to buy only from youfrom ships from the U.S. that are U.S.-crewed, U.S.-flagged, U.S.-built. Puerto Rican food may not be something you're all too familiar with, but it embodies the spirit of island cuisine, focusing on fresh fish, tropical produce and large family style meals surrounding the grill. Prepared perfectly. It can easily take 90 minutes or more to snag a table at Jose Enrique during prime dinner hours. 1110 Ave. Magdalena, Condado. Just the basics The Puerto Rican cheeses were a bit lighter. The first few hours the pork is belly up, so all the fat drips down and confits the belly. All rights reserved. Biography: Chef Jose Enrique has become a culinary pioneer with his creative take on Puerto Rican cuisine. Closed now : See all hours. We figured that the place had a friendly vibe so we might as well enjoy. Lunch at institutions like La Casita Blanca and Caf Manoln plunges you into the flavor pool of Puerto Ricos comida criolla, a stew of Spanish, African, and indigenous cultures thats been simmering for 500 years. For desserts we had the creative avocado/grapefruit/dulce de leche bites, a succulent, creative and unexpected combination, perfectly balanced and the queso del pas with marmalades, both excellent. The star of the dish of course is the Filet which is pounded down very thin, breaded, then fried. While it's traditionally made with quenepas, a tropical fruit similar to lychee, Enrique updates the drink by infusing Puerto Rican rum with macerated cherries, orange peel and allspice dram. The Colarrubia fish was on a wow level too. had read that the menu changes daily and the chef just uses the. This review is the subjective opinion of a Tripadvisor member and not of Tripadvisor LLC. alone gets decent reviews? Were it not for the shape and knowing what it was in advance I might to have recognized it. The chalkboard menu changes frequently during the evening, based on what the purveyors might bring in during dinner service.Born 1977; San Juan, Puerto RicoCulinary School The Culinary Institute of America (Hyde Park, NY)Background Riche (New Orleans), Bili (Vieques, Puerto Rico), San Juan Water Beach Club (San Juan, Puerto Rico), Caf Centro (New York City)Quintessential Dish Crispy fried yellowtail snapper with mashed batata (sweet potato) and papaya-avocado salsaHow He Got Into Cooking A lot of people cook in my family. The open and casual vibe is easy-going and it's a perfect chill spot for food and drink that won't break the bank. The cake was decadent, dense, and very chocolaty. Our third course was called Lick Your Plate Chicken, and it truly was. Skip to Main Content. The number of local ingredients now hovers around 75 percent. All were amazing. Chef Jose Enrique's gained an avid following on his island home of Puerto Rico and the mainland for his pared down cooking style and dedication to fresh, local ingredients. At his stark-white minimalist compound in the beachside of community of Condado, local star chef Mario Pagn dips into 1990s-esque fusion territory: He busts out the wasabi and passion fruit to spiff-up spiny lobster spring rolls and goes old-school to gild local fish, adding truffle oil to mashed yuca and saucing the affair in a port and foie gras reduction. The chef's first award-winning restaurant has achieved such accolades as appearing in CondeNast Traveller magazine's list of 105 best new restaurants. Fresh. His cooking is defined by his heritage incorporating traditional Puerto Rican products and elevating every dish with his bright, sharp, fresh flavors. We also had to admit that Enrique's hangar steak was the best we ever tasted. Whenever you say something is del pas, they automatically want that. We also use third-party cookies that help us analyze and understand how you use this website. San Juan's most celebrated chef is an emissary for the hearty, mingled foods of his fertile homeland, On a recent Friday afternoon, Jose Enrique barreled out the front door of his namesake San Juan restaurant and swung its wrought-iron gate shut with a decisive clang. A perfect marriage of quality and convenience. To enjoy his flagship, you have to embrace the wait. Orange flan is a custard that made use of both orange zest and an orange juice reduction, vanilla bean, caramel, and a condensed milk ice cream. He has no need for a tweezer crew to assemble a dish. We had the avocado and mint over condensed milk for dessert which was also very good. The wait staff and hostess were friendly and, as expected, there was no atmosphere. He hasn't Juan Jos Cuevas. A few hours later, you . My recommendation is to combine the flesh of the fried fish with the mash, and the papaya and avocado salsa and devour your plate! Tripadvisor performs checks on reviews. Beach Club by Jose Enrique will feature a menu reflecting Enrique's seasonal, ingredient-focused approach, from fresh ceviches to entrees like Caldo Santo, a reimagining of a traditional Puerto . Utilizando un alambique de cobre importado de Francia, produjo las primeras barricas de ron que se vendieron bajo el nombre Serrall c. 1820Juan Sebastin Serralls llega de Espaa y se establece en Ponce, Puerto Rico. By the time the meal came around, it would be 11. Oops. The main event at Jose Enrique is the highly praised Deboned Snapper which comes with yams, papaya, and avocado mojo. He also founded the town of Mercedita, named after his wi Don Juan SerrallsDon Juan expandi enormemente el negocio familiar del cultivo de caa de azcar y fund la tradicin de elaborar el ron en la familia Serralls. Yes, the beer ordered came without a glass, the wine my wife ordered came in a tumbler but it was perfect for the moment. 317 C. de la Fortaleza, San Juan, 00901, Puerto Rico. Thats all you have. We had the best mofongo, period. The pork came jumbled among pieces of yuca, cooked to the point that they barely held together in starchy blocks. Mario Pagn Restaurant. My preference amongst the top rated local restaurants for their food quality and overall satisfaction, it has never failed me. Enrique in it's list of 105 best new restaurants. What do you mean when you say that farming was killed?Basically, what happened when the U.S. took over Puerto Rico: If you take away farming and agriculture from Puerto Ricans, now they become dependent. Atabey is a casual joint in Condado serving a sort-of Puerto Rican fusion menu. Solicita por menu. Picture a metal square oven with the heat coming from the top. Chef Jose Enrique grew up in a beachfront apartment in Puerto Rico, where he dusted sand off his feet before entering and frequently enjoyed 20-person meals home-cooked by his . Everything was delicious and the staff were fun and knowledgeable. If you are a resident of another country or region, please select the appropriate version of Tripadvisor for your country or region in the drop-down menu. Then again, the boss has earned the right to operate by his own eccentric playbook. This Crumbed Filet has much Foodie appeal as you dont see pounded out filet mignon on too many menus. Jose Enrique, San Juan: See 1,020 unbiased reviews of Jose Enrique, rated 4.5 of 5 on Tripadvisor and ranked #42 of 1,120 restaurants in San Juan. Jose Enrique was chosen as a Semifinalist for the 2013 James Beard Get menu, photos and location information for Beach Club at Bahia Beach in Rio Grande, PR. We'll get back to you soon. Excellent service, creative and fresh cuisine. Chocolate desserts and panna cotta with coffee provided a sweet ending. best stuff he can get in the market that day. Had the octopus cocktail which was excellent. When I was there, he listed grilled thin swordfish steaks, from a fish that had been delivered just hours before, pairing it with his outstanding hot sauce made from chiles that he confits in oil for hours with garlic and tomatoes. But Jose Enrique and his bright, sharp, fresh flavors have changed my mind. In Puerto Rico, he serves as the executive chef at 1919, a . We tried the sausage appetizer as well as the pork skewersand bacalao. To revisit this article, select My Account, thenView saved stories, To revisit this article, visit My Profile, then View saved stories. Kids fight over it. He takes the cues for his vaca frita from his Cuban father, for instance, sauting flank steak over searing heat and plating it with a tangle of nearly caramelized onions, with a sauce made from the meats reduced juices. 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