Avoid this place at all costs! If you want your food to look like the tempting photos on the menu, you'll need to ask specifically, and be prepared to pay extra. The so-called fresh orange juice is a complete misrepresentation--it's pre-bought, not squeezed in-house, and tastes just like store-bought store-brand juice. Four of us ordered breakfast, and every single plate came out cold and dry, as if it had been sitting out from yesterday. The ambiance is barely welcoming, worsened by a waitress who seems to have an excuse for every problem with the food. Can a restaurant be sued for false advertising? They display a tempting photo on the menu, then tell customers, 'If you want your French toasts just like in the picture, you need to ask for it, and it will cost extra'--ridiculous! This might just be the worst dining experience in Old San Juan... Horrible place and experience.... read more

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Carthage Express in San Juan, PR was such a great find that we ended up coming back again!!! this time for breakfast. From the first visit, the food stood out as fresh, flavorful, and thoughtfully prepared, which immediately made it a place we wanted to revisit. When we returned for breakfast, it didn't disappoint. Everything was delicious, well made, and satisfying, making it the perfect start to the day. You can really tell they care about quality and consistency in their food. The atmosphere is relaxed and welcoming, and the service was friendly and attentive on both visits. The staff made us feel comfortable and appreciated, which added a lot to the overall experience. Carthage Express quickly became one of those spots we'd gladly return to again and recommend to anyone visiting or living in San Juan. read more

Carthage Express - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Had the best Mediterranean brunch here. The ladies answered all our menu questions and offered recommendations. I had a smoked salmon omelette with pita While he had fried chicken wings. Everything arrived piping hot and tasty. This is a lovely find in Old San Juan. read more

Carthage Express - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

tge foos was vwry good-breakfast. The train is a lot of fun. Prices good. Coffee good. Service good. my base is that you substitute the regular bread for pita bread. read more

The breakfast is wonderful. Super delicious. Three days in a row. Tomorrow will be four. Service is very good, friendly. They have a toy train delivering food, very clever. read more

Unexpected little diner in old San Juan. I loved that their menu offered something really different to eat. Breakfast is served all day so that was awesome! Two of my girls had breakfast. One had an omelette with a beautiful side of fresh fruit the other had fruit pancakes. Sorry no pics! The falafel was crisp and seasoned well. The hummus was delish. And the lamb had an awesome char on it! The ladies serving us were very sweet and friendly and spoke many languages from what I could tell! read more

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We needed a place to chill after our cruise and before we could check into our AIRBNB- they were so nice and accommodating even with all our luggage. The food and drinks were delicious and the staff was absolutely fantastic! I'd easily give them 10 stars if I was able. read more

We stumbled upon this place while looking for a brunch place during the recent power outage. Luckily there was no wait, had an outlet for guests to plug in (as we needed to charge our phones), and a great menu selection. If I had known that the food could come out on a little train at the counter, I would have opted to sit there! Great decor too! I ordered the speciality breakfast of Shashouka. I've made this dish all the time and was curious how others make it. This was so good and loved the spicy flavor from the sausage they used. Prices were reasonable and so thankful for that as it could get pretty pricey in this touristy area. Fast and friendly service so highly recommend this place! read more

Carthage Express - Nice decor for counter - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

The food is delicious and reasonably priced. I will be going back tomorrow for breakfast. The coffee is the best.

Finally went in to eat, after all of these years coming to OSJ and hearing about this place- I would say that the staff is excellent- very welcoming and attentive (it can get busy- only two servers the day that we went-it was a Saturday around 10:45 am.) The food was ok (I had eggs/pancakes/toast/hash browns (?) and iced coffee. They have a train set that delivers the food to you if you are sitting at the counter. Very cool and novel. I wanted to go back in and try dinner but the wife is reluctant (I'm going to persuade her). Definitely a place to visit and eat and enjoy the ambiance. We will be back. read more

The restaurant it's a pretty sizeable place with two dining areas. I visited for breakfast and lunch both in one day. Some other restaurants weren't open which was great as I was able to visit. The dine in experience There is a train moves around a track in the middle of the restaurant and it drops off your meal at your spot which is a joy to seeing watch! The breakfast The two French toasts and eggs meal was filing, sweet and delicious. They allowed substitution of bacon with issue. The strawberry frappe was sweet and a great source of fuel before a day of walking the city. The lunch The chicken gyro and fries were tasty with a sizeable portion. I also ordered a baklava which was incredibly flaky but the right amount of chewy. The service was kind, patient and friendly despite the rush for breakfast and lunch. read more

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There were very long lines at the popular brunch venues nearby so we instead opted for this place. Our group of 8 was led to the back private section. I ordered a mimosa and the Mediterranean omelet (which has lamb) and home fires. read more

Carthage Express - Mediterranean omelet - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Good food. The food delivery by model train on the circular track if you sit at the counter Kind of cool. Service overall is decent. The mix of Mediterranean style, as well as Puerto Rican interesting combination read more

Who would think that a restaurant with a name like Carthage Express with hookahs all around and Mediterranean decor would serve excellent breakfast? Well this restaurant was a rare find that we happened on by accident and I have to say it was a super breakfast my husband had shakshuka that he just loved and I had two fried eggs with home fries and Puerto Rican bread toast the home fries were some of the best I've had. The eggs were cooked perfectly and the toast was excellent. Their coffee is also A1! I highly recommend this place read more

Carthage Express - They have a train that goes around and brings your food it's hysterical but very efficient - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

This place is great. Really great atmosphere and service. You can sit at the counter and have your food delivered by train: my wife had falafel and I had the lamb gyro feta. Both dishes were outstanding. The Turkish coffee is made and served in the proper way and is delicious. If you're in old town San Juan, it's worth a stop. read more

Very original service, decent breakfast food. If you come, make sure you're going to be seated on the oval counter. You won't be disappointed. read more

Decided to stop by on our way out back to the airport for a fun little treat! The food was great! The Bloody Mary was yummy and the kids loved the hot chocolate! read more

Stumbled on this place by accident since the chocobar was closed twice when their website said they were open. Had omelets and they have a train that brings your food to you if you're at the bar seating. Yummy and coffee was great! PS get the guava butter with the pancakes...that was amazing!! read more

Since there is a lack of Mediterranean food in Puerto Rico, this is about as good as you're going to get Lamb gyro was good, albeit a little on the small side read more

I highly recommend this place. The food is delicious and the owner and staff are so friendly. You will not regret it! read more

Carthage Express - Spicy Shakshouka Merguez - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

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Very tasty and good value! Would definitely recommend for breakfast. Portions are perfect!!

My husband and I came here because of the reviews. Never again. We waited 1hr and 20 mins for burnt food that was cold. There were 3 Hispanic men who came in who set right beside us who got served while we continued to wait for our food. The chefs worked so slowly as if they had no care in the world. If you want tasty food and wouldn't mind spending a little more go somewhere else. read more

The food was great. .& Very San Juan. A/C . Would definitely recommend & Will come back . Had the chicken gyro, hums plate, 2 breakfast plates. All was very good. read more

Carthage Express - Middle of the restaurant - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

After we visited one of the old forts, we were famished. We stopped by a sandwich shop looking for a falafel sandwich (for my husband) but they did not have one so they, surprisingly recommended Carthage Express. They mentioned something about a train but I didn't take much stock into it. Although I like trains I wasn't going there to watch a toy train. After a decent walk, we arrived and was delighted by the decor. Becuase it was Christmastime, the bar area was decorated with a town scene, and a toy train encircled the bar. Cute, but we decided to sit at a regular table. Big mistake. We both ordered a Falafel sandwich with fries. It was delivered fairly quickly and was delicious. A couple arrived after us and sat at the bar. What we missed by sitting at a table was the train delivering the food. Once an order is complete, the cooks place the food on one of the cars and the train delivers your food right to where you sit. I loved it!!! Wow, did we miss out by sitting at a table. After watching another couple get their food delivered and before I decided to change tables, we paid our bill at the counter. The price for lunch was wonderful and what we expected to pay. When we return to San Juan, we will return here and sit at the bar. read more

We waited over an hour for our food and the place was not full like some other places. Food was just okay. Waitress was nice.

Sigh. I was really hungry so these reviews about the "best gyros I ever tasted" seemed appealing. They lied. It was the absolute worst. Huge chunks of cucumber, old discolored lettuce, and a few pieces of dry and tough lamb. It's very disorganized. A group came after me and ordered after me but the train that brings the food stopped with my sandwich in front of one of them. I knew it was my sandwich. They suspected it wasn't hers, but she picked it up anyway. You'd think the waitress would wonder why only one of her large party got food. I took one bite of the sandwich and it was inedible. I basically paid $17 for a coke and some fries. Plus a tip for the nice waitress who returned my wrong, cold order and brought me the warm, gross order. She wasn't my original waitress. That one disappeared never to be seen again. If you want to see a cool train bring food stop in. If you want a good meal, skip. read more

Breakfast was great!! Hostesses were friendly and attentive. The food delivery was brought out by a replica miniature train that wrapped around the bar top. Unique!! read more

Love it so much ! i went on vacation to PR for ten days and i came back to this breakfast place at least 3-4 times ! HAHA Definitely sit at the train area , it's the best ! read more

It was my girlfriend and I's last moment to eat and do anything before leaving to the airport, so we chose Carthage Express as it was near our current location. We've never had Mediterranean food before, so we didn't know what to expect, but found to love the dish we ordered. We went early at 11am on a Monday and we were only the second guests. We were seated and greeted with a warm welcome by our waiter. He recognized that we were tourists and also offered lots of advice and recommendations, which was very nice!! Not so long after we ordered, our food was brought to us on a train! How cool is that? Overall, it was an awesome lunch to end our trip in Puerto Rico. I highly recommend this restaurant, especially for dinner. read more

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Everything is really good specially thee Baklava. I had a Baba Ghanoush , Kibbeh, Falafel and Tabbouleh. Yes all in the same day. My husband had lamb and it was delicious. read more

Carthage Express - Simple dinner with great food. If you like lamb, this is the place. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

What a unique experience. By all means sit at the oval if possible. We started with Hummus with Lamb, it has to be the most flavorful Hummus we have ever had. We followed that with the Mediterranean Omelette and Spicy Chakchouka Merquez, which was spicy. We put some of the sauce over the Omelette. The prices were very reasonable and the AC was great. read more

Walked in and was not well received by the waiters as they were quite mean and acted as if they would rather us not be here. Food took forever and the pictures outside are false advertised as we did not receive more that 4 pieces of fresh fruit on any of our pancakes. The orange juice was also "fresh" and the waiter argued that it was "100%" when I could literally see the orange juice jug in the fridge. Also, the fruit wasn't fresh. read more

Carthage Express - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

The great little place is located on Calle San Justo. It has a few tables and a large bar area where the food comes out on a train! If you are looking for a place to eat breakfast, brunch or Lunch,search this place out! The owner is Tunisian so the theme is Mediterranean/ Middle Eastern with Falafel, Hummus, Shish kebabs, Gyros etc as well as traditional dishes. My only negatives would be that while the place seemed clean, it could use freshening up and the location on a side street Is not great with the only view being an abandoned building across the street. With that said, I would certainly come here again. read more

Delicious food and great, friendly service! Would return. They have the best French toast. read more

Carthage Express - "La Goulette breakfast". Delicious! The best French toast I've ever tasted. - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

literally waited almost two hours for food that wasnt even worth it. took the appetizer 75 minutes to arrive. if i could do half of one star it be giving it too much. trust me i've had street food better than this place, had no other choice but to eat here but trust me aint never setting foot on here again. read more

Thank goodness we found this place via yelp. Every restaurant in old San Juan is crazy expensive except for this gem. About $8-9 for a gyro, fries and drink. The food is very good and the atmosphere very kitschy 1950s americano in a great way. Love it. read more

Carthage Express - Daily specials - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Very authentic middle eastern cuisine in the middle of Viejo San Juan A big surprise but very true. Loved will come back on my next visit to the island. read more

This is my favorite place to eat gyros in Puerto Rico. I really love their Middle East theme and how is played out. In the middle of the restaurant there is a semi oval table which has a train and connects with the kitchen. If you're seating here, you're food will come out directly from the kitchen to you in this little train. The food is amazing. It's really flavorful and tender. My favorite plate to have there is the gyro. It's tender, it's rich and the curly fries as a side are a most. It's good quality food for a modest price. read more

Carthage Express - Breakfast & Brunch Near Me - San Juan, Puerto Rico

Great place, good food, excellent service you have to try the Gyros, Falafel and the Baklava. The baklava is simply too good. We will repeat. Claudio thank you for recommending this place, love you! read more

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Had the eggplant sandwich today. Amazing! Delivered by train. Great service too. Highly recommend.