Looking for a great dinner on a beautiful island - this is one to try! Very island elegant/classy with great food and service. Made reservations to sit at the bar, but when we got there I could tell it could be a wait and so they sat us at a table. With a bottle of red conundrum, I ordered the soup of the day, don't remember name, but it was phenomenal - I devoured it. We also got the Mahi which was done to perfection. We wrapped up with some amazing delectable carrot cake. The atmosphere, the service, the food were all great! read more

El Quenepo - Carrot cake - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

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Nice ambiance. I enjoyed the octopus appetizer. A bit salty but good overall. They had some interesting cocktails. Enjoyed the one with chaat masala, but they seem to have forgotten to blend the mocktail...the guava sunk to the bottom of the coconut milk and I had to stir and drink around the ice cubes to get the guava and seeds....good ingredients...but would have been better if it was blended... Also tried my husband's scallop entree...thought it was ok at best....the scallops were overcooked so it was a bit rubbery. Also not sure why they fried the veggies roll....def not worth the price. Overall, great ambiance, but not too jazzed about the food. read more

El Quenepo - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

You can get a lot of good food of food trucks but this is the place for fine dining in Vieques. Romantic but laid back vibe. The octopus was amazing. Make a reservation if you can. They only open for dinner. read more

This restaurant is definitely the surprise of our trip. After staying 3 nights in San Juan and 2 nights in Esperanza, we researched and ate at the best rated restaurants. We went to El Quenepo on the recommendation of our tour guide. Boy were we surprised. The food was delicious and probably one of the best meal we had. Most other restaurants lean on the saltier island food side. But El Quenepo was refreshing and well seasoned in each dish preparation. We had 4 appetizers and they all tasted delicious, probably the best meal we had during this whole trip (and we went to 2 high end, well rated restaurants in San Juan!). So kudos to El Quenepo for giving us this pleasant surprise. If you are in Vieques, definitely make an effort to stop by! read more

Perhaps the fanciest food I've ever had on Vieques! Drinks were all very good and the food was all excellent. My small criticism was perhaps the fish dishes were a tad salty but nothing a swig of their cocktails could not remedy. Loved sitting by the front and enjoying the beach breeze. A great experience! read more

El Quenepo - Pear salad - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

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I got the shellfish dish with linguini. Supposed to have shrimp, mussels, scallops and calamari. I don't know where they get the seafood, but the shrimp, calamari and scallops were microscopic. I have never seen shrimp so tiny or calamari the size of a dime. If you don't eat all the linguini, you will leave hungry. At $38, a complete rip off. I should have turned it back. Going somewhere else for a burger. read more

This is a fine dining reataurant where the food, service and ambiance were on point. The menu offered a beautiful variety of unique seafood, meat and vegetarian dishea carefuly and and beautifully presented. My favorites were the the grilled octopus, the skirt steak and the creme brulle and carrot cake were delicious. Highly recommended read more

El Quenepo - Grilled Octopus - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

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The best meal we had in Vieques - do not miss this. Everything was absolutely delicious, I wish we could go back and try more of the menu. Don't miss the goat cheese cheesecake for dessert. The service was also top tier - our waitress was kind, attentive and had great recommendations. The restaurant is calm, dim, perfect for a date night and a nice getaway after a long day in the sun read more

El Quenepo - Grilled pulpo appetizer - out of this world good! - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

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Service, drinks, dinner, and dessert were very delicious. We had Sam as our server. The drinks we ordered were the chat don which was savory and a special type of Guatemalan rum served on an ice cube made of coconut water. The mariscos martini was a great fresh appetizer, and the steak was big enough for two people to share. We had the berry cheesecake for dessert- decedent and creamy. Yum! Romantic vibe in there but good for couples and families read more

Tiny portions, over priced and thoroughly disappointing is how I would describe this place! Came with a group of 5. Started with the octopus, beef tartar and the tuna poke. The octopus was good, the others were ok but flavorless. All had tiny portions and were very pricey. For mains, my friend and I ordered the striped bass... Also a very small portion and absolutely flavorless. Came with just two small clams, two pieces of bok choy and two small shrimp that were oddly surrounded with a ball of rice that was cooked al dente and all I could taste. All of it Came in a pool of soy sauce based broth. My other friend ordered the tuna...said it was ok but nothing to write home about. Also a small portion. My friend's girlfriend got the duck and she said she liked it. I tried a piece and thought it was way too rare. My girlfriend ordered the filet mignon and although she ordered it well done, it came out burnt and tasted like shoe leather. She sent it back and the second piece came out better, but still not great and also tiny. So ultimately, this place was way overpriced, had painfully small portions, and the food was fair at best. The only positive was our waiter was excellent. This place is trying to charge New York City prices with New York City portions, but didn't come close to delivering the quality... And we live in New York City! read more

Definitely the best food we had in vieques. The food has a Michelin feel to it, I'd say more so of a modern spin on the dishes itself. The service was great, honestly probably the best in Puerto Rico. Our waitress was polite, and compared to all the other restaurants we went to in PR, actually felt like kind and attentive service. We started off with the pan seared octopus, and wow, top three octopus/pulpo dish I've ever had. It was perfectly cooked and tender, and came with great sauce. Next we had focaccia bread - I was hesitant to get this, but this blew us away as well. You could very much taste the tomatoes/seasonings on the top portion of the bread. The bread itself was so soft, honestly have no idea how they pulled this off - some of the best focaccia I've ever had as well. We ended with the goat curry masala. We are Indian and were not expecting a super Indian dish, but the flavors came out quite well. The goat was tender, and the sauce basically melted in your mouth (seemed like a slow cooked spinach with sauce), and it had paneer as well. It came with rice, and had a dollop of great tasting yogurt to balance out the acidity. Just a phenomenal twist, and honestly surprised this came from vieques, given it's a much much smaller island. We finished with the goat cheese dessert, and this was probably our mistake. We never really get it, and we thought it was ok. But overall it wasn't too sweet, and actually ended the dinner quite pleasantly. The ambiance was nice, but feel like they could potentially improve this a bit. I definitely would recommend for anyone staying in vieques. Props to the staff/chef/owner! read more

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Had some high quality entrees. Each was well seasoned. My wife had the swordfish and I had the seafood pasta. Both were excellent. Service was efficient and not rushed. read more

Soooo good. We were staying at the attached hotel, and we got take out from there on our last night. We'd had a long day, and were just looking to have something light so we ordered the soup of the day was a white bean with truffle cream, which was amazing. I ordered it from the bar, which afforded me the opportunity to chat with the gentleman working the bar Scott, who moved there from the states to run the restaurant. Scott shared with me all the different types of bread they had available, and we landed on a focaccia that paired with it perfectly for dipping. The ambience was classy and quiet, and if we weren't so tired from a long day in the sun we probably would have dined there. Next time! So, a long review for just soup, but that's how good it was. Do not leave without dining here, you won't be disappointed. read more

Well. I'll be short and sweet. There was a metal shard (probably from a can they opened) in my soup, and the waiter didn't bother to remove it from the bill, nor send a manager to us, nor did they offer any sort of compensation. I repeat- a large staple sized metal shard in my soup. $14 soup, at that. After asking them to remove it, they did. But the damage was done at that point. Was the rest of the food and drinks decent? Yes. But this restaurant is banking on one time tourist visitors and don't care to provide basic customer service or recovery after an issue like this. If this issue had been handled well - a manager speaking to us, apologies and offers to replace it with something else, or another item offered on the house.. things would be different. We all make mistakes. But el quenepo did not handle their mistake in a forgivable way. read more

El Quenepo - The metal shard/ staple was at the bottom of this bowl. - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

This was great for a fancy dinner on the island of Vieques. I had the filet mignon and my wife had the seafood pasta. We started with a plate of octopus. All the food was well prepared and the service was excellent (our server was Sam). Heads up -- there's a bar across the street called "La Nasa" that played very loud music, audible from where we were seated at the restaurant. Didn't bother us, but may bother folks looking for a quiet dinner experience. Original review posted on Google. read more

Food travels well, trust me I fainted. I went with my boyfriend for dinner and unfortunately I fainted ( health problems, but everything is Gucci ). We had the chance to try the pear salad, the octopus and beef tartar and everything was delicious. So going back yo the fainting part, they were the sweetest with me. Very calming and very attentive We had to eat the main courses back in the hotel, for obvious reasons, and let me tell you, it was amazing. We had the filet mignon and the seafood pasta. Flavors were very rich and well balanced. The meat was very tender, and perfectly medium rare. The pasta had just the right amount of seafood and so fresh. Highly recommended read more

El Quenepo - Travels great - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

Let me say the only reason I'm giving it 4 and not 5 stars is that it just wasn't fully my vibe. A little too fancy for me. I like a little cooler more down to earth vibe, especially when I'm on an island or if it's fancy I also want it to be super trendy. If you want more classic upscale island vibes though this is for you 100% and you won't be disappointed. Food was delicious. Swordfish had an incredible mix of spices including a curry type sauce and mango slices. Tuna tartar was also fresh and delish. The creme brûlée was *fire* - no pun intended - and the bread sticks they served with them were such a unique touch. The dry rose wine I had was a bonus! Overall great experience, good service, no complaints. Pretty lighting coming in at our 5:30pm reservation but no real view and I think I saw an upstairs patio spot so I'd request if possible! read more

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Delicious fusion foods in a very good neighborhood with welcoming people. Food quality is beyond expectations read more

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are we in vieques? this place have some world class dining that you're not going to expect from island living. Not only that, there are international flavors that Are incorporated into the menu seamlessly You would think that you were in some metropolitan city. We had the duck and the curry monkfish as our entrees. both were amazing. asked for my curry to be spicy, they provided fresh Thai chilies that hit the spot. the octopus appetizer was the best octopus I've ever had. ever! perfectly charred. Trish, our waitress, was quick, attentive, and with a close attention to detail. didnt miss a beat. read more

So... this time we went, the menu had drastically changed. Appetizers were very nice. Octopus was fork tender and such a delicious flavor. Just the right amount of crisp on the outside. The focaccia bread was also pretty good and thoroughly enjoyed the tomato balsamic jam it came with. Very yummy. Swordfish plate was out of this world! The fish itself was so tender and juicy. Not dry at all. Just amazing. The rice was good but when u mixed it with the curry pineapple and the spicy siracha sauce on the plate - oh wow! Amazing! The black grouper was also tasty. Very flavorful with just the right amount of soy sauce to soak into the rice. Very tasty but small portions. Prices were very very upscale but totally understand why. Glad we tried it. But prob won't be coming back until the menu gets more "local" again. read more

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I had high hopes for this place, but it definitely disappointed on more than one front. It took a solid 25 minutes for anyone to even come to our table. We ordered, and then only half of our food came out. I thought maybe the rest was coming out soon but after another 20 minutes, I finally was able to flag someone down. I got the tuna pokey and I'm not sure that it was tuna. The color was very light and it did not taste like tuna, but it was fine. We also got the grilled pear salad. The pear was not ripe and extremely hard and the candied pecans were mush. My friend got the jackfruit bao bun and did not think it was a good dish. She said the jackfruit was slimy. We also ordered the "Burrata" but it was actually just melted mozzarella. It did have good flavor but again it was not actual burrata. We got Stillwater that was bottled at five dollars a glass of water lol. I definitely feel like this place has potential but it missed the mark. I will say the cocktails were good. I got the chaat dac and it was delicious. read more

The best upscale restaurant in Vieques that I experienced. It was such a welcoming environment and I had the best waiter. I was in vieques for a birthday trip and mentioned this and wasn't charged for dessert thanks to a kind waiter. Every dish I ate was 10/10. It did take time for the dishes to come out but the food was so fresh it was well worth the wait. read more

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Ate here two nights in a row. The food, service and atmosphere was too notch. One of the better meals I have had in the states, Puerto Rico or traveling. The best, higher end restaurant in Esperanza on Vieques. read more

One of the nicest and the best dinner we had in Vieques! We made a reservation on their website for the same day and got the time we wanted. We started with cocktails, which were delicious and not too sugary sweet like drinks at other places. We started with the pan seared salmon, I got the lamb masala, and my husband got the filet mignon. Everything was absolutely delicious! Definitely a must-try if you go to the beautiful Puerto Rican island of Vieques. read more

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Delicious food, creative and tasty drinks, quick service, friendly staff, very cute place with open air dining. The ambiance was perfect with nice lighting, decor, and music loud enough to enjoy but still have a conversation. We had the opportunity to eat here a couple times while we were visiting Vieques. I do recommend making a reservation because they stay consistently busy. We tried a few different plates over our two visits: Sea Bass with ravioli, swordfish, filet mignon, shellfish sautee, ceviche, one of their soup of the night, which was a cream root vegetable soup and it was incredible, and may have been my favorite bite. The filet mignon was also fantastic and another favorite of ours. Although, everything was delicious, the drinks we had were the Pelirojo, very light and refreshing, the Lolita, delicious tropical cocktail, and the espresso martini, which was excellent sweet end to our meal. We will definitely be back, couldn't ask for more when it comes to island waterfront dining. read more

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By far the BEST eatery in Esperanza. Amazing food, beautiful atmosphere, super friendly and professional staff. A definite MUST if you enjoy fine dining! read more

Such a wonderful place!!!! Our server, Adam was so much fun. I think I inhaled the pork belly app in one bite... but all of the food was delicious and fresh, my salad was amazing. so many fun & unique flavours. Very sexy atmosphere and men perfect birthday treat. read more

El Quenepo - The pork belly!!! - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

The food and drinks were exceptional. Service was top notch. Great location especially for dinner or drinks before taking a night bio tour read more

Kate and Scott have created a FABULOUS, top notch, every-detail-attended-to-experience. From the candles, wine list, lighting, superior service, and array of unique and varied culinary options to delight all palates- it was a night to remember. A MUST!! read more

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The food here is unique , amazing and service was fantastic! The best dining experience I've had so far in Puerto Rico! read more

El Quenepo - Shellfish sautee - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

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The martini as a starter is really good since it is very sour in a strong way. The sides bread is good and the salty. The raspberry chocolate cake has rich chocolate flavor but if you want to get a raspberry flavor inside the cake, you won't get that since it only has raspberry jam as a topping. The scallops is really good entree since the sushi is good . The pork tenderloin has juicy meat and good seasoning sweet potatoes. But the wine emm not my favorite. read more

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This restaurant was completely on point!! I LOVED IT!! I had a very long day of travel and sitting down to this meal was the best cap of the night. The cocktails were perfect and the meal was too. I'm gluten intolerant and they were incredibly accommodating to me. They have gf listed on the menu too which isn't a given everywhere, which is so nice to be able to relax and not have to ask a lot of questions. The server even was very knowledgeable and reassuring. Warm people, great food and environment. It hit every sensory box for me. They are only open a few days a week so don't miss out!! read more

El Quenepo - Tuna Poke GF. The waitress made it a point to double check that it had Tamari instead of soy sauce. - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

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This was a perfect meal after a tiring kayaking trip in the bay. We loved the ambiance and the food. We ordered fried arepa and ceviche, truffle carbonara, and goat masala. read more

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All our food was delicious very nice service. Def recommend to visit. We made reservations and was very easy. read more

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The space is lovely, and after reading all the positive reviews, we decided to book a reservation for our brother's birthday. Unfortunately, it was all downhill from there. We started with a round of cocktails mojitos for the table. They were gross. Completely unbalanced with not enough lime juice in the cocktail, served room temp/warm, with sad brown mint floating around the glass. The staff left much to be desired, the bartender and server specifically. The fact that they couldn't speak Spanish clued us into the fact that we found ourselves in a tourist trap, where the cuisine is trying to cater to an international crowd and failing to make any dish that would be enjoyable. The Pulpo appetizer was pathetic in portion size, so I couldn't tell you about the flavor because the serving size was so small no one could adequately taste the multiple orders that we purchased. The ceviche was pretty good, not life-changing. The Prawns were tasty, but how can you mess up fried shrimp? For the entrees, we all tried different items: Salmon w/ corn cake and mango salsa - this was just okay it was Edible, so I guess there is a plus. The salmon was cooked correctly, but the flavors in the mango salsa seemed entirely out of place; corn cakes were dry and meh. Short ribs- Dry, flavorless, inedible Korean style rib eye- meat was cooked correctly, there was a basic prepackaged Korean sauce on it which was fine, the cucumber and tomato salad (which you would hope had some acidity) were just dry pre-cut, dehydrated, undressed vegetables (technically fruits) thrown onto the plate. Seared Tuna w/ Asian salad - fish had no flavor, served on a slop of inedible salad that seemed like it was in a bag for weeks Smothered Pork Chop - *Inedible* Clearly we won't return. But our party of 9 will be sure to never recommend and go out of our way to suggest that everyone avoid this tourist trap at all costs. The wish when visiting this beautiful island is that there are ample local and Puerto Rican-owned businesses to enjoy; unfortunately, that isn't the case. Talk to the locals to find the delicious Puerto Rican cuisine that exists, you just have to know where to go, and El Quenepo isn't the place to waste your time or your money at. read more

Weren't sure to go for dinner so we ended up here. To start, the drinks were very good, and so was the service. We got the burrata as an appetizer and it was astonishingly flavorful and delicious. I ordered the pork for dinner (since I don't eat much seafood) and my mom ordered some sort of seafood pasta which she had no complaints on. My dish came with samosas- interesting pairing, but since I'm Indian and can confirm that they tasted very authentic. The pork was cooked very well and it was a nice cut of meat, but I was indifferent and wished there was other non-seafood options on the menu. However my mom absolutely loved my meal, and since she can be hard to please, for that I give it 5 stars. We also got the carrot cake which was good, although it was topped with some deep fried carrot pieces that I thought a scoop of ice cream could have replaced quite well. The restaurant is across from the beach and has a charming ambiance. I wouldn't consider it local cuisine but it is one of the best dining experiences on the island, although a bit pricey which proved to be worth it read more

Ok so the focaccia is so good. Like probably some of the best focaccia I've ever had. It was so good that I got too excited and didn't take a picture. But basically 3 pieces of bread + dreamy tomato balsamic jam is a what you should envision. We also had the jackfruit bao buns. They were a really unique dish that I think even a non-vegetarian would enjoy. As a main dish we got a mushroom tagliatelle with an egg yolk served on top. It was also full of cheesy Parmesan and mushroom umami. Both dishes were imaginative and tasty, especially as vegetarian options. The atmosphere is beautiful and the restaurant was just redone post-Maria. The service was excellent. The cocktails were also very good. If you are looking for a culinary experience on the island of Vieques, this is the place to go. read more

El Quenepo - Mushroom Tagliatelle - Caribbean Near Me - Vieques, Puerto Rico

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Excelente ambiente, la comida es un poco cara pero el sabor es exquisito. Tiene tragos con muy buen sabor. El servicio es excelente.

We had a wonderful, enchanted experience here. We made a reservation via email the night before. We were seated at an open window and though it rained we never got wet. The cucumber cocktail was crisp and refreshing. I had a generous, creative arugula salad and the BEST CEVICHE ever! I ordered the octopus appetizer as my main course and it was perfectly cooked and plated! My husband's tempura prawn appetizer, followed by a massive plate of Thai red curry were both excellent. Our server was on point and quite personable. The restaurant was clearly a place that long-term visitors love as many people greeted each other as they were seated. This was worth every dollar as it was our one "nice" dinner for our trip. read more

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The food and service is phenomenal. For main dishes we had the tuna and carbonara. For dessert we had the cheese cake and sorbet. Our food was served promptly and each dish was exquisite. The focaccia with sun dried tomato oil was a pleasant surprise. Make a reservation! This is probably how they keep high quality, gourmet food and service. read more