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    THE CAVE , CUBAN RESTAURANT

    3.5 (207 reviews)
    ModerateSpanish, Cuban
    Closed 12:00 pm - 2:00 am (Next day)

    THE CAVE , CUBAN RESTAURANT Photos

    THE CAVE , CUBAN RESTAURANT ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Casual
    Trendy
    Dogs allowed
    Good for groups

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    Recommended Reviews - THE CAVE , CUBAN RESTAURANT

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    Viv L.

    I was pleasantly surprised but this meal! Everything seasoned wonderfully. I thought the service was wonderful, we enjoyed our waitress's comforting attitude and attentiveness. I loved the pork and yucca in my dish. The pork was crispy and super tasty, paired with the starchy +garlicky mash underneath, it was fantastic!

    The chorizon
    Angela B.

    The food and service here were great. There was not AC and it was hot. Great spot for some quick tapas!

    Bar area
    Lanae F.

    I went to this restaurant with a large group while on vacation in Puerto Rico. It's a beautiful restaurant. The food was OK but I didn't have anything that I thought was spectacular. The service was not great. Things we ordered didn't arrive at a reasonable amount of time. I ordered grilled chicken . Everyone in my party seem to have the same impression. The food was OK The person we were celebrating was the last person to get her meal. When we asked about it, we were told they were short staffed. I wish I could have enjoyed it a lot more. if I go back, I would go later in the evening when they have live music after I have dinner and would enjoy and after dinner drink.

    Drinks
    Nadia B.

    On our last night in Puerto Rico, we were on the hunt for a restaurant that was truly "two dollar signs" ($$) in Old San Juan. During the San Sebastián street festival, we stumbled upon The Cave and decided to give it a try. Many restaurants were either too full or too pricey, so we were excited to find this gem! The restaurant's interior was charming and had interesting art. It was larger than we initially realized. I could see someone hosting pre-wedding festivities here. The festive vibe was elevated with the lively music from the nearby plaza. Despite the initial slow service -- understandable given the busy night, we were grateful to be squeezed in without a reservation, the staff was very accommodating. We enjoyed drinks served in cute glasses. I had a coconut drink while my friend opted for their take on a piña colada. Both were refreshing and strong. From the special San Se menu, we tried: - Fried cheese with pineapple/guava sauce: while the cheese wasn't as melty as expected, the sauce was notably delicious and completed the dish well. - GARLIC CHICKEN MOFONGO the true standout of the night and our absolute favorite dish of our entire trip to Puerto Rico. I'm still dreaming about this one!! After our meal, we went upstairs to the bar and had a great view of the festival below. It was such a fun way to soak up the festive atmosphere before getting back into it!!

    Mofongo with chicken and garlic cream sauce

    A waste of time, awful service. Poorly executed dishes with barely any seasoning. We were the one of three tables and the food took over an hour. I had the mofongo with chicken and garlic sauce. There were multiple pieces of tendon in my chicken that I crunched on before spitting it out. The garlic sauce was ok but lacked salt. The ham croquettes were good and sure it's pretty, but don't go here. by reading other reviews, the owner is clearly insufferable and refuses to take any accountability for short staffing and underseasoning.

    I was here for the 1st time and it's not worth it, 1hr wait for my "salad" and it was just tomatoes and cheese!!! Gosh ! This is ridiculous

    In response to the owner of this restaurant, who replied to my review a year later: The portion of the salad was appropriate for a 5-year-old, and the time I waited was not justified by the quality of the food. The restaurant wasn't busy at all, so I don't understand why it took over an hour to receive a sandwich for my husband and a plain salad. Replying to the owner who Again... responding to the owner of this "restaurant " Go and read the rest of the REVIEWS I am not the only one with the same awful experience. Take a hint lady .

    Angela L.

    Great location but not for service or food. Drinks were good but food order took over 40 minutes with hardly a crowd in the restaurant. Saw another group unhappy with their lack of service and food leave. Decided to cash out and the waiter was like ok thanks and sorry the kitchen is backed up. However, no evidence of food or smell of food anywhere.

    Jose D.

    Worst place for tourists if you are not white. They made us wait two hours to be seated, about an hour to take our order and after 45 minutes of waiting we asked our waitress, who had a really bad attitude, how long it would be as we had prior engagements. She got an attitude with my wife and told her it would be another hour. I got up and told her that was unacceptable. This was after another waitress argued with another table about the same kind of treatment. The table behind us, as on couple with children, ended up leaving because they were ignored. They were there long before us and left about an hour into us being there. We are Latinos, like the waitress, but she treated us very poorly. She did not treat the white couple that way. I finally had enough and told her to just charge me for my drinks and to cancel my order. She tried to have an attitude again so I told the people who just sat down that she was tested well that it was unfair to wait for two and a half hours for food and asked to talk to the manager. She followed us to the front to also talk to the manager Or the guy at the bar. He tried to de-escalate the issue by telling us the drinks were on him. We didn't touch the drinks anyways so I said ok and left. I don't know how they stay in business treating people that way.

    Croquetas, $14. There is a guava (taste like bbq) drizzle on top and it sits on the sauce that is typical for dipping. Wouldn't recommend.

    My husband said, walk right in on a Saturday night and no wait to be seated, should have been a sign. We ordered the croquetas; soggy, drizzled in a guava sauce and sitting on top of another sauce. Everyone knows a good croquette doesn't need any sauce. Wouldn't recommend. I ordered the Cubans sandwich. It was a cold sandwich with yucca fries on the side. It was okay, but I wouldn't recommend it. My hubby also got the ropa vieja plate. The rice/beans were okay, but the ropa vieja itself was not very good. Service was not great and it was VERY loud inside. We should have just gone to Meson!

    Mojito with a floater of champagne! Yum!
    Susan S.

    Such a cool interesting place! Located in charming old San Juan by the harbor. Very charming decor. Menu was good I ordered the risotto it was very good. We had a very pleasant dinner!

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    Food was great! Had the ropa vieja and el cubano sándwich. Service was so slow and they didnt come check on us or apologize

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    Restaurant was clean & nice. Served cue was friendly & quick. Food was undercooked & tasteless.

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    1 year ago

    We had the best time here celebrating our friends bachelorette! Liz is the best and took such amazing care of us. Highly recommend!

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    Marcel was our waiter and he was awesome!! What a great time and a great place to get dinner! The food was delicious, will recommend!

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    THE CAVE , CUBAN RESTAURANT Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - THE CAVE , CUBAN RESTAURANT

    The entire menu was excellent: we got the black bean risotto, cuban sandwich, and fried garbanzo beans among other delicious menu items!

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

    Read more highlights

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    Ropa Vieja Grill

    Ropa Vieja Grill

    4.1(605 reviews)
    4.8 km
    $$

    After a week of beer, tacos, street food, beaches, forts, music, and mischief, I had one last…read moremission: a Cuban sandwich. At Ropa Vieja Grill in San Juan, Puerto Rico, they might just perfect it better than Cuba itself. The spot is clean, classy, and welcoming not your typical hole-in-the-wall and the service is top-notch, making you feel like a VIP with every bite. The sandwich itself? Pressed just right, loaded with roast pork, ham, melty cheese, and pickles a little Caribbean celebration in your hands. A must-stop for your final taste of the island flavorful, polished, and unforgettable.

    Started with two sparking waters and the server did bring two bottles but one was opened and some…read moreof the Perrier was missing. None had been pre poured so we pointed this out and he took it back and brought a replacement bottle. Was not a good start to the meal. The experience ended up being a bit disappointing. The food was decent, but not anything special, especially given the prices. Some of the dishes lacked flavor, and a couple items came out lukewarm, like they'd been sitting for a while although nothing is piping hot in Europe. I was expecting more authentic, bold flavors which it was not. Service was hit or miss it appeared depending on the server and the table. It took longer than it should have to get our food and even simple things like refills were slow. It felt a little disorganized, especially considering it wasn't that busy. The atmosphere is nice and the location is convenient there but it just didn't quite come together on this visit. Not a terrible experience overall, but there's room for improvement. As a tourist you typically give a place one shot and this was it.

    Photos
    Ropa Vieja Grill
    Ropa Vieja Grill
    Ropa Vieja Grill - Shrimp under specialty Lamb stew Yuca fries Tostone Puerto Rican rice and beans Sautéed veggies

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    Shrimp under specialty Lamb stew Yuca fries Tostone Puerto Rican rice and beans Sautéed veggies

    Metropol Restaurant - Coconut flan

    Metropol Restaurant

    3.8(1k reviews)
    11.0 km
    $$

    I made reservations to Metropol Restaurant in Carolina, PR, b/c I read it gets busy & I wanted to…read morebe prepared. I went for a light bite since I wasn't very hungry & it turned out to be a fairly decent experience. The restaurant has a nice atmosphere & I enjoyed looking at the artwork displayed on the walls. It gave the dining room a little extra character while I waited for service. Since I wasn't looking for a full meal, I sampled a couple of dishes. I tried the snapper but it was a bit on the dry side for my taste. It wasn't bad, but it just didn't have the moist texture I was hoping for.My fave dish I sampled was the shredded beef served in a crispy fried plantain cup(tostones rellenos de ropa vieja on the menu). The beef was tender, juicy, & packed w/ flavor. The crispy plantain added the perfect texture & really elevated the dish. The combo of the savory beef w/ the fried plantain worked so well together and made it the standout food I tried. The waitress was just ok (nothing particularly memorable). While the snapper didn't quite hit the mark for me, the shredded beef in the fried plantain cup was delish & stole the show. It was cool to check out the art & decor.

    For appetizers I tried the Tostones Rellenos w/Ropa Vieja, and as someone who's part Cuban, I can…read morebe a little picky when it comes to ropa vieja. These did not disappoint! The flavor was so rich and savory. After that first bite, I had a feeling I was going to love their black rice and I was right. I ordered it as a side with my lamb chops, and it was packed with flavor and cooked perfectly. Everything we ordered was delicious and well seasoned. The lamb chops were tender and juicy, the black rice reminded me of how my abuela used to do, and every dish that came to the table was flavorful from start to finish. I'd def recommend.

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    Metropol Restaurant
    Metropol Restaurant - Onion soup

    Onion soup

    Metropol Restaurant

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    Casita Miramar

    4.5(1.7k reviews)
    3.5 km
    $$$

    Had a wonderful time at Casita Miramar. Aalyah, our server did an amazing job of being able to…read morecommunicate and inform us about the dishes and accommodate anything we needed. Aalyah, thank you so much for making our last meal in San Juan so special!! The portions are huge! I split an app with 3 people and honestly the main dishes can be split among two people as well. It was very tasty especially the chicken, and the ribs! The place also looked amazing and we were given a semi-private room for such a large group. Thanks for having us!!

    Casita Miramar absolutely lived up to the hype. It was at the top of my foodie list while visiting…read moreSan Juan, Puerto Rico, and it ended up being one of the highlights of our trip. We visited on a Monday night without a reservation and almost didn't get a table. The hostess was incredibly kind and explained that there was an 8:00 p.m. reservation that hadn't been confirmed. She offered to seat us if the party didn't arrive within the grace period. Thankfully, they never showed up, and the table became ours. From that point on, everything was fantastic. The food was spectacular, and the service was just as impressive. Every dish was beautifully prepared and full of flavor. The restaurant itself is charming and inviting--it really does feel like dining in a cozy "casita." If you're visiting San Juan, Casita Miramar is absolutely worth a visit. Great food, excellent service, and a memorable dining experience.

    Photos
    Casita Miramar - Indoor Dining Room

    Indoor Dining Room

    Casita Miramar - Pastelón - Delicious thick Caribbean soft meat and plantain taste and texture

    Pastelón - Delicious thick Caribbean soft meat and plantain taste and texture

    Casita Miramar - Amazing chocolate Fudge Cake delivered to restaurant (Cakes by Glorimar in PR). Staff sang and added candle

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    Amazing chocolate Fudge Cake delivered to restaurant (Cakes by Glorimar in PR). Staff sang and added candle

    THE CAVE , CUBAN RESTAURANT - spanish - Updated July 2026

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