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Cool spot with solid Cuban food, great drinks and excellent service. Our server Dalimar was awesome. She went above and beyond to be helpful to our group, which included a sleepy 4-month old baby. Also, my Spanish is best described as "¡Que lastima!" so it was really helpful that Dalimar asked at the beginning, "Shall I continue in English?" And then proceeded through the evening with better English than an NPR podcast about the dictionary. For food, I recommend starting with The Slices, which are fried plantains stacked with savory pulled pork. The drink menu is extensive and has great happy hour deals (2 margaritas for $14). The Cave doubles as a hookah bar as well as, I guess, a drinking and eating bar? But somehow managed to be clean and vibey without being smoky. So really, The Cave is a great bar for all purposes.
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 food and service here were great. There was not AC and it was hot. Great spot for some quick tapas!
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.
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!!
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.
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 .
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.
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!
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.
4 months ago
The food was outstanding. My wife and I had the Stuffed Chicken Breast and my daughter had the Asere. Both are highly recommended. We also sampled most of their cocktail and they did I not disappoint. The service was also outstanding and we loved sitting in the dining room with the 60+ foot ceilings. Last thing. The Coconut Cake is over the moon. But be careful, it comes with Bailey's. read more
1 month ago
5 days ago
Cool spot with solid Cuban food, great drinks and excellent service. Our server Dalimar was awesome. She went above and beyond to be helpful to our group, which included a sleepy 4-month old baby. Also, my Spanish is best described as "¡Que lastima!" so it was really helpful that Dalimar asked at the beginning, "Shall I continue in English?" And then proceeded through the evening with better English than an NPR podcast about the dictionary. For food, I recommend starting with The Slices, which are fried plantains stacked with savory pulled pork. The drink menu is extensive and has great happy hour deals (2 margaritas for $14). The Cave doubles as a hookah bar as well as, I guess, a drinking and eating bar? But somehow managed to be clean and vibey without being smoky. So really, The Cave is a great bar for all purposes. read more
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! read more
8 months ago
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. read more
6 months ago
1 year ago
Business owner information
Joaris P.
Did you had a reservation it looks like you did not And we were only…
2 years ago
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!! read more
9 months ago
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. read more
5 months ago
1 year ago
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 . read more
Business owner information
Joaris P.
I apologize for this , but your order a caprese salad and it tomatoes…
5 months ago
2 years ago
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. read more
9 months ago
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. read more
1 year ago
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! read more
2 years ago
I've passed this place on previous vacations and always wanted to stop, so we did it this time. We were in port one day on a cruise and had dinner here. I wasn't impressed. I saw so many great reviews and thought this would be be much better than it was. We waited a long time for service, even though the place was not full. I ordered the mofongo and a mojito, my daughter ordered ropa vieja and a margarita. Nothing tasted fresh. I just wasn't impressed. I've had better dinners in San Juan. read more
1 year ago
BEST FOOD AND VIBES WERE . They had a drummer that was making the experience even better . And karaoke was so much fun!!! read more
1 year ago
1 year ago
Picture this. It's a beautiful day in old San Juan, and your friends and you are looking for something satiating. You just had the best experience at Drunken Cookies, and you're ready to eat a cow. You walk around and find a place that says they can get a table for 9 of you right away, so you cancel your reservation for the appetizing Mexican place down the street. That was a mistake. It takes 40 minutes for your drinks to come, and another 40 for the food. The waiter doesn't care, because the entire time in tiny fine print his 18% tip is already secured (party of more than 5). Instead, they prioritize all the small tables first and make us stay at the restaurant for over two hours to eat our food. The actual drinks and food were decent, not mind blowing at all. DONT GO HERE! Find somewhere that cares about you. First one star review for me unfortunately, would be 0 if I could ;((( read more
1 year ago
This was the worst dinning experience I have had since being in Puerto Rico. Our small group waited over 40min to be severed with water and waited an additional hour and a half before our food came. Our food was cold and unappetizing. We tried an appetizer did not like it and were told they would not take it off of the bill. The food was dry and unseasoned and the service was horrible I was so disappointed and honestly have not experienced such poor service and food like this in years. I would highly recommend eating somewhere else because this was a waste of money. read more
Business owner information
Joaris P.
Where is the meat we…
Food was mediocre and service was abysmal. It took us about 30 minutes to have our order taken, 30 minutes for drinks, and another hour+ for food. One person in our party waited about an hour for his drink, despite there being plenty of staff. Good was very mediocre and so were the iced up drinks. Go elsewhere read more
1 year ago
3 years ago
Stopped in for a late night snack and some drinks. Service was very friendly and kind. Loved the food we got and thought it was perfect for a light meal while out for the evening. Would definitely come back! read more
9 months ago
3 years ago
We went for a late night drink, and ended up having too, The mixologists are fun, and the space makes you feel like you are in a cave. read more
3 years ago
After walking til we couldn't feel our feet! Just steps away from where we'd abandoned all hope Lolol! We see this knight in shining armor! What an awesome place. Even has a hidden room for a good pool game! Plenty of space, perfect for family, friends, large groups and dates. Service was super attentive! The food has a "Gotta Try It" vibe that can't lead you astray. Everyone enjoyed their meals AND their LEFTOVERS. This is an AMAZING place read more
1 year ago
3 years ago
After dining, a few of my friends just decided to walk around and find a hookah place. And then this place popped up. It was pretty nice. I can't lie. The waiters we had were pretty good, the drinks were average. The service, and the waiters truly made the entire experience. They were great, attentive, and came to check on us. And when we did have an issue, they came, and did the best they could do to fix it, which they eventually did. So I don't have any issues with this restaurant, if I'm ever in Puerto Rico again I'm just looking for a quick place to have some hookah and maybe a drink or two and then leave then I will be back. read more
4 years ago
This restaurant is conveniently located off the Plaza de Armas, and is a lot larger than it appears when you first walk in (so don't be deterred if it looks full). I ordered La Vieja (the old woman) which had ropa vieja (stewed beef), moros y cristianos (black bean soup), plantains and rice. The meat was tender, soup was flavorful, and there was more than enough rice to eat with all of it! The meal was delicious and filling, and I loved finding a Cuban restaurant amidst all the Puerto Rican restaurants in Old San Juan. Service was ok, not the worst I've experienced but also not the fastest. We were offered a free tequila shot if we wrote a review (I didn't accept, but am still writing a review). We didn't have to wait to be seated, so I would definitely recommend checking this place out if you don't want to wait too long to get into a restaurant in Old San Juan and want some good food. read more
5 years ago
Great live music. Atmosphere is ok. We stopped in for dinner, only to find many side dishes, like rice, were out that come with the meals. How can this place that serves Christianos y Moros as a main side be out of rice? It seemed to be a situation of poor planning. The issue for us was that there were no decent sides to replace the accompaniments. I was offered croquettes as a side, but was surprised when no ropa vieja showed up. It was not explained that we would not be getting the Vieja that we ordered because the rice was out and they could not charge me for the ropa vieja alone. The management set the poor waitstaff up to fail with so much being out, no signage on the door, no announcements upon arrival of what was out. The waitstaff seemed flustered and apologetic and it really impacted their ability to do a good job. They were not getting tipped by mad customers! Awful. There was no toilet paper and soap in the bathroom so we had to go to the men's room to confiscate some. Maybe just put a sign on the door letting customers know you are only able to serve appetizers and drinks to set expectations. We were told 3 times that more things were out and we had already ordered a few dishes so we were stuck trying to adjust to unsatisfactory choices since someone in our party already had a meal on the way. The 3 others had to heavily adjust to food they didn't want. The appetizer, fried cheese in a guava sauce ended up being served with chocolate sauce instead of fruit. Weird and not what was ordered. They apparently had a big Monday and we're packed all day. Fine, but please be prepared to offer substitutions and make customers aware of what is out the moment they sit so they can evaluate whether to stay or go. We certainly would've left rather than have a miserable and drawn out dining experience. read more
Business owner information
Joaris P.
I apologize and understand your frustration, this was a off day do to…
3 years ago
Business owner information
Joaris P.
Please come by to our restaurant for a refund thanks for the feedback…
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