5 Best Restaurants in Santurce, San Juan

Dining at chef Natalia Vallejo's restaurant in the heart of Santurce is a magical experience. The restored home is simply yet tastefully decorated and leads to a large outdoor patio in a lush and vibrant setting. The small kitchen churns out tasty Puerto Rican dishes with seasonal, locally sourced ingredients. The James Beard nominee and her friendly staff will make you feel right at home.

It's an exciting time for pizza in San Juan and one of the newest and most delicious additions to the scene is La Santurcina. Brought to you by the owners of the upscale restaurant Vianda, this full-service pizza joint is a pizza-churning, bustling machine that's always packed. Start with the fried olives and wings followed by any of the creative pies. Don't miss the zucchini with ricotta. They don't take reservations so get there early.

Chef Kelly Piro perfectly executes such Thai dishes as som tam (papaya salad), drunken noodles with barbecue pork, and green curry with shrimp. The bar serves excellent cocktails, although it's best known for its large gin selection.

Chef Rafael Ubior's time in Lima working under Peru's esteemed Gastón Acurio led him to open his restaurant fusing Peruvian and Japanese cuisines. Start with the tiradito (raw fish) Nikkei or any of the ceviches; then order anything that's on special that day, as well as a pisco sour. Indoor and outdoor dining is available, and reservations are recommended.

If you want Spanish-style seafood dishes, head to this restaurant, one of a dozen that surround the Plaza del Mercado. The chillo entero frito (fried whole red snapper) and camarones al ajillo (shrimp with garlic) are tasty, but the standout is the arroz con calamari: this dramatic, inky-black rice dish will elicit "oohs" and "aahs" from nearby diners when it arrives at your table. If you come in the evening, it might be cool enough to dine at one of the handful of tables on the square; if not, settle for one of the green polka-dot tables in the dining room.