1919 Restaurant

We had a reservation for 6. The restaurant was beautiful, the service was very slow, the food was not what I expected. Very small portions, the eggplant was cold and hard, my daughter had a salad and the plate had 5 small pieces not cut lettuce with dressing on it. You call that a salad. and regarding the price they should put $$$$$. Very expensive. If you want a beautiful restaurant go to 1919 eat before you go and bring a wad of money.

Friendly and accommodating staff, extensive wine selection, great views and wonderful food. The lobster salad with grilled romaine was by far my favorite.

This place is outstanding! San Juan has become an amazing foodie hot spot and none hotter than here. We asked the chef to cook for us and boy did he. From the cucumber soup amuse bouche and cilantro rolls and on to the sublime tuna course, then a roasted carrot salad that would satisfy even the staunchest of carnivores followed by two fish courses. The first was confit of salmon in duck fat (note, I don’t like salmon) which was the BEST fish course I have ever eaten until the next course, roasted-​to-​absolute perfection cod over lentils which then became the BEST fish course I ever had! Followed by a quinoa and sautéed mushroom dish and finishing the savory courses big with venison that was worthy of the worlds best restaurants. The chocolate cake with sour cream ice cream is something I’ll be dreaming about for a long time. This is a world class restaurant nestled in one of the most beautiful settings I have ever dined in. Do NOT miss this place.

We got in Late from New Orleans, crashed and got up hungry at 9pm. We used Unilocal and chose1919which was near our Hotel La Concha. There was a review or 2 that were positive and one slightly negative;but it’s the Vanderbilt so we were undeterred .
The ambiance was elegant and staff impeccably mannered. Apparently we should have come at sunset for a incredible view. Oh well! We shared the leek soup, carpaccio, fish and filet/​frois gras. Plump Jack Cab from an extensive wine cellar was the wine of choice. Finally, warm chocolate cake with coffee ice cream! Little bits of food/​gazpacho/​sweets to taste also unexpectedly appeared during the meal.
Definitely a do over! Raul made the evening memorable. This place would make in the French Quarter in NOLA. Im not sure where the negative review came from but they didn’t eat here. LOL

Impressive dining experience with the four course option. They were very thoughtful and strategic with plating and timing of each course.
We ran into a brief hiccup with their dress code at the beginning (men need to wear long pants) so make sure you come prepared with appropriate attire or they may turn you away. Luckily, we were still able to continue with our reservation and had an amazing family dining experience.

Check your bill very carefully. We had a 3 glasses of wine and they charged us much more then the listed prices. $ 14 glass was charged $ 20. We had 3 different glasses of wine and they jacked up the price on all 3. They gave us a free glass when we pointed it out but it is quite shady because they’ve probably done it to thousands of other guests.
The food and service was good otherwise.

My husband and I are staying at the Condado Vanderbilt and decided to have dinner at 1919. The interior is beautiful and romantic; the lighting is warm, and the tables are made of a beautiful dark wood. The servers were gracious and attentive.
I opted for the six-​course chef’s special which was wonderful from start to finish. You specify what you like and don’t like, and the chef cooks your special to order. My favorite was the halibut with lentil sauce (I don’t typically eat fish, but this was cooked perfectly.). The dessert, a flourless chocolate cake with ice cream and warm caramel sauce, was delicious.
The champagne cart that is wheeled around at the beginning of the meal is a unique touch as well.
What kept this from being a five star experience for us was simply the price. Water was $ 9 a bottle, and each glass of wine was at least $ 20. It makes you feel like you’re being price gouged.

Where do I begin… A very impressive restaurant for being in the island and it’s truly a gem, but it’s unfortunate that the service is slowwwwwwwwwww. They take for ever to bring out your meals I know it’s. Four course meal and I’m well versed in this topic, but when your waiting 30mins between meals it unacceptable. I asked for the desert order and they said it would only take 10 minutes but it took 25mins. So, I can’t give them a 5 because of the availability of the service.

From the moment you walk into the restaurant you are well taken care of. The entirety of the staff work like a well oiled machine taking care of your culinary wants. My sister and I did the 4 course prefix menu which was a great experience. The taradito was light and fresh and the crudo was also fresh and complex in flavor… and it only got better from there. The pacing of the dinner was also well timed. Neil our «captain» was always checking in and making sure our dining experience was going smoothly. I would highly recommend to all!

Hands down, the best dining experience we have ever had in Puerto Rico… and that’s saying something!
The service here is the ultimate while still being very inviting. I have this thing about stuffiness when I’m dropping money in exchange for a meal, but I still demand phenomenal service. It’s not an easy target to hit, but they do!!!
The food here is simply amazing! I wanted to switch up the 4 course meal and they catered to my request without a second thought. We wanted a bottle of wine that would meet our pallet needs without scoring their wine list, and the sommelier was eager and quick to pick one for us. The food was so freaking good that I didn’t want to take even a second and wait for the iPhone pic of every plate, instead I just savored it. Every course, every drink, the bottle of wine… all of it was worth it and then some!
Now the food was the star, but the people here stole the show! They were top notch professionals! There was a very large (and entertaining…) group of people there that night and we did not feel as if we were second string to the large group of (medal wearing… yes, they wore medals! I told you, entertaining!) people. Instead it was a marvel to watch the 1919’s service of this crowd. They synchronized their work which was something I’ve never seen before (both the large group of elderly, medal wearing people and the placing of multiple plates at the exact same time. Yep… medals and old. How do I get to be part of this club??) but it was incredible and further proof of why I could never do their job! Ivan and Neil were my favorites!!! Simply above them all!
If you are reading this then it is because you are in search of a great dining experience in San Juan and I am telling you, you have found it! I apologize for my lack of food pics… I ate it. You should too, I promise you will love it just as much as I did and like me, rather than reminisce with your food pictures you’ll just go back to 1919 again and again!

Delicious from start to finish! Hostess, Natalia, was quite gracious… Lobby music was loud Elvis, which was adequately muffled when the restaurant doors closed!
Décor upscale, large oval mahogany columns support the decorative ceiling which had large rectangular lighting with mother of pearl hanging disks to give texture and diffuse the light. Our waiter was Neal, pleasant, knowledgable infused with humor. Right off the bat he told us that the chicken and also the rabbit entrees were not available. They only offered us a prix fix menu ($ 80/​pp), however, the table next to us were shown a fancy piece of meat that they made a fuss presenting it to them… The Cosmo was small, but good. Loved all we ate, asparagus grilled salad not bitter or over cooked, delish! Chayote? Salad was very different and also gr8! They serve a shot of a fabulous avocado cucumber gazpacho as an intermezzo… The second course was ravioli… My husband had the sausage, and I the ricotta, which was more goat cheese I believe… Both terrific! Neal then came over to apologize that he had to leave for a while… Bazaar, but made sure Luis the other waiter would attend to us… He never did. Through out the meal, the busboys came around with delicious chubatta rolls, wheat rolls, sesame sticks and a wonderful sesame paper thin cracker that must have had a slight peppery finish… Addictive! My salmon entrée was the lightest most delicate salmon I have ever had, served in a fresh spinach broth… My husband had the wagu short rib and skirt steak. The skirt steak was a surprise, since we thought it was all short ribs, actually was burnt tasting and gamey.
Short rib portion was delicious. Neal was back and presented us with a «predessert» of a delicate vanilla custard topped with 3 giant blueberries with its juice… Yummy!
Now the dessert course, I got the salted Carmel, hazelnut chocolate tart… Exquisitely presented with dark chocolate tart cut in half, with a dollop of coconut ice cream on one half all nestled on a thin bed of striped salted Carmel with hazelnut dustings. There was a tiny one inch chocolate straw sitting on a dot of a fruited jam, possibly mango… Magnifique! My husband had a trio of fresh-​made daily sorbet… Raspberry, coconut & pineapple… Very refreshing! They then served with the extremely strong coffee a selection of sweets, 2 decorative chocolates, a macaron, and a tiny overly sweet macaroon. All in all a very nice elegant experience, a beautiful setting, and exquisitely prepared dishes. Applause to the chef… Creative, different and well thought out selections of locally grown fresh foods. The menu was slated to change the next evening! Enjoy!!!

From the moment we walked in we wanted for nothing. We decided on the 6 course Chef’s choice menu and he did not disappoint! Service was the best I have every had and I don’t say that lightly owning 2 restaurants of my own! Don’t forget dessert it was amazing!

Staying at the Vanderbilt and reading the rave reviews on Unilocal,1919 seemed like a natural choice to celebrate my birthday and our last night in San Juan. Having had the decadent salted caramel tart the night before via room service, our expectations were extremely high.
I have to commend the staff for being extremely accommodating and allowing us to reschedule our reservation. We entered through the impressive double doors into an astonishingly elegant dining space which was half full. The hostess initially seated us at the other end of the dining room, though there was an empty table near the windows which looked out to the ocean, an undoubtedly impressive view I am sure during the day. We were able to request the table near the windows without an issue.
Our waiter presented us with the menu, and then we were presented an assortment of bread to choose from. The honey wheat roll was soft and fresh, with the accompanying whipped butter being an irresistible combination. The ciabatta was hard as a rock, scratching my palate in an unfortunate manner. We chose to start with the chayote salad, which upon reading the description seemed to be an exotic blend of ingredients. However, the parts seemed to be greater than the sum, with the overall flavor falling a bit flat and tasteless to me.
Next up was the ricotta ravioli, and though I’m not the biggest goat cheese and olive fan, it was the winner of the night. The ricotta was creamy and to die for. Being hard core steak lovers, we were extremely excited to try the wagyu short ribs. Cutting into the meat, my mouth watered in anticipation. What I tasted instead was a stone cold piece of beef. I immediately put my fork and knife down and waited patiently for ten minutes until our waiter checked up on us. He offered to reheat the piece of meat, which helped but did not take it to another level.
We were given complimentary delicious lemon sorbet before the final course, chocolate mousse. Since it was my birthday, I did expect there to be at least a «happy birthday» written somewhere on our dessert plate. I was disappointed that that was not the case. We have celebrated many special events at fine dining establishments, both at home and on vacation, and almost every place has gone out of their way to make our day feel special. Unfortunately, 1919 did not. The mousse was an acquired taste, but once the taste was acquired, boy was it delicious.
To summarize, the food fell below average, and did not have that fresh unique taste that is heavily advertised by the wait staff. However, the ambience and the dessert may be worth checking out. Just don’t expect anything special from the staff or chef if celebrating an event!

Only a few times in your lifetime that the meal, service, location and overall atmosphere are exceptional. 1919 is one of those places. I had the 4 course meal with wine pairings. Everything was on point. The Captain’s recommendations with the Sommelier’s pairings were truly wonderful. I had the salmon confit, which was just ridiculous. 5 Stars all the way!

This is probably the nicest or fanciest restaurant in San Juan. They are located in the newly renovated and opened Vanderbilt Hotel in Condado. The tasting menu is quite extensive and you’ll have so many courses that it’s difficult to keep track of. All the items are delicious from the tasting menu and all in the 5 star range — ricotta ravioli, seared ahi, risotto, lobster salad, Cuban sandwich, pork ravioli, branzino, chicken for two, steak, chocolate mousse, cheese plate, fruit tart, and the chocolates to finish off your dining experience.

I had a wonderful dinner at 1919. I stayed at the Condado Vanderbilt and saved this spot for a special treat on my last night. First, the hotel and restaurant are gorgeous! There was live music playing at the bar and it was a wonderful backdrop for my dinner.
I can’t say enough about how wonderful the service was, from the hostess to the person bringing me bread, all outstanding! Especially Jose who looked over my entire experience.
I did the 4 course tasting menu. Great portion sizes. I had the seared tuna, ricotta ravioli, grass fed beef and warm chocolate cake. Tuna and beef were average. My favorites were the ravioli which on first bite I was skeptical but by the end I wanted a plate full, and the warm chocolate cake, I had to restrain myself from licking the plate, it was heavenly!
Although the food was good (3 – 4 stars) it was the small treats sent by the chef that really stand out. The best were a cucumber avocado gazpacho amuse-​bouche, a tasty bite of octopus and a life altering champagne sorbet with passion fruit, so good! Those special treats and outstanding service were really what made this a memorable experience.

A beautiful new restaurant inside the beautifully rebuilt Condado Vanderbilt hotel. To compare it to a high-​end Puerto Rican establishment would not be fair. The 1919 strives to be an international class restaurant — and, with few exceptions it achieves that lofty goal.
Eighty dollars for the 4 course dinner is very fair, but supplements and extras bring the tab up very quickly. One very nice feature of the prix fix is its flexibility. Every request we made for a change was attended to with a smile. Service was extremely professional and the food was as good as you would find in other world-​class restaurants.
The menu is varied and although the portions are on the small side, we left feeling very content. A true gem.

DELICIOUS food. Great service. Pretty ambiance.
We had the 4 course menu. Perfect amount of food with depths of flavor and quality. My husband and I are visiting from NY and it reminded us the same quality of Le Bernadin restaurant but half the price. Definitely check it out if you want a nicer a high end dinner experience while vacationing in PR.

Didn’t have time to go for dinner so opted for Lunch. Ivan was our server. Wow talk about an experience!
For lunch they have a pre fixed menu for $ 45/​ea. Gives you appetizer, entré and desert. This is very reasonable for how high end this place is. Lunch is typically their slow time, but service is first class.
If you go here, ask for Ivan for best service in San Juan.

Had an opportunity to dine with a co worker here. I have been to a number of fine dining establishments, and this one is one of the best.
I chose the Prix Fixe, menu, we asked the Sommelier for wine choices. He nailed it.
I had the Rabbit as my main course, my coworker had the beef.
For desert we had the Gelato — which was out of this world.
The highlight was when we had the opportunity to meet Chef Juan.
The only down side was we had a before dinner drink in the bar, the drinks were (as you can imagine pricy) were not very good.
This place is on my favorites to return too.