Barrachina Restaurant

Let me guess: You’re looking up reviews of this place because you heard it was the home of the piña colada, and you want to know if it’s worth a stop. Otherwise, the pretty lady out front hooked you in and you’re reading this at your table, which is too late and also it’s rude to your spouse.
This is the *purported* birthplace of the piña colada, or «pineapple collision» (citation needed), and they do whip up a pretty good one. Okay, full disclaimer: They keep them in those frozen drink machines sort of like Slurpee machines full of tourist-​trap fuel.
They’ll ask if you want them with rum or without, which is nice because it gives non-​drinkers the chance to pay $ 7 for a complete waste of empty calories.
They were decently strong, but there was rum floating on top which I’m not a fan of.
They do have a full restaurant menu here. We tried grouper nuggets and chicken stuffed tostones. The nuggets were some of the best I’ve ever had, and I know from grouper nuggets. The tostones were actually great as well. I’m not a huge fan of tostones, but these were decent.
Our server was friendly and prompt.
I’d say this place is worth a stop for the «I went to the birthplace of the piña colada!» factor, but not a destination for dinner. Everything was good, but there are much better places in OT.

Barrachina boasts itself as the creators of pina coladas. I’m not sure if that’s actually true, but they do make a pretty good one. I could have used a little more rum in it, but it was still pretty refreshing for a hot day (I ordered the frozen one).
I’ve heard people say that walking around with an open cup of alcohol is illegal, but the people at Barrachina said it was completely legal (though I’m sure they only said that because they wanted to make a sale). Well we did it anyway and it was fine. We didn’t get caught or fined but you should probably do so at your own risk!

Loved the atmosphere and the food! By far the fest Mofongo we’ve had while in San Juan. We had beef & shrimp and lobster & shrimp and both were delicious. Of course, we had to have Pina Colada before leaving and it was equally delicious.

Not many places better to get a drink I Old San Juan. Home of the first piña colada. They make it right! Thanks for the good times!
Till next time

Barrachina was on the list of places to visit while in San Juan. This was recommended by the cruise. We were able to dine here in September 2014 — super late review. The piña colada was the highlight of the establishment.
Once we walked over to the restaurant, we had only an hour and half before we had to be back on the cruise. OMG we were slightly disappointed that we would not make it and get to eat. We were honest with our waiter and told him our dilemma. He then asked us, «Are you allergic to anything?». We responded, «Well…no.» Then he asked us if we can trust him. We said «Ok.» Then he told us, «I can handle this, please close your menus.» Never putting our food (and money to pay for this meal) in the hands of another was exciting and relaxing.
While waiting, I ordered a piña colada. I must say it was pretty yummy and creamy.
Once the food came to our table, we looked at each other big eyed because it just looked so fantastic. I had the platano maduro canoe — OMG this was so BOMB! The mister had the combo mofongo — HE LOVED IT. We also had a side of beans. It was the best food on our trip! Overall, fantastic, so please believe don’t think that this is tourist trap because there is quality here.
In case you are wondering, we made it back to the boat in time.

Barrachina was on my list of places to eat while in San Juan before my cruise. We heard about their piña colada and had to try it.
The piña colada itself was GOOD, like really good and strong if you get the alcoholic one. I also had another drink, that was good too but I don’t remember the name.
As for food, I had the platano maduro canoe with the beef and cheese on top. This came with rice and beans. I couldn’t finish it all since we also had a starter. This dish was yummy and fun to eat. I enjoyed it some more the next day for brunch.
The negative: although I loved the location and the set up of the outdoor eating, the mosquitoes ate us alive. There are plants all over the outside area, so if you have to, sit inside.

The only good thing was probably the piña colada. Food wise, I would eat elsewhere.
The appetizer dish was pretty good. The fried bits of grouper and octopus were devoured first.
I had the paella with a friend and the seafood bits were old, chemical tasting, and not that appetizing.
Tres leches was terrible as well.
Come for drinks and that’s about it.

Not so good service. Food was ok. Our server forgot everything we told him. Even a food runner told us that our server was good at forgetting stuff. Won’t go there again.

My girlfriend and I stopped at this place after eating at one of the best restaurants in old San Juan. What we discovered was another treasure of the city. The mofongo was amazing. I had the pork, and she had the steak. Both were tender and flavorful. We decided to try the iced passion fruit mojitos and loved them. This is a place you’ve got to try.

Is this place a tourist trap? Probably. However, I do enjoy their pina coladas. It is a good place to stop and grab a quick drink while in Old San Juan, but there are so many other restaurants in the area for dinner.

Note– review on bar service. Ugh. We were tourists and had to get the original Piña colada. We went around 8:30 after dinner and sat up at the bar. It wasn’t busy, but it took the one bartender about 10 minutes to even acknowledge us. After we ordered our drink it took him another 10 minutes to make it as he was serving other guests in the meantime, but not making our drinks.
The colada was good– creamy, but disappointed it came from a machine, however there was a good amount of rum in it. After we finished our drinks, the bartender took another good 15 minutes to get our Check as our empty glasses just sat there. We didn’t even bother getting another drink although till 9 they run a 2 for 1 HH special (not on Pinas though).
Once we paid he instantly grabbed the check looking for his tip within :30. Seriously?! You can’t acknowledge us all night, but when it’s time to pay you’re on top of your game?! Biggest. Pet. Peeve. Ever.
Piña colada 4 stars. Service 1. Wouldn’t return.

Loved this place! I stumbled across it, during my walking tour of the area and a Unilocal search for «lunch».
As a solo tourist, I sat at the bar. The server poured me a delicious Pína Colada, and pointed out some best sellers. I decided on the plantain with shrimp. It was superb! The rice and beans were also an added bonus, to the dish.
I ordered a second drink, Fire In The Sky, which added a splash of grenadine to the colada! Tasty!!! I had a slight buzz off the two.
The place is decorated beautifully, with indoor and outdoor seating, to accomodate weather conditions.
I’d return here, in a heartbeat!

Birthplace of the Piña colada, this drink will be the highlight of your meal. This place was featured on Anthony Bourdain’s show, No Reservations. At first glance the Piña colada mix comes out of a frozen drink dispenser and rum is added to the drink, but honestly it tastes really good and doesn’t taste like a fake pre-​made mix. Probably the best Piña Colada I’ve had, I could definitely taste real coconut milk and the drinks are really strong!
The drinks were the best part of the meal – obviously what draws everyone here are the famous drinks so I didn’t have high expectations for the food. We had the seafood mofongo and the bistek sandwich with fries. I definitely appreciated all the seafood that came with the mofongo, the sandwich was just okay. Good, attentive service, I enjoyed my meal!

Did not order food — this review is strictly for the «Original Piña Colada»
This place claims to have invented the piña colada, and even has it scrawled across the rug in their entry way. Supposedly they invented the piña coloda in 1963, BUT this is contested by the Caribe Hilton in Condado, which claims to have invented the drink in 1954. It’s a long story revolving around a certain bartender named Ramon «Monchito» Marrero, but a Google search will make you wiser.
I have been to both locations, and the Caribe Hilton sets the bar much higher than Barrachina. Surprising, I know, but the truth.
I think it speaks volumes when there is a double bar full of patrons with only one bartender servicing both sides with no bar back. This (very young) woman had to serve everyone seated + standing, approx. 20 – 25 people, all while busing plates from people who were taking dinner at the bar (very annoying when people specifically come here to try the «famous piña colada») and fielding questions and commentary from the geriatric tourists who seemed to be the biggest fans of this place.
The drinks were decent, sure. But any piña colada you get in PR is better than the ones you get in the states. It was creamy and frothy, but weak, more dessert than cocktail. When we ordered a second round, we asked for an extra shot of rum just so it would do something for us.
Barrachina gets points for it’s location, which is in the heart of Old San Juan and boasts a lovely interior patio as well as air conditioned dining spaces. But the piña colada deserves more respect than this so-​called originator has to offer. They don’t even make the mix to order, rather keeping the virgin mix in huge slushee machines that border the bar…
Go to Atlantico Bar at Caribe Hilton instead! Those drinks get 5 stars.

Bottom Line: If you like all-​inclusive resorts, cruise lines, and touristy locations, then this is right up your alley. However, if you like to travel off the beaten path and go on true adventures, don’t waste your time here.
La Barrachina claims to be the place where the first Pina Colada was invented. Is the Pina Colada good? Yes. Is it to die for? No. It’s not the best Pina Colada nor the best place for food in San Juan or even Old San Juan.
If you’re into hole in the wall joints, check Los Yeyos. It doesn’t look the cleanest nor does it look the nicest but it’s the true authentic taste of a home cook Puerto Rican meal in Old San Juan, located on Calle San Francisco.

Lugar no recomendable para latinos. Sólo atienden esmeradamente a los del norte que vienen en cruceros. Si usted es latino no entre aquí si no desea que lo ignoren como si fuera un holograma, estos son unos alcahuetes de los yankee.

I loved this place, it was the first place I ate at when I got to Puerto Rico. My girlfriend had been here once before so she said we needed to go.
First it was a beautiful place, I loved the set up of the restaurant. The waiter was nice, and quick with our water refills and to get our drinks and food to us.
We immediately started with their famous Pina Coladas, it’s what they’re mainly known for. The first thing the waiter actually said to us when we sat down was, «Are you guys ready for your Pina Coladas?» Haha. I’m not a big Pina Coloda person but I have to say it was the best Pina Colada I’ve ever had. You could taste the freshness of the pineapples with every sip. I couldn’t have just one.
For my meal, I had Mofongo for the first time ever. I had it with chicken, served over lettuce. The meal was amazing, and delicious. Definitely one of my favorite meals I had while I was Puerto Rico. I will definitely be coming back the next time I’m in Puerto Rico.

This IS the place!!! It’s world famous. It’s right here in this very bar that in 1963 Spanish bartender, Don Remon Portas-​Mingot, created the world’s first and now ever so famous Pina Colada. It’s also where I drank my first real Pina Colada. It only took one sip for me to realize that all of the others I’ve had were nothing but pink umbrella imposters in glass. The rich creamy flavors of the original Pina Colada served here are like no other. You really owe it to yourself to try one.
The place isn’t all that big, but clean, light, decorative and overall nicely appointed. The service is top notch professional and for food, the menu is wide ranging with everything I had being delicious. Some are even rather unexpectedly innovative such as the calamari I had with a zesty creamy like coconut dip.
So if you like to combine your meal with a touch of nostalgic history, Barrachina is the place to go.

We came here for dinner on our big night out. The entrance and courtyard are pretty, with a fountain and caged macaws, very tropical.
Barrachina claims to be the birthplace of the piña colada so I had to have one. The drink was okay but not strong enough and it came from a slushie machine, the way the 99¢ margaritas are in Vegas.
The service was fine as the place was pretty empty. The dinner though, we honestly had better food from the street vendors and cafes around town. I had the pollo caribeño which was like teriyaki chicken. It was overpriced and there was nothing special about it.
Previous reviews called this place a tourist trap… Unfortunately, they’re right.

The birthplace of the piña colada?! Sign.Me.Up.Right.Meow
Our group made the trip to Old San Juan after spending the first part of the day at the Bacardi factory. While waiting for our tables to be ready, we ordered pina coladas and enjoyed the open court bar area. There’s nothing like being on vacation somewhere tropical and drinking a piña colada. And this was pretty good one.
At our table, we started with some Puerto Rican Delights apps. Best description? Basically an assortment of things that are fried. Turnovers, corn fritters, and croquettes. We were all starving, so they were life savers for us. I also ordered the soup of the day. It was a version of a chicken soup and tasty. Who orders soup in PR? This girl. I made it point to order what I thought would be the quickest thing someone could feed me. #Hangry. When in Rome (or Puerto Rico), do as the Romans (Puerto Ricans) and order mofongo. I went with the shrimp version, Bob did the skirt steak. They were both really good. Carrie got a fried plantain canoe stuffed with skirt steak. She wins for best order, gorgeous and delicious. #foodpornworthy The pork chops also looked insanely good. I had big time order envy.
I was shocked they were able to put our huge group together. Even more shocking, how smooth everything was. Huge kudos to our server Victor. He didn’t skip a beat. He even apologized for slow service. I’m telling you right now, there was nothing slow about it. Four entrees, one app, a cup of soup, a piña colada, two beers, and our grand total was $ 116 before tip. Not too bad.
We went back to the bar to grab drinks to go so we could walk around and explore. The mojitos were also really great here. I did notice some little bars around this area that had some great drink specials. Just make sure to snap some picks of the parrot before you leave. Bonus: see if you can make a friend talk like a parrot for the duration of dinner. Yeah, we did that. Bob was a good sport. Don’t worry, we let him stop after ten minutes.

**tourist trap*** Went for and Had the famous piña colada. Nothing distinct or original — tasted same as everywhere else. And was served out of a machine were it was already pre-​made.
Party of 3 had three different entrees — see pics. All were meh. Server was nice but service was very slow even though business was slow too — we went around 2 in afternoon on a TR.
Price point high for food quality. This place is located downtown in Old San Juan and must pull business on their piña colada story.

Von der straße aus betritt man einen flur und steht dann bald in einem offenen atrium, welches mittig einen springbrunnen hat.
Man sollte unbedingt die gratisprobe einer pinacolada versuchen — der erfog ist, daß man sich danach eine ganze kauft, so wirklich sehr gut ist sie.
Wenn ich mehr vertragen würde, hätte ich auch noch eine zweite und eine dritte getrunken…
:o)
In diesem atrium oder auch hof, wie man mag, ist es sehr angenehm. Ringherum um den bartresen gibt es viele schön eingerichtete bereiche mit tischen und stühlen, an denen man essen kann.
(Gegessen haben wir hier nicht, vielleicht das nächste mal.)
Ein sehr schöner laden mit sehr freundlichen, entgegenkommenden menschen darin. Das personal ist karibisch locker und wirklich sehr freundlich und hilfsbereit.
Alles ist sauber und die preise sind angemessen.
Eine sehr empfehlenswerte adresse!