Carli’s Fine Bistro and Piano

This is the premier Jazz Club in Puerto Rico. There’s live Jazz every night the atmosphere is very relaxing and the food is amazing. I f you are looking for Jazz in Puerto Rico this is the place!

Sorry. .after the great reviews I was expecting more. Seated immediately but 2 other tables sat after us were served right away while we waited and waited. Food just ok– spinach salad was basically spinach with canned mandarin oranges and a handful of almond slices. I had tuna which was pretty good and my husband had the lobster ravioli. The problem was service. The restaurant was not that busy but no one checked on us and I poured my own wine all night because the waiter was no where to be found. The pianist. .some girl… was playing the most depressing morbid music. It was not jazz or dinner fare. Take a pass. There are better less expensive restaurants nearby.

Incredible fine dining experience that’ll make you feel like you’re in a scene of a movie. The atmosphere is romantic and relaxed, and the service is top notch– attentive, friendly, and they’ll even offer to walk you outside with an umbrella to your cab. Carli (the owner) was kind enough to walk around to each table and make sure everyone was enjoying their night.
Music here was amazing! The first set started at 8 PM– two guitarists singing classic tunes such as «Stand By Me» and «Hotel California» with a jazz flare. We stayed for the 10 PM set– the jazz trio featuring Carli on piano. Amazing jazz performance and they didn’t try to rush us out or pressure us to order more food/​drinks while watching the last set.
The food was amazing! The lamb croquette appetizer was tender and flavorful while the Grilled Tuna Steak was definitely the best I have ever tasted. It was cooked perfectly and seasoned with cajun spice. The mojito was exceptional, with the perfect combo of mint, lime, and sweetness.
Overall– an amazing spot to visit in Old San Juan. Delicious food, great atmosphere, and awesome music. What more could you ask for?

Exceptional! Our waitress was perfect, warm and attentive. carli played piano and was joined by a guest singer, they were both great. The food was amazing, the rack of lamb is unbelievable. Our best dining experience of the entire trip! Highly recommended.

This was my absolute favorite restaurant in Old San Juan. The food is fabulous, the music was incredible (with Carli at the keyboard), the ambiance, the service. I can’t say anything but go to Carli’s! You will have a memorable evening!!!
PS– The best Crab Cakes I ever had, as well as the Lamb Chop!
5+***** STARS

The ambiance and mojitos were perfect. Very romantic spot, and we sat at the bar which was enjoyable. The live music was great, and we had a great time. The food was surprisingly lackluster. Maybe the kitchen had an off night, but seriously the food was not great, had the pork medallions and seared ahi. We spent around $ 140 on food and alcohol, which included a great tip for the fabulous bartender, but food was not worth that price. Skip dinner and go for drinks.

Loved the entire experience. Dinner was fantastic. Enjoyed the pork medallion and great wine. The music is amazing and creates the best atmosphere.
Just go!

The mojitos were as good as expected after reading all the reviews. It is a small place with a dark romantic atmosphere, accompanied by live jazz that provides a relaxing, classy vibe. Did not try any entrees but the pumpkin dessert was to die for. Warm toasty bits with cool vanillas ice cream and a fresh strawberry, beautiful presentation, absolutely delicious!

We came in at an off time but waiter tried to sell us everything but the kitchen sink and it got to be really annoying. The food was average. We had muscles, ceviche, and Caesar salad… Wouldn’t recommend any of them to a stranger. Lots of better places in San Juan

I really wanted to love this place, but it just missed the mark. The food was ok, nothing special. It was fun to hear live jazz piano by Carli himself, but the atmosphere felt tired. The waiter was very friendly and tried his best, but with our limited Spanish and his limited English, there were a few misunderstandings. Decent experience, just not sure I’d come back.

The keyboardist from «the beach boys «owns this restaurant. We enjoyed the food, the upscale ambiance, LOVED the music and the location was perfect! Smack dab in Old San Juan. Get dolled up for dinner, come here and you will not be disappointed. This is not a «cultural» place, so if you are looking for genuine Puerto Rico experiences this is a pass.

Mojitos mojitos mojitos and late-​night live jazz. Loved by locals. Come for the drinks and stay for dinner and music.

I came here with my husband. Amazing! Relaxing Ambiance! The waiter, Khristian, was amazing. Nice guy, explained every special and question we asked. Always made sure we were okay. Not only was he great, everyone helps each other out with clients. If Khristian wasn’t around, someone else would help us. Beautiful jazz music was played live, starting at 8pm. No rush to leave the restaurant. Great place for couples and date nights. I recommend 100% for a romantic night out in Old San Juan.

My wife and I both visited Carli’s while on vacation in San Juan. I had read several reviews on Unilocal that stated the embiance was fantastic yet the food was very average. I want to definitely echo this popular opionion. The atmosphere was very unique as this was a smaller establishment w/​a baby grand piano in the middle of the floor. The piano music was terrific but the yet the food was not. I ordered the Filet Minion and my wife had the tilapia. We were kinda steered towards this because it was the special but had us wondering was this the only thing they may have had to prepare that night. The steak was OK at best and my wife said the tilapia was dry and bland. The mojito was definitely tasty but the food left us hanging. I do recommend visiting Carli’s while in Old San Juan but be cautious of the food.

While we didn’t eat, we were lured in by the jazz piano coming through the outdoor speakers as we walked the streets of Old San Juan post-​dinner.
We weren’t ready to turn in just yet and decided to wander around until we saw a place worth entering. It didn’t take long before we stumbled on Carli’s. I actually noticed the music first, and nudged Willy to see if he was into stopping here. The bar is filled with old photos filling the place with an air of nostalgia… plus a few Gold/​Platinum records.
It was late, and a Monday so the dinner crowd was winding down. Soon there were just a handful of us enjoying the tinkling ivories. Willy and I sat at the bar to enjoy a glass of wine. It was relaxing and romantic. Once we went for our 2^nd glass of wine, we started up a convo with the bartender and an older gentleman sitting at the bar. Needless to say, we ended up having a fabulous time learning about the local culture from the bartender, and musings of Old Cuba from the gentleman to our left. We also learned that Carli on the piano played with the Beach Boys for a period during the 70s. He plays there every night — upping it to a jazz trio on Friday and Saturday. Plus, no cover charge!
Find yourself wandering around Old San Juan? Stop here. You won’t regret the time you have enjoying jazz piano and sipping drinks with the locals. It’s a classy joint so plan to spend a few $$ and don’t walk in with your bathing suit on, rather enjoy for your one fancy night out on vacation.
P. S. some highlights about what we enjoyed at the bar:
— I sipped on dry rosé
— Willy had homemade sorbet… it was the freshest, fruitiest sorbet I’ve tasted with chunks of strawberry in it.
— The bartender offered us a sip of the guava/​passion fruit/​coconut/​rum — I wish I was drinking that all night. It tasted just how you imagine the Caribbean to smell like — the passion fruit is the kicker — sweet and fruity.

Went with a group of friends and really enjoyed myself. The food was pretty good, but not mind blowing. The steak was cooked to the proper temperature and the flavored were robust. Definitely worth a visit. The service was awesome and the live pianist made the experience great.

As amazing as Puerto Rican cuisine is, and as true as it is that there are wonderful restaurants in the Island that, besides the food, offer the typical folky experience, if you are a tourist staying for a few days or weeks, chances are you will want to experience other choices besides mofongo, maybe even skip the salsa lessons for a night and give your boogie shoes a break. If you’re a local, well, even more so. As that famous author William Cowper (whom I just Googled and never read from in my life), said: «Variety’s the very spice of life, that gives it all its flavor.» … … Hey: I’m not a walking library of impressive quotes, but good taste, I got plenty of. Stick with me, kid. You’ll get far. Read on.
I’m born and raised in the Island — hence the capital I ;-) I currently live in Miami, have lived in Los Angeles and traveled the globe a lot. «But she’s so young!» I KNOW! Joining the circus has been one of the best decisions of my life. And since the Carla circus stopped in Puerto Rico last week, and I had this lovely place bookmarked because of my love affair with live music venues, pianobars and piano restaurants, I decided I’d give my elephant the night off, dress classy and drop by Carli’s for some jazz, wine and dinner.
My sister, mom and me decided it was to be a girls night out. I called and a very friendly hostess answered the phone. I made a reservation for 3, and I asked for a table close to the piano, but not too close as to bother the pianist if we chatted. The very friendly hostess said, «We’ll take care of you. You’ll love it.»
They delivered.
Our server was very polite and made great suggestions. The filet mignon came as ordered, cooked medium rare, it was perfect and juicy and came in a mushroom sauce with very nice steamed veggies and red potatoes on the side. We also ordered a shrimp pumpkin risotto for the table, and it was delicious. They have a risotto al funghi that I intend to order next time. If you see the barriguitas de vieja on the menu, have them, but I’d rather suggest those as dessert, since they are basically sweet dumplings. We had a nice bottle of Pinot Grigio for the table, and the owner, Carli Muñoz was playing jazz tunes on the piano. A lovely evening indeed! Service was warm, friendly and elegant and all 3 of us got a special shot on the house (rum, coconut liquor, guava juice & passion fruit juice).
We chatted with the owner on and off all night. He talked about his music career, how he started in the restaurant business — all this in an unpretentious, very casual conversational way — because we were asking. He’s a cool, down-​to-​Earth, family oriented guy. Very personable. He used to play with the Beach Boys! Of course, Mom HAD to have one of her kids sing her a song, so she asked Carli, and he very graciously agreed, so thanks to him I may have earned extra good girl points with mom. :-)
The location of this restaurant is very convenient. It’s very close to the Doña Fela multilevel secured parking lot, right in Old San Juan. A perfect spot for a mellow, speak-​easy evening.

Serves a great mojito made from scratch and muddled. Made with fresh ingredients. We sat at bar and the service was excellent. There is a piano in the restaurant but no one was performing at 7pm. The mojito was $ 9.

Made a reservation because Wolfgang stated on phone that was extremely busy and need reservation!
Made reservation for four. Show up 30 minutes later walk in and it’s dead!
No live music! No Dinner specials!
Wolfgang did not care he lied to get customers into a dead empty dining room!
First and last time here.
Try somewhere else they don’t need to lie to get guest in the door!

Words cannot express how much I love this place… But I will give it a try. «One of my top ten favorite meals in history». The food, the décor, the live music, the service… Everything, Just perfect!
The Groper with Amaretto & almonds was fantastic. The Shrimp, Pumpkin & Coconut Risotto was out of this world (it’s what brought me back in the first place), the dessert & even the cocktails were to die for.
If you ever get to old San Juan and don’t make a stop here you will be sorry. Go early for a quiet dinner and stay late for music and drinks — The place is a gem!!!
& a big thanks to Christopher (bartender) for making this a fantastic dining experience!