Tropical Cafetería

Don’t pass this by. My husband and I did. Actually we weren’t even sure it was open. My relatives found it and recommended it. It’s a GREAT find! Really good food, excellent prices (a nice break from the hotels’ prices), and good friendly service.

Not the most charming place but had good cheap food. I had the Cubano sandwich and my sister had the mahi mahi tacos. Both were delishes and I would recommend them. We shared tostones which were okay, needed some salt.

The location was kind of difficult for me to find because they changed their restaurant look and it didn’t say the actual name that was stated on Unilocal.Other than that, the food was really good, cheap and filling!

A hole in the wall, that us natives, like to find and breakfast and lunch at. Staying at the Caribe Hilton and having to deal with a very stuck up and nasty hostess over at Palmeras, we found this little closet of a space, just a few steps from the hotel. Locals coming and going, you can get a mean cup of creamy/​dreamy PR coffee with lovely fixins to go with it. Although I was craving a majorca with ham and cheese, I stopped short because they come out of a bag, like a burger bun… and I am very biased with bakery-​fresh confection. So on day 1 I went with mahi mahi tacos for a mid morning brunch. M O N E Y! Those tempura battered morsels were DELICIOUS! With a spicy mayo-​ketchup, lettuce and tomato — it just hit the spot. Son went with a meat pastelillo — as good as my abuelas.
YES, next morning back for my cafecito, and a papaya smoothie — extra ice, no milk. LOVELY, with my veggie omelette! Boy went with the eggs and bacon. Last day went back for my cafecito, smoothie and this time eggs and toast, while son feasted on the huge pancakes.
The place is SPOTLESS clean, tiny and cash only. Staff seems distrustful of people, but when you get them talking, they are all smiles and super nice. Good food, huge portions, AMAZING coffee and clean. AWESOME!

Biftec and onions, pan seared chicken. Both served with red beans and rice and a small salad. Delicious home cooking. Reasonable prices. We’ll be back for breakfast.

I came here due to the Unilocal reviews, expecting a fabulous menu of local, legit Puerto Rican food. I even walked pretty far to get here from Playa Escambron (having walked from Old San Juan earlier – so about 2.5 miles total in one direction).
I had a Churrasco skirt steak, which came with salad, white rice and beans. I asked for it medium, and I got it well-​done. (I apologize if maybe I’m not culturally aware and/​or a dumb tourist, and it’s supposed to be well-​done in PR cuisine). The salad had no dressing. The white rice and beans were… adequate.
My friend got a Cuban sandwich and said it was nothing to write home about, although she said the bread was very tasty. I looked at it and the sandwich overall did not look appealing to me.
I ordered at the counter and the guy asked me what I wanted to drink. I said water, and I assumed he would give a glass of ice water. No, he brought bottled water to my table and then charged me for it.

Great restaurant by the Hilton caribe. Great
prices, friendly staff and great food!!! We got the Bistec and ham egg and cheese sandwich. The Cuban café con leche coffee was very tasty as well. We went in the morning but could def do for the afternoon or evening meal if you’re looking for something a little more low key and budget friendly. I Highly recommend if in the area.

We had a bean burrito, mufungo, sweet plantains, a beer, and a piña colada; it was $ 20 and delicious. Without a doubt the best value for authentic food in the area.
This place is connected to the convenience store next door, and is just around the corner from subway (on the road that leads to the Caribe Hilton). It doesn’t have a lot of seating, but they are happy to do to go orders, including piña coladas to go. It doesn’t look like much from the outside, but it is clean inside and the food is great, definitely worth a visit.

Although this place is in an expensive tourist area, it is well-​priced, friendly, down-​to-​earth, & it offers great food (we ate breakfast). This feels like the places where the Puerto Rican residents eat. The café con leche (coffee with milk) was great, along with the omlettes & oatmeal. The toast is pan-​toasted pan sobao… MMMMMM!
You’ll eat well here (for much less than your hotel food), AND you’ll be supporting the local economy.

Great little place across the street! Had the Caesar salad with shrimp and a side of sweet plantains. Very good lunch! Great prices.

Your typical «hole in the wall» business, Tropical Cafeteria is small and unassuming. But for a decent PuertoRican meal at reasonable prices, it’s a great choice. Alcoholic beverages are available and equally reasonable pricing. Typical PR fare such as the «pasteles» take time to prepare so I would recommend calling ahead and placing an order. They are open for breakfast, which is my favorite time to go. I only give it a 3 star rating because their hours of operation during the week are too limited for my personal taste, and on a couple of occasions they’ve closed even earlier than the advertised times. Not nice!

Food is great. Cheap… Made me feel like I explored San Juan lol
The pina Colada is amazing and it was $ 6! I don’t normally drink pina Colada but this is damn good
All entrées come with rice and beans which works for me since in Filipino

Food is delicious! This was a great option for breakfast, lunch and dinner as the hotel restaurants are extremely expensive. My husband and I ate a wholesome delicious breakfast for two which came to about $ 30. After being lazy and extremely drunk after a long night out, we ordered room service at the caribe Hilton which came to about $ 70!!! Never again! We will continue u to come to this place for a great cheap meal. It looks like a hole in the wall, but trust me your appetite will thank you later!

Don’t let the appearance fool you! This place is terrific! You seriously cannot beat $ 6 pina coladas… Not to mention you can take them to go! The sandwiches are awesome too!
Great place for lunch!

Very good sandwiches and at a very low price. Not much else to say that hasn’t already been said. I only wish that I had more time to work my way through the menu but I was very happy with my Cuban sandwich.

The food was delicious and relatively inexpensive considering the surrounding options at the Hilton.
Minus a star because… Watch out for the posted opening times because they don’t really keep those. I saw them close early 3 days in a row. It seems like they close when they feel like it. Another thing is that the guy serving us (touching our flatware and plates of food) was wearing the same disposable gloves that he was cleaning the windows and mopping the floors with. They also mopped the floors while we were still eating and mop water splashed on my arms and legs. If you can overlook that then hey, eat here. The food is great.

Not an updated review.
I am so glad I added this place to Unilocal.These are the kind of places that tourists need to know about!
So happy everyone is loving this place! When we return to PR it will be one of my 1^st stops on my food adventure!
Enjoy everyone!!!

We stayed at Caribe Hilton and this little family owned restaurant is nothing less than amazing. The prices are fair, the amount of food is more than plenty, the taste and flavor is like grandmas home cooking, and the service is great! We ordered breakfast and dinner meals and was by far the best food we had while we stayed here in San Juan. We nearly paid double the price for the same amount of food in old San Juan. Needless to say if you want some good ol home cooked food worth your time and will excite your taste buds… Go here!

Don’t let the looks fool you, this is simple, but great Puerto Rican faire. Best rice and beans I have eaten.

Made my stay at the caribe hilton and San Juan very enjoyable. Food is great, simple, and tasty. They make whatever you ask them.
Mayorca with ham, cheese, and egg was my favorite breakfast. Café con leche is decent too.
At night, around 4,5pm they have a grill outside for pinchos — skewed chicken or pork. It comes with a small piece of garlic bread. Just 2 dollars each and portion is good. I got beer from the next door deli and enjoyed the pinchos.
If you are staying at the hilton and don’t like much about this small deli kind of look of the restaurant, you can also take out the food and have it at the hilton property– near pool, beach, or lobby lounge areas.
They open really late on Saturday night with loud music outside. Local people come out for this too.
Hilton restaurants are fine but expensive considering their quality of the food even with New York standard. Just Starbucks was pretty good. I highly recommend this small but friendly restaurant.