La Casita Blanca

I read great reviews about this place and I can say that they are absolutely spot on.
I had Patitas de Cerdo con garbanzos. It was absolutely amazing. The portions are large. The meat cooked so well that it melts in your mouth. Very authentic Puerto Rican. My wife had Fricase de Pollo, which was very good as well.
The lunch started with complimentary porridge soup and fritters, which was really good as well. The best part was the shot of Chichaito at the end of the meal.
The place is in a a bit rundown neighborhood, but it’s safe. If you are looking for the best home-​style Puerto Rican food, this is the place.

OMG! AWESOME!!! Why can’t all restaurants be this good? I won’t belabor the setup, as others have already described it for you. The food was delish and even tho my Spanglish is bad, the staff was courteous and made recommendations that I could understand. While having a late breakfast at my hotel, already pondering which dish I’m going to have when I go back this afternoon.

Such great food and service. Crab stew is the best if you like seafood. Giant avocados. Amazing house drink!!! Free shots at the end.
Don’t park too far cuz it gets sketch quick haha

Really cute place! We went here on our last day of the trip, wish we’d have come here earlier! It seemed a lot of locals were coming to eat here too. They served us chicken soup and anise liquor shot topped with coffee beans as complimentary. We had crab stew and beef stew, both were really yum. It’s like homemade style. Personally I liked the crab stew more than the beef. Both were very good though. I’d come here again when I visit San Juan next time.

Bacalaitos for a greeting, food a la criolla. Very hospitable, good food prepared from scratch, as it should be. Had Picadillo with white rice, the cook deviated from traditional recipes, but it was good, tasteful and plentiful. A cordial on the house, as well as the bacalaitos and chicken soup…
Décor is something else, bathrooms are clean, medalla was cold.

We ate here on our second day in Puerto Rico. A friend of mine that lives here drove us there. The food was very good and the vibe was local.
They bring you out a soup as soon as you order along with some kind chips. (Completely wrong word to describe it but I didn’t catch the name of it.) I had the garne asada with rice and beans.
We weren’t there very long, but it was a good experience.

Exceptional! My family and I thoroughly enjoyed the traditional Latin American cuisine. The staff was extremely accomodating and appreciated us as tourists. Delicious chicken and rice, corned beef stuffed avocado, red snapper and pork stew. Highly recommend the sangria and desserts (tres leches cake and flan were phenomenal!)

Utter amazingness. Read a review on Fodor’s that this was the spot, and WOW. Delicious, flavorful, tasty-​beyond belief food. Complimentary cups of chicken and rice soup to start, then they surprised us with a free appetizer (bacalao arrepes, very tasty). All entrée’s come with a hearty side of red beans and rice. Big portions! When we finished, they gave us complimentary shots of something with rum and annisette. The friendliest waitstaff ever, including a very sweet older guy whom i believe is the owner. Also they were super patient with my beginner’s-level Spanish. Very cool ambiance, sit on the little side porch if possible and take in the music from the neighborhood.

We are so disappointed after reading such great reviews. We went for dinner on a Friday night around 545pm. The drinks were watered down, the arepas tasted rancid and the entrees (picadillo criollo and fricase de pollo) had NO flavor. Additionally they were luke warm. The rice was stiff and also tasteless.
Maybe we caught them on a bad day, but the meal was extremely dissatisfying and a waste of money.

For our last night we decided to head outside of the main strip where we stayed (Avenida Isla Verde) and out of Old San Juan to check out this ecclectic spot.
When you enter the neighborhood you know you’ve hit authentic Puerto Rico as side streets were blocked off for parties and people sat on their porches playing cards blastingbsub woofer speakers. When you enter the restaurant there is a bell for you to ring for service and someone comes out to seat you. While you’re waiting you eyes wonder between all of the old stuff (or what may seem like junk to many) such as an old dial up phone, an outdated television, lights made from metal buckets, old books, etc. what really caught my eye was their respect for the land around them. This place has an abundance of plants and trees growing up and out of the establishment. Now the comida… the huge bacaliti fritters were tasty but too hard for me to chew. We put them into the complimentary chicken broth and they softened right up and were enjoyable. Please note while creatively maintained, there is nothing fancy about this place and that’s why we enjoyed it. Just real deal low maintence good food. The menu is hand written on a blackboard daily as it changes and when something is out it simply gets crossed off. The blackboard is brought to you and you tell you waiter what you’d like. We ordered the grouper with mofongo which was light, tasty and finger licking good. After eating so much fried foods and rice, the sauteed grouper was heavenly. Flavorful without making me comatosed. The pork chop was just ok. I have only had to die for chulettas in Rincón, but these were good just not amazing with rice and beans. We finished our dinner off with trembleque and tres leches. Wow to the tres leches!!! At the end we were given complimentary shots of what taste like fennel to me but the boyfriend loved it and said it was sambucca. Good meal, great service and truly authentic!

Food was very good.
Portions good.
Sangria mavi.
Chichaito.
Mayoketchup
Nothing was bad about this place.
HOT SAUCE GAME INTENSE.
Gracias consul!

Best food in San Juan !!! And the service was excellent !!! Very, very catering !!! My bill came to 40 bucks only becuz I ordered everything on the menu lol… but I left our waiter a 15 $ tip… for the service and the delish food I felt like I should’ve left him 30 $ lol but next time… I WILL be back !!

Espectacular !

Very good food. Was recommended to this place by locals … After reading other reviews decided Tomas sure to have this on our list of must sees.
The service has been great. Our waiter knows little English and we had our translator app out trying to figure out what to order. He was very patient and tried to explain what each item was. In the end we order steak and pork dishes with rice and beans … So full right now!
Very good meals for each of us … Dessert was yummy and made in house.

Ayer conoci a este restaurante por primera vez y dejeme le digo que quedamos yo y mi amiga super impresionadas de todo! Comida riquisima con un sazon delicioso y servicio fenomenal nos sentimos muy bien recibidas y seguro que al regresar a California seran muy recomendados para esas personas queriendo una experiencia culinaria autentica de esta lindisima Isla! Mis aplausos y respetos! Hasta la proxima vez! Yesterday I was introduced to this restaurant for the first time and let me tell you that my friend and I were super impressed by everything we experienced! The food was delicious and flavorful, service was phenomenal and we were made to feel right at home which is very fitting to the name of restaurant and its locale, a home turned into restaurant. The décor was eclectic and kitschy all in one we lover the feel of it all. We highly recommend this place if you’re looking for an authentic PR meal. Menu changes daily, we waited about 15 minutes to be seated, food was served in timely manner and made hot to order. We will definitely return next time we are in PR!

Best place I’ve eaten at in Puerto Rico besides my grandparents house! The service was incredible– our waiter Fernando was very friendly and hot! The sangrias were delicious, and we loved the complimentary after dinner shots.

Authentic, tasty, reasonably priced Puerto Rican specialties!
You feel right at home in this restaurant, affectionately named The Little White House (in Spanish: La Casita Blanca).
They introduce you with free bacalaitos, a traditional fried dish that has bits of fish inside. Of course it’s greasy and delicious.
My mother tried the pig’s feet, and I had the crab stew (guisado). The entrees were a healthy portion, and very reasonably priced.
I wish I had visited more than once, because everything was delicious.
To thank you for your patronage, they give you little shots of chichaitos, a delicious rum with two coffee beans — sure to awake you from your Puerto Rican food induced coma.
Family friendly, reasonably priced, and excellent homestyle food. Would recommend to anyone in the area, yearning for a true taste of this beautiful place.

If you really want to get a taste of authentic Puerto Rican «dining out» you need to escape San Juan island and head to somewhere like La Casita Blanca. I was taken here by a couple of locals with whom I was working and that’s the way to do it — this isn’t the kind of place where you can waltz in with no knowledge of Puerto Rican cuisine or Spanish language and get by easily, which is part of the charm.
My advice: go here with a local and let them give you the guided tour through the menu, which should include the chicken soup, bacalaitos (fried codfish fritters), and should end with chichaitos and a «salud!»
Food: ⁴⁄₅
Value: ⁵⁄₅
Service: ⁴⁄₅
Atmosphere: ⁵⁄₅

!Came here with a local who highly recommended it and it was great all around. The most amazing tres leches cake ever! Very authentic cooking. Starts off with a chicken like soup in a Styrofoam cup. Them entrees are written on blackboard for that day. I had a chicken stew with vegetables and potatoes which was definitely excellent. A nice break from the fried foods. Very good sized portions. They have fresh fruit juices. The star fruit is native to Puerto Rico and is amazing as a fruit and a juice.
The boyfriend had a beef like stew which was also really excellent. They have some outdoor tables as well. A tree actually grows right through the middle. It doesn’t seem like a place for leisurely lunch … it was in and out all about business .
Recommend going out of your way for this place

Wow. I loved my experience here! Everything about La Casita Blanca is memorable. I heard this is one of the more authentic Puerto Rican restaurants around. I’m not from Puerto Rico so I can’t say for sure, but it certainly seemed like a true Puerto Rican comfort food type of experience.
The restaurant itself is homey, comfortable, but quite quirky and fun. The service is super quick, they are very attentive, and take time to answer all your questions. The menu changes slightly every day, so they bring out whiteboard with the menu options and sit it right in front of your table to help you decide.
The food itself — whoa! Yum. First, they come out with so many delicious appetizers. I sat out at the balcony, and saw them making these sides just in their home-​style kitchen. They give you soup and fried bread, both of which were just delicious ways to start off the meal. My boyfriend ordered the steak with rice/​beans, and I ordered the fish fillet with rice/​beans. Both were cooked to perfection, and reminded me of dishes I would get if I stayed in a homestay in Puerto Rico. I really just felt very comfortable, calm, and welcome here. At the end, they give you shots! Super strong stuff, just a fair warning.
Overall, what an excellent time here. The price was also pretty reasonable. Our 2 dishes combined cost about $ 37 USD. Parking is fairly easy along the streets of the neighborhood. I would highly recommend La Casita Blanca to anyone coming out to PR!

I can’t even begin to express how great the experience here was. From the front door to the dining room, kitchen, bathroom and back patio… This is the real deal in Puertoricaño cuisine. A MUST SEE restaurant experience.
The food was fantastic, the ambiance clean and eclectic, the servers friendly and helpful and the prices outstandingly inexpensive for the amount of food you get.
I went 7 months ago and can’t remember the specific foods we ordered, I just realized I never wrote a review, but wanted to give a 5 star review to the board and I’ll update this if I can find my IG review I wrote (to add the specifics).

I went here because this restaurant does pretty good on Unilocal and expected it to also be a «local» experience. However, local didn’t equate to unique, quaint, or flavorful. It was unpleasant with no air conditioning and the open air restaurant wasn’t as clean as others that I’ve been to on the island. In addition, the food either was just fried and really bad for you or just lacked flavor. I enjoy carne frita but didn’t get much with my order and again it lacked flavor. The fish stew, can’t remember the exact name, had an odd taste and texture. I actually couldn’t eat much of it after just a few bites. They did serve soup and a fritter complimentary as well as a coffee bean liquor shot, though I didn’t have the shot.

Best Puerto Rican food