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Cafeteria Tropical

4.2 (124 reviews)
InexpensiveCafeteria

Cafeteria Tropical Photos

CAFETERIA TROPICAL ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Casual
Moderate noise
Dogs allowed
Good for kids

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Shrimp mofungo
Quiana P.

Good food but slow service. Close to the hotel we stayed at. Authentic food and vibe.

The best pina colada ever
Joel T.

Alright this place was freaking Aweosme. Everything we had here was 10/10. I got a Cuban sandwich for breakfast and easily the best Cuban sandwich I've had on some really perfect fresh baked bread. Went back to try their "Best Pina Colada in San Juan".. and wow it literally was the best Pina Colada I've ever had in my life. So went back one last time for a snack, got their beef empanadas and their carnitas quesadilla. The empanadas were also best empanadas I've ever had and the quesadilla was pretty great too... Overall the Cuban sandwich and empanadas won me over, it's a good place to grab a beer and relax. Will def return.

Fried Pork Mofongo
Bob M.

First day in PR, mofongo is my first meal. I went with the fried pork and the local lager. Really friendly service and excellent food

The piña colada is nice, tasty, and goes well with a good beer.
Liz C.

The food was tasty, 10/10. The service was good; our waiter was friendly and kind, but waiting over 30 minutes for the food was long. At least the food was delicious! We ate outside, and it was nice to people-watch.

Cocktails/Mocktails - Plenty of canned and bottled sodas and waters, fresh-made beverages too. And of course, coffee
Dutch S.

‍ LOCAL WINNER!!! Located across the street from the Caribe Hilton, this place is super duper casual and clean. First of all, this is not a "Cafeteria", it's a casual restaurant serving great Caribbean classics EXTREMELY WELL. This place is a FIND for hearty food priced right with generous portions - the big plus is that all of the Staff/Kitchen workers are kind and happy! YAY, I Puerto Rico!!! Places like this are why I keep returning here... ‍ ‍ Apparently they're open for Breakfast , gotta try that but I went there for lunch at around 1PM and sat under their covered patio that gets a nice breeze from the ocean nearby. Their Roasted Chicken TO GO comes with a choice of side dishes, order the DELICIOUS Yellow Rice with Gandules (Pigeon Peas) and Sweet Plantains, it even comes with Bottled Water or a can of Soda! (NOTE: Avoid their beans if you don't eat Pork or Red Meat). And Foodies: The Roast Chicken here is NEXT LEVEL GREATNESS!!! It's priced right and the portion is GENEROUS, don't ya just love THAT! Many customers around me were ordering Mofongo's (mashed plantains or cassava cups) with fresh Shrimp or Chicken , they all seemed pretty happy. This place is makes fresh homemade food EVERYDAY!!! Stews , Meats , Salads , Healthy Smoothies (I don't think that they call them that, FYI) but boy oh boy is this team dedicated to filing your belly with delicious home-cooked eats!!! On Uber it's known as "Tropical Souvenir and Liquor Store" so take note if your Uber-ing from nearby Condado or Miramar. Go to head there today for breakfast, and find out their hours, the sleuthing continues!!! Hoping to post more pictures later. You can dress as you wish here but FYI, no one walks around here without a shirt, or, wearing just a bathing suit so, be respectful, the Puerto Rican people have so much to teach us regarding how to live with JOY! You can TASTE the JOY in this food, I'm convinced that it's prepared with LVE!!! Credit cards accepted, take out not a problem, walk to nearby Escambron Beach or at the nearby park just before you enter this street and have a picnic. For those who like a beverage with their meal, this place, which goes by MANY names has everything you need including non-alcoholic Piña Coladas and such. Say hi to Bey-Rohn-Ee-KAh (Veronica) and Manuel, everyone here is nice! The kitchen is slammed but you'll be rewarded with a great local experience with the beach breeze keeping you cool!

The fish tacos for lunch were awesome.
Lance J.

Excellent fish tacos. The hot sauce really kicked up the flavor. It's still finding its staffing legs, but I have high hopes.

Mahi Mahi tacos
Debbie P.

Cafeteria Tropical was such a good find on our trip to Puerto Rico! It is conveniently located right across the street from our hotel, so we basically ate there every day! Besides, who wants to pay hotel prices for mediocre food when you can get authentic Puerto Rican dishes for a fraction of the price?! We've had the mahi-mahi tacos, grouper, sandwiches (Jamon, Huevas, y Queso) and numerus other items. All were really good and the price point was prefect! We've also had their coffee - which once again, was really good! Service is quick and friendly. You can sit inside or outside. I like to people watch, so my preference is outside. Also, there is a bar/liquor/convenience store right next door you can get items and enjoy on-site. IF we stay close by again, you can bet we'll be here (probably on the daily).

View looking outside
Stephanie K.

Came here based on the recommendation of a friend. You order at the counter and then you can sit at a table inside or outside. Or you can get your food to go. I ordered the fried pork chunks. It came with beans and rice and lettuce and tomato. I also ordered a side of sweet plantains. Plus a pina colada. All of that for less than $20. Bring cash because they don't take credit cards. The food came out quickly. The gentlemen working were friendly and helpful. The portion sizes were very large. The beans were amazing. The pork was a bit dry but still tasty. Loved the sweet plantains. The pina colada wasn't super sweet. Great meal at a much better price than the hotel we are staying at.

Seating area

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4 months ago

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2 months ago

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7 months ago

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4 months ago

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2 months ago

Awesome place!!! Ate there probably 5 times in 3 days and consistently terrific service and food. Great little stop

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1 year ago

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11 months ago

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2 years ago

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4 years ago

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3 years ago

Excellent food. Excellent service. Great variety of authentic Puerto Rican cuisine as well as

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4 years ago

Great little dine in or take place with a small convenience store attached. Super good piña coladas.

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7 years ago

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Los Pinos Café - Fried Smoked Porkchop

Los Pinos Café

3.5(299 reviews)
0.7 km
$$

Many restaurants were closed for Good Friday, but Los Pinos Cafe is open "24/7," and they held true…read moreto their outdoor signage! The restaurant is located in the cute Miramar area -- also home to my favorite coffee shop, Gustos! Finding parking on Ave. Juan Ponce de León is not easy, but there are many side streets that had open parking spots. The restaurant was busy the whole time we were there, but there always seemed to be an open table. Our waiter was excellent and all the waiters we saw were bilingual. The garlic bread was ok -- tasted like garlic powder on a fluffy, lighted toasted sourdough. I had the "regular" grilled pork chops and they were the best pork chops I've ever eaten. The taste of the grill was so good and the chops were still pretty moist. My wife and kids had the churrasco skirt streak. My son said the steak at Bebo's was better, but I the steak at Los Pinos was super tender and buttery. The mofongo was so bland we didn't eat it and the amarillos (sweet plantains) were dry and lacked any caramelization on the exterior. French fries were good. As a bonus, I finally got my tres leches and it was good. I've never seen a cake oozing so much "milk" from the top of the cake when it was cut. Overall, a solid place, but Bebo's gets the win for our favorite Puerto Rican food. Regardless, I would easily return here for a meal.

This was no better than a 3-star place for me, but my friend loved his seafood soup enough to earn…read morea promotion. This is right next to another 24-hour restaurant which I also visited, and which is visibly less popular. The air conditioning wasn't working this entire evening, and for most of our visit the power was out. I do realize that's more of a Puerto Rico thing than anything related to this restaurant though, and they were able to keep the food coming (albeit very slowly). My food was a very average pasta of the sort that I could get at a small town restaurant anywhere else in the US. But my friend who is NOT easy to please, absolutely loved that seafood soup. If good seafood soup is a draw for you, you probably should come here and get that. I should also mention that the servers were appropriately contrite about the lack of A/C and power and the overall slowness. Although, as with blackouts, I think servers being genuinely nice is a Puerto Rico thing. Also I thought I remembered seeing it was 24-hours, but maybe it's more like almost-24? Check and make sure maybe.

Photos
Los Pinos Café
Los Pinos Café - The best pork chops (a la parilla) ever! Churrasco steaks were also very good.

The best pork chops (a la parilla) ever! Churrasco steaks were also very good.

Los Pinos Café - Mini alcuppurias

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Mini alcuppurias

Ola Ocean Front Bistro - Eggs Ham Benedict

Ola Ocean Front Bistro

3.7(158 reviews)
1.4 km
$$

Great food and super sweet staff. We ate there every morning for breakfast and order it most days…read morefor lunch at the pool. The pastries at the buffet at super impressive. Pool menu is exactly what you'd want it to be. Beautiful view as well!

Five stars for dinner: A great meal!…read more The view is fabulous, looking through tall glass windows out onto the ocean. There are also outside tables. The gem salad was outstanding, and the pepperoni pizza, too. Service was polite and attentive. Two stars for breakfast: very slow and disorganized two days in a row. The hostesses were polite but overwhelmed and disorganized. It appears they were using a combination of paper receipts and a smart pad to add people in the very long line to the waiting list. It seemed like there were two waiting lists. People who were behind me in line were seated before me although I stated no preference regarding an inside or outside table, just first available. I had a more than 30 minute wait despite there being nearly a dozen empty tables. About half of these tables were set and the rest waiting to be bused. People were told they would receive a telephone call when their name came to the top of this list. It appeared that some tables were held for a very long time before the people showed up. It's not an efficient system. Service was courteous but very slow. It was another half-hour after being seated before my food arrived. So, it was more than an hour after I got into line before I came begin eating. My order the first morning was also gotten wrong. I asked for eggs over-easy. They arrived scrambled and my toast order was completely forgotten.

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Ola Ocean Front Bistro - Empty tables

Empty tables

Ola Ocean Front Bistro - Chicken breast

Chicken breast

Ola Ocean Front Bistro - Empty tables.

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Empty tables.

Cafeteria Tropical - cafeteria - Updated May 2026

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