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    Da Luigi

    4.5 (34 reviews)
    ModerateItalian
    Closed 1:00 pm - 7:00 PM

    Da Luigi Photos

    DA LUIGI ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Quiet
    Outdoor seating
    Good for groups
    Good for kids

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    Da Luigi
    Joel R.

    Best Italian in the Caribbean. Be prepared to wait, this is not a hot-and-ready in 20 minutes kind of place that a lot of the young tourists want it to be. It's a unique fusion of a genius Italian chef in the heart of San Juan. The lasagna was phenomenal, actually even better than the lasagna I had in Rome. The pizza is beyond exceptional. Mama Mia! This place is mouthwatering. Sometimes I find myself craving Da Luigi's even when I'm not on the island. If you find yourself in San Juan this is a hidden gem that you'll want take back to the mainland. You gotta try it.

    New Yorker first time visiting Puerto Rico. After a few days of local food, I was told by the locals to try the Italian food in PR. So coming from NY that's a pretty hard sell. After listening to some hotel recommendations which I quickly turned down, I did some research and came across Il Patio Di Luigi. To my surprise it really is an outdoor patio. Don't let the pics deceive you, I literally showed up before closing on a Monday night and had the whole patio to myself. I was greeted by the owner. The menu is on a chalk board and easel which they place in front of you and explain all the options. I had the chicken Parm with a hint of pesto and a side of house made penne with their signature sauce, rosada, which is not your typical NY red sauce (they do have that as well), but a pink sauce similar to vodka sauce minus the cream sauce. The food was amazing. The service was great as well thanks to Gian (the owners son). He took care of me from start to finish. Didn't mind his heavy pour on the Chianti either. Would definitely recommend and come back.

    Sam G.

    The chef/owner/waiter is one charming dude, I'll tell you what. He's an Italian in Puerto Rico since 1986 and the restaurant has been open since at least 2000. His personality and hospitality alone is worth five stars. You need to be buzzed in to the restaurant and sometimes the system is a little busted so you may need to call with your phone (the number is on the door). If you don't have a functioning phone you could also probably just knock loudly on the door as Luigi is usually around and about. I personally love the location and the neighborhood but some may not take to it. There is no glitz and glam, no tourist sterility. It's also located across the street from a large abandoned building and right off of Calle Loiza. It's a little difficult to find front door parking so just park a block down in the neighborhood. The interior is a little bare-bones and hard-edged. I found myself wanting something soft and warm in the decor. But where that was lacking, the food picked up. Definitely warm and comforting: House-made pasta, desserts, and sauces. Awesome wine pairings (there are two red and two white varieties). The caprese was tasty - amazing pesto, fresh mozzarella, flavorful tomatoes. The grouper was served in a delicious sweet salsa-like sauce with mango and tomato. The only thing was that the fish was a little watery - I like to have a little color on my fish, a little caramelization or sear or just a touch of dry heat. My favorite meal by far was ravioli stuffed with mushrooms in a white sauce. The pasta dough was SO silky and tender and amazing. The mushroom stuffing was earthy but smooth and packed so much flavor. I recommend this dish whole-heartedly. To finish off the meal we tried the tiramisu and apple tart. Not wow'ing but satisfying and down right good. The ravioli, wine, and Luigi's company will have me come back for more. A truly pleasant dining experience.

    Tiramisu

    Found this place last night while looking for a place to eat dinner last minute and so happy I found it! I was afraid I may need a reservation given the place was so small and the first room was already full. But they found a seat for me in the 2nd room. Luigi and my server were very attentive to all the customers and kept checking to see if I was ok. My server even brought the physical menu board to make sure I could see all the options. Started off with some bread which was soft and tasty. I chose the ravioli with spinach and ricotta. Let me say it did not disappoint and it was the best pasta I've had since I went to Rome, Italy 3 years ago. I also read another review that's said Luigi is originally from Italy and migrated here which I thought was so cool. The pasta was just perfect and the sauce on top was delicious. They drizzled olive oil on top I believe and you could taste how fresh it was. Truly a lovely experience that I stumbled upon. I finished the night off with Tiramisu which was also good. If I ever come back to PR, I will definitely be revisiting! 12/10 Grazie Luigi! :)

    Osso Bucco with Portobello Mushrooms and more...
    Preston M Y.

    Wow What a lovely, cozy little place. The food is a great original direct from Geneva Italia The appetizer up to know have been totally awesome, the cappresse was just like the picture and taste better than the look. The albondigas had such a rich and tasty sauce. If you find yourself near and want a little Italian taste you should be here.

    Dawn W.

    We were so lucky to find this place. We had the gnocchi and zeta portobello... and a glass of Chianti. Perfect!! The pasta is fresh and the sauces compliment them perfectly. We don't eat meat, so we got the sauces with no meat... so much flavor. Hidden gem with amazing, friendly service.

    Spinach Ravioli

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    1 year ago

    The food was very good and our server was great. Very friendly and inviting environment.

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    7 years ago

    Best kept secret. Great Italian food, fresh pastas, homemade sauces, and a good value

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    8 years ago

    Great Italian food and superb service, cozy and romantic. The place to get Italian food!!!!!

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    Da Luigi Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - Da Luigi

    Hole in the wall authentic Italian.

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Tavola - Lasagna

    Tavola

    4.4(205 reviews)
    1.4 km
    $$

    Wow! This came as a referral from a friend and it does not disappoint. The apps are so yummy. The…read morearancini are so good I could have eaten a dozen. The garlic bread was fine, not as good as the arancini. If you are hungry, get the chicken parm, my god it is the largest portion I have ever seen! I ate one of the 3 cutlets they served. Most times when a place gives a ton of food it is ok, well this was fabulous. Super thin, light breading that remained crispy and just the right amount of cheese and sauce. The pizza was good as well. For dessert we had a well portioned flowerless chocolate cake which was paired with some vanilla bean ice cream. Divine! We sat in the restaurant portion near the secret door to the speakeasy so take your pick on what vibe you prefer. The wait staff were super helpful and responsive. We bought the kitchen staff a round for fun. Great experience, I recommend swinging by if you are in the neighborhood.

    Super impressed by this spot! We were SO happy that we got to sit in the speakeasy for dinner,…read morebecause it was exactly the kind of vibe we were looking for! The food was all delicious, and reasonably priced at huge portion sizes, particularly the chicken parm! The pasta was homemade and the sauces were so good. The weakest things were the burrata and the meatballs. Everything arrived to the table quickly, especially the drinks! We would totally come back on a future trip and will be recommending to others visiting the island.

    Photos
    Tavola - Speakeasy area

    Speakeasy area

    Tavola - Menu

    Menu

    Tavola - Speak easy

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    Speak easy

    Nonna Cucina Rustica - Lemon & Basil Panna Cotta

    Nonna Cucina Rustica

    4.3(286 reviews)
    0.1 km
    $$$

    I loved everything about this place. It is a classic family Italian restaurant like I haven't seen…read moresince I was a kid. Everything we had was absolutely delicious. I shared the 6 hour Neapolitan sauce and the pistachio pesto gnocchi. Both were wonderful. We had the eggplant parm appetizer and it was the best I have ever had and I have had many different eggplant parms.. For dessert we had pancetta and tiramisu. Both lived up to the standards the rest of the meal had set. I can't wait to come back to Puerto Rico so I can enjoy their delicious food again. Thank you for a wonderful evening.

    We were celebrating our 46th wedding anniversary. Special night. Wrote it on the reservation. No…read moreacknowledgment of our celebration. You can definitely do better. We ordered a bottle of Fiano (a wine we really enjoy and was on the menu). They didn't have it. We settled for Chardonnay. It was good. We asked for bread. They didn't have any!!! (What? An Italian restaurant with no bread?) not a great start. Having said all that, the rest for our food was amazing! The arancini and the eggplant were exquisite. I ordered the steak (yeah I know) but it was amazing. The sauce, the potatoes. Just delicious. Our guests had the lasagna and my husband ordered the pizza. They were very satisfied with their meals. The ambiance is quaint. Old Italian. Clean. I would train servers to know what's available and what's not. Prevent from ordering and being disappointed. In addition, if you don't have bread and make pizza, you have bread. You can make it out of pizza dough in a pinch for those who ask. Italian red sauce without bread... it's a big miss. If your equipment is broken, buy the bread. I think they should have given us the dessert based on the misses. Nonetheless, the entrees were very good.

    Photos
    Nonna Cucina Rustica - He'll pour you some wine  and make sure you're enjoying yourself

    He'll pour you some wine and make sure you're enjoying yourself

    Nonna Cucina Rustica - Prosciutto & Rucola Pizza

    Prosciutto & Rucola Pizza

    Nonna Cucina Rustica - Tagliata di Manzo

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    Tagliata di Manzo

    Serafina

    Serafina

    3.5(720 reviews)
    1.6 km
    $$$

    Amazing Experience at Serafina!…read more I'm visiting Puerto Rico for the first time and staying at La Concha Resort, and Serafina truly made my trip even more special. Last night around 10:20 PM, I ordered the pesto gnocchi to my room and was so impressed the food arrived incredibly fast, perfectly hot, and absolutely delicious. I loved it so much that I came back today! This time I tried the Arugula Parmigiano salad and the passion fruit mojito. Everything was so fresh, full of flavor, and beautifully prepared. The service, the taste, and the overall experience were exceptional. Highly recommend Serafina to anyone visiting San Juan I can't wait to come back!

    I came here to celebrate my birthday because I wanted to try something different from the…read moretraditional Puerto Rican food. I was excited for the experience, but I do want to be honest. The place still look very fancy, but I've been fancier places... First, it is definitely on the pricey side. We ordered three pastas, three appetizers, three drinks, and 2 Fiji waters bottles -- and were also charged for the birthday cake. The total came out to almost $400, service fee of $50! which was surprising. While the staff was amazing, attentive, and very kind (I truly have no complaints about the service), the food unfortunately didn't match the price point. It wasn't bad, but it wasn't memorable or worth what we paid. Overall, great service -- but for the cost, I expected more from the food. Also be prepared cause they took over two hours to bring the food out and I had reservations as well

    Photos
    Serafina - The view when you seat at the outside Bar! So beautiful

    The view when you seat at the outside Bar! So beautiful

    Serafina - Fruit of the sea linguini

    Fruit of the sea linguini

    Serafina - Espresso martini

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    Espresso martini

    Ombra Italian Eatery - Cheese wheel pasta

    Ombra Italian Eatery

    4.6(32 reviews)
    1.3 km

    This Italian restaurant had good reviews so we decided to be heck it out for dinner. It was so…read moregood. The restaurant had some nice dinner lighting and tables that allowed cozy conversations. Service was excellent. Our server walked us through the specials and the menu to help us decide what to order. Husband went with carbonara and I chose the penne pasta. They were excellent choices as we shared our meals with each other. I loved the pink sauce on mine. It was a bit lighter than just red or white sauces. Portions were generous but not obscene in the amount of food. We shared the mixed green salad which was a great way to start the meal. The salad was huge! Splitting was a smart choice. They don't have glasses of wine on the menu but do have house options available. I had the cab and it was delicious. Husband wanted a nonalcoholic option which they didn't show in the menu. Instead, they asked if he wanted sweet or sour, and if there were any flavors he particularly enjoyed, and they created a unique mocktail for him. So fun. This was a great stop. We are so happy we found Ombra.

    The food was great BUT…read more.. We made a reservation for 8:45, when we got there our table wasn't ready and they asked us to wait at the bar. No one greeted us. The "bartender" just kept walking by us, wish we could have waited 15 minutes with a drink. When we were finally set, our service was very dry. Not welcoming at all. He ran down the specials with no emotion or suggestions. Just another day at work. We got a glass of white wine, which was chilled and refreshing, but we had to ask for water since no one offered to fill our empty cups at the table. Decoration? Even though, we sat waiting for our food for about an hour.. we finished our glasses of wine. No one asked us for a refill. We started to ration our water to drink with our food. Sip by sip. We KNEW he wasn't coming back. We ordered two apps and two mains. So delicious!! The pasta was actually so good! The sauce was amazing and the wheel of cheese with the truffle, incredible! After our food was dropped off, NO ONE came by to make sure everything was ok, or if we needed anything else. No water, no wine, just pasta. We watched the other waiters bring waters and dessert to other guests, but we were just left forgotten in the middle. Everyone has a bad day. But we watched him take shots with other tables, clean up tables, walk past us a ton, until we finally made eye contact and he offered another drink. Ha! We just asked him for the check. By this point we were just disappointed. And he cleaned two more tables and finally brought us the check.. and now he got chatty. Ok. We were really wishing for a different experience. Specially for the style of restaurant they're portraying to be.

    Photos
    Ombra Italian Eatery
    Ombra Italian Eatery - Burrata

    Burrata

    Ombra Italian Eatery - Tiramisu

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    Tiramisu

    Pirilo - El Pecado

    Pirilo

    4.4(817 reviews)
    5.9 km
    $$

    Killer pizza in an old school Puerto Rican spot. Kids loved…read morethe pizza. Wife smashed a sangria. I enjoyed a couple local beers.

    It was well worth the wait!!!…read more My son wanted pizza and my wife and I wanted to walk around Old San Juan. This was the most popular pizza spot with the highest reviews. A brief aside: If you're driving here, expect a mess. Coming from SoCal, we make forays into DTLA and deal with similar stresses -- one way streets everywhere, dense traffic, extremely limited parking, pedestrians everywhere (many intoxicated and stumbling into traffic), potholes/construction, police closing lanes without reason, and stray cats running through the streets. Ubering here may be worthwhile! We had a 45 min wait, likely exacerbated by Spring break in PR. We used our free time to walk Calle de la Fortaleza -- very beautiful. They called my cell phone when the table was ready (don't forget to turn off your Spam blocker!). The interior is very unique and the place was buzzing. Service was slow, even by PR standards, and our waitress was the worst in the restaurant. She said little, brought us bottled water when we asked for tap, and never came back to check on us. We flagged other waiters for other incidentals like napkins and for our bill. The garlic knots and pizza were great. The pepperoni pizza was 10/10, with a fluffy crust but crispy otherwise. The Margherita pizza was average -- the tomato was sliced too thick and undercooked and the dough was soggy. In spite of some hiccups, the place was really good and I'd like to give them the benefit of the doubt that a second trip would be better -- other tables had good service and the other waiters were very helpful. I'm still not sure if we were give bottled water because we were gringo tourists and they figured they'd up charge us or if it was an honest mistake.

    Photos
    Pirilo - Beautiful inside

    Beautiful inside

    Pirilo - Caprese salad, was incredible

    Caprese salad, was incredible

    Pirilo - Margarepa

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    Margarepa

    Da Luigi - italian - Updated May 2026

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