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El Patio de Sam

3.3 (203 reviews)
ModeratePuerto Rican
Closed 11:30 am - 11:00 pm

El Patio de Sam Photos

EL PATIO DE SAM ATMOSPHERE

What's the vibe?
Moderate noise
Casual
Touristy
Outdoor seating

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Recommended Reviews - El Patio de Sam

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Ryan A.

Yikes! Took 35 mins to be seated, with no other customer in front of us. Food was very average, would give it 2/5. Was hoping for a better experience considering it's upper old San Juan. Ratings: The Cubano 1/5, empanada, 2/5, chicken Caesar salad 3/5, and service -1/5. Bartender was cool and made a great drink, that's the highlight, yikes!

Menu
Guillermo G.

Located on Calle San Sebastián, a central area in upper Old San Juan with lots of bars and places to eat. Walking distance from El Morro. No parking or valet. The nearest parking garage is Ballajá. El Patio de Sam has been around for a long time, however this was the first time I ate here. Back in the day I would sometimes stop at the bar to drink only. The place is very nice. It was clean and air conditioned (perfect for the summer heat). The interior patio has a glass ceiling so you get the sunlight and moonlight but not the rain. Unfortunately, I was disappointed with the Sam's Burger. I could have made a better burger at home. The onions rings were good, though. My wife ordered the trifongo with carne frita. The carne frita was very good. The others in our group also liked what they got. I ordered the wrong thing. Service was very friendly. Our group had three kids. They gave them sheets from a coloring book and crayons and put Luca on the TV.

Interior
Victoria E.

I am a bit torn on this place. I thought the tostones and pork were good, albeit a little bland and a little dry. There was a lot of seating and the staff seemed pleasant. I enjoyed the windowed roof that lets in light and it was definitely a very casual vibe.

Victoria H.

I went in on a Sunday afternoon. The bathroom was very dirty. Trash on the floor. I alerted one of the staff members to this issue. I went to wash my hands prior to leaving and they did have the trash off the floor. Our server let our drinks sit empty for a while - until the food came out, then we had to remind her about the drinks. The food was simply okay. It was edible. Not the best, but acceptable if you are near the area and just need SOMETHING. I wouldn't recommend it as a *must go to place* though.

Exterior
Janis W.

We had been walking for hours in old San Juan seeing the sites. It was monstrously hot, and I was about at the point where I was going to pass out. My boyfriend was like, "what do you want to do?" I quite literally turned my head, saw the door for El patio, opened it up and felt the blast of cold air, and said, "this is where we're going". For the record, the air-conditioning and fans are best in the front bar area. If they take you into the middle or back of the restaurant, the temperature is much higher. There are fans back there, but nothing as good as it is at the front bar. We were meeting friends for dinner in just a couple hours, so we didn't want a full meal, so we just ordered a few pastellilos and scarfed them up. They were absolutely delicious! The drinks were cold, and the service was good. I was just so grateful for the opportunity to sit down and cool off. I would absolutely go in there again if we were in the area.

Jody S.

Came here as a part of a food tour and this was a bit disappointing. The tour was very informative about the history of the establishment and those involved in making it a popular restaurant in the city. But, there could certainly be an improvement to the cleanliness of the place, silverware, and dishes. On another note the tostones and carne fritas were good. The last drawback was the fact that my friend is pescatarian and wasn't provided any meat for her tour dish which was a major disappointment.

Pastelillos- 1 chicken 1 beef
Nicole W.

Servers were really nice. This place has a homey type of feel. It was pretty empty on Thursday night when we walked in. The food was meh for us. I had the beef steak encebollado and it wasn't too flavorful. The rice and beans were really tasty however, that was my fav part. My husband had the BLT and said it was okay. We also got an appetizer of pastelillos and that was good.

Pastelillos For appetizers
Carmen H.

Food service -Mile was amazing! Nice historic setting In the downtown walking area. Conveniently located

Pork sandwich
Kris B.

This was the first food stop of our trip and it was made on a whim. We were just passing by and decided on this place to grab a bite to eat. I would avoid this place if you can. Literally go anywhere else near by. The drinks were pretty decent but i can't say as much for the food. Cocktails arrived quickly. Food took forever to arrive and was not very appetizing. Items ordered: Pork sandwich, pastelillos, Calamari, House salad and BLT. The pastelillos i thought were good at first, they had good flavor but as i was eating noticed the pastry was not all the way cooked through. The salad left me speechless. Pretty sure they put an entire red onion on top. The lettuce wasn't very fresh, had an odd taste to it. The ranch did not make it any better, it was extremely bland and flavorless. Calamari was chewy and not fried all the way. Pork sandwich was not bad but the sandwich was a little soggy. The bacon on the BLT was about as hard as rock and little to no mayonnaise. All that said, it's a no for me. On a positive note, the staff was very friendly!

Charcoal chicken
Janelle P.

Cute, quaint, service was good, dinner was very good. Nice location, buy the water in old San Juan

Fried Pork
Sky T.

Stopped here because we needed to grab some food. The quality was okay, but the plantains were a bit tough compared to others that we had. The Fried Pork was about the same where the quality wasn't as good as other places. The Fried Bacalao (Codfish) was more cheese than fish too which was a bit disappointing. Nonetheless, the service was friendly though!

Brunch dates
Alecia B.

Service is great, very nice atmosphere. Very cool on the inside. Seating area is spacious. Pretty quiet. Drink and good serviced in timely manner! Ordered the red snappers, wasn't please with the lack of flavoring . The pasta was basic. Condiment container were little rusty. Wasn't pleased at all.

Rashad D.

Nice local bar fluent in both English and Spanish. Would come back again great drinks

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Their coconut mojitos are to die for! Also very friendly staff. Both times we went there was plenty of seating.

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2 years ago

Very bad service, would stay away they treat tourist bad also lady raised up the price on drinks

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El Patio de Sam Reviews in Other Languages

Review Highlights - El Patio de Sam

If you're visiting El Morro this is a very close walk and worth it to recharge and relax a bit after some exploring.

Mentioned in 8 reviews

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Deaverdura - Sampler

Deaverdura

4.2(1.2k reviews)
0.2 km
$$

Food was amazing! Highly recommend the platter to share and try a little bit of everything.read more

This restaurant has been on my San Juan list and it happened to be near my Airbnb so it was a no…read morebrainer for my friends and I to visit. Since I've always seen the long lines outside this store when I passed by, we decided that we try to go in as soon as it opened. So, we lined up around 11:30am. We barely waited much and we got seated. The server that day was quick/efficient/friendly despite the fact that she was running a one woman show. And the food arrived within a decent time. My friends and I decided to order the PUERTO RICAN PLATTER with a side of a side salad. This platter comes with everything you could want & maybe something that might be a bit adventurous for you to eat like blood sausage. Despite that, it's a nice platter to share and try a bit of everything. It's really nice that if you order for 4 people, they give you exactly the amount of pieces that are divisible by 4 (so everyone can try 1-2 pieces of each thing evenly). It also comes with a decent amount of rice/pork as a supplementation, which was nice. It's a balanced meal. And I think the side salad did well to balance out all the fried foods. Overall, we really enjoyed this place. It's a great place to come with friends/families to share. It's a great place as a visitor to try a bit of everything. The platter is a great introduction of puerto rican fried finger foods. And it all taste great! From the presentation of the food to the service here, it's all good. I would recommend this place to others.

Photos
Deaverdura - The ambience

The ambience

Deaverdura - Small house salad

Small house salad

Deaverdura - Passion fruit juice

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Passion fruit juice

Borikén - Passion fruit mojito and rum punch

Borikén

4.3(8 reviews)
0.6 km

I remember coming to this restaurant aBout 5 years ago oomph my layover in San Juan. The food was…read moreso memorable that I decided to come back in 2020 to see if it was still good. Well good news, the food is still good! I stopped in during the festival of San Sebastian and the restaurant was packed! We luckily got a seat for two and were able to order right away. I order the mofongo de pollo and my friend ordered a different meal with a soup. I am not going to lie, the service was extremely slow and the food took about 30 to 40 mins maybe to come out. I expect this was because of the festival and how busy the restaurant was. When the food came out, it was delicious! The chicken was great and drenched in a salsa criolla sauce. It was definitely worth the wait! After my meal, I ordered a coffee to digest the food. Luckily this didn't take as long as the food. I would definitely recommend this place however if you are in a rush, it might be best to go somewhere else. The food is very tasty!

This is a difficult review to do because technically we only had an appetizer and drinks. First of…read moreall the rest is located next to the Christopher Columbus Plaza in Old San Juan which makes it an ideal location for tourists coming in and out. The restaurant is very small inside but they do have outside dining which is what we chose to do. The service was good, they were very attentive to our needs. Unfortunately, the appetizer we ordered was just awful. We ordered a mix of very traditional Puerto Rican bites-small alcapurrias, sorrullos, chicharrónes de pollo and some fried cheese. There was absolutely nothing good about the mix. The alcapurrias has no meat whatsoever, the chicharrónes were not crispy and the cheese was just awful. I wanted to give them a 1star review but I felt this would not be fair because we did not try an entree and I hope that would be better. The 3star was because the service was good. In addition to the service later on in the evening they had live music which was essentially old traditional Puerto Rican music which was excellent. So to be fair I thought a 3 star review would be the right thing to do. Hopefully the entrees are much better just stay away from the surtido appetizer because it was not good.

Photos
Borikén - Appetizer-

Appetizer-

Borikén
Borikén - Live music.

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Live music.

Mallorca - mallorca w/ butter

Mallorca

4.2(843 reviews)
0.4 km
$$

Review #1,046 Posted on 4.26.26…read more We came here on Thursday the 23rd while in San Juan area for my buddies 50th birthday. This spot we had seen on social media a ton for being famous for their Mallorca sandwich, a special type bread, we got the one with bacon & American cheese. Man, I made the mistake of doing the bacon instead of ham, overthought that deal. I tried my buddies with ham n cheese and I think that was way to go. I loved how this spot had that super old school feel of like a diner. You can sit at one of the table tops, or you can do the countertop too, which has tons of seats, we all were able to sit there. I'd 100% recommend this spot, but get the ham n cheese mallorca sandwich, don't overthink it.

Walked in here at ~8:15am for breakfast. There was not a lot of people yet; we were seated at the…read morebar. After a few minutes, people started trickling down and soon the place was close to being full. I liked the mallorca with ham, bacon, cheese! It was delicious. They looked small but they were filling. The pastries displayed at the window were inviting. If you're dining in, you have to tell your server that you're getting some pastries that are on display then you ask the person at the counter who also serves as the cashier to get them for you. The guava pastry was good. The vanilla bread with strawberry and pineapple/lemon was okay. They looked better than they tasted in my opinion. Payment for everything would be at the cashier after dining. If you're in San Juan, this is a place to try!

Photos
Mallorca
Mallorca - Mallorca w/ ham and cheese

Mallorca w/ ham and cheese

Mallorca - Mallorca with ham n cheese

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Mallorca with ham n cheese

Cayo Caribe - Old San Juan - Red snapper it's about $30/lb

Cayo Caribe - Old San Juan

4.0(220 reviews)
0.5 km
$$

When you want an easy, reliable seafood lunch near the San Juan port, Cayo Caribe hits the mark…read more Our walking tour guide recommended this spot, and it ended up being one of the better casual lunches of the trip. It's located close to the cruise port area, making it an effortless stop if you're exploring Old San Juan. The vibe is straightforward and comfortable--think casual, sit-down seafood spot where you can relax, grab a drink, and not overthink the menu. It's not flashy or upscale, but that's part of the appeal. Just friendly service, cold drinks, and solid food. Service * Very friendly and welcoming * Easy walk-in experience * Relaxed, unpretentious atmosphere Food & Drinks * Standard beers and cocktails--perfect for a mid-day refresher * Seafood Fried Platter - especially the fried cod; crispy, flavorful, and well-executed * Tacos (Fried Shrimp & Fried Cod) - the standout; fresh, generous portions with crunchy slaw and spot-on sauce The tacos were the surprise hit--bright, crispy, and packed with flavor. Exactly what you want from a Puerto Rican seafood lunch. Verdict Cayo Caribe is a dependable, casual seafood stop near the port. Nothing overly complicated--just good service, fresh seafood, and a relaxed setting. A great lunch choice if you're in the area and craving fried seafood and tacos. Solid four stars.

HIGHLY RECOMMEND…read more We had the fried whole snapped it was excellent!! Also the beef empanadas were amazing. Great service and friendly. Inside the bar was playing Pickleball on the tv at the bar and we got to watch the finals.

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Cayo Caribe - Old San Juan - PICKLEBALL AT THE BAR!!!

PICKLEBALL AT THE BAR!!!

Cayo Caribe - Old San Juan - 1.5lb snapper

1.5lb snapper

Cayo Caribe - Old San Juan - Crazy shrimp

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Crazy shrimp

El Patio de Sam - puertorican - Updated May 2026

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