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    El Rastro

    4.7 (49 reviews)
    Closed 11:00 am - 3:00 pm

    El Rastro Photos

    EL RASTRO ATMOSPHERE

    What's the vibe?
    Outdoor seating
    Dogs allowed
    Happy hour specials
    Good for kids

    Recommended Reviews - El Rastro

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    Reviews With Photos

    Paul S.

    I'm ur first choice today was closed and I am glad that it was. This was hands down the best meal Of the entire week in Ponce. Craft cocktails, craft ingredients and fine attention to the details are clearly a hallmark of this spot Make a reservation if you have time to plan. If not wait it will be well worth it. I have the bacon glazed waffle and chicken. My crew each ordered a full combo which included the largest omelette ever served open and not folded. If you only have one meal to eat when in Ponce, this is your place!!! Our server team was absolutely fabulous. Thank you Niroma and Julette you made this an incredible visit.

    Outside
    Guillermo G.

    Came here for lunch during our day trip to Pince over the weekend. This was a real treat, well worth the trip. Excellent food and service. It's located in Downtown Ponce. They have limited private parking across the street. There is plenty of street parking available. The restaurant have indoor and outdoor dining. FYI, it can get hot in Ponce during the day (the south of PR is known for being hot and getting little rainfall). I would suggest you make a reservation for indoor seating if you want air conditioning. At night, I'm sure outside is cool. They do allow dogs inside and outside. They have a variety of dishes, from Asian to risottos to Mac & cheese. They have brunch on the weekends and a rotating menu that changes about every month or so. Instead of bread they give you complimentary popcorn. We loved everything we ordered: Porkbelly Tacos, Japanese Handmade Baos with Tamarind Chistorras, Octopus, and Chorizo and Manchego Croquetas. Everything was delicious.Our son loved his mini pancakes. I highly recommend checking this restaurant out. I will be back.

    Gleicyane G.

    Located in the downtown area of Ponce, El Rastro has a delicious and creative menu. They have a rotating menu of appetizers and main courses, so there is always something new to try. My favorite was the octopus appetizer. It was small but so delicious.I also loved the manchego and chorizo croquetas. The porkbelly tacos and Japanese bao with tamarindo chistorra and requesón were also very good. you can't go wrong with either. The serve brunch on the weekends. Our son had the mini pancakes from the kids menu. For a child that is a huge plate. It comes with three thick small pancakes, scrambled eggs, and bacon. He loved the pancakes, which were made with almond flour. They were delicious, I have to say. They also have a steady menu consisting of different mac & cheeses (among their best sellers), ramen and other Asian dishes, and risottos. Plus several cocktails. I had the Frida Kahlo margarita. Good but I've had better. I loved the vibe. It is cool and hip. They also sell gourmet items like jams and olives, etc... There is an outdoor patio. We were originally seated there because we didn't have a reservation and they were at capacity inside. We came for lunch on a Saturday. It was super hot. Luckily, a table opened up inside and we switched. The patio is nice, but maybe better in the evenings or on cooler days. I would definitely return and I recommend it. Service was super.

    Craft PR Rum flight!
    Rick And Lisa T.

    My wife Lisa and I came here for lunch and folks...it was AMAZING. First rate everything. Craft cocktails were superb. Food was fabulous. We started with the Croquetas de Chorizo and for mains I had the Risotto Gandules & Chorizo with Crispy Local Pork Belly and Lisa had Crispy Chicken On Lemon Sauce with Tagliatelle Three Cheese. Wow. Just wow. One of the owners María Isabel greeted us warmly and treated us like old friends even writing down places we should visit on PR (which we did!). She was fantastic. She even put together a craft rum tasting flight for us that blew our minds. No matter WHERE you are on PR you should do yourself a favor and make it a point to come to El Rastro for lunch or dinner. I so wish El Rastro was in our home base of Austin - but then again, if it was you would need to make reservations three months in advance ;) - Really though - we cannot recommend El Rastro high enough. Just go and enjoy. Thank you so very much María and Lucesita for such an incredible experience!!!

    Danae B.

    The kind of place that makes me sad I'm not a local! Everything on the menu sounded amazing. We tried multiple dishes, and everything was delicious. Reasonably priced as well! Our cocktails were only $6&$9! Very cute and quirky inside. All of the servers were super nice. I also appreciated the security guard in the parking lot(he was also super nice)- it made us feel a lot safer in the dark in an area we weren't familiar with.

    Mimosa Flights

    Food is delicious. Mimosas flights are perfect to try each one. The best? Lavanda and guanabana. Creative menu: Sesame toast? Love it! The ambience is beautiful. Highly recommend!

    Sesame toast

    Came for brunch with my wife and kids. Fantastic atmosphere and ambiance. Mimosa flight was excellent and a good portion for the price. Service was very attentive.

    Risotto with octopus Really good!
    Angela Q.

    Really good spot!! Our tour guide recommended this place. Great ambiance and superb food! Their specialty is Mac n cheese and risotto - risotto is on point. Menu is LARGE - lots of choices and a lot of variety from all sorts of cultures - China Japan US etc. super creative. Definitely recommend a reservation!

    Menu
    Darlene G.

    I want to start off by saying that the hospitality was amazing before we even got out of the car! The security/parking attendant guided us through making a spot for our Jeep right in front of the restaurant. Then (I presume) the owner introduced herself and the menu; offered her services anytime. The ambiance was excellent! Exactly what I hoped for. The vibes were there, down to the music and wait staff. The DETAILS in both decor and plating were admirable. I can say that the picky eater may not like the food here; and that's okay. Go to McDonald's! Lol Only thing I can say is for as small as the water cups are, they should provide a little glass pitcher at the table for self-service refills. My boyfriend spent most of the meal asking for refills. Thank you for your hospitality!

    Oatmeal
    Cassande G.

    The ambiance and customer service was superb. The owner engaged with her customers and tried to make sure we knew she was available if needed. Pros: the oatmeal was to die for, they should definitely keep that on the menu. The customer service and attentiveness of the staff was also great. Which is the only reason for the 3.5 stars. Cons: I wasn't a big fan of anything else. The steak wasn't seasoned and not cooked to my liking and it being placed on top of that hash patty, Cause the patty to soak up all of the blood from my steak. Threw me off. My husband ordered the corn beef hash. That was actually okay, but the idea to place it on top of that potatoes hash patty, wasn't ideal and threw the taste and texture off. I would need to try this place once more to give it another try in hopes that my dinner experience is better then that of my brunch. All and all, I will Try dining here again and keep you guys updated.

    Salón principal.
    Anthony B.

    Este restaurante es excelente. En el 2021 no pudimos venir porque en el momento que estábamos en Ponce estaban cerrado. Hoy pudimos llegar y la experiencia fue exquisita. El servicio, la comida, todo muy bueno. Los recomendamos sin titubear.

    Shane Y.

    Amazing place with some of the best brisket I have eaten! The owner came to our table and explained the restaurant and it's food to us and that alone made me want to come back again. But I will definitely be back for the Mac n Cheese with brisket on top! AMAZING place go try it!

    Pad Thai and Dirty Marrini
    Rosa D.

    This is a very whimsical location, the plates are very diverse. The outside patio is cute and the service was really good. The Chicken Pad Thai was a little too spicy for my taste (the chicken itself). Curious fact: they bring out popcorn when you first arrive ;).

    Vegetarian Dumplings

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    4 years ago

    The kitchen was a little slow, but everything was cooked perfectly. The bartender was amazing. I highly recommend this restaurant.

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    Great place in Ponce. We have been here 4 times and the people and the food are nice and consistent. Reasonable prices as well.

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    6 years ago

    Loved! Tasty menu with lots of options, great for tapas style eating. Also has the most delicious cocktail, the bartender is the real deal.

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    El Rastro Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - El Rastro

    They also have a steady menu consisting of different mac & cheeses (among their best sellers), ramen and other Asian dishes, and risottos.

    Mentioned in 6 reviews

    Read more highlights

    Velada Jazz Bar - Interior

    Velada Jazz Bar

    4.5(4 reviews)
    0.5 km

    Classy bar atmosphere with excellent cocktails and decor. It has a rather nondescript exterior so…read morewas hard to spot from the street. It is very close to central square and Parque de Bombas, which is hard to miss. Look for the large V on the door. We visited on a Wednesday night and sat at the bar. Unfortunately, no live music on Wednesdays. The bar and the restaurant were not busy. We just saw one other couple dining. Service at the bar was fine. Note that the menu provided at the bar has no prices but the prices are listed on the menu online. All the drinks were reasonably priced- we have just had bad experiences at other places that do not list prices. We both had the Democracia drink with rum and banana purée. It was very good and just the sweet drink we were expecting as we had already had dinner at another establishment. So this was like a dessert cocktail. They also have a helpful diagram of drinks by sweet/ dry at the back of the menu. I found the low backed seats at the bar to be rather uncomfortable but appreciated that they had hooks under the bar for bags. The bathroom was very nice and clean but they had an ambiguous sign that roughly translates as "do not throw paper in the toilet". I hope they mean paper towels and not actual tp.

    We stopped at this bar hoping to listen to some jazz and sip on a cocktail. We sipped on a cocktail…read morebut live jazz is only available on Saturdays. We sat at the bar and asked for a menu and we were given a menu that had very nice cocktail pictures and descriptions but no prices. When we asked the bartender about the prices she appeared to have a problem with that, so we went online and found a menu with prices. We tried the Democracia cocktail which was fruity and sweet, a nice dessert cocktail after having dinner at Hacienda Muñoz.

    Photos
    Velada Jazz Bar - Bathroom

    Bathroom

    Velada Jazz Bar - Outdoor facade

    Outdoor facade

    Velada Jazz Bar

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    19 Barrios - samples of craft beers from Puerto Rico

    19 Barrios

    3.9(22 reviews)
    0.8 km

    The space is cute, especially the back patio. Easy parking, quiet (area and few blocks of the main…read moresquare. Service super sweet & helpful. The pizza is solid fresh thin crust - maybe a bit skimpy on toppings & too heavy on the cheese the vegetariano salad we had was challenging. I'm way into making them myself, so I'd recommend chopping the spinach fine, sauté a vegetable or 2 (onion- tomato?) and adding a fat like crumbly cheese, or avocado, or some nuts, etc to make it melt & come together better. The vinaigrette dressing was nice though. And for a place this stylish, it'd be nicer & classier to have a metal fork & real glass for drinks instead of plastic. Lots of potential! Open kitchen is a nice touch.

    We went to the Puerto Real location. After days of Frituras and other typical Puerto Rican food it…read morewas a great way to reset the palette and avoid a major artery clog. I came in with my dining adventure partner and she had the Sparkling water with Lime, I had Coke Zero who in the island mostly comes those tall 12oz Red Bull like cans. They had a good selection of appetizers but we skipped it as my Girlfriend isn't an huge fan of loads of cheese. I know the blasphemy right? But they had some vegetarian choices for those that by some reason though that a vacation in the pork kabob and friend meat turnover capital of the world was a good idea. ‍ We had the chorizo pizza that was the daily special with the Herb Crust. That was the MVP clutch play of the game. The crust is light and perfectly seasoned. The sauce is light, with the right amount of acidity and sweetness. There was just enough cheese to be nice. The mozz was fresh and moist not the toasty bag stuff. It was layered with chorizo but somehow it didn't turn the pizza into an Oily mess that we might "liberate" for oil. ( Relax I'm a Marine take a joke ). The staff spoke great English which is good as the place was chuck full of tourists and the wait staff was polite and happy. I mean we all been to places where the wait staff look like they had their soul sucked out by kitchen warlocks. I will def comeback. Next time get my own pizza and not share.

    Photos
    19 Barrios - Outside bar

    Outside bar

    19 Barrios - Outdoor seating

    Outdoor seating

    19 Barrios

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    El Rastro - mediterranean - Updated May 2026

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