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We were looking for places to eat in San Juan, and El Refrán kept coming up, so we decided to check them out. It's not a big place and was pretty packed when we arrived, but we got there at a good time because a lot of people had left, and we didn't have to wait too long. Our server was amazing and made us feel right at home. The food was great. We had ham croquettes, and my husband ordered a pork dish. My blue drink was bomb and matched my nails perfectly! My husband had a smoked old-fashioned that was pretty tasty as well. The best part was the dessert. They have the best Tres Leches I've ever had! It's been voted the best in all of Puerto Rico for the past six years. It's to die for!!!!
Indoor seating with a open front which allows for a nice breeze! The service was impeccable, started with a passion fruit juice which was very refreshing and from a local farm. I ordered the surf and turf mofongo. It was incredible, the mofongo had a garlic forward flavor. The shrimp was also garlicky and the shrimp was incredibly tender. The grilled veggies were flavorful and fresh!
It sure has a cool vibe here. We sat with our friends to the right of the beautiful, bold mural and looked out across the open facade to see the people walking by and the sights of Ashford avenue on a warm evening. The food is just great. I ordered mampostao rice (rice and beans on the griddle till it gets crispy) topped with the perfectly cooked skirt steak. This was delicious. Hubby got the same with grilled shrimp, also real good. Our waiter was really friendly and, ahem, pretty nice on the eyes.
El Refran is a small restaurant. They had the bartender also serving as the waiter, so service was a little slow. However, he was friendly and tried his best. I enjoyed my fishbowl drink, but the fish nuggets and grilled vegetables lacked seasoning. I also didn't particularly care for the sauces that came with the fish. However, the rice and beans were delicious!
We stopped in here on Saturday for lunch. The server was super friendly. Unfortunately, they were out of about half of their items which wasn't the best. They didn't have the cod fritters, empanadas, any chicken, or any pork chops. We definitely would've gotten different things than we did, had this not been the case. We ordered the croquettes which were very good. They did have the chicken wings because it was a different type of chicken. They were good and absolutely huge. We also had the boribowl with steak because they didn't have chicken. It came with rice, beans, and plantains. It was also good! We had the tres leches cake. It came frozen in the middle but overall was very tasty. Great service and good food. Being out of over half of the menu was not good.
While on vacation, we decided to try this restaurant based off the reviews. We had to wait about 7-10 minutes for a table to open up, not a bad wait at all. When we were seated, we were handed menus but were also told that most things on the menu were not available. I had my mind set on getting the skirt steak but unfortunately they were all out of stock. We did go late at night so we couldn't be disappointed. I pivoted and went with the strip steak with truffle fries. The fries were the best part of the meal. The steak was overdone, I asked for medium rare and ended up with a medium well to well done steak. The sides that we ordered were decent. Maybe I'll try to go earlier in the day to see if that will make a difference as far as experience.
I don't necessarily want to give this place a bad review, but I do want to be honest about my experience. To start, I ordered a Shirley Temple and my daughter ordered a cranberry juice. Unfortunately, neither drink was good--my Shirley Temple was flat and unimpressive, and my daughter said her cranberry juice tasted watered down. For food, we ordered the chicken with rice, beans, and tostones. The chicken was juicy (not particularly standout, but still good), the beans were tasty, and the tostones were really good, especially with the ketchup-mayo sauce on the side. The biggest disappointment was the rice--it was hard and unpleasant, almost like the overcooked bottom layer (I think it's called graton). I personally don't enjoy that texture, so it really threw off the dish. If I were to go back, I'd skip the drinks altogether and just stick to the tostones and chicken. Service was fine, nothing remarkable either way. The ambiance is unique--it's technically indoors but completely open to the outside since there's no doorway, which gives it a kind of inside-outside feel. Overall, not a terrible experience, but definitely hit-or-miss depending on what you order.
This was my first Puerto Rican dining experience and it did not disappoint because I ended up going here twice for lunch for the same thing. Xena was so great at the suggestion because I wanted to try authentic Puerto Rican dishes so I went with Pernil Mofongo and Queso Frito (basically fried cheese). Everything was delicious and the service was really good and steps from my hotel. I love the ambience and friendly atmosphere.
My wife and I were in Puerto Rico and we saw good Yelp reviews for this place right across the street from our hotel. We entered on a Wednesday night about 5 PM and I ordered a Cuban and some of the Puerto Rico rice and beans, they are so good! The Cuban was full of wonder pork and ham and just enough accouterments to make it happy. Super filling and our server was super nice in this clean, smallish Puerto Rican joint. Good times with the with and washed it down with a beer. Refreshing dinner on our last night in Puerto Rico.
Absolutely delicious, and so close to the hotel! We're dusting at Candado Vanderbilt and we just got in. Super casual, food came out quickly and was hot. Everything was good! I'm not huge on steak but I got the Mamposteao Tacu Tacu with skirt steak and it did not miss! My partner got the mofongo with chicken and garlic sauce and I'm glad she did! Definitely a great "I just got off the plane and need something quick and delicious" spot! Highly recommend!
We lucked out. Went when we could just walk in and sit down. Other nights we passed by and it was a long line. Service is very friendly and nice but very slow. I felt like he was making a million drinks before he took our order. I got the grilled chicken which was supposed to have a passion fruit sauce on it but there was not sauce and it was pretty dry. I did like the tostones it came with, and it came with a lot. My friends liked their meals a lot. Though they didn't have the mushrooms for the quesadilla. Also we had the best fried cheese app here, get it! It's an indoor outdoor restaraunt so it can get a little hot. Bathroom is single and a bit run down. But overall nice atmosphere, decent food! Wish we came back to get the cheese again. And also try other things.
El Refran is located right on Ashford Ave- you cannot miss it - it's a tiny little restaurant that always has a line. For that reason, I'd recommend going at an off time for lunch because it was great! They were out of a few items, but I ended up with a pork chop with guava sauce and it was so good. They were also sadly out of the tres leches cake but I popped back in later that week as they were closing and were thrilled they had some left. That may have been the best tres leches I've ever had. The drinks were also delicious! We'll definitely return next time we're in PR. read more
1 month ago
This casual restaurant is a fun dinner stop with open air dining (not so good on a hot day though). We went early at 5pm and avoided crowds. The restaurant filled up before we left. We went with the waitress's recommended dishes - Mofongo Churrasco (steak) and Mamposteao Tacu Tacu with grilled shrimp. Flavors were strong and a bit on the salty side, but delicious. We enjoyed both dishes. The Mamposteao Tacu Tacu has a long fancy name but it was rice and beans topped with skirt steak. The sangria was the happy hour cocktail of the night, very refreshing. read more
We were looking for places to eat in San Juan, and El Refrán kept coming up, so we decided to check them out. It's not a big place and was pretty packed when we arrived, but we got there at a good time because a lot of people had left, and we didn't have to wait too long. Our server was amazing and made us feel right at home. The food was great. We had ham croquettes, and my husband ordered a pork dish. My blue drink was bomb and matched my nails perfectly! My husband had a smoked old-fashioned that was pretty tasty as well. The best part was the dessert. They have the best Tres Leches I've ever had! It's been voted the best in all of Puerto Rico for the past six years. It's to die for!!!! read more
2 days ago
Indoor seating with a open front which allows for a nice breeze! The service was impeccable, started with a passion fruit juice which was very refreshing and from a local farm. I ordered the surf and turf mofongo. It was incredible, the mofongo had a garlic forward flavor. The shrimp was also garlicky and the shrimp was incredibly tender. The grilled veggies were flavorful and fresh! read more
It sure has a cool vibe here. We sat with our friends to the right of the beautiful, bold mural and looked out across the open facade to see the people walking by and the sights of Ashford avenue on a warm evening. The food is just great. I ordered mampostao rice (rice and beans on the griddle till it gets crispy) topped with the perfectly cooked skirt steak. This was delicious. Hubby got the same with grilled shrimp, also real good. Our waiter was really friendly and, ahem, pretty nice on the eyes. read more
3 months ago
El Refran is a small restaurant. They had the bartender also serving as the waiter, so service was a little slow. However, he was friendly and tried his best. I enjoyed my fishbowl drink, but the fish nuggets and grilled vegetables lacked seasoning. I also didn't particularly care for the sauces that came with the fish. However, the rice and beans were delicious! read more
We stopped in here on Saturday for lunch. The server was super friendly. Unfortunately, they were out of about half of their items which wasn't the best. They didn't have the cod fritters, empanadas, any chicken, or any pork chops. We definitely would've gotten different things than we did, had this not been the case. We ordered the croquettes which were very good. They did have the chicken wings because it was a different type of chicken. They were good and absolutely huge. We also had the boribowl with steak because they didn't have chicken. It came with rice, beans, and plantains. It was also good! We had the tres leches cake. It came frozen in the middle but overall was very tasty. Great service and good food. Being out of over half of the menu was not good. read more
2 months ago
While on vacation, we decided to try this restaurant based off the reviews. We had to wait about 7-10 minutes for a table to open up, not a bad wait at all. When we were seated, we were handed menus but were also told that most things on the menu were not available. I had my mind set on getting the skirt steak but unfortunately they were all out of stock. We did go late at night so we couldn't be disappointed. I pivoted and went with the strip steak with truffle fries. The fries were the best part of the meal. The steak was overdone, I asked for medium rare and ended up with a medium well to well done steak. The sides that we ordered were decent. Maybe I'll try to go earlier in the day to see if that will make a difference as far as experience. read more
2 months ago
Cute little restaurant. Opens later when it rains. Impeccable service. Suggestions provided. Good fresh food without feeling bloated. Salmon and veggies with a beer for lunch! Check it out. A little pricey for lunch. Meal total $31+, but good nonetheless. read more
9 months ago
I don't necessarily want to give this place a bad review, but I do want to be honest about my experience. To start, I ordered a Shirley Temple and my daughter ordered a cranberry juice. Unfortunately, neither drink was good--my Shirley Temple was flat and unimpressive, and my daughter said her cranberry juice tasted watered down. For food, we ordered the chicken with rice, beans, and tostones. The chicken was juicy (not particularly standout, but still good), the beans were tasty, and the tostones were really good, especially with the ketchup-mayo sauce on the side. The biggest disappointment was the rice--it was hard and unpleasant, almost like the overcooked bottom layer (I think it's called graton). I personally don't enjoy that texture, so it really threw off the dish. If I were to go back, I'd skip the drinks altogether and just stick to the tostones and chicken. Service was fine, nothing remarkable either way. The ambiance is unique--it's technically indoors but completely open to the outside since there's no doorway, which gives it a kind of inside-outside feel. Overall, not a terrible experience, but definitely hit-or-miss depending on what you order. read more
5 months ago
This was my first Puerto Rican dining experience and it did not disappoint because I ended up going here twice for lunch for the same thing. Xena was so great at the suggestion because I wanted to try authentic Puerto Rican dishes so I went with Pernil Mofongo and Queso Frito (basically fried cheese). Everything was delicious and the service was really good and steps from my hotel. I love the ambience and friendly atmosphere. read more
10 days ago
21 days ago
25 days ago
My wife and I were in Puerto Rico and we saw good Yelp reviews for this place right across the street from our hotel. We entered on a Wednesday night about 5 PM and I ordered a Cuban and some of the Puerto Rico rice and beans, they are so good! The Cuban was full of wonder pork and ham and just enough accouterments to make it happy. Super filling and our server was super nice in this clean, smallish Puerto Rican joint. Good times with the with and washed it down with a beer. Refreshing dinner on our last night in Puerto Rico. read more
6 months ago
Absolutely delicious, and so close to the hotel! We're dusting at Candado Vanderbilt and we just got in. Super casual, food came out quickly and was hot. Everything was good! I'm not huge on steak but I got the Mamposteao Tacu Tacu with skirt steak and it did not miss! My partner got the mofongo with chicken and garlic sauce and I'm glad she did! Definitely a great "I just got off the plane and need something quick and delicious" spot! Highly recommend! read more
3 months ago
1 month ago
We went last night for the tres leches, which is delicious and a little different than the typical I've had. Definitely worth trying. We went back today and I had the momposteao tacu tacu with skirt steak and it was delicious. Definitely the best meal I had while here. Really great service! read more
We lucked out. Went when we could just walk in and sit down. Other nights we passed by and it was a long line. Service is very friendly and nice but very slow. I felt like he was making a million drinks before he took our order. I got the grilled chicken which was supposed to have a passion fruit sauce on it but there was not sauce and it was pretty dry. I did like the tostones it came with, and it came with a lot. My friends liked their meals a lot. Though they didn't have the mushrooms for the quesadilla. Also we had the best fried cheese app here, get it! It's an indoor outdoor restaraunt so it can get a little hot. Bathroom is single and a bit run down. But overall nice atmosphere, decent food! Wish we came back to get the cheese again. And also try other things. read more
9 months ago
My wife and I visited El Refran for dinner recently. We love Puerto Rican food but were underwhelmed by our experience. We started with an order of Codfish Fritters. The fritters had a creamy mixture filled with shredded cod on the inside but were burnt on the outside. For my entrée I had the Kan Kan Pork Chop. The meat was a bit dry but there were some parts of the cut that had crisp skin. Overall, the food is edible but there are much better options in San Juan. read more
This place puts a modern twist on Puerto Rican food! I really loved the vibes and all the staff was absolutely welcoming and friendly. It is smack in the middle of everything touristy so while im no expert on the local food, this place was delicious to me. If you find the local food to be a bit bland, this place manages to recreate the local food in a way that elevates it. A big plus, they have a large selection of drinks! read more
Right across from Condado beach, and the meal was FILLING. The meal you see on this picture was the KIDS MEAL. And damn was it good as hell. It's in a very touristy spot so it was more expensive than the norm, but people are really cool and the food was good. Perfect Puerto Rican after beach meal. read more
Especially in PR, with so many amazing local options that are a bit more out of the way, I usually wouldn't choose a spot right by the hotel for lunch. However, seriously, this was one of the best meals we had in San Juan! The tripleta was unlike any I've had before, it was juicy and melty and so so yummy. The pernil was seasoned and cooked perfectly, as was the mofongo, which made every bite perfect. The mamposteao was also perfect, and my boyfriend and I tore it up. I ordered at the counter and waited, and it did take about 25-30 min to come out, which was excessive, but that is to be expected at a tourist hotspot (there was tons of other people waiting around me). read more
4 months ago
Excellent Cubano Sandwich. Wonderful happy server. Small restaurant. You may have to wait but totally worth the wait read more
4 months ago
This place never disappoints whenever I come visit Puerto Rico. After a long day of travel or at the beach this is a perfect spot to try! The food is delicious and authentic. The drinks are great and you can feel the ocean breeze cooling you down if you come in on a hot day. Service was great with attentive and knowledgeable servers who helped me and my group of 8 get our food without any problems or wait. Each person loved their food! read more
3 months ago
We went here the last night in Puerto Rico and were so sad that we had not discovered it earlier because it was hands-down the best meal we had had all trip!! I think we've never tried before including Morongo which was delicious! Amarillo, sweet plantains, was so good! I had a shrimp empanadilla which was good but a little bit on the small side for $6. So good, service and so worth any wait!! read more
12 days ago
3 months ago
A restaurant with grey food and street views. The churrasco was tender, juicy and flavorful. The tres leches cake was phenomenal too! The restaurant is located right across from La Concha so diners get to be close to all the actions on the boisterous street outside while they dine. Service was decent and friendly, but slightly understaffed at busy hours. It's a nice experience overall! read more
Food was delicious. The skirt steak was well seasoned with a lot of flavor. Our server was attentive and very knowledgeable about the items on the menu and where the local ingredients come from. They let you choose anywhere to sit so that's a plus. It was a little windy which was refreshing for a warmer day as they have doors that are open. read more
21 days ago
6 months ago
So either past pics or google pics had me thinking this was a fancier place than the open air walk in 6 table place that it actually is. Lucky for us we love great food and do not care about a place being "fancy"; it's the menu that drew us in. So yes, walk in off the sidewalk and sit where you want and the friendliest girls will greet you and bring you menus. The drinks were fantastic. Even my son's lemonade was carefully/ freshly made. My cauliflower and chickpea curry tasted like it was from a NY Indian restaurant giving me the curry sweats and I love it. My little son had the spinach and cheese empanada (I tasted, awesome) and we all had the tostones that were fantastic. Came with a dip I didn't even try because they were good on their own. Husband had the pork rib with rice and beans and he loved it. Super casual Full bar but not bar seating Small tables would not bring more than 5 friends Casual and kid friendly Highly recommend read more
1 month ago
Delicious, great entree selection. There is usually a line outside of the restaurant to get seated, but it was worth the wait. I ordered the Mamposteao Tacu Tacu with the Fresh Catch, and out of everything my friends and I ordered the Fresh Catch was the favorite. Super light tender fillet, over the seasoned and slightly crispy rice was a great balance. This is definitely a good spot to try if you are staying nearby! read more
4 months ago
7 months ago
Found this little gem on an evening walk. Xena was so kind and welcoming. The menu was extremely fresh and local cuisine. I highly recommend making this a stop! read more
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More info about El Refrán
Ashford Ave 1104
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00907
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(787) 998-4750
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