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    La Buena Vida

    4.7 (53 reviews)
    ModeratePubs, Italian, Tapas Bars
    Closed 12:00 pm - 8:30 PM

    La Buena Vida Photos

    LA BUENA VIDA ATMOSPHERE

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

    Recommended Reviews - La Buena Vida

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    Pesto pasta
    Jayadurga N.

    Super cute place with decent vegetarian option . Their hummus tapas and pesto pasta was amazing !! Their cocktails were very interesting too. The location by itself has a cozy vibe

    Lisa C.

    What a great find! Home made sauces, huge selection of beer, pasta dishes cooked to order. The tapas is delicious and fresh. They were willing to accommodate special requests and very friendly and professional. We ordered crepes and they whipped up the batter from scratch for our desert!

    Rotini pasta with Chicken and lots of cayenne pepper to your taste and liking
    Evy A.

    Quiet and quaint little spot.... Pasta made fresh and perfectly seasoned added chicken for protein kick U can hear the church bells ring in the hour next door letting U know that U are in a serene loc near the beach

    Tree artworks
    Chinemelu E.

    I just had a pasta equivalent to carbonara with add a chicken that was mind-blowing good. I had no idea this place to be this good! Walking in that it's a small cozy place that has some nice artwork on the wall and directly you can see the kitchen where they are preparing the meals that we ordered so we can even sit at the bar light table and watch them cook it! They do have outside area to reconsider enjoy the nice open-air from the beach is not too far away. If your a fan of craft beers they have quite a bit of them from what I can see in the freezer!

    Tapas
    Nabila I.

    We stopped by near the end of our trip. We had just visited Rio Camuy, and drove into this pocket in Arecibo. This was the first place we struggled to communicate with staff, as they were not so fluent in English and we had neglected to brush up on our Spanish. However, we were able to order without issue. The staff was super friendly. I really enjoyed the interior. There was cute wall art, a selection of books to look through and read. The other diners seemed to frequent the establishment often. The food was delicious and incredibly affordable. We ordered Tapas and Pasta Fariana. The server asked how spicy I wanted my pasta to be, and offered options to my partner for his tapas. Overall it was a delightful experience. Arecibo is a bit of a drive out of San Juan, but it's definitely an interesting drive (esp. if you go toll free as we did) and we found the area to be lovely.

    Beautiful building next to the Arecibo Cathedral
    Ana Maria G.

    Loved this place with plenty of vegetarian options. The kitchen is small so be patient when ordering but believe me it is worth the wait. The service is amazing and this is visited mostly by locals, however all staff are bilingual. We went two nights in a row and loved it! Most impressed by their pasta and their tapas. Nice touch by having Puerto Rican local craft beers! Love supporting local businesses who support locals. They had a jazz band on Saturday night. Highly recommended.

    Tapas - pan pizza ! Awesome tasting small bites!
    Waran V.

    Slurrrppppp!!yummmm!! Original sauce , great tasting tapas plates, yummyyyyy pasta's. Collection of beer is impressive! The owner is passionate about what he cooks- i love that! He makes every dish , although small plates but very tasty and with a lot of love and fresh ingredients. A great find in Puerto Rico!

    Pan Mozy
    Polly J.

    We came here after visiting Rio Cumay caverns. Small cafe with friendly service. The mozzarella and tomato tapas was served on slightly sweet toast and was fresh and tasty. We had chicken alfredo with broccoli and peas, a chicken wrap, pasta fariana (spicy with oysters and bacon) and pasta tomatosa (with bacon, chicken, parmesean cream, onion and herbs). All delicious and perfectly cooked!

    Pesto Pasta w/ Added Salmon
    Rachel T.

    My family and I came here for a very late lunch (4 pm) after touring Cueva Ventana. The restaurant is located in a quaint, beautiful town. Parking is not a problem at all. The service was excellent, our waitress was very attentive and friendly. When we visited, the restaurant was pretty empty so the wait wasn't too long, but it may be more during busy hours because they make each order from scratch (Everything is very customizable). However, it will be worth the wait! We tried the tapas (you can mix & match 5) and the pasta. Everything was astounding! Helpful hint: If you like a little spice in your pasta, ask for cayenne. They will ask you how spicy you want it on a scale from 1-5. I would definitely recommend this to anyone!

    AC N.

    Cute restaurant, delicious food, reasonable prices and friendly service! This is a gem of a find

    Gamaliel R.

    Excelent little/cozy place with great food and craft beers. Definitely a place I'll be visiting more often. Love it. They serve in large portions, so you'll be more than satisfied.

    Popeye pasta with added smoked salmon
    Ricardo L.

    Great vibe, tasty al dente pasta (!) with fresh ingredients at ridiculous prices, awesome craft beer selection, super sweet staff, great music playing.

    Pasta and Tapas taste soooo good. The hosts are really handsome and nice. Definitely will recommend it to my friends~

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    11 months ago

    Great service, prices, and location. The tapas and drinks were our favorites. The pasta servings were generous and flavorful.

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    3 years ago

    Amazing food, great craft beers and great location.

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    4 years ago

    Excellent service and food! I enjoy the nice environment of the place. The sangria of the house is great.

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    9 years ago

    The food is very taste good, and the waitress very nice.

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    9 years ago

    Excellent landing spot in Arecibo. Stellar beer choices. Incredible homemade pasta sauces. Right off Town square. So happy we found it.

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    La Buena Vida Reviews in Other Languages

    Review Highlights - La Buena Vida

    I also had the "pasta fariana" (also super great!) was full of smoked oysters & served with a white cream sauce that had a hint of Sriracha.

    Mentioned in 3 reviews

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    Shannan's Pub - Rock concert 800 attending.

    Shannan's Pub

    2.9(11 reviews)
    65.0 km
    $$

    Get out of the tourist area and visit a truly unique Irish pub experience. Come for lunch and stay…read morethru dinner. Order the "Long Island Iced tea" typically 2 for 1... Local and imported beers. Great burgers. This place is not small in size but you never feel out of place. The bartenders are top notch and the waiters are always at your beck and call. It's a piece of Boston in the heart of the Caribbean with a Latin flavor. Live Music and DJ Music: Open 7 days a week with Sundays showing sf all major sports events. Tourists welcome to this locals bar. Search for them on Facebook: shannanspub@yahoo.com Enjoy, Cuco

    Shannan's Irish Pub was a strange place to see while on vacation in Puerto Rico. What's an Irish…read morePub doing in PR?! They had the same funny signs as the pubs in Los Angeles, but played live Puerto Rican music. This place is famous for making good long islands and the drinks are super cheap. It gets sweatingly crowded in here even though the two story pub fits a couple billiard tables, several bars, a live band on stage, a huge dance floor, and another room for more tables. This place is not a tourist spot. If you don't look like a native Puerto Rican, expect to get mean stares from the local gals as I and my group of girlfriends did. Although we minded our own business, my girlfriends experienced some harsh we-don't-want -your-kind-here stares along with lots of not-so-accidental pushes and shoves on the dance floor. With all this, I had wished we stayed in the tourist zone!

    Photos
    Shannan's Pub - The band

    The band

    Shannan's Pub - The live band and huge dance floor!

    The live band and huge dance floor!

    Shannan's Pub

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    El Daiquiri Lounge - Good times in el Daiquiri lounge en isla verde puerto rico

    El Daiquiri Lounge

    4.6(25 reviews)
    73.7 km
    $

    This place is so fun!! Great drinks, atmosphere, & amazing hospitality. A bit hard to find but it's…read moreright between the fancy white hotel and a Mexican sports bar. A brown gate with an attendant will help you get in. I can't wait to go back!

    El Daiquiri Lounge provided one of the most fun nights I had while in Puerto Rico!…read more My husband and I were fortunate enough to have an airbnb in the condominium that the Lounge is housed in. I had seen the reviews on yelp, but had no idea that we were staying in the same building. We asked a bartender at a hotel bar about EDL and quickly discovered we had walked past it on our way out of the condo earlier that evening. Let me start by saying that this place doesn't get going until midnight, which is normal for people like us who are from Miami...for others the hours may be a little tough. The owner/bartender Freddie is as hospitable as can be. We were welcomed into the small old fashioned bar right away. There was a mix of locals and folks like us from the states, but everyone fit in. We happened to arrive shortly before midnight on 2/13, and Freddie's birthday was on 2/14. Some of his friends had brought balloons and a birthday cake which he shared with us. It was an awesome way to experience our first night in PR! We went again on that Saturday and there was a 'real' birthday celebration going on! The bar itself is like stepping into a time machine. Freddie has pictures of his friends on the walls from years past. There are old poker and gaming machines around and an overwhelming feeling of nostalgia. And this is before the karaoke starts! He has a great list and books in English and Spanish. We are NOT good singers, but the locals coming to EDL could rival the best singers at any karaoke bar you've been to. It can be a bit intimidating! The drinks are nothing fancy, just good solid classics and a small beer selection. If you're staying in Isla Verde I highly recommend spending a late night here. It is in a gated condo, so the security guard or a resident must let you in.

    Photos
    El Daiquiri Lounge
    El Daiquiri Lounge
    El Daiquiri Lounge

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    La Terrazita - This is the tradition dinner plate

    La Terrazita

    4.3(3 reviews)
    31.2 km

    It was our first night in Puerto Rico, and we really wanted to try something authentic. The place…read moreitself is small but has a nice vibe -- cozy and welcoming. The staff was amazing and very helpful. They took the time to explain what each plate was made of and made great recommendations, which we appreciated! However, I have to be honest -- I personally felt the food was missing a bit of seasoning or spice. It just didn't have the flavor I was expecting. It wasn't bad, but it didn't fully hit the mark for me. I did really enjoy the fried cheese and the sauce that came with it -- that was definitely one of my favorites. We also tried one of their house plates, which was good, but overall the flavors just didn't stand out the way I hoped they would. Overall: great service and a cute vibey spot, but the food didn't wow me.

    We lucked into this place after we went cake shopping on this same block…read more From the moment we walked in on a weekday we were immediately greeted and treated like old friends from beginning to end! The place looks new, and super clean and right in th heart of the fun district. We sat at the bar and ordered food and drinks. Pricing was very friendly and the service as stated was great. We really enjoyed the time here and were in no hurry to leave. The food was served fresh and super hot and the fritters were tender and full of flavor, while the pizza was the perfect combo of crispy and chewy!! While the drinks were colder than anywhere I have ever ordered a beer from. Like they came straight out of the ice! I wish we lived closer (haha) this would be a new hangout for us! If you find yourself somewhere near San Juan PR - Go here! - you will not be disappointed!

    Photos
    La Terrazita - Local Rum?

    Local Rum?

    La Terrazita - Outside Views

    Outside Views

    La Terrazita - Outside Views

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    Outside Views

    La Buena Vida - pubs - Updated May 2026

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