Wow, what an awesome recommendation we received from Desiree at the Hotel Boutique Real San Juan…read moreCenter! Thanks Desiree!!!!
We loved, loved, loved Teya. First off, it's in a beautiful space known as Paseo 60, home to a number of restaurants and a little food hall.
As soon as you walk in to Teya, you see the stunning mural on the wall behind the bar, but this is much more than just a beautiful face. While it is pretty to look at, Teya offers much much more in terms of the delicious regional cuisine.
I came here in search of some Sopa De Lima. I wasn't feeling the greatest, so I was in desperate need of this regional delicacy. What we found was a flavorful soup, some AMAZING Empanadas de Chaya, and a magnificent Filetada!
The Sopa De Lima doesn't look like much, but that's intentional. The star of this dish is said to be the robust and flavorful broth. Teya's was delicious and the broth was poured tableside.
The empanadas de Chaya were absolutely so delicious! They reminded me of a wonderful toasted ravioli, but better. I really enjoyed the sauce on top, as well as that ooey gooey edam cheese in the center. 6/5!!!!
The Filetada will knock your socks off. Please don't mistake this as a filet, because thatit is not. I believe it was a ribeye. Without asking my preferred temp, it was cooked to a beautiful medium, which was perfect. The meat was so tender, I could eat this again and again. The beans it was served with were just okay, and the 3 chips in the beans were stale.
We also had the Queso relleno, which unlike ours in the states, it does not come stuffed in a chili. This was more like a ground meat chutney, surrounded by several blocks of edam, all covered in a gravy with several olives on top. Let me first say Ioved the olives. Secondly, this dish must be wildly popular as approximately 6 of the 8 guests at an adjacent table, all ordered this dish. We enjoyed it, however we basically combined it with the Filetada and made little tacos out of it, and that's what made it work for us. I don't think I would order it as a standalone dish, but shared with the Filetada, it was perfect.
We loved Teya so much, we ate there for two meals in a row.
Bonus points for having menus in English and Spanish.
Thank you so so much to the cast and crew at Teya! We'll definitely be back!