If you're a lover of Italian small plates with distinctive flair and/or a curated wine list filled…read morewith exotic grapes and niche finds, you should definitely give El Vino Crudo a try. It's a cozy little restaurant that was perfect for our recent short stay in Old San Juan.
I was impressed with the wine list, which featured sparkling, white, orange, rose, and red options by the glass and of course a more extensive list of bottles. I opted for two different sparkling options, a Pineau d'Aunis (rose) from the Loire Valley (strawberry notes) and a Verdeca (white) from Puglia (melon, white flowers). I drink a lot of wine and have never heard of these grapes at all, so they were fun to check out and delicious to boot.
We also tried a number of different bites. They were all good, but these were the most memorable:
Apio gnocchi - delightfully pillowy and nutty
Dulce de papaya and prosciutto - lightly sweet and savory all at once. This might be an even better version of the more popular prosciutto and melon dish.
Partamra olive oil cake - so lemony and moist
Beet ice cream - this was wild! For sure my first time trying beet ice cream. It was barely sweet and had a very thick, almost custard-like texture.
Special shout out to the staff, who were all so nice and chill and knowledgeable.
