A strong cortado is a must-have in order to kickstart your day in San Juan. This guide lists my favorite cafes in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans are extremely proud of their coffee – and San Juan is the best place to sample it. The charming Old San Juan neighborhood offers some incredibly cute cafes, so fuel up and start your site-seeing!
Cuatro Sombras
One of the best cafes in San Juan is Cuatro Sombras. This cafe offers a good amount of seating inside and also has a small patio. Their coffee blend has subtle hints of cinnamon and chocolate – it’s hard to control yourself to only drink one.
Fortunately, you can purchase their coffee in-store or online! If you’re hungry, I recommend trying a croissant (not Puerto Rican) with guava jam (very Puerto Rican!).
Cafe Cola’o
My personal favorite cafe in Old San Juan is Cafe Cola’o. While it’s located close to the cruise ship dock, the cafe is embraced by locals. You’ll have to be quick to snag one of the tables outside (with a view of the sea I might add) before they fill up with locals reading the paper and enjoying island time.
My favorite item on the menu ended up being a coconut latte. They also serve delicious mallorca sandwiches, which is essentially a grilled ham and cheese sandwich sprinkled with powdered sugar.
Cafetería Mallorca
Cafetería Mallorca is one of the few remaining traditional “cafeterias” in Old San Juan. It is a no-frills dining stop that gets more and more crowded as the day progresses. Obviously, as its name may imply, you need to try their mallorcas (YUM). However, any of the other pastries are also delicious.
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