Mi Casa by José Andrés

Let me start by saying: I was recommended to go to Mi Casa by the concierge at the RC New York Central Park as one of the best RC restaurants and his favorite Jose Andres restaurant. I’m not actually a fan of most Jose Andres restaurants, but this one looked beautiful.
Overall:
Food: 4 stars. It was all good or very good but nothing spectacular. Given the price point, I would expect at least 1 course to be amazing. (the flan for dessert comes close to amazing — probably the best flan I’ve ever had).
Service: 5 stars. Fantastic service from the main waitress we had. Hit or miss from a couple others (e.g. 1 said they had no coat rack… which was wrong)
Ambience: 5+. wow. RC Dorado Beach is beautiful, but having a dinner right by the beach on their property is breathtakingly beautiful. Eat outside if you can.

Pork belly, steak, Tuna ceviche and patatas were my favorite. Tres leches with caramel ice cream and Coffee for two were amazing! Glad we didn’t do the tasting menu. We wanted to try too many other tapas and for the same amount of money we got to try more tapas, each have a drink, coffee, and a different dessert.

Well-​executed Spanish-​Puerto Rican fusion with great service and an unpretentious vibe make this a wonderful experience. Don’t miss the chicken croquettes or the deconstructed Cesar salad. The lobster with yucca was an absolute knockout.

Beautiful restaurant with a great view of the water… The service and atmosphere was wonderful. the food was ok. I had the yellow tail snapper. We really enjoyed the other restaurants around more. They do have a very strict dress code, so no beach clothes unless you sit outside.

This is the restaurant in the Ritz Carlton on Dorado. Amazing food, great service, perfect view of the beach. Went there after a wedding and they gave a us a free bottle of champagne. Highly recommend going here for a great meal if you are looking for a nice dinner.

Had breakfast here. The view was amazing and the food was good, nothing extraordinary though.

made dinner res here cuz friends loved é in vegas and also we were staying at the ritz.
FOOD 3.5 STARS: we did tasting menu (which i try to do whenever trying a new chef) plus the supplemental (about 5 more dishes from the tasting menu). 2 in our party of 6 did the wine pairing. felt like too many fried dishes (maybe because they were served so closely together?) and too many sandwiches (2 were sliders). the rest was good variety.
— husband’s fav: Potato purée with egg 63° and caramelized onions; spiny lobster stew (i’m allergic to lobster).
— my fav: pork belly slider; sautéed baby squid with beans (but was just too many beans).
— decent dishes: tuna tartare with avocado; iberico ham on tomato bread; Seared yellowtail snapper/​asparagus salad (which i got in place of the lobster stew); Yuca gnocchi with hearts of palm and Puerto Rican pesto
— interesting dishes: reconstructed caesar salad rolled up like a maki
— trying too hard dishes: Coconut water and rum spheres with mint and lime (strange texture and strange taste. have had yummier ‘pop in your mouth’ dishes like at Tickets in Barcelona)
— fried dishes: Yuca ‘churros’ with house-​made peanut butter and honey; chicken/​bechamel fritters; Ibérico fritter. too many fried dishes, right?
— completely don’t remember dishes: Cañarejal cheese and green papaya marmalade; Traditional Puerto Rican sausage and roasted apple sandwich
— apparently really good dish per rest of the party, but i was too full by then to enjoy: Braised veal cheeks with shrimp, polenta and mushrooms. so full
— dessert: Spanish custard with Catalan cream and passion fruit (passion fruit was a nice touch). good per rest of the party
SERVICE 3.5 STARS:
— we were 6 and for the 1^{st 2}⁄₃ of the meal, the dishes were brought out on 3 dishes where 2 of us could share a dish. then the latter 1/​3, we each got our own servings. i just would think with a tasting menu we’d each get our own plated dishes. but maybe this is the ‘mi casa’ tradition i.e. family style?
— they didn’t change our plates and utensils between each dish. again, the ‘mi casa’ family/​casual style? (altho no shorts/​flip flops allowed)
— we would have a dish that was served 4 dishes ago left on the table because it wasn’t finished. casual style?
AMBIANCE 5 STARS:
— great décor/​art/​noise level
despite the overall low star rating, we are going back to order our favorite dishes tonight (3 days later from this dinner) cuz we’re still at the Ritz.

Not great for breakfast but great for dinner.
For breakfast, my husband got their version of eggs Benedict with pork belly. It was a super small portion of pork belly with whipped egg foam around it. Needed to pay extra for bread! Honestly, it didn’t taste that great.
Dinner was better with their tasting menu. Liked the veal cheeks, ceviche, and pork belly steamed bun.
Service was great though — our waitress was very helpful in telling us what was in each dish

Worst experience ever. My wife and I attempted to take guests to eat at Mi Casa for my birthday but they wouldn’t let us eat there because I was wearing leather sandals. Sandals at a beachfront restaurant, imagine the shock!
We asked to speak to the manager to ask for an exception given this was a) a new policy and b) my birthday and c) we were there with guests. He explained that no sandals was their policy and they could make no exceptions. As we are locals, my wife asked again if they would make an exception this time and we would note not to wear sandals next time but he said he couldn’t do it. He even agreed that it was a stupid policy for a beach hotel/​restaurant. Apparently it is also okay for women to wear sandals… just not men.
We asked what a guest who brought no closed to shoes to a beach hotel would do and they had no suggestions.
I have no idea how they call this a Ritz-​Carlton Reserve”, let alone a «Ritz». A real Ritz would have had options other than telling a birthday party wanting to eat in an empty restaurant they couldn’t eat there. Does the hotel warn guests they need to bring closed toe shoes if they want to dine at the only indoor restaurant in the hotel?
We ended up going to Bottles in town which was much more fun, has better food, wine, and service.

Man, I expected to give this one 5 raving stars! I was sure I’d beg Unilocal to find that secret 6^th star for me to give to Mi Casa. Instead I’m almost forcing myself to give it 4 stars, only because I don’t want to look like a raving lunatic. I’m not one!
We go to Puerto Rico every year and stay at The Ritz in San Juan. It is our happy place! We love that Puerto Rico offers you some of the good stuff in life with out being too goody goody! ;) When in San Juan our restaurant of choice is Marmalade. I LOVE food and Marmalade proves to me again and again that my love is justified. Anyhoo… When The Ritz Reserve Dorado opened we were stoked! We couldn’t wait to take Puerto Rico to the next level and with Mi Casa there it was almost too perfect. We counted the days and cut our customary huge meal at Marmalade down to a mere visit b/​c we were waiting for Mi Casa! We were saving our pallet and our pocket books. They were ready!!!
OK, so here’s the thing (one of the things…), we ate here for breakfast in the morning. It was really, really good! Wasn’t expecting an awesome breakfast but hey, we got one! Score one for both of us! So then there’s dinner. I realized that we dressed up to go eat in a room that was well suited for breakfast but for dinner it was (ugh…) sparse. it was hotel breakfasty.
So we sat and were excited to look at the menu! SOO many exciting things. I had done my research, this was our Everest of our Puerto Rico trip this year and we knew what we wanted! We had saved our pocketbooks and pallets for the full tasting menu. So our waiter comes over and he’s a bit underwhelmed with serving us or is it overwhelmed? Why do I even need to find the right adjective to this? I’m not saying he wasn’t nice… just in a hurry. He asks what we want to drink with our meal and we say that we want the wine pairing and it’s almost like he didn’t want us to say that. Meanwhile, there is a very high maintenance couple next to us (like hotel breakfast table close to us) and they aren’t happy with their meal and for stupid reasons. They are very, very pretty… very but so very unhappy, which is a shame. If I looked that way I’d be happy all the freaking time. If I had had a mirror with me I would have shoved it in their tight faces and told them to just shut up! They were there with a large group of car dealership owners and they got a (free!) pre set menu and they aren’t happy for some reason. (does free mean more to me than it does to them? It’s obvious that being pretty is fairly low on their contentment list…) They aren’t paying for their meal and yet they are overtaking the scene and it’s being allowed b/​c our waiter is very rushed and we are feeling like we are just in the way. We just aren’t enjoying our moment, one that should’ve been ours. So, our wines came without any explanation and at one time in the meal we had two of our tasting dishes on our (hotel breakfast sized) table at the same time. Where is the specialness of this? Is the food good? YES! But the ambiance and the rushed feeling was a big downer. We ate, we drank, we were merry (b/​c we may not be as pretty but damn it if we won’t be happy on vacation!) and the couple beside us (who had no bill) stormed off and we were rushed along to finish and pay our (big) bill. This was a good meal. The food was really great. I’m not sure of any of the wine I drank but I drank it! The location in Puerto RIco is second to ZERO but there were parts missing that frankly are owed in a $ 600 meal for two.
Next time we will splurge at Marmalade. I also don’t see myself ever wanting to be a car dealer owner now either.

Thanks to my server angel who was a great server and treated my fiancé and I amazing. His Explanation of the menu and food was done to perfection. The food was great esp my conch fritters which I dreamt about for days lol. The crab appetizer was delicious as well. As for dinner– we enjoyed it to the max.
We also received a free bday dessert bcuz of my fiancée pre upcoming birthday. We both loved that as well.

Don’t miss this spot, when in Puerto Rico! The restaurant is beautiful and has an amazing view of the ocean. We sat outside and it was delightful. Our server was so helpful on drinks and menus choices. We had the Yucca Churros, chicken croquette and pork belly sliders for appetizers. All were great, but the Churros win. I had the pork and caramelized mango for my main course. I also managed two mango daiquiris with my meal. Overall, the atmosphere, service and food made this an experience to remember.

Sorry guys, but you got to pick up the service, we were never offered a dessert menu and had to ask numerous service to bring us the check. The manager was walking around checking on tables being cleared but never once stopped in to check in on ours. Service is aloof. The food is pretty good although some of it appears more like a work of art than actual food (see gazpacho). The lighting on the porch is far too bright and definitely get some spotlights on those palm trees. We’re staying here at the Ritz Carlton dorado beach and left with the feeling that there was no reason to come back.

Great experience but different than the Bazaar. Mi Casa menu is similar than Jaleo, the food is as good as any other Jose Andres restaurants. The staff was really friendly and the décor is beautiful.
The view is really nice & relaxing.

Ridiculous prices for sub par kitchen and lack of attention by the leadership in this restaraunt. AVOID.
This was a thanksgiving visit 2013. We called to make reservations 6 months in advance to let them know we had a party of 9, two of which were vegetarian. This was reminded before we seated. Meals arrived and they served 9 meat meals, completely unaware that we had 2 vegetarian meals. The wait staff, who could not have been nicer, offered to replace the meals with vegetarian options. After 30 minutes, 2 plates of steamed vegetables came out. Unacceptable given a business of the stature of the Ritz Carlton. They ultimately took the meals off the bill, but 2 people were left without meals on Thanksgiving and a tab of OVER $ 900! No manager, nothing, came by to say «hey?». Again, unacceptable. The rest of the meals were good, but were overshadowed by this experience.
Ridiculous prices for sub par kitchen and lack of attention by the leadership in this supposedly high end restraunt. Again AVOID.

Sorry José Andrés, but putting your name on this type of restaurant is really diluting your brand. I’ve been to his signature minibar restaurant, which was a borderline transformational meal, but my dinner at Mi Casa was below even the generally low expectations I have for resort dining. Perhaps I’m judging it a bit harshly by scoring on a «non-​resort» scale, but there are many better options to be had if you’re willing to venture into San Juan.
First, if you’re not staying at the Ritz Dorado, I don’t think there’s really a reason for you to venture out here for a meal. If you are staying at the Ritz, I’d suggest renting a car for your trip and trying out many of the great restaurants in San Juan. But I digress …
BLUF: There wasn’t anything horribly wrong with our meal at Mi Casa, but there was also absolutely nothing special or memorable about what we ate. Service was very good. Prices were about what you would expect on a resort. Here’s the detailed breakdown.
Bocadillo de lechón de Guavate con mojo de chayote y chicharrón volao (Steamed bun with Guavate-​style pork belly and chayote mojo) $ 6 — I LOVE pork belly. This was just ok though. For those of you from NYC, this can’t compare to the pork buns you’ll get from the Japanese restaurants there (different style I know, but still).
Mallorca con hígado de pato y mango (Mallorcan sweet bread with seared foie gras and mango chutney) $ 9 — Tasty but a bit on the oily side. The bread was a pastry-​style bread, which for my tastes is a bit too soft when paired with sweet bread and foie gras, but that may be more a personal preference. I feel like some contrast in texture would have helped here though.
Croquetas de pollo (Traditional chicken and bechamel fritters) $ 14 — This was probably the best thing we ordered off the menu. They were actually slightly over-​fried but still deliciously creamy on the inside and crispy on the outside.
Ceviche de atún con coco y aguacate ‘Café Atlántico’ (Tuna marinated in coconut dressing with jicama, cilantro and serrano peppers topped with crispy quinoa) $ 19 — This was a pretty good version of tuna ceviche. I liked the texture contrast provided by the crispy quinoa.
Lechón asado de Guavate con papas y mango caramelizado (‘Guavate style’ roasted pork with potatoes, caramelized mango and alioli) $ 34 — This was the most disappointing thing we ordered. Perhaps we had the wrong expectations for this item, but what we got was two pieces of roasted pork belly and four french fries and four mango sticks. Did I already mention that I LOVE pork belly? Even for me though, this dish was oily and not particularly tender. I think we were really expecting some different cut of pork for this dish.
Chillo asado (Yellowtail snapper) $ 42 — Well-​cooked snapper, but that’s really all it was, which for $ 42 is pretty disappointing. It really wasn’t very different from what you might get from a good fish market where they know not to overcook an already dead fish.

Let’s be upfront and clear, it’s expensive. Everything about it is expensive. From the $ 18 valet to the. $ 16 Mojito, it’s expensive. But, my word, it’s all great. The pork belly bicadillo, the croquettes, the churro and the slow roasted lechon are all amazing. The cocktails were wonderful as well. You’ll find an attentive and fun wait staff. If you’re debating between here and Marmalade, it’s no contest. Make the drive and enjoy.

I wish I could give more than 5 stars for Mi Casa — I have now become a true Jose Andres convert, because the meal I had at Mi Casa was one of the best I’ve ever had. We started off with drinks in the bar, which is not like your typical bar — it’s more like a chemistry lab where the bartenders (or scientists) mix up amazing-​tasting concoctions from a variety of options. You get to watch your drinks being made from the comfortably-​appointed sofas and lounge chairs across the room. There’s even a foosball table, although my fiancé was pretty disappointed to find out that it was apparently only for decoration. With nothing but the ocean and a dark night outside, sitting in the quiet bar area can be very romantic. I don’t even remember what we got to drink, but we chose from the cocktail menu and were not disappointed.
After taking our time enjoying our drinks, we told the hostess that we were ready for our meal and were promptly shown to our seats in the main dining room. Nothing was rushed and the customer service was impeccable. The chandelier in the main dining room is stunning and, just like the bar, the entire room has great ambience with only the ocean as a backdrop. We made sure to take our time with dinner so that we didn’t rush the experience, so we started with 3 different small plates that were brought in sequential order, as well as another cocktail for each of us.
First we got Mi Casa chips, which are incredibly-​light homemade taro root and sweet potato chips served with a really flavorful yogurt and tamarind dipping sauce. The chips were not your typical fried potato chips — they were very thin and light with a nice natural taste from the taro root and sweet potatoes. The sauce was also a great addition. My fiancé, who doesn’t like yogurt, even liked it.
We then got the croquetas de pollo, which were served in a very cute clear shoe. That’s really the only way I can describe it even though I know that sounds really weird, but for my Nike Kicks-​loving fiancé, it was a nice touch. The croquetas melted in your mouth. We’ve since tried them at a restaurant in DC (not one of Jose Andres’ though) and really missed the ones from Mi Casa. They were perfectly cooked with great flavor and a melt-​in-​your-​mouth consistency.
The best part of our meal by far was the tortilla de patatas ‘new way’ — We weren’t even sure we wanted to order the tortilla de patatas, but we took the waitress’s recommendation and ordered two because she assured us it was worth it for $ 5 each. That was by far the best $ 5 I’ve ever spent — the ‘new way’ part of the dish was simply amazing. I don’t want to ruin the whole surprise, but just know that what looks like a small glass of mush actually tastes like amazing mashed potatoes with carmelized onions and other incredible flavors. I pretty much licked it clean because it was just that good, and we seriously considered ordering more before we left. I am REALLY hoping Jose Andres considers trying out this dish in some of his DC restaurants.
Even though we were happy after our three small dishes, we still managed to finish every bite of our main dishes as well. My fiancé couldn’t resist the grilled 14 oz Delmonico rib-​eye, which was cooked perfectly for him and seasoned well. He loved the yuca purée, which he said was like mashed potatoes with a twist, and he thought the piquillo pepper confit was a nice touch. I got the seared chicken thigh with confit dates and ripe plantain purée. Even though my fiancé offered me a taste of his, I liked mine so much that I didn’t want to stop eating it for long enough to try his! The chicken thighs were cooked perfectly so that they were fall-​off-​the-​bone tender. The dates with the plantain purée was an amazing combination like nothing I’ve had before. I asked for it without the bacon, but it didn’t taste like it was missing anything. The combination of flavors in the dish was so unique and just… worked. Despite being full, I ate every bite and even wished there was more!
Because the resort knew we were celebrating our engagement, the waitress also brought us a «Mi Casa» dessert that said «Happy Engagement» in chocolate. The chocolate «house» honestly wasn’t my favorite part of the meal (and I love chocolate). The hazelnut ice cream was good though, and either way, I still loved everything about Mi Casa! Even better was the attention the waitress gave us throughout the meal, making sure everything was perfect. At the end of the meal, she invited us outside to the beach to release a lantern and make a wish (as is apparently Puerto Rican tradition for celebrations). The thought was incredibly sweet, but unfortunately the weather had other ideas. Because of the wind, our lantern went into the ocean… which the waitress and the busboy were not sure how to handle. We thought it was hilarious though and loved the thought. Mi Casa was an amazing experience that I recommend to anyone!

Despite getting lost and entered panic modes while driving through what seems like the «jungle», I had a fantastic experiences! (No thanks to Google or Apple Map, get on Puerto Rico already!)
Jose Andres, the godfather of elevating Spanish Tapa in the States did not disappoint. Just like food at his L. A based restaurants in the SLS hotel, Mi Casa’s gastronomic take on Spanish cuisine is very satisfying on the eyes and in the tummy!
I came here for my actual 26 birthday. With high expectation for the perfect dinner, the staff and food truly lived up to standards. The concept of Mi Casa, I believe, is to have the restaurants set up to look like someone’s house with ceiling to floor windows. From the exposed refrigerator, pots and pans at the bar; to the kitchen-​island style plating area; the presentation of the place is set to depict a setting of a home aka casa.
Upon arrival (surprisingly made it here alive and on time), we were immediately greeted by the host, and sent to a spacious «living room» style bar. I ordered the Whiskey cocktail with Yuzu (I wish I remember the name of it!). It was one of the most amazing drink I’ve had (there’s only 1 more in this world that can top it, and it is the Governor at the Summit Bar in NYC)
It’s simple yet refreshing, carefully crafted and appetizing. A great stomach and eye opener!
An extra Hallelujah to the staffs here. They were friendly, professional and extremely generous! I forgot my server name, but he bought us a few complimentary dishes during our meal including my birthday dessert! Post dinner, we actually took a stroll around their private beach and outdoor area. The Ritz Carlton Dorado Beach Resort is truly worth every stars of its 5 stars. Simply breathtaking.
One thing I learn about Mi Casa’s menu:
Tapas are definitely Jose’s forte, Main course is a bit weak and uninteresting to me. I would come back and just go down the Tapa menu.
Highlight Dishes of the Night:
Jamón ibérico de bellota’Fermín’ (Spanish Black Pig Ham with Tomato Bread) — TO DIE FOR!
Coquitos frescos ‘Ferran Adrià’ — a great hybrid presentation of local ingredients and modern gastronomy.
Some unhappy moments on the menu:
Carne guisada con funche de maíz, camarones y setas (Veal Cheek) — Heavy and no surprise in flavor.
Chuleta de vaca (14 oz grilled steak) — Really ordinary, the highlight is the Yuca Purree. The Steak is easily replaceable.
Yes.Food wise it is not as good as his other restaurants. But the price point, great staff and location of this place makes up for it! Great experience!

I loved my experience partaking in the «Experience» menu at Mi Casa! Honestly, I think $ 85 is a bargain for the quality and quantity of food you get, especially compared to similar tasting menus at other restaurants. Some of my favorite dishes were the croquetas (served in an acrylic shoe… awesome!), pork buns, lobster and rice soup, and the veal cheeks. Honestly, the veal cheeks totally stole the show! They were so tender and succulent, I couldn’t get enough!
The restaurant is really beautiful and the staff is wonderful. I loved the hotel a lot as well and if I could afford to I would definitely stay there upon winning the lottery :) If you’re staying in San Juan, it’s a bit of drive to get there (about 30 minutes, unless your driver gets lost like ours did, and then it will take a bit longer!) but if you’re a foodie I definitely think it’s worth the excursion to head to Dorado and try it out!