El Barril

I don’t been know how to start my description of this place. Amazing is the first word that comes to mind. Let me just go with saying that this is the best service I have EVER gotten in a bar, and that I am from Chicago. The bilingual male bartender will make your experience unforgettable. I had one of the best experiences of my life here with some of the most creative cocktails that exist. Smoked old fashioned? Sure, let him torch some cedar planks and put the glass over it to infuse. Piña colada from scratch made with Puerto Rican rum? Yeah, they can do that. Do you want to sample some gastronomy ‘caviar’ while you wait, or have an Aviation cocktail made by a soda stream-​esque carbonation infuser? Yes. Hell to the yes. This place is amazing. The creativity is off the chain. Next time I am in San Juan you’ll be able to find me at that bar for a good 6 hours imbibing in pure cocktail creativity indulgence. We came for the soft opening (unknowingly) and somehow left with knowing/​making friends with the Luxardo representative. Wild! Like I said, this was the best bar experience I’ve ever had. The people behind the bar are smart, well-​trained, and intuitive. Tell them what you typically like to drink, and let them suggest something. Then, get that thing & let them elevate your taste buds to something incredible. As a Chicago native, I’d put this place on par with the Violet Hour, Aviary, the Dawson & the likes of all the innovative, «perfect» craft cocktail bars for not only the drinks, but the service as well. I hope this place stays around forever. I can’t wait to come back and try one of the ‘barrel aged cocktails’ that weren’t available yet when I went. Go here, stay for hours, blow $ 100, and experience greatness. Cheers!

My boyfriend and I visited here on a recent trip to San Juan because we were told it was a great after hours spots. WRONG. Stir clear from here. When we walked up the majority of the patrons where outside loitering. We have no idea what they were outside for, but people loitering never seems to end well. We went in and Immediately headed for the restroom. Bad idea again. The toiler was overflowed onto the floor with loaded of feces and urine. I wanted to burn my shoes. It was so gross my boyfriend felt bad that I had to witness that and we immediately left.

Good music, strong drinks! Try their sangria, is delish. We were there on a Saturday, the place was pretty full.

One of the coolest bars I went to in PR. Don’t miss the tapas place next door, it’s killer!

The reason El Barril gets three stars as opposed to two is that the food was good and the service was fast, despite the fact the food is cooked next door at Bar Gitano. My husband and I went there for dinner, expecting a nice ambience such as found at the owner’s other establishments; however, we were the only people there the whole 2 hours we were there. Kind of freaky. El Barril seems to strictly be an after-​hours bar… If I were the business owners I would try to get people in the door eating before the late night party begins. If that’s not achievable, you might as well just open in the late evening, because eating alone in a big restaurant is not appealing.

This review is strictly for El Barril as a bar after hours. They have a restaurant, but I have never gone. I can say that this place gets really good on the weekends.
On the inside there is a nice bar area and some booths for sitting. The house DJ spins really good music all night long and the service is adequate.
However, the best part is that you can go outside and drink on the patio. That’s where party really is! This is definitely a chic place to be seen ;)