Flavors of San Juan Food & Culture Tours

I really enjoyed this experience. I could give you a play by play of the half dozen or more places we visited and the various local foods we sampled, but I think these change, and every experience is different. I will say that we chose the morning tour (so we could visit the Bacardi factory across the bay that afternoon) and that the experience stimulated more than just our taste buds… it was well worth the price we paid just to be guided around Old San Juan, and I was more than satisfied with quantity and variations of dishes that we were offered to sample.
Our guide appeared well trained in giving this tour (I think it was Kathy, but given the other reviews I’ve seen, everyone seems to have enjoyed their guides as well), and well versed in Puerto Rican culture, as she provided a rich narrative between each stop, talking about everything including her and her company’s backgrounds, the history and origin not only of the food and beverages we sampled but of the numerous streets, parks, and historic buildings we passed, the history of the stray felines and their caretakers, famous founders and visitors to the island over the centuries, the artifacts we viewed along the way, war that were fought, and so many other things we would not have learned had we not chosen to have this experience. We ended up dining another day at one of establishments we visited during our tour.
I would highly recommend this tour to anyone who wants to experience Old San Juan from a viewpoint other than their own.

A Walk into the Historic Flavors, Sights, Sounds and fragrance of OLD SAN JUAN
Denise is the only guide that welcomes people with a gracious smile, warmth, knowledge and her friendship. There were 12 in our group and she made us feel like we had a family member showing us around Old San Juan. She reminding us of the incredible history, historic landmarks, heritage, culture and architecture of home in Puerto Rico. We tasted the old San Juan world from the 1400s and the new. We stopped at incredible restaurants (6 of them) and each item served had rich history in the best of Africa, France, Spain and native Indian culture. To be able to TASE and TOUCH the incredible fabric of this wonderful San Juan Puerto Rico, was special and Denise, made every stop unique, wonderful, and unforgettable. Thank you Denise! This is a MUST TAKE TOUR ! Edweena Gilmore, Exec Vice President, Gilmore Construction
Visit — Business 10 people
Jan 2016
Recommend 2 – 3 hour tour
Suitable for Families, Trendsetters, Luxury Travelers, foodies
Food was available, and ok for children that can walk and pay attention.
Edweena Gilmore, Denver Colorado

Perhaps it was because we took this tour at the end of our week instead of when we arrived, but I found it to be expensive for what it was. The first stop (of 5 «and a half» stops) was the only one I really enjoyed — the restaurant contact there was knowledgeable and passionate about local coffee, rum, and dishes they served. We visited Pricensa Gastrobar again later in the day and if we’d been in SJ longer I’m sure we would have gone back for a meal. The food at the remaining stops was passable but not at all impressive (and no overview/​lesson like we had at the first stop), though granted I’m a bit of a foodie. We had the chance to mash up our own mofongo, which was interesting, but then the dish itself was bland, which is too bad because I had *excellent* mofongo at other restaurants that week (try Punto de Vista). The piña colada we had was way too icy – the best one we had all week was at Barrachina. A few interesting history tidbits along the walking tour, but overall I expected more for $ 100 per person.

Most excellent for family of 5. Carmen was extremely knowledgeable and friendly. This is the best way to see old san juan and learn something and eat. Highly recommended.

Our favorite thing we have done so far in Puerto Rico. The tour guide, Horacio, was full of joyful energy. He really made us happy. He also had lots of extra facts about plants that were super interesting. I loved it. My wife loved it. My kids (13 and 14) loved it.

Had a great tour with this company and would highly recommend it to other travelers ! Favorite part was making our own mofonfos and the best pina coladas we had the entire trip.

Booked the 3pm because I knew there would be more alcohol involved!
Kathy, our tour guide was great and of course the tour was really good. It gave you a good sampling of the restaurants in Old San Juan with a bit of history with humor thrown in. We had appetizers, palate cleanser, a meal, drinks, & dessert along with a brief Rum tour. This is a great way to get your bearings in Old San Juan, check out restaurants you want to go back to, please you get coupons for those restaurants and more. Definitely worth the money. Please don’t review this business if you received a freebie for writing this review, or if you’re connected in any way to the owner or employees.

Great time in San Juan with Denise our guide! Highly recommend if you are in PR for a bit or if you are docked here before or after a cruise. 3 hours and 5 – 6 stops with different foods and Pina Coladas!

This tour was fantastic. In about 3 hours or so, we learned a ton about the history of San Juan and we able to eat amazing food. We were so glad we didn’t eat breakfast because by the end of the tour we were STUFFED!

Excellent tour. Eddie is very knowledgeable. The other reviews do a great job explaining what you eat, where, and when. But also know you will leave feeling FULL and happy. This is not just a little taste here and there, but meals! Yum!

In one word… AWESOME! My guy and I booked the 10:30 A.M. tour and really lucked up as we were the only ones on it! We had two very personable and knowledgable tour guides, Horracio and Eddie. Both young and energetic but compassionate and reasonably paced were able to make us feel comfortable and never rushed. I was nervous about a three hour walking tour knowing i’ve had two knee surgeries and plantar fascitis but i did not feel an ounce of pain during the tour. We were offered plenty of water and bried sitting breaks throughout so if you afe worried about the duration… don’t be!
Again, we could not have asked for a better experience as they were patient and took us to the best hidden gems around. Horracio reminds me of a young beach loving hippee who loves and appreciates not only good cuisine but the abundance of Puerto Rico’s natural resources as he picked up all spice and ectaliptus leaves along the way for us to smell. Eddie, a former political science major was energetic to be shaddowing Horracio and knows his stuff! He not obly explained the origins of the areas visited but gave us a glimpse into why things were the way they were in terms of infrastructure, landmarks, etc.
First stop: Aroma Coffee House– We immediately smelled coffee and bread upon entering. The staff immediately brought us lightly frothed café con leche and mallorca with ham and cheese.
I never thought I would enjoy flaky toasted bread sprinked with sugar with ham and cheese but it was quite tasty. The coffee taste earthy with undertones of South America. Very good all on its own. Horracio explained how Puerto Ricans eat this for breakfast with ¹⁄₃ coffee and the milk ratio.
The ceilings were high and the building was designed to cirrculate air flow although it was hot! The architecture was beautiful as it reminded me of Spain with its inside courtyards to go to the bathroom.
Next stop was for a morning sweet treat from Señor Paleta. We tried the fresco mojito and the dulce de leche. We loved that this natural busineas uses the natural sweetners of the land. Very creamy, velvety and just heaven.
We walked over to a park that was Federal property so we resumed the tour a bit down the road. The view was fantastic as we were able to see the fort that enclosed San Juan and learn all about its origins. We then encountered a flock of piegions who were quite comfy with the locals as we learned about the old church. Seeing the governs mansion, learning about the heirachy of government here in relation to the US was quite interesting.
If you’re lucky to get a «private tour» with Horracio and Eddie see if you can duck inside quickly as you’ll learn incredibly satisfied. In fact, if you like the hollistic natural organic powers of herbs and other abundances of nature… you will find it here including a book written by Horracio’s teacher outlining her journey across Puerto Rico to discover nature’s best! We even found some medicinal headache, aches and pain, arthritic relief elixer too!
Pues nos vamos… si! We headed over to Ross de Triana for a hands on mofongo lesson (very informative and tasty) accompanied by a local flavor arroz con frijoles. For $ 15.00 extra we added glasses of refreshing sangria. I’ve lived in Spain before and my first sip took me back there. The restaurant is located in an old underground tunnel system that actually housed prisioners in the past. We were about to see the portion of the tunnel where the prisoners were held and feel the excrutiating heat they endured while being behind the same bars that remain today. Talk about cruel and unusual punishment nowadays.
Piña colada was up next and it was smooth and sweet. It was like spreading frosting on cooled down cupcakes. I drank it so fast i got freeze brain. It was also scortching hot out there too as the seating are was located in an indoor courtyard.
Finally, our last stop was at Vaca Brava for some sweet, dense cheese flan. I love flan and it was here that i realized that store bought, instant jell-​o flan is crap compared to this. So thick you need to almost cut your spoon into it.
We left more than satisfied having our love for culture and authentic cuisine fulfilled.
I cannot express just how satisfied we were with San Juan Food Tours and overjoyed and so grateful for our experience with Horracio and Eddie. We happened to see another large (25 – 20 people) tour going on as well and were thankful that our 10:30 slot was just the four of us. We could have easily been told thag due to low enrollment we’d have to join the large 10:00 AM group but instead this company accomodated our time request regardless of enrollment.
If you are looking for a scripted tour guide that is ridgid and sticks to the script only acknowledging you as a participant, this is NOT the tour for you. However, if you want a real deal tour of Old San Juan look no further! While there is «scripted information» that the tour informs you of but this is the real deal!

This was my favorite part of our recent trip to Puerto Rico! To start, our tour guide Victor, was fabulous. He provided info about the food as well as history of Old San Juan architecture. We went to 6 different places in Old San Juan and I was impressed with every single one of them! We started at a coffee place which sells 100% Arabica Puerto Rican coffee and was served with a ham and cheese sandwich topped with powdered sugar.
The rest of the menu was…
2. Popsicles made with fresh ingredients
3. Empanadas and fish ceviche
4. Chicken mofungo
5. Hot chocolate with jelly donuts and more chocolate
6. Piña coladas
This food tour is highly recommended! They also offer a run tasting which I definitely would have done if we had more time in Old San Juan.

This tour was exactly what we were looking for. Carmen was a great tour guide. We did the 10am tour (3 hours) and went to 6 places. First was a local coffee shop that Ricky Martin’s cousins own (not relevant to the tour but a nice piece of info!) where we had delicious locally grown coffee and a small sandwich type thing called a Majorca. Then we went to a tasty ice/​gelato shop and got some history of the city while we enjoyed that. After that was my personal favorite, Café El Punto, where we had the most amazing ceviche as well as alcapurrias which are gluten free (like an empanada but the dough was made from plantains which made them gluten free). Next stop was Rosa de Triana where we made our own mofongo (so fun and yummy) and got to purchase some house made sangria which was excellent. They also gave us some chicken in a delicious sauce to go in our mofongo and also a side of rice and beans. This place used to be an old jail so the atmosphere was pretty cool. Then we made our way to what a believe is the only chocolatier in Old San Juan where we sampled amazing hot chocolate and pieces of chocolate and cheddar cheese. You wouldn’t think the two go together but the combo was a nice surprise. I highly recommend the facilities at this stop, they were modern and very clean, you won’t get that at every stop since the town is so old! And then finally our last stop, I can’t remember the name of this place, but we were given delicious piña coladas. The pace of this tour is excellent. We left with full bellies and happy hearts. Not overly stuffed so that you can’t go exploring afterwards which is what we did. Carmen and her tour guide partner (I can’t remember his name but he was excellent as well) answered all of our questions, took our pictures when we asked, pointed us in the right direction after the tour, we just couldn’t have asked for better. We also had a great fun group of people in our tour so that made it even better.
I would honestly come back to PR for this tour alone. I can’t say enough good things about it!

Everything about this tour was great and worth the $ 70 price!!!
We had the 3:30pm tour on a Sunday afternoon and we had a group of 12. Carmen was our tour guide and she was fabulous! Very informative, fun, and sweet.
During the three hour tour (insert Gilligan island’s theme song) we visited six restaurants and stopped at various historical sites along the way.
They say you won’t leave the tour stuffed but we were definitely stuffed and ready for a nap by the end.
All in all the tour was very paced well and we experienced great Puerto Rican food ranging from breakfast favorites to main courses to desert and cocktails.
I highly recommend this tour to foodies and non foodies alike!
Good to knows:
Vegetarian friendly
Non-​alcoholic friendly
Accommodates for food allergies
Wear comfortable shoes
No selfie stick? No problem. The tour guide will happily take pics if you ask.
The tours later in the day mean more shade and awesome views of the sunset at the end of the tour.

Exceed expectations. About 3 hours with various stops to please any palate. Victor was able to accommodate all dietary restrictions and give valuable cultural insight. Able to start the day at a local coffee shop, another stop to grab a popsicle, Casa Cortez for great desserts, and others. A filling expeince. Bring your appetite!

Great way to spend the afternoon in Old San Juan.
We did the 3pm tour with Rocie
$ 69.99 per person
Small group of 12
What to know:
— Visit 6 places (picked by guide)
— small bites at each place
— vegetarian friendly
— non alcoholic friendly
— mix of history and food info
We visited:
1) Aromas — coffee shop
2) New Popsicle shop (concept from Seattle)
3) Art store/​restaurant for ceviche and fried plantain
4) Restaurant where we made mofongo
5) Cortez Chocolate shop — hot choc
6) St Germain local bar — piña coladas
Would have liked to know the places we would visit when signing up for the tour. There was no info on the email confirmation about that.
Felt like we went to more newer places than older places. Would have preferred to go to older local places that have been around longer since it’s a history/​culture tour. Also parts of the tour seemed like a marketing for the venues.

I would recommend this tour, the food and tour guide was great. I would due it all over again.

San Juan, Puerto Rico was our third port of call on our 7 night Caribbean cruise. And this was the highlight of our day.
Food tour of Old San Juan with Paula was excellent. We went to several restaurants with tastings of what Puerto Rico has to offer and in between restaurants we get some history from Paula. She was very entertaining and lively. I enjoyed the long walks seeing different architectural landmarks in the city while she talks about them. Very informative. I guess it doesn’t hurt that she is actually a teacher at a local school.
If you’re pressed for time and big gluttons like us, this would be a great excursion to book. Forget about that $ 10 or $ 20 «city tour» (yes, we did that one too). You get a tour of Old San Juan with more than just sights, you also get bites and drinks, PR style.

This is a MUST when visiting Puerto Rico. My husband, parents and I did this food tour on our trip and it was worth every penny!
We did the 10am tour and Carmen was our tour guide. She was amazing! She was so knowledgable on the history of Old San Juan. As we walked from place to place she would point out certain things, tell us the stories that came with the buildings, and gave us time to take pictures when we wanted. She was so sweet!
The tour took us to 6 different restaurants where we tastes a variety of food, coffee, and sweets. Everything was amazing! After the food tour we went back to 3 of the places to eat because the food we tried was so good.
Overall experience was GREAT! I will defiantly do this again on our next trip!