Café Manolín
Churrasco – Chimichurri, French Fries
Mofongo Relleno de Camarones – White Rice, Sweet Plantains, Beans
Tres Leches
Serving traditional comida Criolla for more than seventy years, Café Manolín is nothing less than an Old San Juan institution, the current location on Calle San Justo larger than that operated by Manolín Ruíz but owners Annie Rivera and Tomás Molina still maintaining all of the Restaurant’s original charm and recipes.
Open daily for Breakfast and Lunch, pandemic precautions making masks mandatory and reservations recommended, it was at noon on Tuesday that Café Manolín was found bustling, an unpretentious setting and fair prices enticing everyone from men and women in suits to very obvious tourists.
Dividing the offerings into two halves, Breakfast ending at 10:45 and Lunch until 4:30, it was merely fifteen minutes after Ice Water was poured that two plates arrived, her medium Steak and Fries an undeniable bargain at just $11.95 while Shrimp Mofongo with Beans, Rice and Maduros was better prepared than that at Casita Miramar for less than half the price.
Also offering Coffee and housemade Desserts, plus a handful of daily specials, suffice it to say that $4 Tres Leches may not look like much, but the concoction in an aluminum cup beneath Whipped Cream is texturally splendid with Cake that still maintains plenty of spring despite a supersaturation of Condensed Milk.
www.cafemanolinoldsanjuan.com