Old San Juan
Old San Juan has an insane amount of restaurants, partly to feed the thousands of people who come off the cruise ships, and it can be tricky to choose one. But we were delighted to see so many options in many “regular” restaurants and were surprised by how flavorful some of our meals were.
So, without further ado, here are my favorite places with vegan options in Old San Juan:
De Averdura
For typical Puerto Rican food, try De Averdura! The line was really long for this place, and we had to sit at the bar, but it was worth it.
We had a sweet plantain stuffed with veggies, accompanied by rice and beans (arroz y abichuelas) and a tostone, and it was delicious.
Service can be slow, as they are always full, so make sure to go if you have plenty of time (to wait outside and then inside).
If you’re a little short on time and this seems too long, go across the street to St Germain.
St Germain Bistro & Café
Right across from DeAverdura is St Germain Bistro & Café, which we enjoyed so much we went to twice!
Once, we went for brunch, and I had the V-sandwich with tostones and it was delicious! I loved the caramelized onions, the mushrooms tasted really good, and the vegan mayo-ketchup sauce is simple but effective. The portion is generous too!
We went back for dinner and had the marinara pasta with eggplant, and the sauce had a little kick to it which was really nice.
Drinks were really good too (with some unusual choices like lavender lemonade!), and staff very friendly!
La Ó
Located just steps from Plaza Colón, La Ó is another restaurant we went to twice because we liked it so much… and because they have original signature cocktails, several vegan options, including desserts!
Once we had one of the two vegan pizzas on the menu and the homemade vegan cheese was delicious! I wish the arugula had been cooked in instead of put on top , but that’s just me.
Another time we had the pumpkin lasagna, and it was surprisingly flavorful! I was not a fan of ricotta (it’s a texture thing, I think, but this vegan ricotta tasted great! I also was worried the pumpkin taste might overwhelm the dish, but it was nicely balances by the lentils and mushrooms.
And the quinoa chocolate brownie was delicious! Such a perfect way to end the meal!