Puerto Rico Travel Guide

Star Puerto Rican chef Wilo Benet offers an insider’s guide to the Caribbean island’s best restaurants. Plus, new talents behind the growing local food scene and delicious recipes.

Top Picks

Puerto Rico Restaurants

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Top Hotel

Copamarina Hotel

“Right next to the Dry Forest, this 150-room hotel is a gem,” says Wilo Benet. “Copamarina has that local Caribbean feeling, with the beautiful ocean, gardens and gorgeous sunsets. The food is from chef Alfredo Ayala, whom I admire and recognize as the father of New Puerto Rican gastronomy.” copamarina.com

Plus: Best Hotels for Food Lovers

Puerto Rico Travel: 1919 Table — Chef Wilo Benet’s favorite Puerto Rico restaurants include the locally-driven spot 1919 *(photo)*, which serves dishes like wild striped bass with roasted *pasteles de yuca* (yuca tamales).

Puerto Rico Travel: Editor’s Pick — Chef Wilo Benet’s favorite Puerto Rico restaurants include the locally-driven spot 1919 *(photo)*, which serves dishes like wild striped bass with roasted *pasteles de yuca* (yuca tamales).

2013 Best New Chef

Jose Enrique

F&W’s first BNC from Puerto Rico uses ingredients from the vast market across the street from his restaurant. The chalkboard menu changes based on what the purveyors might bring in during dinner service.

Puerto Rico Travel: Andrew Zimmern's Favorite Caribbean Restaurants

F&W Best List

Andrew Zimmern Picks

The F&W contributing editor reveals his favorite restaurants in the Caribbean, including PR’s Pikayo (photo) and Lares Ice Cream Parlor.

Puerto Rican Recipes

Fried Sweet Plantains

Plantains are abundant all over the Caribbean, and one popular way to eat them is to pan-fry the sweet banana-like slices until they're warm and tender.
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Puerto Rican-Style Turkey

Chef Bill Kim makes this curry-and-chile-spiced marinade inspired by lechón, a slow-roasted Puerto Rican pork dish that he learned from his mother-in-law.
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Chicken Sofrito

For her sublime version of everyday chicken and rice, Marcia Kiesel coats chicken legs in chili powder and cooks rice with sofrito—a Spanish mixture of chopped onion, garlic and bell pepper.
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Tostones: Savory Plantains

Lourdes Castro teaches students how to fry plantains for perfect tostones.
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Arroz con Pollo

Arroz con Pollo is a perfect all-in-one meal—the chicken, rice, and vegetables simmer together, enhancing each other and giving the cook a break.
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Pigeon Pea and Calabaza Stew

In Puerto Rico, cooks use fresh pigeon peas, which aren’t readily available in the mainland United States.
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More Latin American Recipes

Like mashed potatoes, mofongo, a Puerto Rican comfort food made with mashed green plantains, is a delicious, garlicky vehicle for all kinds of savory toppings.
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