On our first and last days in Puerto Rico, we treated ourselves to dinner at La Central by Mario Pagan. I have to admit that I selected it originally because it was the best-rated restaurant open on a Monday night, the day we arrived. It seems that chefs take Monday off, so it was the best option at the time. However, the incredible food and service brought us back again.
La Central is the latest restaurant of Chef Mario Pagan, opening in June of 2021. Chef Pagan draws his inspiration from his home country’s cuisine with a clever spin. It started with the cocktail menu. I could not resist the “Jardin de Eden,” a refreshing blend of gin, cucumber, creme de violettte, and lime juice. On our return visit, I tried the restaurant’s spin on a French 75, the “Central 75,” with gin, honey, blackberry, and sparkling wine, garnished with a vibrant violet petal. It was hard to choose as the menu had so many choices, featuring many cocktails featuring local rums, like the Ron y Tabaco, with Ron del Barrillito anejo rum, tobacco-infused syrup, and bitters.
For appetizers, we knew to order Pan con Lichen, suckling pig “sliders” with anejo carmelo onion shoestrings, which we enjoyed on both visits. We also tried the corned beef brisket alcapurrias, fritters made with root vegetables, with roasted corn crema and house pique. Appetizers make a wonderful light meal themselves if you just wanted to stop by the bar for a short time.
The menu offered a variety of seafood and wood-fired meats as entrees, and the menu even made the salads sound appetizing. We were drawn to the more traditional dishes, with sides of white bean ticino pegaito and a rice dish with chicharrons.
Make sure to order dessert. We overindulged on the first night and passed on dessert, but when we returned, we made a point to try the New World Corn Brûlée with Salty Sweet Caramel Popcorn. I love creme brûlée, but never had a corn brûlée. All the ingredients were things I loved, and it turned out to be an incredible dish of salty and sweet and the perfect end to our trip to Puerto Rico.
The atmosphere is lively, but not like the scene just outside its doors at Distrito T-Mobile, where we caught a Juan Miguel Tribute band for a Cinco de Mayo celebration on our last night. I would not hesitate to return when we find ourselves in Puerto Rico again.
More posts from our trip to San Juan, Puerto Rico can be found here.