Cockatoo Restaurant — Restaurant in San Juan

Only spent two days in the island, and this was hands down the best restaurant we ate in. We reserved in advance and asked chef-owner Allan Gancena to prepare a menu which we were very happy with. Food exceeded expectations and the service was on point. Below is a breakdown of each dish:

Focaccia was baked in-house and we couldn't get enough of it.

The chorizo, also cured in-house, came with a tasty tapenade that complemented the saltiness of the chorizo.

You would never guess the beef is local. Chef Allan ages and smokes the beef himself, and the result is tender slices of meat that are better than some Australian and USDA steaks I've had before. I usually like my beer simple, but the wasabi mayo was actually a great touch, and reminded me of how a chef in Osaka recommend we have their steaks, with a crisp garlic chip and a small smidge of wasabi.

The fish was properly cooked, and would feel right at home in any top Chinese restaurant.

The cake was, again, prepared in-house. One of the best chocolate cakes I've had in a while. Cake was moist, the chocolate just the right kind of sweet, and the compote was spot on.

Overall, I would recommend Cockatoo, especially if you want to celebrate a special occasion, like a birthday or anniversary. Prices may be on the high side compared to the restos in the island, but it's worth every centavo. (Keep in mind we spent more than average as we ordered a multi-course meal and got a bottle of wine and...

The food was good, the salmon special and the beef fillet. But the waiting time 1 hour although we were the only customers there. I would expect to be told in advance that it will take that long so I can adjust my expectations or go eat somewhere else if really hungry. But the staff is super friendly, nice ambience, hopefully once more tourists return they will learn to coordinate more in serving time and the information given to the customer :)

Response to the owner: We arrived there around 17:00 on July 7th. According to my phone, the first photo of the food was taken at 17:57. I believe my review was more than decent and it's not your place to recommend us to go and eat fast food - we came to your place because of the food YOU serve. The salmon and beef should be ready in 15 mins, yes, but I have no idea why it took so long. Yes, we returned and asked about the cooking time of the burger especially because we knew last time we had to wait too long - the reason we left was not the cooking time, but because the burger meat was mixed beef with pork and we don't like pork. But again you choose to make...

Unfortunately, I absolutely cannot understand the good reviews. The price-performance ratio is absolutely not right here. The service was really bad: despite repeated requests, half of our drinks (!) came only after more than 20 minutes. The other half came immediately. Cutlery to eat (Tuna Steak - you can definitely not eat this with your hand) we got only after we asked for it. The bill was wrong and too many drinks were billed etc. Unfortunately our burgers were cold, the fries were just swimming in grease and the tuna steak was medium rare although we had asked for well done. The majority of the menu was no longer available (steak was out, fish&chips was out, tuna was only one piece left, mashed potatoes were out etc.), but I even see that as a positive, because the ingredients are thus really fresh. Unfortunately there are no vegetarian main dishes on the menu. However it was possible to get vegetables and fries. All in all: not recommended because price performance was simply not...