CAÑA — Restaurant in Carolina

I was born and raised in Puerto Rico, but living in NYC and traveling some more for the last few years, my palate is definitely more expanded than it used to. I was recently visiting the island, this time with a group that’s very used to good food and a lot of variety. I was disappointed after calling a different place and having a hard time to confirm if we could come by, so we walked in to this restaurant that I had been wanting to visit for a while and got a beautiful table at the terrace. This place is not just Puerto Rican food, but Puerto Rican flavors with twists that put the dishes in another level. Like New American kind of style but New Puerto Rican instead, perhaps a bit healthier than more traditional Puerto Rican cooking. I felt like we we able to order food that’s not overloaded with carbs. We ordered several dishes to share between six people family style, and nothing was left, but we were all very satisfied: root vegetable fritters with crab salad, green pigeon pea hummus, white yam fritters, crispy smoked pork bites, garlicky shrimp, stripped bass, crispy whole snapper, a side of mofongo and another of mampostiao, tomato water melon salad, and for dessert we shared sweet potato crème brûlée, and the rum bread pudding, which was a huge hit. The mofongo was the only thing I was not blown away by. I usually have a hard time to like snapper because a lot of places overcook it, but here it was not only not dry, but the presentation was super cool. Even though I was a little sad that there was no chichaíto shot available, the albariño wine went really well with everything, and we also had a nice bubbly toast. Our server was attentive and patient, like he was really happy to serve us, and made sure we left satisfied. I’m just hoping I get a chance to dine...

My daughter took me for Father’s Day, June 15, 2025. We arrived at 6 pm. Place was empty, with staff at the bar, laughing and ignoring us. Nice table with a view of the pool and ocean beyond. We went because Jose Enrique’s, is a consulting chef, and we have been fans of his for 15 years. Unfortunately he wasn’t there and the food was horrible and outrageously expensive. I ordered the heirloom tomato salad and it was fake, the tomato’s were soft Puerto’s Rican variety, not heirloom, and the vinegrette was bla. Not the tangy delicious dressing you expect with a $300 meal. The salad was basically a soggy mess. Next came the pork chop, like a piece of wood, I couldn’t even cut it. Sent back. After waiting for our waiter, who never came back to ask how we liked the food, so I hailed a bus boy, and gave it to him. Oh I forgot my drink. I ordered a special cocktail, and was it nasty, I again had to find my disappearing waiter and sent it back. They did produce a decent Old Fashion, (for $20) of which I had three and one was comped. Next my daughter ordered a filet Mignon for me ($65). This was a small ball of gristle without one clean bite. And she was so mortified, at the food that she wouldn’t let me send that back too. the prices were disgusting when you think about the quality of the food. We paid $300 and walked out of there completely dissatified… THAT, we actually stopped at ANOTHER restaurant for dinner. The desserts sounded good, in theory, but so does filet mignon. We weren’t willing to spend more money and be disappointed This place was a typical tourist trap. One star, diner food, with 5 star prices. In the oldest most famous hotel in Puerto Rico with cringe worthy...

Me and my husband recently visited Puerto Rico. It was my first time visiting there. The CANA restaurant inside of the El San Juan Fairmont hotel was exquisite. When we arrived we were hungry and we stopped in for a bite. Well our waitress Valentina was a doll. She was very helpful and the food was delicious.

The next day we decided to visit them again for breakfast. Our waitress was Maria who was such a delight and quite the conversationalist, Rafael made the best omelet ever, and even brought the omelet to the table, and the manager Edturo/Arturo (my apologies if I spelled it wrong) was extremely helpful. They offer a rather pricey buffet which I would have not been able to take the benefit of because I had a gastric sleeve and can only consume small portions at one time. After speaking with Edturo he was more than happy to allow me to put my food in a box. This was excellent customer service.

Thank you, CANA and staff, for making our stay one of the best ever. We were so impressed that we also ate breakfast at CANA the second day. Of course I had leftovers in my room, but my husband enjoyed the buffet. The food was very fresh and delicious. Oh, and thank Edturo for the recommendation of the Quesitos…they were quite delectable. In addition the view from the restaurant where you could see the pool and the beach...