Pa Onde Sea Restaurant — Restaurant in Carolina

I will preface this by saying that the food tasted good, all the servers were very kind to my children and the atmosphere was positive and family friendly. My family and I came for lunch at the recommendation of some friends. Right away we let the server know that we did not want pork in any of our food. He understood and was helpful regarding helping us pick our entrees. I reminded him of the no pork restriction and he helped us decide on 2 seafood entrees and also chicken tenders for the kids which I had already ordered. I had him repeat the order back to me and reminded him for the third time that we did not want any pork in any of the food. Food took a while to come out but it was delicious! While we were eating, we noticed that there were 3-4 pieces of something mixed in the rice in my husbands plate… (he had ordered the aguacate camarones served over mampostiao which we were told is avocado stuffed shrimp over rice and beans). We put the chunks in a napkin and started getting suspicious of the food we were eating because it didn’t look like beans. We called the server over and asked what it was and he said beans but upon further inspection he told us it’s beans AND ham in the rice……… my husband stopped eating it immediately because we have a religious restriction on eating pork products. I'm not sure if he was angry or wanted to vomit or was hungry or all of the above but he stayed quiet for the remainder of the time. The server looked very sorry and apologized a few times while he took the half eaten plate of food back with him to the kitchen. He also asked if he can take the napkin that had the ham pieces in it.We said yes ofcourse. All of this was done in a very polite and respectful manner because although we were very upset, we are reasonable people and understand that regardless of the magnitude, mistakes happen! Other than the server, no one came to our table afterwards with any explanation or remorse regarding the incident. At the time of paying the bill, we shockingly noticed that we were charged for the aguacate camarones (the entree we ordered that had ham mixed in the rice). We asked politely for that item to be removed from the bill because we were surprised that despite such a huge mistake and us being very kind about it, the establishment was still making us pay for it?! A man who we are assuming was the manager, came out to justify the charge… he told us that we ate half the dish so that’s why we were being charged for it !?!?!? ( we had eaten the shrimp and avocado and a little bit of the rice before we got suspicious). How were we supposed to know we would be eating ham in the rice?!?!?! We didn’t see it when we first started eating otherwise we would have sent it back immediately (see picture of the avocado dish……. Do you see any ham in it?) We ended up paying them for the pork dish they made us eat. It was only $26 so it wasn’t about the money for us but more about their lack of remorse and lack of remedy for the situation. Any other reputable place would have had the chef or manager come out and apologize about the situation and given us the option of A. making the dish again the correct way (without any pork) OR B. Not charging us $26 for making us eat ham when we had told them multiple times to make sure we don’t get any pork products). None of these options were presented to us. If you have any sort of dietary restrictions due to health (food allergies) religion (no pork, vegetarian) or lifestyle (vegan, pescatarian etc) I’d advise you to skip this place. As a restaurant located in a popular tourist destination, please take responsibility in educating yourself on the dietary restrictions of people from different backgrounds and how important it is for them (even if it’s not a big deal for you). There’s not a lot, I promise. It takes a quick google search. I’ve already listed some in the previous paragraph. The next step would be to show compassion towards your customer if a similar situation was to arise. I wish we had a...

Wow!!! One of the very best Puerto Rican cuisine restaurants in the island! The restaurant is nicely decorated and provides a great ambiance, the host was friendly, server was outstanding, and the food to die for!

All of the flavors were on point! The mampostiao rice was possibly the best I've ever had, and all of my friends dishes were also excellent. Food portions were plentiful and you could tell everything was made to order fresh.

For dessert we tried the churro cheesecake, and we all loved it! (and I hate cheesecake 😂).

Before we departed, I simply had to go to the kitchen and congratulate the owner/cooks, as they all did a wonderful job and simply overexceeded our expectations!

The only bad things I could point out are that the restaurant is not very big, so if you get there during rush hour you might have to wait a bit, but trust me, you won't regret waiting!

The second bad thing is that the restaurant is not open everyday, so if you happen to be visiting the island, plan ahead so you don't miss this hidden gem of Puerto Rican culinary masterpiece!

100 stars out of 10!!! Highly...

For me it is already a tradition that every time I go to a new typical "criollo" food restaurant, I order the dish that includes a "can-can chop", since with that cut I can determine how well the chef of the place handles/cooks the meats they serve. Well in conclusion, here they do know what they are doing. It is one of the few times that I have eaten the entire order because of the exquisiteness of that chop (FYI "El Troquero" is not a small plate, it is large). Based on comments from the others who went with me, I can recommend their churrasco and the dish "En la Madre". And if you have room left after the meal, the dessert selection is very good (I recommend the fried cheesecake). In customer service they are very attentive to their customers and always with an honest smile. Of course, although the prices may be a little high per person and there is the possibility that you will have to wait a while to be seated (the place fills up easily), the flavor of the food and the customer service compensate very well and It makes it worth the wait...