Bocata — Restaurant in Humacao

Awesome experience and Outstanding FOOD! We had a mixture of authentic Spanish, Cuban and Puerto Rican dishes. I’ll get into the food after I talk about the experience!

From the time we walked in we received the service that comes with a $300+ meal for around $80 with plenty of food to take home. The owners Juan and Dulce made themselves a part of our evening without being pushy or nosey. We loved them!

They had a genuine investment in every detail of their menu and were more then willing to stop what they were doing to answer our numerous questions or engage in conversation if we so much as lifted a finger.

We watched them do this with everyone there. They love what they do and they do it well.

The food also came out quickly at our request because we walked in hungry!

FOOD: Started with Ham and Sausage Corquetas - 6 pieces that were full bodied but not overwhelming.

For the entrees we had the Paella Negra and the Rabo Encendido with a side of Mofongo. I could write a page or two on each dish but for simplicity sake; we were pleasantly surprised by all 3. We could tell they use fresh ingredients - especially the Paella.

I know it seems like I’m drooling over this place but I was again surprised by their coffee to finish off the evening. I always take sugar in my coffee but I wouldn’t suggest adding anything to the cup. The frothed cream it came out with was perfect.

I highly recommend Bocata whether your looking for a casual meal, romantic evening for 2 or entertaining a group. We will be going back for their breakfast tomorrow and trying their sandwiches for lunch at least one more time while...

Considering how low quality the food is, this restaurant is absurdly overpriced. The paella is one of the worst I've ever had. The seafood is rubbery and completely unseasoned and flavorless. The meat was dry and tough as leather. The fish had 0 texture. Rice was wet and had hardly any flavor. Green peas were so incredibly dry. We also ordered a fish with a salad and the salad that they brought out was laughable. Literally a bed of lettuce, some tomatoes and slices of red onion. The lowest effort salad I've ever seen. Something you'd expect at an IHOP but 5x IHOP prices. The tapas might have been the best thing we had but still abysmal. Potato garlic salad was 60% mayonnaise, just disgusting. Pan con tomate had no garlic flavor, 0 salt, and stingy with olive oil. Grilled octopus was great, at least the few parts that were nicely charred and crispy, most of it was gross and rubbery. It is sad to see these great Spanish recipes executed so poorly.

Wait staff did their best, no complaints.

The restaurant itself is loud with live music, TVs all around you like a sports bar, far too many tables for how small the space is, and the entire restaurant is cluttered with items for sale all around you. Hardly any space to breathe and you have to scream to have a conversation.

This place disguises itself as a nice restaurant but for $50 per person you can have FAR...

Edit: (May 11, 2021) - 90 000 views and Two months and several visits later: As interesting as Bocata may be, service and the speed of service is suffering. As others have noted before me - waiting for services, and waiting for your order is a constant thing. On our visit last week, five of our first menu picks were not available!! Then I cannot not mention the absence of a friendly face, or the absence of service with a smile. Relevant to Bocata, but also to PR in general. How can it be that the overwhelming majority of one nation could be living in such absence of joy!? I must, and I shall make my departure soon, before this solemness rub off on me too. PR is a gem, its sparkle robbed by its inhabitants.

Original post: Interesting setup. Finding a coffee shop (good one in particular) in Puerto Rico regions are a challenge. That is what makes Bocata interesting. It is not advertised as such, but it does provide the cross between a coffee shop with cakes and confectionery, but then also serves other dishes as advertised, touching the flare of a wine bar. I liked the place and that is worthy of my...