El Quenepo Vieques — Restaurant in Isla de Vieques

It occurred to me that many people who read this review may not be familiar with the island yet, so I’m adding this general description. It’s in Esperanza. There’s a promenade built on the ocean front and the restaurants and bars are packed together on the opposite side of the street. They’re all open to the ocean. There are casual drinking establishments like Duffeys and there are a few nicer places. El Quenepo doesn’t look particularly upscale given the open air arrangement, the close proximity of the other restaurants and the general island vibe, but don’t let the first impression fool you; it’s a serious restaurant. Nevertheless it’s open air and thus warm so dress casually and cool.

This place is fantastic. The cocktails were awesome ( I had the Piña Tini). I was intrigued by every appetizer. We had the Duck Pate and the Beef Tartare. The entrees were even better than the appetizers! Ever dish sounded remarkable and the menu was well rounded so whether you were looking for light seafood or serious meat it was there. I can have meat all day at home in Tennessee so I had the Seared Grouper and it was perfect. It was beautiful, it was a marvelous balance of flavors and textures, crispy on the outside and flaky inside on a bed of creamy pesto risotto. All 4 of us had something different and we all raved about our dishes. Prices were quite reasonable. Their wine list isn’t extensive but there were some nice selection, including a Chardonnay that paired quite well with my grouper. We had tuna, chicken, and something else and no one left ANYTHING on their plate in spite of generous portions. The desserts were very good as well. My wife and I shared the chocolate torte and it was ( personal preference thing ) too dense for me, but still delicious. If I’d been able to have a cup of coffee I think I would’ve really enjoyed it but it was too late for me to drink coffee. I could easily eat there every night of our stay and not feel I missed anything. I’m confident that we found the best restaurant on the island on our first night. If there’s something better then I will truly be pleasantly surprised.

If I could offer any advice it would be to request a table at the front to be closer to the ocean breeze. Another thing: there appeared to be an open air level upstairs but they weren’t seating people up there. That would’ve...

I want to preface that I typically avoid leaving negative reviews to avoid impacting peoples' livelihood but the experience/prices compelled me enough to provide some more perspective to future diners.

The good: Great ambiance Great cocktail program Generous portions Best bite of the night: grilled pear salad

The bad: Overly ambitious menu. The breadth and diversity paints an amazing portrait drawing inspiration from various parts of the world. However the execution of the dishes simply did not deliver. The Korean Spiced Braised Pork - could not taste any Korean spices, rather the predominant flavor profile was more South east Asian peanut/satay sauce. Braised Goat Masala - vegetarian substitution was described as a chick pea stew. However when served the spinach sauce was watery, unseasoned, and chick peas ate as though they were emptied from a can and mixed into the sauce upon receiving the ticket. There was no presence of middle eastern spices in the dish. The rice was also undercooked/still hard while also becoming soggy due to the watery spinach sauce. The garlic naan ate like a supermarket version. My friend left 2/3 of the dish untouched. Braised Kurobuta Pork Cheeks - the conch and clam ragout was also very watery here as though the gnocchi were pulled and plated without shaking off any excess liquid or mixing to coat/incorporate the starch water.

It also seemed as though we were not the only table having a subpar experience as the table we were sat next to did not look pleased as they were eating their entrees and we overheard a separate table comment on how their steak (presume the filet) was overcooked and rubbery as we left. It is possible that we dined on an off night though Thursday at 7 feels like a normal time. Perhaps it was our mistake to order dishes with meat and not seafood but we were looking for a celebratory meal to punctuate our vacation and instead were left feeling...

First of all I’ve never ever posted any of my experiences going out to a restaurant, and I never complain, but I feel I have to share this experience. A group of six of us on vacation in Vieques and we chose to dine at El Quenepo. We were shown to our table by I assume a bus boy and that was the best service we had all evening. Our waitress took our orders for drinks, I had a Sprite, and there were various drinks. My girlfriend requested sparkling water. We all assumed a glass, but the waitress brought out a full liter bottle!? Well, ok. We made our selections, and when I mentioned that I wanted a certain dish, our waitress said that my choice had a “bit of a kick” as far as spicy was concerned and when I asked how spicy, she repeated again that it had a bit of a kick. Again I asked, on a scale of 1-10, she said “ we don’t rate it that way”. Now disappointed, I asked to see the menu again and changed my order to the salmon. When asked about the potato confit, I don’t think she knew what it was and when asked how it was prepared she said that it was prepared normally!? We finally got our orders and the three of us that got the salmon, found it under cooked and borderline raw and cold. When we mentioned that the salmon was in the raw side, she said “ that’s how we do it prepare it here”. The potatoes were also cold. Two of my friends asked to have it thrown back on the grill to cook it a little more, she took them back and they were served another order and again, undercooked. I had two bites and didn’t eat the rest of it. I’m from Chicago and I know restaurants and good service. This place offered niether. We paid our bill and left very disappointed. And yet with the terrible service, the gratuity was added because we were a...