La Cueva del Mar | Calle Loíza — Restaurant in San Juan

I strongly advise against dining at this establishment. Our experience was extremely disappointing and unprofessional. The service was lacking from the outset: our waitress was noticeably impatient and failed to check in with our table even once. The delay in receiving our food was unacceptable, and when it did arrive, the oysters were disappointingly not fresh and nearly room temperature. Furthermore, a miscommunication led us to return a dish that we had not ordered.

When the check arrived, we were surprised to find that a mandatory 20% tip had been automatically added, unlike other tables nearby where customers had the option to tip at their discretion. When we walked to the front desk and inquired about this policy, the host and another waiter failed to give us a clear explanation and instead brought our waitress back. Upon confronting her, we were told that the 20% charge applied to bills over $100—a rule that was neither clearly posted on the menu nor communicated by the staff. This is also questionable because if that is the case then why were the host and waiter did not state the policy as I questioned them rather they brought our server.

During the discussion, the waitress made a comment implying that this practice might not be common in some countries, which felt like an inappropriate and stereotyping remark given our Asian American background. She kept asking if we want our money back rather than addressing our concerns about the lack of transparency.

To make matters worse, another waitress joined in and escorted us out of the restaurant. I also suffered an allergic reaction on my way home. The manager was not present at any point, and it seems unlikely that these issues will be addressed. After reading some of the reviews, it seems like this behavior is a habit of the servers, if there is any dissatisfaction during customer’s experience so to avoid low tips.

This series of events points to a serious problem with customer service and transparency at this establishment. I urge potential customers to consider these issues before deciding...

This place is about 10 to 20mins off the main strip of resort hotels but nestled on a backstreet which is just a busy as the main but fear not because it's easily accessible for Uber and have great valet parking if you are in a rental (anybody who driving a rental be aware Android and Apple play lags when you link it to the infotainment systems in your rental so if you are with a group of ppl use another phone as back up gps as the infotainment direction will continue to lose it sense of direction due to the congestion of electrical signals). To the food: Excellent!!! The menu is QR scan in both Spanish and English. We ordered the sampler appetizer at first as we always do when visiting a new restaurant just to see somewhat to expect of the food. The waiter told us all seafood was caught and delivered fresh daily and fresh it was. I had the Red Snapper cooked to perfection. My party ordered a little bit of everything on the menu from fish tacos, seafood empanadilla's as well as beef and cheese, lobster alfredo and we was all impressed on how great our food tasted. Now be aware ppl work on island time here so don't be worried on food time just enjoy the good mix drinks and awesome environment with your party and you too will be writing an awesome review for this restaurant. This place will definitely be a goto on my next visit...

So.. The reason i gave this place 2 stars is a few reasons. If you have a big group, don't come here because it took us 1 hour to get our food. And eventually when we received it, we sent back a few dishes because they were not hot. I watched the entire restaurant get their food, finish, pay and leave and then watched that same table be filled again and eat and leave before we received our food. It was terrible service. The empenada was delicious though and that was 1 ofnthe stars .. Another person with us got the whole fish meal and she loved it and thats another star.. But I had fish and shrimp tacos and regardless of the reviews, they were ok. The portion size was inconsistent with different orders and that is 1 thing we sent back because it was cold. In the pics you will see a burger we ordered for a kid but it was burnt so we didn't eat it. They ran out of sweet plantains, probably due to everyone ordering it while we waited that hour and instead of telling us they tried to give us the unsweetened plaintains which were dry and rubbery, and those were sent back. The reviews were good but the actual food and service was not very good. I would refer anyone there and I would not go back. I even told our hotel not to refer anyone there. I left unsatisfied and still hungry and will probably...