Luisa International Cuisine — Restaurant in San Juan

For the locals for reserve and obey the dress code they, they sure do a great job making it difficult for us. But for the tourists who show up in sweat pants and flip flops with with socks, they don’t care because that person even though they’re not following the dress code, they have a Gucci purse. They discriminate against locals who are well dressed and make reservations. As for parking, there is no parking unless you’re okay with your car getting vandalized in the street. If not you have to pay $7 valet parking and I had to park my Toyota myself ( because I imagine it’s not a luxury car) and I still had to pay $7 for the valet. Once I finished dinner, I paid the parking, he gave me my car and I had to walk to get my car across the street in their parking lot. The valet person ran to me after I paid and I’m thinking he’s going to give me change or he gave me the wrong key, the valet guy had the audacity to say “ the valet parking is $7 but it doesn’t include tip,” I asked him how much did I give him and he said just $7. And I asked him what service did you provide me yourself ? Because I had to park my own car across the street and you told me to park it across the street. What service did you provide me? He basically said the service of allowing you to park there because I could’ve said no. This bothered me so much and I was so desperate to get home without causing a scene or calling the owner or manager and then that would’ve been another hour ordeal, I gave him $3 tip. I called the restaurant on my way home after I cooled down and spoke with a lady asking her if I can speak with the manager, they placed me in hold and forgot about the call. It’s a shame because the paella is delicious and drinks and the staff is great but the valet guy was rude and the discrimination towards locals is insane unless I have a Gucci purse on.

RESPONSE TO OWNER:

I did not park in the wrong place and please do not assume that. You could’ve easily asked before making the assumption. When facing the front of your establishment, the parking personnel and both is located to the left where there is a small parking entrance and infront of that, there is a closed off parking lot where your valet personnel has a control to open it. When I first entered for parking, I went to the left of you establishment and spoke with the valet to your establishment and asked him it this was the parking to Luisa Restuarant next door and he replied yes but he did not have parking there and that I had to park infront of that closed parking. The booth said $7 dollars valet. I gave him $7 after I had to pickup my own car from the close pit infront of the restaurant. And after giving him the $7 dollar he said it didn’t include tip to where I felt obligated to give him $3. Please correct your response. I will be posting pictures of the closed parking lot and of the valet booth sign to your restaurant...

The food is decent. Nothing mind blowing that I would recommend braving the other deficiencies for. The music was nice and the vibe was welcoming at the surface level.

Sadly, beneath the surface lurks a pretty clear disregard for the customer experience. We were there celebrating our mom’s birthday and pretty early in the night, the waitress tumbled and shattered a rather pricey glass of wine on the table and her dress. These things happen. It’s what we do in moments of difficulty that defines us, as humans and as businesses. What the waitress did, after barely apologizing, and trying to brush off the incident and commenting that “at least the glass hadn’t physically hurt anyone,” potentially prompted by restaurant policies I can only hope, was offer to give our mom a glass of wine from the bar. After further prompting, and a reminder that the class she dropped all over our mom was not a glass from the bar, she spoke to someone and said all she could do was offer a glass of champagne. We had to speak to the owner who finally agreed to do the bare minimum and replace the glass of wine they wasted.

You’d think some other show of remorse or acknowledgement would have happened when the bill came, but no. Instead, the waitress asked if we’d like to leave 18 or 20% tip. That is BOLD. I’m sure it’s the script they are given. Had she said nothing, that’s what she would have received. She then informed us 15% was the minimum (for a table of 4).

It was a really bizarre experience throughout. The food, just isn’t good enough to erase the sour taste of such poor customer service. Clearly they don’t need the local customers. Plenty of tourists in the area to wander in and wander out. I’m sure if everything goes to plan people have a perfectly lovely, albeit forgettable, time there. But a restaurant worth visiting knows how to ensure that when something doesn’t go to plan, they make up for that.

There will be no repeat customers on our end. So, spend money there at your own risk. I hope you receive better service...

0 star please! The rudest staff and terrible service. They sell you leftover.

I had the worst dining experience at Luisa Restaurant in San Juan last night. When I requested water, the waiter poured glasses for my dad and me from an already opened half-bottle of Evian, then took the bottle away. When my husband joined us and asked for water, they poured him half a glass from the same bottle, which ran out, and finally brought a new sealed bottle and left it on the table.

To my surprise, I was charged for two full bottles of water ($14) despite only receiving one sealed bottle and half of another (likely leftover from another table). Thinking it might have been a mistake, I called the restaurant to clarify and expected an apology or at least a reasonable explanation.

Instead, I was met with shockingly rude and dismissive behavior from multiple female staff members who answered the phone. They spoke to me in an accusatory tone, made excuses, and even mocked me when I requested an apology. One of them sarcastically said, "Oh, you want an apology?" and another responded in the most unprofessional and condescending tone, “Oh, we apologize bula bula.”

This behavior is disgusting and unacceptable, especially for a restaurant that markets itself as a high-end establishment. The staff’s complete lack of professionalism, respect, and common decency left me appalled. They refused to refund the tip I left, even though the issue stemmed from poor service, and only agreed to refund the bottle if I physically returned to the restaurant—a ridiculous and inconvenient demand.

It’s 2025, and I never expected to experience such appalling service and unprofessionalism in a so-called upscale restaurant. To be treated this way as a paying customer is revolting. It’s clear this restaurant does not value its patrons or understand basic hospitality. Avoid this place at all costs if you value respectful and honest service—you won’t...