Strolling and Snacks in Old San Juan with Spoon Food Tours

Food tours are one of my favorite things to do in a new city. I feel like it’s best to do them on the first day or two in a new destination to get a feel for the city, learn your way around, and get used to ordering food (potentially in a foreign language). I knew little to nothing about Puerto Rican cuisine, so obviously I planned to take a food tour in San Juan, and I was gonna drag everybody with me…

Despite having ventured to the city once before, San Juan still qualifies as a “new” for me. I don’t count a half-day day spent in Old San Juan and then retreating back to a cruise ship at the age of fifteen as really getting to know a city… but thanks for the free vacation, mom! And sorry that I ever told you about sneaking off the ship that night after dark without any supervision.

After a bit of intensive Internet research on the food tour operations in the area, I chose Spoon Food Tours and their Old San Juan Walk & Taste Tour. We headed out from our temporary abode in Santurce sans breakfast on our second full day in Puerto Rico, ready to sample some local foods.

We met up with our tour guide Yailin, a fun Californian of Mexican descent who’d found her fiancé in San Juan and moved to Puerto Rico. (I always love learning the details of people’s lives in the places I visit.) No one else had made reservations that day – the summer is low season – so it ended up being just the four of us with Yailin on the tour. Exclusive.

Our meeting point was this totem pole erected in honor of the Taino Indians, the indigenous population of Puerto Rico well before the Spanish came.

(There are actual historical artifacts in the totem pole. Crazy.)

Our first stop was at a small café, Don Ruiz, located inside the grand Cuartel de Ballajá, an impressive former military barracks. There we learned a bit about the coffee grown on the island, the current drought affecting its production, and families that ran the coffee plantations. Then we were served a great cup of coffee topped with thick foam on top – I believe it was a latte? (Sorry for sounding dumb, I’m not so into the coffee culture. But I do like caffeine.)

And it was at this moment that I had to break my promise to myself that I’d never take one of those terrible white girl photos of my coffee with the little foam design on top. It was for the sake of the blog, you guys! I’m sorry!

(Actually, I kinda broke this no-coffee-photography promise again yesterday on Instagram… dammit, the floodgates have been opened!)

But seriously, if coffee tasted like this all the time, I might actually spend money on it. You know, maybe even go to coffee shops and cafes and stuff. It was great without sugar (I usually take my coffee black), but it was even better with a spoonful of the raw, brown sugar provided on the table and typical of Puerto Rico. It makes my morning cup of coffee – that I force down for weekday energy – seem very depressing.

Our latte was served with a traditional breakfast of a mallorca, a toasted ham and cheese sandwich on delicious bread, topped with powdered sugar. After being introduced to them on the food tour, I started noticing them for sale all over San Juan. Great idea for a sweet and savory combo!

Oh, you wanted an aerial view of that foam art?

We then proceeded to wander the colorful cobblestone streets to learn a little more about Ponce de Leon, the little (read short) Spanish conquistador and first governor of Puerto Rico. Fun fact: I did a second grade research project on Florida (I have NO idea why) and learned back then about Ponce de Leon’s quest for the fountain of youth, so this was quite a memory jogging lesson for me.

Later, we got to visit the church where ol’ Ponce was buried after he died from being shot with a poison arrow (aka pretty much the coolest way to die). The cathedral also contained the oldest school in the United States. (Yeah, as a history major, I enjoy this kinda stuff. That liberal arts degree really only qualifies me to be a contestant on Jeopardy and not much else.)

^He’s in there

Our next stop was this bakery where they make homemade treats daily. We each got to try a quesito, a sweet, glazed twisted pastry wrapped around a mild cheese. Mmmmm, man I wish I could find these in Raleigh. We had already discovered quesitos during our limited time in Puerto Rico at little spot in Santurce and developed a newfound love for them. I’m such a fatty that I took a bite out of mine before remembering to take a picture, so everybody else offered theirs up for a photo opp.

Don’t mind me, I’m just taking pictures of a half-eaten baked good in the middle of the street.

We took a peek at (and into) the most photographed door in San Juan, the entryway into a historically protected old home with high ceilings and a courtyard, typical of many homes in the area – um, can we adopt that architecture style please? Brightly painted with the Puerto Rican flag, it deserves its superlative.

The view looking up at the home.

The view looking inside. So cool, right?!

Yailin also told us about this little dude, Oscar, who creepily appears every now and then in the streets on the sides of buildings. He’s a Puerto Rican nationalist and political activist currently serving time in an Indiana prison for… well, something to do with conspiracy and explosives and whatnot.

^Oscar López Rivera

Next, we popped into a fabulous hotel that had previously been a convent – thus the name, “El Convento.” It was super nice, with a truly open air cafe inside (as in, there were trees growing in there), but at $300/night in the low season, I’ll likely not have the pleasure of staying there anytime soon.

And then we walked past this tiny church, with alllll the pigeons.

You guys like birds?!

Oh, and we took a stroll by the governor’s mansion! They raise a flag when he’s home and you can take a tour if you want.

Unrelated:  Around this area I saw a lot of business-y, government-type folks wearing suits… and I just felt so sorry for them. As in, I thought wearing a suit around downtown Raleigh in the middle of the summer was bad, but wowww, I’d hate to try wearing heels and a suit in the Puerto Rican heat. And then you throw in the cobblestone… I’d be dead.

^That’s el gobernador’s home at the end of the street

Speaking of hot, we were soon rewarded with a locally-made popsicle (paleta). I strayed from my rule of always getting chocolate/peanut butter desserts (mind you, this was difficult as there was a Nutella option – what?!?! I know, I know). Instead, I got strawberry mojito because it came recommended and just sounded refreshing. And it was; it even had mint blended inside. I tried my best to eat it before it melted all over my hands. I did not succeed.

This popsicle was also the victim of a bite before I was able to take a photo. Sadly, in my struggle to take said photo I threw away all my napkins, thus creating a lot of stickiness… which led to a lot of hand licking. That’s cool with the general public, right? Licking your hands as you walk down the street?

Gato Jirafo statue commemorating all of the cats of San Juan, some of whom are cared for and fed by a local organization // one of the narrowest homes in the world (painted yellow).

We walked along the wall next to the sea, and Yailin pointed our the Bacardi factory and the iconic watchtowers protecting San Juan before arriving at our last stop of the tour, La Cueva del Mar. This restaurant is a family-owned establishment, and it has three locations on the island. As luck would have it, we had already eaten here on our first night in town at the Santurce location, but I was glad that Yailin confirmed that it was a locally-owned place.

We tried a rum drink made with the local rum, Don Q, mixed with orange and grapefruit juice. Surprisingly tasty, refreshing, and not too sweet! (And in my opinion, this rum is way better than the kind served at bars in the States, the kind that gives me bad flashbacks from spring break. However, I also realize that this could be my own fault for ordering the cheap stuff, like, every time.) We also sampled a taste of El Barrilito, an aged dark rum only available in Puerto Rico.

Fun fact: Most Puerto Ricans drink Don Q and not Bacardi rum, because even though the Bacardi factory is located literally right there, the Bacardi family is Cuban… and therefore Bacardi rum is considered Cuban.

We each got our choice of an empanada. I got beef, Mom got crab, Patrick chicken, and Charlie conch. The array of hot sauce was impressive as well – they had tamarind, lemon, avocado, and um… red. Since I love spiciness, I tried them all. All were excellent. We also each received a fish taco. Mom and I had eaten these fish tacos the night before at La Cueva del Mar but devoured them nonetheless. Along with our cocktails.

I will admit that I was a bit sad that this was our last stop on the tour – I could’ve kept walking and eating with Yailin all day! For the price of our tickets, after comparing it with previous food tours we’ve taken (in Bangkok and Durham, NC), mom and I thought there might’ve been a little more food included.

After sharing this minor critique with Spoon Food Tours, however, they made the good point that there was alcohol included in this tour, which is not very common for most food tours. I also learned (and my previous research confirmed) that this amount of food was pretty much par for the course on food tours in San Juan.

Plus, we had a good time! We learned a lot about San Juan’s history and had a solid stroll around this beautiful colonial neighborhood. And let’s be honest, we definitely had enough food to satisfy us; it was probably the equivalent of breakfast and lunch.

Another perk: Yailin helpfully sat around with us for a while after we’d finished eating, answering our questions about other things to do and places to eat around San Juan, even confirming our choice for the excellent dinner we had later than night… (Seriously, stay turned for more food.) She told us more about the bus system and La Placita and then led us to a Puerto Rican shop where the souvenirs were actually made by local artisans (rather than, you know, in China).

Happily full and subdued by our rum drinks, we then said goodbye and continued our roaming around Old San Juan… this time in search of cold beers. See more of that here.

Tickets for the Old San Juan Walk & Taste Tour were about $70. Check out the Spoon Food Tours website for more information and booking. Aside from this tour, they also offer a driving tour that visits other neighborhoods for lunch and an evening drinking tour with several cocktails that I would LOVE to try!

I received a complementary food tour from Spoon Food Tours, but clearly, all opinions are my own. Mom, Patrick, and Charlie all paid for their tickets! A big thanks to the company for promptly and positively responding to any criticisms I had.

Have any of you guys ever taken a food tour?