Caficultura
Caficultura (401 Calle San Francisco, Old San Juan) — One of the best cafes to open in San Juan in recent years, Caficultura prides itself both on its full coffee-bar menu and its delicious cocina de mercado. Many ingredients are sourced locally, and the menu changes by the season. For breakfast, try coconut-milk French toast with pineapple jam and coconut shavings. Or for dinner, there’s plantain-encrusted chicken in a sauce of Manchego cheese. Numerous vegetarian options are available, especially at lunch, when you’ll also find many delicious gourmet sandwiches on offer. The building is beautifully restored: distressed concrete walls meet an old, Spanish-style wood-beamed ceiling—hanging from it is a magnificent antique chandelier. The customers skew young and intellectual, with students, university professors, and museum-going tourists all part of the mix. The youthful waitstaff is always friendly, but the downside is that no one seems in a rush to get the food to the table.