Toro Salao
Toro Salao (367 Calle Tetuán, Old San Juan) — The name means “Salty Bull,” and there’s something about this place that makes its moniker entirely appropriate. (And it’s not just the bullfighting posters that decorate one of the two-story-high walls.) This popular Spanish-Puerto Rican tapas restaurant was opened by Emilio Figueroa, who helped turn the southern end of Calle Fortaleza into the city’s top dining destination. There are plenty of small dishes to share, such as a delicious baked brie that’s served with crostini and topped with a chorizo jam (yes, a sausage jam); crispy mahimahi fritters; and Spanish-style flatbread pizzas, called cocas. They also make their own fresh pork sausage. The dining room, with a bar lit up in lusty red, is pleasant enough, but the tables that spill onto the adjacent cobblestone square are even better.