Vaca Brava

253 Recinto Sur

Old San Juan, Puerto Rico

(787) 723-3700

In her opinion:

We had tried very hard to avoid this restaurant in Old San Juan since it seemed like a tourist trap...I say this because every time we walked by on our way to dinner it was packed and lined up with cruise ship passengers waiting to be seated.

However, on one of our last nights in Puerto Rico the daily rain was beginning to fall and we were extremely exhausted after a day of sightseeing. As we approached Vaca Brava we were shocked to see that there was absolutely no one standing outside this restaurant waiting for a table. Edgar asked me to go inside and check it out...I did and was told that there was no wait at all (it was around 6 pm, so I guess it was still early in the evening).

We bravely decided to try the "wild cow". It is a very large restaurant with a courtyard like seating area. We were shown to our table by one cowboy host and then introduced to our cowboy server. He informed us of the specials including the happy hour deal of 2 Coronas for $5.00. Guess what we had to drink?!

I decided on the daily special which was Pechuga a la Monterrey  A breast of chicken topped with bbq sauce, tonnes of bacon and Monterrey jack cheese melted on top with a side of mashed potatoes.

This was really good. The bbq sauce was not too pungent with a smoky tangy flavour. There was tonnes of crispy bacon on top of this perfectly cooked chicken breast and the cheese was the crowing glory. The mash potatoes were also perfectly done. I enjoyed about a quarter of this meal until I switched with Edgar who wasn't as crazy about what he had ordered...the "Churrasco a la Parrilla" or grilled skirt steak. It was served with grilled peppers and onions and a side of mashed potatoes. I thought it was a very good piece of meat, cooked to a perfect medium and I enjoyed it very much. It wasn't as good as the churrasco that I had had at Mojitos the night before but I still liked it. I thought the peppers and onions were a nice accompaniment as were the mashed potatoes.

We were way too full for dessert but what they had to offer looked amazing. I thought the food was good...not anything to jump up and down about but good...I don't understand the line ups for this place but hey, I didn't have to stand in one to eat here so it was all good!

In his opinion:

This is what Edgar ate and saw.

Churrasco a la Parrilla

Edgar gives it 3 out of 5 Olives as a rating.