Don José

Best find when you discover your plane has been delayed and you have time to eat breakfast!
Quick, cheap, and good. I got an egg omelet, toast, and a side of mashed plantains. My boyfriend ordered the same with bacon… all came to $ 20.
Really friendly local price, if your not trying to blow all your money in one spot I would recommend coming here. I liked this meal much better than the $ 37 a person breakfast buffet at the Intercontinental. A gem! They also serve lunch and dinner which also seemed frugal! I will be back here when I return to beautiful Puerto Rico.
Also, PASSION FRUIT FOR DRINK BREAKFAST?! So amazing, only in Puerto Rico.

It’s not pretty, but for a quick breakfast at a reasonable price I would suggest popping into Don Jose’s. It’s nothing memorable, but does eggs, ham, and a hash-​brown need to be? No, no it does not. The waitress was friendly, food came out quick, and as I said it’s cheap, go for it!

Really so many great reviews I don’t see why. I ordered the red snapper in creole sauce over rice, my fish came back still frozen solid in the center, the fish wasn’t even fresh. And the red creole sauce was literally tomato sauce with raw onions. I couldn’t make this up, my best friend was like ‘just my luck’. And then it had creepy old men just lingering around just staring.

I tried to eat in there and service was poor. The girl acted as if she didn’t want to wait on us and when she did, when I asked for tea, they didn’t have any. What restaurant doesn’t have tea? We left and she didn’t seem to give a darn.

We had dinner while on our trip to PR. We both ordered the beefsteak with onions, rice and beans and the fried plantain. It was amazing. This is real Puerto Rican food. Heinekens were a bit pricey at $ 5 a piece but that I could totally overlook for the food.

Good service, good prices. I went by myself for breakfast and just people watched.

Best place to come too after hours especially after drinking and dancing the night away.
Fresh food and affordable.
Waiter is super chill and nice.
Nice crowd from the bars and clubs just socializing and enjoying good food.
You can enjoy a nice breakfast, any type of sandwich or even some rice and beans with steak.
GOOD PLACE! YOU MUST GO! Not a far walk neither from the hotels on the main strip.
Open ²⁴⁄₇!

OK. But food was too salty, and I like salty. Not very good.

Really cheap and within walking distance of a lot of the isla verde beach hotels. Service was good, chicken and rice and beans platter was amazing!

I loved Don Jose, this was the only place I visited more than once while in Puerto Rico.
Service was great, I had the same waitress during both of my visits and she was awesome both times. She was friendly, accommodating and just great overall. Definitely a pleasure having her as a waitress.
While the food is far from gourmet, it was still really good. This is a small restaurant that serves mainly sandwiches, breakfast items and other foods prepared more than likely by a short order cook.
My pancakes, sausage and hash browns were all high quality. My Cuban sandwich was also good, bread toasted nicely, fresh pork and ham. Sandwich was moist and tasty.
I love Don Jose, definitely worth a visit for breakfast or later in the day as they are open 24 hours.

The service was excellent. It was our last stop before our flight and we were pressed for time. The server was accommodating and took our order quickly. I had the Camarones Alajillo. Best Alajillo I’ve ever had. My boyfriend had the mofongo with carne Frita which was also good.

Tostada frescas wasnt restuarant quality but the orange juice was delicious and freshly made! That is all I enjoyed about this place. and I had high hopes! Definitely brush up on your espanol before having a meal here, this place screams «locals».

After another late night filled with drinking and debauchery, we stopped here in search of food. Service was ok for us being the only table there. Food was ok, for a bunch of drunk guys scarfing down their food and thinking it was ok, maybe sober the food was not that great after all

Don Jose was our last stop on our PR trip extravaganza!
We were looking for a place that served Puerto Rican food, somewhat fast, near our rental drop-​off place, and not exorbitantly priced. San Jose definitely fit the bill.
We parked right outside and saw a sign with several varieties of Mofongo — a dish we fell absolutely in love with after having it for the first time from a random truck after our bio bay escapades. We knew we were in the right spot.
We started off with a few café con leches, which were nothing to rave about. We then placed our orders and told the waitress we were in a rush to catch our flight. She then went and told the chef, so we only waited momentarily for our food! Winningggg.
Myself and another girl ordered the Monfongo con carne frita — or fried pork mofongo. The other girl ordered a beef and onions PR dish with rice & beans, and the last ordered a red snapper. The mofongo def hit the spot and the fried pork was flavorful albeit dry. The beef and onions looked good — did not try any but the girl who ordered it cleaned her plate. The fish was fresh as well, and the sauce it was doused in was quite good. I ended up finishing half my dish and consolidating with the other Mofongo girl for one full meal later on!
The damage was around $ 20 per person for a satisfying meal in the middle of tourist central. Pretty solid, Don Jose — me gusta!

This is a great little place for a good sandwich or inexpensive and simple meal. The place is very clean and the servers are very pleasant and friendly.
The sandwiches are a good size and very reasonably priced, especially in a touristy area. The soup was good also and they have dinners and seafood also. They are open 24 hours I believe.
It is right across the street from the Hampton Inn so I went there 2 times during my stay. They also serve breakfast. I watched some of the 76’rs game vs the Knicks on their TV. They serve beer and drinks also.
I don’t think it is fine or special Latin cuisine but for the price and service it is very, very good. I would go back.

Stopped by here because it was the only place open after Irene. Every other place had no power. Don Jose is a little over priced for my taste, but not bad. I had the mofongo, which was good and also tried one of the sandwiches. The food was good, nothing super great, but just more than I would spend for a place like this.
The restaurant is in a good location on Isla Ave. in an area with some street parking and a pay parking lot across the street. It is next to some other good restaurants and bars and walking distance from the Resort hotels on the strip.
Would I go back again? Maybe. There are a lot of other places I need to try before going back. But if you’ve never been there or just in on vacation I would recommend it.

I was hungry upon landing into San Juan and it was the only place opened (24hrs) by our hotel therefore I was very happy. At first I was kind of skeptical because I wasn’t sure it was a place I should be ordering things like skirt steak from (just like ordering a lobster from a diner… would you dare?), but I was starving and I just wanted it when I saw Bistec Encebollado on the menu. It was exactly what I wanted and I just had to have it. Luckily it left me satisfied at the end of my meal and I did not walk away with a stomach ache.
Also, the waiter/​bartender/​host/​whatever else he was, was SO SO friendly. Even tho he was busy running around with all these tasks — he was very helpful, attentive, and got things done very quickly. Reminds of that iPhone game, Diner Dash.
I’d def stop in again for a cheap and quick late night meal.

First off, Don Jose is open 24/​7, which in Isla Verde is impossible to find, so that right there, in my eyes, makes it amazing. (Pizza city is open ²⁴⁄₇ but its crappy pizza, sorry I am a NY girl and am picky with my pizza) This is not a ritzy spot. It seems a lotta people trash the place cuz of its looks and its ‘slow’ service. Get used to things being slow in PR. If you are American, the service all over the Island is slower, it is NOT like the States, so, get over it.
It is a small establishment which I think is the closest thing to a ‘diner’ in Puerto Rico. (at least that I saw) I went here twice on my trip. Once for breakfast and once for a late night dinner.
Breakfast was perfect. Scrambled eggs, bacon and toast. Nice and simple and made well. Just what the Dr ordered on the morning we would venture into the rain forest.
Another night it was approaching 10:30 and my boyfriend and I were hungry. It was hard to find something we wanted to eat, and figured might as well hit up Don Jose since it was open and we didn’t want to get in the car. (This is my boyfriend
s go to place from all of his previous trips due to it being next to the hotel and being open ²⁴⁄₇) My boyfriend had a steak sandwich I believe and he was happy with it. I was so tired of fried Puerto Rican food at this point and saw that they had pasta with marinara sauce and chicken. I was in serious need of red sauce and this totally hit the spot. While it was not the BEST Italian food I’ve had (again, I am from NY and super picky with my Italian food) it did hit the spot, was not crazy expensive (as most Italian food on the Island are) and it made me a happy camper to finally have some grilled chicken.
So if you are in need of a bite, its late at night and you are in Isla Verde, stop by. It might not look like much but it hits the spot and is good basic food.

is this place a joke? DISGUSTING!!!
how is this establishment still open?
they had one waiter working the bar & the dining room (yes it was 2am but the place was jam packed on MEMORIAL DAY WEEKEND… like really 1 waiter?)
the food took 40 mins!
i ordered the mofongo which is suppose to be the puerto rican cuisine to try while in PR? so it was lumpy mashed plantains with mushy day old shrimp on top (i am usually a fan of plantains).
first off the sauce that accompanied my mofongo was a mixture of ketchup and water… dead serious! no flavor and it wasn’t even hot after waiting 40 mins!
DISGUSTING!!! DONT EAT HERE!!!

Don José is an interesting place. It’s a cross between a dive and a hotel restaurant, e.g. you feel conspicuous when it’s empty and you’re not sure what the locals at the bar are doing.
But hey, it’s cheap and it’s got good sandwiches!
I’d avoid the entrees though. The mofongo with fried pork is a classic example of what not to order. Unless you like crappy food. Go for the midnight sandwich instead. It’s a modified-​Cuban with shredded pork on a slightly-​sweetened bun.
The mozzarella sticks are also a winner, because mozzarella sticks are awesome.