Based on past experiences, we chose to stay at the Ritz-Carlton San Juan Hotel, Spa and Casino. Unfortunately, the hotel is located on the beach in an uncomfortable proximity to the airport with regards to aircraft noise and exhaust fumes drifting across the property.

After a mediocre breakfast at the all-day dining Caribbean Grill and a look at the pricey menu of the hotel’s dinner-only Prime 787 steakhouse, we decided against exploring the Ritz’s various dining venues.

We did have a few lunches at the poolside The Ocean Bar & Grill which offers casual fare such as pizza, pasta, sandwiches and salads, as well as a delectable seafood ceviche. There is also a sushi bar adjacent to the Prime 787 space, and a Chinese restaurant located inside the casino.

The Lobby Lounge as well as The Casino Lounge offer live evening entertainment along with cocktails and a light hors d'oeuvre selection throughout the day.

We researched a number of local clubs for live music and DJ dancing, especially trying to find a venue for Puerto Rico's own “Reggaeton” style of music.

Here's a list of clubs recommended to us by Puerto Ricans in the know who wouldn't miss an opportunity to move their feet to the beat:

• Candela, Rumba, Lazer T, and Coup De Ta — all located in Old San Juan.
• Club Luxor — in the Santurce district. Here Reggaeton is played on Friday and Saturday nights.

After eating our way through town, we recommend the following restaurants:

Chayote

Chayote is an upscale restaurant in the Miramar district featuring a contemporary basement dining room and an excellent creative Caribbean cuisine favored by a well-dressed clientele of San Juan urbanites and those visitors fortunate enough to have been tipped off to this gem by their concierges. Prices are moderate given the quality of the food, and the service is efficient yet pleasantly unobtrusive. Nothing disappoints on the deceptively straightforward menu — five seafood and five meat and poultry entrée selections are offered — and dishes such as Langoustines in Soy, Ginger and Lime Vinaigrette over Leek Puree and fresh Papaya or Ahi Yellowfin Tuna crusted with Sea Salt and Coriander, served with Carrot & Sesame Seed Purée, Ponzu Sauce, Wasabi and Nori Nest easily take island cooking to new heights. Desserts are scrumptious and the wine list is solid. Since the restaurant has a local following, the menu changes regularly and, given the opportunity, we certainly would have opted for a return visit.

Marmalade

Marmalade Restaurant and Wine Bar, located on Fortaleza Street in Old San Juan, is a moderately priced venue drawing a younger clientele with its take on contemporary California cuisine and its lounge-like, intimately lit interior. The Wine Bar offers an acceptable choice of champagnes and wines by the glass and by the bottle. A note on the menu informs diners that only naturally raised meats and hormone-free products are being used, and that the kitchen doesn't prepare Chilean sea bass, an endangered species. The à la carte menu offers a demi-pour wine pairing ($4.50 for white and $5.50 for red wines), but only with its appetizers, soups, salads and pasta dishes. A nine-course “Degustación” menu ($75.00) is available from Sunday through Wednesday, and it includes wine pairings with all courses except the dessert choice. The short list of entrées — four “Of the Sea” and four “Of the Land”, with one vegetarian option — includes salmon, tuna, swordfish and black cod, as well as pork loin, poussin chicken, rack of lamb and beef tenderloin. There are seven appetizers featuring such standards as tuna sashimi, smoked salmon sushi, raw oysters, seared scallops and fois gras terrine. Two soups, two salads, a risotto, a pasta, and one gnocchi dish round out the menu. After we sampled various courses, we concluded that the kitchen's execution doesn't quite live up to the flavor symphony promised by the items’ menu descriptions. One of the more unique appetizers, Paella Bytes a la Marmalade, seemed to be no more than small mounds of deep-fried chorizo sausage and rice, rather than the advertised “rolls of sushi-esque flavored spiced-chorizo rice scented with smoked chicken, peppers and a saffron-garlic emulsion”. Given the moderate prices and pleasant atmosphere, dinner was still an amiable experience.

Pikayo

Housed inside the Museo de Arte de Puerto Rico in the Santurce district, Pikayo enjoys a reputation as San Juan's most innovative restaurant. Chef Wilo Benet, whose resume includes a tenure at New York City's Le Bernadin, offers fusion cuisine blending traditional “Puertorriqueno” basics with European classics in an upscale modern dining room. The clientele includes dressed-up locals and visitors alike, and the well-spaced booths and tables, fine art decorated walls, intimate lighting, and very professional service make for a classy dining experience. We found the enticing menu to be competently executed and enjoyed a fine meal here. Pikayo offers a “Mar” and a “Tierra” themed five-course tasting menu ($85 each), and Puerto Rican as well as custom tasting menus are available upon prior request. The à la carte menu features “Fritters & Hors d’oeuvres” and “Chilled & Marinated” sections next to appetizers, main courses and side dishes. Vegetarians may inquire about the chef's daily suggestions. A two-dollar per person bottled water service is available and the wine list includes interesting, fairly priced choices. “Fritters & Hors d'oeuvres” lists Tuna and Crab ”Pegaos”, Beef “Alcapurrias”, Truffle Cheese “Empanadillas”, and Salted Cod “Bunuelos” ($12.00 - $14.00). Spicy Tuna Tartar, Beef Carpaccio with Parmesan, Minced Hamachi with innovative “Wasabi Flying Fish Roe”, Black Truffle Smoked Salmon, and White Asparagus paired with Squid and Proscuitto make up the “Chilled & Marinated” selection ($16.00 – $18.00). Appetizers include Beet & Goat Cheese Salad, a Fennel, Arugula & Manchengo Cheese Salad, Spinach & Truffle Cheese Ravioli, Wild Mushroom Risotto, Escargot with Wild Mushrooms, Bacon Wrapped Grilled Scallop, and Crab Cake with Apple Ginger Remolade ($12.00 - $21.00). Main courses offer choices such as Veal Scallopini, Lamb Chops, Double-Cut Pork Chop, and Beef Tenderloin, or seafood dishes like Marinated Swordfish, Grilled Salmon, Rare Yellowfin Tuna, Oven-Roasted Halibut, and Grilled Shrimp with Chorizo ($28.00 - $54.00).

The Parrot Club

The Parrot Club is located in Old San Juan on Calle Fortaleza, a street home to numerous restaurants, bars, and shops. It is run by Roberto Trevino, the chef at the forefront of the “Nuevo-Latino” culinary trend who originally described his menu as “Euribian” — a mix of Latin and European cuisine prepared with local ingredients. The place has a casual bistro atmosphere and is a good choice for a lunch of blackened tuna or tamarind-glazed babyback ribs, and an evening cocktail at its long bar while strolling on Fortaleza Street.

Pamela’s Caribbean Cuisine

This restaurant is part of a small hotel situated right on the beach in the upscale residential district called Ocean Park. Diners can choose from indoor tables or those set up out on the sandy beach which makes for an intimate, romantic evening and great sunset viewing. Prizes are moderate given the quality of the items on the small but satisfying menu and wine list. Dishes prepared in the Nuevo-Latino style of Caribbean cooking include Romaine and Filet Mignon Teriyaki Rolls, Crab Cakes with Lemon-Lime Aioli, Grilled Prawns served with Coconut Curry Sauce, and Spicy Pork Loin with Pineapple Sweet & Sour Sauce. The creative and delectable desserts are not to be missed.

AguaViva

AguaViva is located across from The Parrot Club on Calle Fortaleza. The space is decorated in cool blue hues emphasizing its seafood menu, and the hip bistro-like atmosphere, as well as moderate prices, seems to attract young locals and tourists alike. Most dishes display an innovative touch and Latin influence. Appetizers include raw oysters and a variety of ceviches. For entrées we chose the Barbecued Jumbo Shrimp with Crab and Pancetta Confit over Basmati Rice, and Seared Jumbo Scallops with Paella and Chorizo. Cocktails are well mixed and the wine list is adequate. The seafood tasted fresh and one can have a satisfying, rather inexpensive meal here before moving on to some of the bars and clubs of Old San Juan.

Compostela

This restaurant was recommended to us by the concierge at the Ritz-Carlton who called it one of the finer dining establishments in San Juan. Compostela, tucked away in the Condado district, offers Spanish cuisine to an older clientele of well-to-do locals. The owners take pride in the restaurant's extensive wine list and its "Old World"-style cooking, but we found the wines a bit overpriced and the food lacking excitement and bolder flavors as it sticks to tried-and-true combinations, sauces and side dishes. The menu lists a wide range of appetizers, entrées, and desserts, as well as a made-to-order paella (two-person minimum), either with seafood ($54.00) or lobster ($70.00). Ossetra Caviar ($64.00) is offered as an appetizer and one can even opt for Maine Lobster ($41.00) from the seafood section. However, most of the temptations are found in the menu’s meat, game and fowl section. Here diners can choose between lamb (rack or medallions), veal (either loin, chop or shank), beef (filet mignon or sirloin), a pork filet, a venison filet, rabbit, duck, squab, and pheasant breast. Many of these entrées are prepared either in a red wine reduction, au jus with thyme, or with a green peppercorn sauce. A variety of sautéed mushrooms accompany the veal, the venison, as well as the squab and pheasant dishes. Desserts offer such classics as crème brulée, tres leches cake, coconut cake, warm chocolate cake, berry tart, and vanilla flan. Service is polished here, if at times matching the starched white tablecloths in stiffness.

Lemongrass

Next to the upscale Chayote, this more casual and moderately-priced restaurant in the Caribe Hilton Hotel, located in the Puerta de Tierra district of San Juan, was our favorite place for dinner. The pavilion-style dining room with indoor and outdoor seating is located in the property’s lush gardens, and soft lighting and background music create a soothing ambiance and romantic mood. The waitstaff here is fresh-faced and friendly, matching the younger clientele, which seems to include locals — we recognized our waitress at AguaViva amongst the diners. The cuisine could be best described as Pan-Asian Latino Fusion and the three-part menu offers something for every taste and appetite. It starts with a “Sharing Menu” — comprised of appetizer-sized plates such as Shrimp Spring Rolls, Tuna Tacos, Pork Dumplings, Spare Ribs, Bluefin Tuna Sashimi, and Lobster Ceviche. Another section — entitled “Rolls” — lists a creative assortment of rolled and nigiri-style sushi. Under “Mains” you’ll find seafood and meat dishes featuring scallops, Chilean sea bass, salmon, lamb chops, and duck breast. There’s a good wine list and a variety of tropical and standard cocktails to choose from. We grazed our way through the menu and couldn’t have had a more pleasant evening.