Italian in Latin Territory

Alfredo’s

Intercontinental Hotel

San Juan, PR 00921

www.icsanjuanresort.com/ 

Another one of the restaurants in the Intercontinental Hotel in San Juan where I recently stayed is called Alfredo’s. It has all kinds of pictures on the wall with famous people and the original owner, so it is highly esteemed to a lot of people. I love Alfredo’s, but they definitely have a bit of a problem with consistency. We ate there quite a few times, having room service, dinner, lunch and breakfast there, so I will try to keep my analysis as short as possible.

The first time that we ate at Alfredo’s was my first night in San Juan. We had gone down to the restaurant, but had to return to the hotel room because my girlfriend’s niece had knocked over a glass of water, scared herself, and wouldn’t stop crying. They sent up our food to the room, and I am not sure if it is due to the fact that it was supposed to be served in the restaurant or not, but it definitely was not up to the usual standard of Alfredo’s. I had lamb and risotto. The star of the dish was the risotto, creamy and cooked perfectly. The lamb was a bit under done, and had no seared crust on the outside. It was not the best meal I have had from Alfredo’s but it was still a nice meal nonetheless. 

 The desserts were okay at best as well. As I said, it could have just been do to the fact that we had to have them send our food up to the room, but the panna cotta was warm and not very tasty. The tiramisu was very bland and also tasted as if it had been sitting out for a while before it was served.

The following day we ate brunch at Alfredo’s because they have an amazing breakfast set up. They offer a buffet, as well as an omelet station, toasting station, waffle station, and many more items. The man behind the famous omelets, Jorge, is a master craftsman. His omelets are incredible, and his memory is as good as his ability to make omelets. I had not been to the hotel in a year and a half, and he remembered me like I was a close friend. Everything on the buffet is fresh and well prepared. The breakfast meats, the breakfast potatoes, the smoked salmon, and the pastries are all fantastic. I would definitely recommend going to their Sunday brunch if you get a chance.

The final time that I would like to recount is the second to last day that I was in Puerto Rico when we had lunch outside of Alfredo. I had a dish that I have absolutely fallen in love with, and I cannot wait to try it at more and more places. I know people from Puerto Rico may be offended by this comment, but the mofongo at Alfredo’s is outstanding. Mofongo is a traditional Puerto Rican dish of fried plantains made into a cone shape and served stuffed with some sort of meat in a creole sauce. I ordered the skirt steak mofongo and I was absolutely blown away. I love fried plantains in all forms, but intermixing them with tasty beef in a slightly sweet and spicy creole sauce was absolutely fantastic. I’m sure there might be more authentic places to get mofongo, and hopefully I will get to try them sometime, but for now I will keep the memory of Alfredo’s mofongo locked up in my mind. 

If you ever get the chance to visit Puerto Rico, particularly San Juan, I would recommend the Intercontinental Hotel and its many dining options to everyone. Everything is affordable and very nice, and the hospitality of the workers is unmatched. Definitely give Alfredo's a try if you are ever visiting San Juan. Cheers!