Toro Salao
367 Calle Tetuan
San Juan, Puerto Rico 00901
My
girlfriend and I headed down to visit her parents in Puerto Rico at the end of
tax season last year. She needed to get her German passport renewed and I was
on the mission of asking her father for his permission to marry her, so it was
due to be a pretty eventful trip. On the first day there, we went to lunch in
the old city to a little spot known as Toro Salao. It’s a Spanish tapas place
run by a restaurant group that owns quite a few popular restaurants in San
Juan. I hadn’t had Tapas since our visit to Hong Kong in November, so I was
pretty excited to try this place out.
When
we were seated outside, we began discussing what to get. I allowed my
girlfriend and her dad to decide, and once they did we wound up with the
following items to share; Bacalaitos, Brie topped with chorizo marmalade and
toasts, empanadillas with aioli, a flatbread with veggies and arugula and paella.
My girlfriend's dad was on his lunch so he couldn’t enjoy an adult beverage
with us, but we ordered a couple of passion fruit caipirinhas. I love tropical
fruit in any form of alcoholic beverage, but passion fruit has to be one of my
favorites. It makes drinks citrusy and sweet and it is especially refreshing in
the heat of Puerto Rico.
The
first two items that we received at the table were the bacalaitos and the brie
topped with chorizo marmalade. Bacalaitos are little fritters made from salt
cod, and these in particular were served over a delicious homemade aioli. The
fritters were crunchy and the salt cod was the perfect filling inside. It was
rich and creamy, and seasoned perfectly because of the salt. The aioili was
amazing because of its creamy texture and strong garlic flavor. The brie and
chorizo marmalade was out of this world. The melted brie was creamy and rich
and the chorizo marmalade was a touch spicy and very sweet, while still having
all of the intense flavor of chorizo. It was pretty fantastic to have chorizo in
that form, and spreading the brie and chorizo mixture over some of the toast
they gave us made for a heavenly combination.
The
empanadillas came out next along with the flatbread and the paella. The
empanadillas were stuffed with chicken and were very flavorful. Unfortunately
for me, the empanada dough was too thick for me, especially in relation to the
filling. There was way more dough than there should have been in my opinion.
The aioli they served with it did wonders to finish up the extra dry dough
though. They definitely know how to make a good aioili at Toro Salao. The
flatbread was a very delicious dish. It was full of fresh vegetables and was
crispy as can be. The paella was also pretty tasty. I love paella because it
has so many different elements to it. There are so many different kinds of
seafood in it. The rice always has so much flavor and the freshness of the
seafood is always something to look forward to.
Three
pints for Toro Saloo. They offer of some very tasty Spanish tapas options in a
place filled with many other dining options. While Puerto Rican cuisine is
similar, Spanish food is different enough that they really have a hold of the
market for that type of food in the old city. Definitely worth a visit if you are
visiting San Juan, so check it out and let me know what you think! Cheers!
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