Waiter's Gastro Bar

This place is not what it seems like it is at all from the outside. From the outside it looks like a diner, but inside it's a really cute, chic restaurant.

Service was exceptional. Our waiter was great at custom tailoring our experience and even gave me a birthday treat. He also gave us tips on things to see around the island.

The mofongo was top notch. Also order the fried cheese (not pictured).

We made a reservation but they weren't busy.

We visited here while staying in San Juan, condado based on the reviews. I'm glad we did! It was our dinner the first night so we didn't have reservations but they were able to seat us right away anyway which was great!

I had the skirt steak with a side of rice and beans which was very good, my wife actually loved it more than I did (nothing was wrong it was great I'm just having some issues with food during my pregnancy). She had the paella for one which was AMAZING.

Our servers were very nice as well and I would return!

My wife, gf and I chose this place as they wanted something casual with local food. Having been raised in PR, I had some VERY local eateries in mind, but decided to come to Waiters as I had just arrived from the airport.

For the plus, the food is good. Do get the Coconut Shrimp, but otherwise, I've had better. The drinks were excellent (Kudos on that one!)

For the not-so-good: Took 45 minutes to get our first dish, after waiting 15 minutes to order something. We were 3 people and we ordered Fried Cheese and Coconut Shrimp, so we are not talking souffle here. The salad came in last; it appears they forgot about it (and about us). I had to get up to get additional small plates and utensils, which I don't mind but no one even noticed and this was a place with service. We had to pretty much drag someone if we needed something, or do it ourselves. When there is a problem of this magnitude, the management should notice and be proactive. We did not get a drink or extra dessert or even an acknowledgement. Yes, it was that bad.

They really did not put much meat in the $29 single meat paella (5 very small pieces of churrasco).

We did not have an attitude, we were nice, but we were ignored by passing staff more than 10 times. At the end, we were just disappointed and frustrated. It was not a good time at all.

Parking was a nightmare. That is not their fault, but it is something to know. Natives know the drill with Ashford Ave. If you are a tourist driving there, get an Uber.

To the admin/owner: The lady working in the back needed help. She was doing 2 large tables AND mixing drinks. We were the 3 person table there. She was very sweet but just could not keep up. Someone could've moved from the front; there were not that many people in the place and plenty of help.

For a location right across the Vanderbilt in the Condado strip, there are MANY other options. Sorry, but service was way below par. Only reason we did not walk out was that it was raining HARD. Guess is back to the VERY local places for native Puerto Rican food.

Best food we had in San Juan! It is a very small place but the service was just as good as the mojitos and food! Definitely stop here!

4-star food, but 5-stars for atmosphere, service, and location.

Waiter's is a fun and funky Puerto Rican restaurant that stands out in this neighborhood where most of the choices are boring dives and overpriced hotel restaurants.

If you're staying in the neighborhood and looking for Puerto Rican food, then this is the place you should go.

I'm not a huge mofongo fan, but if you're going to try it, this is the place to do it. I can also recommend the ceviche which was outstanding.

The atmosphere is fun, and the service is very friendly.

Vegetarian choices are extremely limited.

Good food, especially if you're Of Afro decent.
Service was great except I had to ask for water.
Location is cozy

I'll start off by saying.. I wish they opened a location in Atlanta! There's is no way I have to wait to go back to Puerto Rico for this place!

The service was stupendous! Everyone was super kind, the drink was a tad bit sweet but I did not mind too much. I just wanted a quick cocktail with my food. The place is really nice, there is low lighting and it's pretty calm. There is a bar so there's some life in there but overall chill. We dressed pretty nice for this spot and it was a good choice!

Let me tell you about this steak! It was soooo good. Super full of flavor with a hint of sweetness (which I absolutely love!!) The steak was perfect and I had a Caesar salad for balance which was perfect as well. I can't even put into words how good this was, all I know is I need a location near me!

My husband and I stayed at the Vanderbilt Condado while in Puerto Rico. The day we arrived we needed a restaurant that was open late and this was recommended to us by our bartender at the pool. She said this is where she would eat after working. The food was amazing, authentic Puerto Rican food. My husband had the fried snapper, which he loved. We also had coconut shrimp and chicken empanadas. They have an empanada of the day special. Our server was so kind and offered me the empanada of the day for the next day since I do not eat pork and love empanadas. We had mojitos with our dinner. Everything was great.

This is a new type of review for me, since I am going to relay both good and bad aspects of the visit which balance out to an "OK" rating from me.

First let's address the premises themselves; the restaurant looks very nice from the outside and the inside. It is clean and well appointed. However the space has 3 levels and the risers are pretty steep (not recommended for someone with mobility issues).

We were originally supposed to be a part of 11, and right off the bat the gentleman who greeted us at the door admonished us that the place is "small" and they don't do large tables* (*see later on). He offered the initial 4 of us a table and then to separate the others in 2 other tables. The rest of the party was still headed to the restaurant so we agreed. We 4 were seated, and our orders were taken. So good so far.

When the rest of our party arrived, (which had dwindled from 7 to 5), there was confusion at the door since they had planned for a 3-person and 4-person table but apparently could not accomodate a 5-person table... until they were turned away for wearing "bathing suits" which was against their "dress code".

Yes three ladies were wearing swim suits but they had covered up with wraps which is why they were late to begin with. And mind you - this is a beachfront hotel strip.

Not wanting to spoil our night they went off and found another restaurant. Meanwhile, we were surprised to see a fairly LARGE table in the level adjacent to where we were seated. Hmmm....

ENOUGH about that, now on to the FOOD.

I was very excited to see arroz con gandules on the menu (mamposteao style) along with alcapurrias. I ordered plantain-breaded shrimp with the mamposteao and alcapurrias for the table.

The alcapurrias were a bit of a disappointment for us, as we very much enjoyed the "basic" style using yuca for the masa while the ones here were made with a more eclectic mix (I'm guessing plantain and taro based on the taste). It's a matter of preference of course, but for our table (we had enjoyed the yuca ones the previous night) it was a disappointment. We did order beef empanadas and those were finger-licking delicious.

Main course is where I really strike down the rating. My shrimp was delicious, but the rice was very, very oversalted. I thought maybe it was just me but another plate at the table had rice in it, and he too found it oversalted. Worse than that... I have eaten my fair share of arroz con gandules, and this by far was the worst version that I have ever eaten. The ratio of gandules to rice was waaaay off and it was ladden with onions and cilantro that just added to the offputting potency of the salt in the rice. In fact there was a bed of mashed potatoes for the shrimp on my plate, and THAT was oversalted as well!

On the good side: the other 2 people had; a hamburger with fries, and tamarind pork medallions, and those dishes were absolutely delicious. I tasted the pork and it was cooked perfectly - MOIST which is what you want in pork. I would say maybe it lacked salt, but that's probably because my palatte was salty from my rice.

We also ordered flavored margaritas and they were ON POINT. Absolutely delicious.

So there you are - both good and bad. Half our party was seated, half was turned away. Half of our meals were good, and half were left half-uneaten. Our drinks were all good.

If you're considering this place; A) make sure you're dressed nice, and B) your plate will either be very good or very salty.

This place is a bit of a welcome reprieve from the overpriced, underwhelming restaurants that dominate this area of San Juan. It's unassuming and the kind of place to get a pretty decent dish and drinks without breaking the budget, despite the fact that my wife and I ordered two of the most expensive dishes on the menu, but that's on us for wanting what we wanted. We only ordered an entree each and had a couple of drinks each. The server was friendly, knowledgeable and incredibly friendly. The ambiance is not quite a dive bar, but also not as fancy as many of the places around it, so accept it for what it is and have fun!

Regarding the food, I had the daily catch, fried whole snapper, which was beautifully cooked and seasoned well. It came with a salad but the fish was basically placed on top of undressed, chopped romaine, cabbage and tomato salad with a vinaigrette on the side.....so not really a salad. No worries, the fish made up for the "not really a side....side." My wife had the Paella Jibarna, a local take on Paella that had some good flavors but doesn't really nail true Paella. There was no Socarrat, which makes a paella, well...paella! It did have good flavor and the rice was Al dente, served with your choice of regular or sweet plantains. We enjoyed the experience and our server was fun and knowledgeable. We had some local beers and when I asked for a fine aged rum of his choice, he didn't sell me the most expensive rum, he just gave me a good one, and I appreciate that.

Overall, I would really give it 3.5 stars, but I would also come back again and try some other dishes. My fish was 4 stars, but my wife's was a 3, but I'd go back and try some other items. Maybe she ordered wrong, which she does often we travel! Blame her! Go here and expect pretty decent food for a reasonable price. Have a drink, chat with your neighbors, joke with the other customers and enjoy an evening out without having to dress up and get all snobby and isolated.