La Ciudad Criolla is worth more than one road trip. For food, Caguas has options ranging from Spanish tapas and Japanese cuisine to Mexican classics like La Mordida. For a day out, there are plans for all ages, from the Jardín Botánico's Jurassic tour to workshops at the Museo del Tabaco.
To explore Caguas the right way, we asked 22 locals who live here. Their recommendations on what to do and where to eat are the backbone of this road trip.
🍦 Where to Eat
On the town plaza, across from the church, this café serves Puerto Rican coffee. They also sell sandwiches and toast.
Mac and cheese with sweet plantains and chorizo, gandules escabeche with malanga chips, and creative cocktails are part of the menu at this spot that also offers brunch on weekends.
Google: La Mordida Taquería Mexicana
More than 10 Caguas residents recommended this taquería on Calle Celis Aguilera, where birria, suadero and cochinita pibil tacos share the menu with the Pizzabirria. There is a second-floor terrace that is ideal for ordering margaritas.
Birria, burritos and ribs in mole come out of this small Mexican spot on Avenida Luis Muñoz Marín, which also serves micheladas.
Chef Luis Miguel Díaz changes the menu constantly at this corner on Calle Baldorioty, with dishes like New York steak with malanga churros, burrata with batata mameya and butifarra croquettes with manchego.
Inspired by the taverns of Madrid, this tapería with vinyl records serves octopus over potato and celery foam, batatas bravas, txistorra on the hibachi and house vermouth.
Drawing on grandmother's cooking, Cazuela elevates traditional Puerto Rican dishes. You'll find everything from celery gnocchi with lobster to chicken broth with mofonguito and mechada short rib.
Piñangó reinterprets sushi and Asian cuisine with Puerto Rican touches, in rolls like El Pueblito, made with seared tuna, pineapple and jalapeño, or the house roll, with crab and mango.
The menu is rounded out with dumplings, sushi pizzas, bao buns with pork and signature cocktails.
For a night out with friends, this bar combines low lighting, small plates with nikkei flavors and creative cocktails made with mezcal and pisco.
👀 Platea Pick:
Chosen by the Platea community as their favorite ice cream shop on the Island, Jendy's rotates around 40 artisanal flavors, some inspired by local cuisine, such as potato cheese with guava, corn and malanga.
Breakfast, brunch and lunch. They serve pancakes, French toast, scrambled eggs and American classics like chicken and waffles.
The space is large and the atmosphere is ideal for families and groups.
🛝 Things to Do
Across from city hall and the Catedral Dulce Nombre de Jesús, the Caguas plaza has a flower clock, food kiosks and, on the third Saturday of each month, the Paseo de los Artistas with live music, art and food.
Inside a neoclassical building in the historic downtown, the Museo Herminio Torres Grillo recreates a tobacco factory to tell the story of how the leaf that Caguas once exported to Cuba was cured, with free guided tours Tuesday through Saturday.
Among the ruins of Hacienda San José, the Jardín Botánico y Cultural William Miranda Marín functions as a living museum of nature, culture and tropical agriculture, open Wednesday through Sunday from 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. for $10.
Go-karts on an indoor track, 14 bowling lanes and an arcade set this space at Shops at Caguas apart.
At Sector Sixty 6 there are bars and food options that include pizza and tenders for younger kids. They also offer birthday party packages.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
