A Quick Look at Tras Patio
- Ideal for:
- a special date, a night of cocktails with friends, group celebrations.
- Accessibility:
- Valet parking is available at no extra charge from 5:00 p.m. Before that time, street parking in Hato Rey is limited.
- Prices:
- Appetizers run from $12 to $26, soups and salads from $4 to $17, and signature dishes from $32 to $49, while meats range from $38 to $89.
- Atmosphere:
- intimate and elegant. The space is welcoming, filled with textures and colors that give it character.
- Hours:
- Open Monday and Tuesday from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m., lunch only. Wednesday through Friday it serves lunch from 11:30 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. and dinner from 6:00 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. Closed Saturday and Sunday.
- Address:
- 116 de la Calle Uruguay en Hato Rey, San Juan
In a building from 1949, chef Javier Nassar tells the story of his life. The renovated space of Tras-Patio, a Puerto Rican steakhouse, is a colorful showcase of what he loves. You'll find books by his favorite chef, Charlie Trotter, bricks he personally sourced in Isabela, paintings by his great-aunt, and a wall dedicated to recipes from his mother and grandmothers.
Tras-Patio is modern nostalgia. Its aim is to honor the past without staying in it, with elevated but unpretentious cooking where anyone who is hungry eats very well. "We're honoring the past, but we're also in 2026," the chef tells Platea. He studied culinary arts at Johnson & Wales.
"The essence of Tras-Patio is that we are a home," the chef explains. In a home, no one closes the kitchen door on you. Nassar opens his to Platea without tidying it for the camera, and diners get up from the table to thank him personally for the service.
The restaurant opened in 2010 as a Puerto Rican bistro and closed at the end of 2023 for renovations. It reopened in June of this year. Tras-Patio employs about 19 people. Nassar tells Platea that the next step is creating a banquet hall.
A chef from here and there
The menu is a tour of the world: the chef worked in Austria, Germany, Spain, Italy and the United States, and from those techniques he built a Puerto Rican culinary language. "My cooking brings together all those techniques and all those flavors, but adapted to Puerto Rico," he explains.
The meats come with a sweet pepper salad that recreates the flavor of a sofrito, and the salmon is served with labne, an Arab cheese.
More than any one country, the influence most felt at Tras-Patio is that of his family. Nassar cooked from childhood alongside his mother and grandmothers. Their mark remains on the menu. The sauce with biscuits that greets guests at the table is "directly a recipe from my mom," the chef says.
The steakhouse stamp
The Puerto Rican steakhouse theme comes through at the grill. The meats are cooked daily with a reverse sear and are meant for sharing, with sweet pepper and crispy shallot. There is filete mignon, striploin, a 32-ounce cowboy steak and a prime rib of pork from Puerto Rico. The fish are also local. "If it's not from here, we don't serve it," Nassar says of the cartucho.
Photo: Strip loin at Tras Patio in Hato Rey (Provided).
What we tried
The chef says his favorite dishes are the ones that have been on the menu since 2010, among them the chicharrón de pulpo, the mamposteao and the tarte tatin, and that shaped what we chose to try. For your visit, we recommend ordering a cut of meat.
Sopa de gandules. It is the amuse bouche of the house, served in a small cup. It includes plantain, crispy arroz pega'o and pork ribs. The fat from the ribs balances the firmness of the gandules, and the pegao adds texture. It tastes like a grandmother's hug.
House Caesar salad. If you order two portions, they prepare it tableside. The anchovies bring the umami and the salt, along with the capers, while the lime and mustard add acidity and a mild heat that wakes up the palate. The brioche bread, turned into a crouton, contributes texture with a light sweetness. It is fresh and crispy.
Chicharrones de pulpo. Breaded octopus, tomato, avocado, kale, fresh lemon and roasted garlic cream. This is a dish of contrasts. The acidity of the lemon and tomato cuts through the richness of the breading, the kale adds a bitter note, and the roasted garlic cream, sweet and creamy, rounds it out. Between the crunch of the octopus and the freshness of the salad, the dish becomes a play on textures.
Mamposteao with sirloin. Before bringing the rice, they served us a frozen grape dusted with sugar to prepare the palate. The mamposteao came next, with beans stewed in a broth of pig's feet, calabaza and white cheese, cooked and served in a cast-iron pot.
The pig's-foot broth and the sirloin add depth of flavor, while the white cheese contributes salt and the calabaza and pieces of ripe plantain bring an unexpected sweetness.
Tarte Tatin à la mode. A French caramelized apple tart made with sugar and butter, baked upside down. The sweetness of the caramel, with a slight bitter undertone, is balanced by the sweetness of the apple. The cold scoop of ice cream on top is the perfect finish.
The bar invites you to linger and enjoy the atmosphere. The cocktail program was designed by Christian Rivero, who remains part of the team. It combines classics served in their original form, such as martinis and the Old Fashioned, with original creations, among them the Verde Luz, made with rum and sparkling wine, La Pinta and the Florettini.
On your visit, try the house cocktails, whether the Old Fashioned or the Mirando al Cielo, made with truffle-washed Clos Martin VSOP armagnac, amaro Montenegro, truffle honey and Fee Brothers Turkish Tobacco bitters.
A vintage
service. The service at Tras-Patio also looks to the past, but does so in a modern way, sustained by a young team. "We pay close attention to details and provide old-fashioned service. We want customers to know at every moment that they are special to us," says Nassar. That intention is felt all the way to the end of the visit, when the check arrives with a restaurant stamp and a thank-you note.
This content was translated with the assistance of Artificial Intelligence (AI).
