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Nightlife
in San Juan, Puerto Rico!
The Pubs and Clubs of the Hot Caribbean City
Out on the town
in Old San Juan; the video is a look at Calle Forteleza.
Nightlife and San Juan – the words
combine to create images of potent rum drinks, hot Latin salsa and nights
than don't end until the morning.
It's an accurate impression.
San
Juan Niightlife Tips
• Many of the city's best bars
and liveliest establishments are along two streets in Old San
Juan.
• Stylish dress is recommended, though San Sebastian Street
is more casual.
• The mojito is the speciality drink of San Juan and bartenders
take the time to make them fresh.
• US Currency is accepted and most bars take credit cards.
• Have lots of cash on hand, especially for pubclubbing
along Calle Forteleza, which can be expensive and moving from
one bar to another is part of the party process.
• Bars, pubs and clubs are non-smoking, which is part of
the reason people clog the narrow streets outside the venues.
• It's not legal to have open containers of alcohol on
the streets, though away from Calle Forteleza it seems to be
accepted.
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Yes there are the freshy-made mojitos and rum punches. There
is music everywhere, some of it live by local bands. And there is the
"party parade," a mass of people weaving in and out of the
many bars continuing deep into the morning when the they - and not necessarily
the establishment – decides it's time to end.
The scene is one to stand back and admire for a moment.
Beautiful girls in short skirts and stilettos click their way down
the cobblestone streets. Doors to the vaious bars open and close as
if they are revolving. Here, pubclubbing means being on the move, finding
the right place to be at the right time.
Fortunately, the choices are plentiful and adjacent to one another,
making for an ideal energetic environment. Two streets – San Sebastian
and Calle Forteleza – are the prime party places for a good night
(or two, or more) in Old San Juan. As such, there is no "despration
samba" (you Parrotheads
get the analogy).
San Juan is a weekend town, with Fridays and Saturdays coming alive
by 11 and lasting until, well, sometimes 6 a.m. Closing time is when
the people decide to leave or move onto someplace else.
The Pubs – San
Sebastian Street
Drinking and salsa dancing are typical San Juan nighttime activities.
Drinking in San Juan is not cheap. The
lounges of Calle Forteleza charge $8 or more for a mojito or
martini. So it can be expensive to tour this old town.
The scene is a bit different – and more economical – up on
San Sebastian Street. Close to the del Morrow fort, it's a row of pubs,
bars and live music venues that appeal to the more casual pubclubber.
There are often drink specials, with beers sometimes going for as cheap
as a buck-fifty.
A good place to start is Rumba. The rum punch may only be served
in a plastic 10-ounce cup but it packs a punch. The live local bands
on weekends encourages salsa dancing and the place sets the mood for
a night out in Old San Juan.
El Cafe Seda is a best described as a beer bar (and home to
some of those cheap beer specials). It's a small place with a "decor"
that looks like it's a mid-60s place in the Midwest U.S. Yet there's
a band and a super-casual mood.
The Nuyorican Cafe (which is actually on San Francisco Street)
is also known for its live music.
This of course, is just the beginning. San Sebastian's bars go for
three-plus blocks on either side of the street, pretty much starting
with Rumba and ending with Nono's, a sports bar with a cool (but
often quite) upstairs area with pool tables. This is at the end of San
Sebastian at Calle de Cristo and is an excellent thirst-quenching location
after a day at the fort or walking around Old Town.
A great time to be here is the third week of January for the San
Sebastian Street Festival.
The Clubs –
Calle Forteleza
Jazz and getting jazzed up for a night of pubclubbing along Calle Forteleza.
While cheaper drinks and a more casual
crowd can be found along San Sebastian Sreet, it is along Calle Forteleza
– mid-town in Old Town – where the serious pubclubbing takes
place in San Juan.
For it is here that the ladies look as if they stepped right out of
a high-fashion catalog. Or just off a runway. This means guys must dress
accordingly – or the best they can manage. Jeans or slacks and
stylish shirts are all but required.
The nightlife choices are as intoxicating as the rum drinks –
a cool restro with a jazz band, a lively lounge with the even
livelier Hugo making mojitos, the dance club, or the
super-late night spot, a funky/retro 70's hippie-looking lounge.
Heck, even go the bar at the highly popular restaurant Dragon Fly
and start up a conversation with someone having a pre-dinner drink.
Who knows, you may wind up joining them at a table.
Lively dancing amd beautiful Puerto Rico women are two San Juan attractions.
What's PubClub's favorite place? Hugo's spot, of course. It just seems
to have the best vibe. The place is called Basiliko and let's
just say the regular locals know a good thing when they find it.
Then again we also like Sonne and Blend.
Sonne is a restaurant with a cool vibe and excellent mojiotos made
by the smiling bartender Miguel. A jazz band provides outstanding background
music – just subtle enough to please but not loud enough to kill
a conversation.
 It's
easy to blend in at Blend, a bar that's bigger and better than it first
appears. The crowded front area gives way to a large back room and,
eventually, to a patio. It plays cool, cool music.
Back across the street next to Basiliko is Fratelli, which looks
in style with its yellow bar backdrop. It's fairly typical of the lounges
here – medium-sized restaurants that become hip bar/lounges by
midnight.
Clubbers pack the entrance to Milk, Old Town's lone dance club.
It's upstairs from street level and has a high-energy dance floor and
fairly roomy bar/lounge area. It's nice, but don't expect a Vegas-style
club. Capacity is a couple of hundred, not mega-club
standards of the Strip.
After it's all over, it's hardly over, as the insomniacs head to the
retro Pink Skirt, where it's farily common to stay out until
6 a.m.
We're Not Finished
Yet
It's not a soda fountain, it's a pina colada at the bar that created
the drink.
Since the action is so lively up on Forteleza,
it's easy to get comfortable there and spend the night going from place
to place. But down a couple of streets on Calle Tetuan by the taxi stand,
are two places full of locals' action.
It's all centered around a small courtyard that instantly reminds Greek
Islands veterans of the Town Square in Santorini,
Greece. It's lively and active, although unlike Santorini,
there is no grabbing a beer or cheap gyro and enjoying it outside.
What is there, instead, is The Brick House, a sports/dive bar
that around midnight turns into kind of a poor man's nightclub. It's
a down-and-dirty place with an uber-casual crowd and crankin' rock music,
the level of which is often controlled by the patrons themselves. It's
a favorite hangout of the cruise ship workers. The Brick House also
has a reasonable kitchen that stays open late.
It's next to The Colmbado Bar, a cranking nightspot that's
disguised as a liquor and convenience store. The music is pumping, the
people are energetic and it has that "why were we anywhere else"
appeal.
The peak weekend times here are 1-3 a.m.
And then there's Barrachina, the Original Pina Colada bar. Located
at the far end of Calle Forteleza, it's where a bartender in 1963 decided
the place needed a signature cocktail. So he took what was around him
on the island – bananas, rum – and made a frozen concoction.
Today, it can be enjoyed in a variety of ways here, with 151 rum (and
yes, it delivers a smooth buzz), a B52 version and more.
Barrachina serves authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and on weekends, a
flamenco band puts on a lively show. This is a great "starter"
restaurant, bar and entertainment center.
Isle Verde
A day at the beach
in San Juan means a visit to Isle Verde.
Since Puerto Rico is an island and San
Juan is on the coast, it only stands to reason there is nightlife by
the beach.
Isle Verde, just a mile from the airport, is home to San Juan's resort-style
hotels. Most of the party places are on the main road. Monigan's
Irish Bar and the Oyster Bar are two cool bars that draw
big crowds. And there's club-style dancing at the Old San Juan Hotel.
Like Old Town, Isle Verde is primed for Friday and Saturday nights.
Sundays are quite slow by comparison, but after a day on the sand the
Blue Dolphin gets going about 4 p.m. It's next to the lovely
La Playita, which has a bar shaped like a boat and a deck looking
out to sea. "Sunset wars" could break out between these two
places. Monoco Beach, a small club/lounge bar, is popular among
locals in the daytime.
Sports Bars
Puerto Rico has produced many outstanding
athletes in its history. In fact, there's a Wall of Fame in Isle Verde
dedicated to the island's sports heroes.
But when it comes to sports bars, it's difficult for a gringo to find
a place to show that favorite college football team. Most of the bars
just have cable and show what happens to be on at the time. However,
a few places do have a satellite so it's possible to have a little taste
of Americana in Old San Juan.
The aforementioned Brick House is one spot. It has a big screen and
two smaller TVs. Naturally, if others are watching another game before
your arrival, then it's time to move elsewhere. Also, the Brick House
does not open until 5 p.m., so forget it for morning or afternoon affairs.
Senior Frogs, because it caters to the cruise shippers, has
multiple TVs, drinks served in large plastic "party cups."
surprisingly tasty and filling food and an accommodating staff willing
to search the skies for any game on the air. In other words, it's perfect.
Except for the parade of cruise shippers who trample into the place
with their souvenirs seeking not sports, but tourist-style gastronomic
pleasures. But hey, like we said, Senior Frogs has drinks in large "party
cups."
A much more locals' hangout, and just an ideal place for getting off
the feet on a warm afternoon, is Nono's on San Sebastian. Two TVs –
including a big screen – and a bar lined with regulars make this
a true taste of Old San Juan.
Drinking in the
Streets
Drinking in the streets of Old San Juan
is illegal. Then again, even locals do it. So what exactly is the protocol?
Well, don't do it just to be on the safe side.
If caught – and unlikely but not impossible situation – play
dumb. Say you didn't know, it's your first time in town, you won't do
it again, etc. And apologize.
However, if temptation gets the best of you, have drinks in plastic
cups. And if you emerge from Senior Frogs with the blatantly-obvious,
large neon container that shouts CRUISE LINE TOURIST. DO NOT TOUCH!!!,
well then, you should be okay.
The Pina Colada
Stands
Don't be fooled by those tempting-looking
pina colada carts all over Old Town. They are selling flavored ice cream,
not the popular cocktail.
More
San Juan Articles:
• An introduction to Old
San Juan.
• Get to know San Juan in this extensive
visitor's guide.
• What to do and what to see – including the Bacardi factor
– sightseeing.
• Read a first-person journal of Old San Juan from The
Bartender.
• See San Juan in pictures with our Photo
Essay.
 See
'The Bartender's" Nightlife Journey in San Juan!
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