Aquaviva (San Juan; tel. 787/722-0665): Dauntingly stylish, this is one of the grand new restaurants of Puerto Rico, specializing in a Latin nouvelle cuisine with fresh seafood a specialty. You can count on the best catch of the day-the prime specimens-which are then prepared with consummate skill.
Barú (San Juan; tel. 787/977-7107): Fashionable and popular, this is a creative showcase for a fusion Caribbean and Mediterranean cuisine, occupying stately looking premises in the Old Town. Sterling craftsmanship marks a menu that includes, for example, five different kinds of carpaccio.
Parrot Club (San Juan; tel. 787/725-7370): This addition to the San Juan scene has already been acclaimed as one of the finest and most innovative restaurants on the island. Its chef serves a Nuevo Latino cuisine that is a happy medley of Puerto Rican delights, drawing upon the Spanish, African, and even Taíno influences of the island. Menu items are based on updated interpretations of old-fashioned regional dishes-everything from criola-styled flank steak to a pan-seared tuna served with a sauce of dark rum and essence of oranges.
Ramiro's (San Juan; tel. 787/721-9049): Chef Jesús Ramiro has some of the most innovative cookery along the Condado beachfront strip, along with the city's best wine list. Ramiro has made his culinary reputation with such dishes as quail stuffed with lamb in a port sauce and lamb loin in a tamarind coriander sauce, both equally delectable. His dessert menu is two pages long and includes the town's best soufflés. His death-by-chocolate mousse on a green grape leaf is equaled only by his caramelized fresh mango napoleon.
Ajili Mójili (San Juan; tel. 787/725-9195): On the Condado beachfront, Ajili Mójili provides the most refined interpretation of classic Puerto Rican cookery on the island. Locals find it evocative of the food they enjoyed at their mother's table, one example being mofongos-green plantains stuffed with veal, chicken, shrimp, or pork. The chefs take that cliché dish arroz con pollo (stewed chicken with saffron rice) and raise it to celestial levels. The restaurant takes its name from the lemon-garlic sweet chile salsa that's traditionally served here with fish or meat.
Mark's at the Meliá (Ponce; tel. 787/284-6275): Mark French has elevated Puerto Rican dishes to a new high at this endearing restaurant that also serves an impeccable international cuisine. He took over what was a backwater and turned the place into an enclave of refined dining with such imaginative and good-tasting dishes as tamarind barbecued lamb with yucca mojo.
La Cava (in the Ponce Hilton, Ponce; tel. 787/259-7676): The stellar restaurant of this first-class hotel, La Cava was designed to resemble a 19th-century coffee plantation. It's the most elegant restaurant along the southern tier, and it serves delectable international cuisine. From the ever-changing menu, you are likely to be served everything from grilled lamb sausage on a bed of couscous to tuna loin seared with sesame oil.
The Landing (Barrios Puntas/Playa Antonio; tel. 787/823-3112): One of the best dining spots along the western coast of Puerto Rico, this restaurant has a setting like a stylish private home. Its international cuisine draws hundreds of patrons nightly who enjoy jerk chicken and lobster kabobs, among other dishes, while taking in a view of the legendary Rincón surf.
