What to Do at Night in Puerto Rico

One of Puerto Rico’s best features is that, as a tourist, nightlife will always be an authentic experience. Puerto Rico is so small, almost anything you do for a good time during your nights in the island will have locals enjoying the same food, drinks, and music. This blog will go over different bars, clubs, restaurants, and areas in Puerto Rico that are fun to experience. It will focus on mainly metro-area places, but will also include some non-metro area spots around the island.

Below is a Preview of the Top Night Life Spots in Puerto Rico

Viejo San Juan

Viejo San Juan (Old San Juan) is the Spanish historic center of Puerto Rico. Either during the day or at night, it is a gem to see because of its lovely architecture and Caribbean ambiance. Therefore, Viejo San Juan has multiple spots to visit at night. If you are interested in a nice dinner, Marmalade and La Cucina D’Ivo are top restaurants to visit.

Marmalade is a very high-end restaurant with a curated menu and wine pairing for a fine dining experience by renown chef, Peter Schintler.

La Cucina D’Ivo is also a fine dining experience of Italian traditional dishes created by renowned chef Ivo Bignami. Born and raised in Milan, chef Bignami arrived to Puerto Rico and decided to stay after falling in love with the island.

Once you’re done with dinner, you can head over to one of the most popular bars in Viejo San Juan, La Factoría. It is a popular spot not only because they offer specialty drinks prepared by proper mixologists, but also it is a trendy spot for both locals and tourists looking to have a good time. La Factoría is a labyrinth-style space, with around 5 different bars and spaces to either drink, eat, or dance. They also have amazing bands that come and play live salsa music.

If you prefer a more chill environment (but still very fun), Los Tres Cuernos bar is a perfect stop. Tres cuernos has flavorful drinks with their signature “chichaito” shots made of a mix of rum and anisette with your choice of tamarind, guava, coconut, passion fruit + other fruits. The decoration is also super cool and unique. The bar’s walls are covered with hundreds of dollar bills that have been written on or have something funky to them. They also decorate the establishment with Vejigante Masks which are an Afro-Puerto Rican art and dance attire tradition.

Calle Loíza, Santurce

Calle Loíza, or “Loíza Street,” is one of the main nightlife attractions in metro-area Puerto Rico. It is full of different restaurants and bars each with its unique experience. It is a very authentic street to be in and locals love it. You can find its businesses packed any night Thursday through Sunday. The best part, it is a relatively small street, therefore in one night you can pretty much visit most of its most popular spots.

If first you’re looking to have dinner, a fine-dining experience in Calle Loíza is Bottega, specialized in tapas, cocktails, and wine.

Piso Viejo is a top bar to visit in Calle Loíza. It typically has a live salsa band until 11:00pm then a DJ comes on to put reguetón and popular club hit songs. Locals love Piso Viejo so make sure to go early so you skip the entry line!

El Treehouse is also a very popular bar/club on Calle Loíza where even Bad Bunny has been spotted to be in a couple of times. The cool thing about El Treehouse is that it is a makeshift/popup bar. Be on the lookout for when they host parties on the weekends and enjoy their popular party ambiance.

La Placita, Santurce

The caption of the image says it all: “The only giant area in Puerto Rico with over 45 business for your enjoyment.” La Placita is the “go to” place any night of the week for all Puerto Ricans of any age and background. It is also an inviting place for tourists to mingle with locals. Enjoy places like Jungle Bird, for delicious Latino-Asian fusion food, De la Vida, for great live music, and El Coco de Luis for inexpensive, and very strong drinks!

Condado and Isla Verde

The area of Condado is popular for its variety of fine-dining and high-end bars. It is also a very nice area to walk next to the beach and feel the ocean breeze. If you’re into clubbing, make sure to visit Fifty-Eight located at La Concha Hotel. Additionally, there is the classic metro-area club that has been open for many years called Brava, located at the iconic Hotel San Juan in Isla Verde, Carolina. Get ready to dress up if you are planning to visit these clubs!

Non-metro Area Locations

Another amazing feature about Puerto Rico is that, we are so small, that visiting non-metro municipalities is incredibly easy. There is no place in Puerto Rico that will take you more than 3 hours to get to starting from San Juan. Here are some authentic places to visit around the island.

Luna Montuna

Located in Comerío, Puerto Rico, Luna Montuna offers authentic Puerto Rican cuisine and has an incredible view of La Cordillera Central (the Central Mountain Range). You can also enjoy signature cocktails and feel-good live music.

Calichi Gastrobar, Naranjito

This restaurant, also located in La Cordillera Central, boasts delicious food, cocktails, and views. They source they’re food from a trusted, local farmer in Naranjito. If you’re a foodie, Comerío and Naranjito are municipalities that are next to each other. You can lunch at Calichi then dine at Luna Montuna or vice versa. Another top restaurant is Bacoa, locate in Juncos with similar cuisine and concept.

Peña Blanca, Aguadilla

Aguadilla is a very popular Western municipality of Puerto Rico because of one of its main attractions: the beautiful beach of Crash Boat. After heading out from your beach day, start your afternoon/night at Peña Blanca Restaurant. The location has become popular because of their signature rum drinks, all made from Puerto Rican rums with a focus on Don Q.

Hacienda Cascada, Aguas Buenas

If you’re feeling romantic and are looking for an intimate, overnight experience, Hacienda Cascada has a very popular “glamping” option with a luxurious tent surrounded by beautiful Puerto Rican nature. They also have a restaurant, cocktail bar, and activities like horseback riding.

FOK Brewing, Caguas

Back to the metro area, FOK Brewing sources they’re products and services mainly from Caguas and the nearby region. They not only have 21 beer flavors, they offer a lively nighttime hangout spot in the vibrant center of Caguas. This brewery will most definitely be a 100% local and authentic experience for any tourist looking to immerse themselves in Puerto Rican nightlife.

Eco’s Sports Park

Located in Hato Rey, Puerto Rico, this place is a multi-purpose space very popular with locals. The concept: both a sports park and a bar. Many locals create their intramural teams and go play volleyball, beach tennis, or soccer. Afterwards, they go grab a drink either upstairs with a view or downstairs at one of their two bars. On Tuesdays they have salsa dancing nights and many weekends they play live music or hosts events.

¡Salud y Éxito!

Daniela Barquet

Updated by Daniela on November 2, 2022

Daniela Barquet

Daniela Barquet is the 4th generation owner of her family's jewelry store located in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico since 1965. The business tradition was started by her great-grandfather, Issac Barquet, in 1920. Daniela graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor's in the History of Art and Architecture and a Minor in Italian Studies. Daniela continues to grow under the mentorship of her father, Natalio Barquet Perez, who is a renowned, certified jeweler in Puerto Rico.