Pinoli Ristorante Italiano

I was on vacation in PR this past week. I am a Vegan and I know Puerto Ricans love their meat. My friend (a flesh eater:) and I went to visit Pinoli Ristorante. I was hoping I could get something Vegan. I explained to the waiter that I do not consume any animal products (no cream, dairy, butter, etc) and thought that I was going to have difficulty. But guess what… a few minutes later the Chef personally appeared at my table. He KNEW exactly what Vegan meant and he personally prepared me a delicious vegan pasta dish, with fresh herbs, tomatoes, capers, and lots of love! My friend ordered the Lobster Risotto. Both of our dishes were generous portions. His risotto had a lot of Lobster meat! The service was impeccable and our server, Daniel, very attentive. This is a beautiful, romantic authentic Italian restaurant only minutes from Old San Juan (in case you are on a cruise). I am definitely going back on my next trip. You don’t want to miss this little gem!

Second time here. It’s been really good both times… I had the fettuccine with mascarpone and prosciutto. Omg! Loved it! So creamy, so good!
Friendly staff and good service. I didn’t give 5 stars because the area where we sat needed a little tlc… But other than that it’s excellent!

Pinoli is one of best italian restaurants in Puerto Rico. The pasta is fresh and the sauces are full of flavor but light. I greatly recomend this restaurant.

I had been meaning to go to this place for a long time; I’d been listening to the ads on El Oso for a long time and the food «sounded» really good. But… I had been to the really «good» Italian eateries on the island, and most of them kind of suck. Pinoli really surprised me. I mean, I’ve eaten in Rome, Nice, Little Italy in NYC, and the North End in Boston for years, so I know my stuff, and I am a pretty damned good Italian cook myself, but Christian, the cook (and baker!) in this unassuming little spot just blocks from Plaza las Americas is… a star. A sleeper waiting to be discovered. The food is… wholesome, fresh, el dente, smooth sauces, no skimping, fresh herbs, the portions just right. But, the reason I say he is a master, a Food Artist, is because he cooks with personality, and conviction; no hotel cookie cutter stuff here; only homestyle authentic Italian fare with a trained chef’s flair. Everything we had (ravioli, Mediterranean bass, Fettuccini Alfredo with Prosciutto, Tiramisu and Panna Cotta, was flawless, even extraordinary. Christian even makes his own bread and break sticks! And, yes, he made the deadly desserts. The place is not cheap but, then again, if you want The Real Thing, then come here for a special occasion. It was my daughter’s birthday, and the food, and the service, made this a memorable occasion, not to mention the fact that the cook/​owner came out to chat and educate us about his amazing Italian cooking. We have sworn to go back and try literally everything on the menu! Now that Great Taste is gone, this is our new favorite place to eat on the island. After all, how many times can you go to Bottles and not get a little bored? Finally, this food demi-​god really belongs in a bigger venue, a bigger city, but then we would not have him here in PR, and he might not be so powerful as chef, so individualistic. No-​I never met the guy before; I just LOVE his food.

Lovely little spot with a very elegant, ecclectic take on Italian. The portions were all elegant size and handsomely presented. Loved that the pastas were offered in half portions so I could try the foie gras pasta (which was good) along with my entrée. I also enjoyed all of the lagniappe: the various bread dips (olive tapenade, creamy onions, hummus) and the amuse bouche of polenta. In all very impressed

Simply Unbelievable!
I wish I could remember all the dishes I tried here. This place is so good that I ordered the eggplant raviolis and I don’t like eggplant. I simply trusted the chef’s cooking and he left me speechless. Chef Christian as almost like God on earth. I don’t kid you. Believe me when I say I tried 5 other plates around the table I loved every single one of them. Even the rabbit, which I’ve never thought of tasty was unbelievable!!!
***** Favorite Italian Restaurant by far!!! *****

I was happy to see a restaurant open on Monday, but realized when I entered that this was more of a formal dining experience that I was prepared for or dressed for. Nevertheless we decided not to postpone dinner another 45 minutes and stayed.
We were greeted enthusiastically and seated immediately to a mostly empty restaurant. The menus were formal on cream colored paper in jackets and could have come out of Italy. Some of the guests received Spanish translated menus – others English translated. Very small cups of fish soup with a croûton were offered for each of us. Quite salty, but somehow appropriate. We became confused because the offerings in the different translations were in different order. Nevertheless I managed to order an appetizer which I thought I would like. I thought I was getting mushrooms, (seti), but it was fish. It looked like alfalfa sprouts – but it was fish. It looked like fish, but it was a tomato. Wow! Still it tasted good. No one else in our party wanted to try it, however. We also had the pumpkin soup. My wife and I were unimpressed since we had made better just a few days prior with bacon and apples. After a reasonable time they brought out the 4 entrees we had ordered. Sorry I can’t be more helpful on the names, but there was a shrimp spaghetti, a veal scaloppine, a rabbit papardelle, and a shrimp with something green (tagliolini?). I tried each one. (Thanks, guys.) I found the papardelle (mine) heavy, slightly oily and salty, but okay otherwise, not much rabbit though. The shrimp spaghetti was the best, with a creamy and subtle flavor. The shrimp in both dishes were cooked to perfection but the greens had an acrid flavor I could not identify and somewhat spoiled the dish for me. The veal scaloppine was difficult to evaluate. The vegetables were al dente (as I prefer my veggies) and the veal seemed as little cooked as could pass health inspection. My father who is a fan of Italian food was very ambivalent about it. I think he was being polite. The portions were satifying despite the fact that we ordered half portions at a savings of about 25%. Full portions would have been too much. The wines and desserts were too expensive to try. Minimum per glass was $ 10. Bottles were in the $ 60 and up range. Desserts ran $ 8.50-$ 12+. Even so, our party of 4 left over $ 140 including the tip. I liked the quiet ambiance and the helpfulness of the waiters, but felt the food was too expensive.