Aguaviva

I've been delaying writing about Aguaviva because it was such an amazing dining experience and because it was the last meal I had in Puerto Rico.  Aguaviva is an OOF! Restaurant and quite awesome.  Bestie and I were super excited to dine there.  We started with a tasting of ceviches.

The red snapper with avocado was simply divine! It tasted so good I wasn't sure what to do with myself, other than try the mahi mango limon ceviche.

Woweeee! It was by far the BEST ceviche I have EVER had.  No, seriously.  There was something over the top good about it.  In fact, as I write this all I can think about is how to get my hands on it again.  The tostones were obviously a perfect accompaniment.

After a short while our entrees arrived.  I wish I could adequately capture exactly how awesome everything looked.

Bestie ordered Jumbo Shrimp with yucca gnocchi.

shrimp with yucca gnocchi (aerial view)

Yucca gnocchi is brand new to my taste buds but I would definitely like to incorporate it again!  I ordered the chillo with lobster mofongo. Having had such incredible whole red snapper a few nights earlier, I decided to go with the fillet.

I'm pretty sure lobster mofongo should be outlawed because it is dangerously good.  It was incredibly rich and had big chunks of lobster.  It was likely mashed up with garlic butter because it had an additional richness that was not due to the lobster.  As I write this (weeks after the fact) my mouth is watering.  I may have to attempt to make mofongo one day...we'll see.  Bestie and I obviously stuffed ourselves silly, but made sure to leave enough room for dessert.

Definitely a shareable portion of creme brulee.  It was soooo good! Maybe it's the richness of the mofongo carrying over or the generally good time I had eating in PR or perhaps the fact that this was my last meal, but this creme brulee definitely put me over the top.  I was once again singing and dancing as I ate.

While I ate at a lot of incredible places while I was in PR, I think Aguaviva wins out as the best overall dining experience.  The waitress was subpar but the manager made up for it.  Every morsel of food was incredibly tasty and it is obvious that a lot of energy goes into every plate.  I know because we had a view of the open kitchen! If you're in Old San Juan either for a long trip to PR or just stopping in on your cruise, you must add Aguaviva to your list of places to eat.  You will not regret it!

Hungry yet?