Cafeteria
Coffee · San Juan
About Cafeteria
Bienvenidos a Cafetería San Juan, un rincón acogedor donde el café es nuestra pasión. Disfruta de nuestros granos locales, tostados en casa, y descubre el arte del "pour-over" mientras saboreas deliciosos acompañamientos. Sumérgete en el mundo del café con nosotros y vive una experiencia única.
What Customers Say About Cafeteria
Cafeteria Don Ruiz is a popular spot in Old San Juan known for its excellent coffee, delicious pastries like almond croissants, and friendly service. Customers rave about the lattes and the Pavo wrap. A common issue is the difficulty in finding the location inside the plaza.
Popular Dishes
Best For
Tip: The cafe is located inside the plaza, so access it from there. It's a great stop before or after visiting El Morro.
Features
What to see nearby
Data from Wikidata
Explore the area around Cafeteria
Cafeteria is located in San Juan, surrounded by cultural and historical points of interest. Here are some of the most notable places nearby.
Historical Heritage
- Real Asilo de Beneficencia (A 121m) — antiguo edificio del gobierno español en San Juan, Puerto Propiedad contribuidora
Museums
- Museo de Las Américas (A 58m) — Museo en San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Galería Nacional de Puerto Rico (A 101m) — museum administered by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
Parks & Gardens
- Plaza del Quinto Centenario (A 64m) — park in the Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Parque de Beneficencia (A 89m) — park in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Plaza del Negro (A 110m) — park in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Jardín Paseo de Ballajá (A 116m) — park in San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Plaza de San José (A 134m) — plaza in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
Other Points of Interest
- Tótem Telúrico (A 60m) — escultura monumental en San Juan, Puerto Rico
- Estatua de Juan Ponce de León (A 139m) — statue in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Data from Wikidata
Frequently asked questions about Cafeteria
Cafeteria San Juan Reviews
Thankfully, this was the first stop on an amazing morning walking food tour taken Sunday 2/22/2026 with Elliot of Spoon tours (found through TripAdvisor). It’s located in a historic building (former hospital and barracks now turned cultural center). The history of this family’s coffee making goes back to the 1800s. I am not a coffee drinker or a hot drink person. (My morning caffeine of choice is usually a Dr. Pepper. 🤣) But of course, I was going to try everything on the food tour. I was pleasantly surprised by the smoothness of this coffee and ended finishing the whole cup. I was happy to learn I can buy it online. The ham and cheese (jamon y queso) Mallorca sandwich was delicious. The bread was warm and fresh topped with powder sugar which paired well with the ham inside.
The Cofee here is very delicious! We had two iced sugar free hazelnut lattes and they were rich creamy and refreshing. The quality of the coffee is very high and a medium roast. Would definitely frequent this place.
Coffee was delicious! We had a party of 10 people with another large party ahead of us and we were really impressed with how quickly they were able to make our orders. Pastries were also really tasty. And we enjoyed the visit from the cats outside :)
Great coffee, smoothies, mocha latte, local beer, and vibe! And the price is just right.
Nice coffee spot right outside the walkway to Castillo San Felipe del Morro. Great local, medium bodied, coffee, with multiple options for hot and cold drinks. The pastries are delich and brunch is served all day. **EASY TO FIND** the location is inside the building...there should be four entrances, but when we can (Apr 2025) only two entrances on the east and west points of the building.
Not much service 😆 the sandwich and croissant was perfectly seasoned and very fresh. Coffee was strong enough mango smooth was ! Yummy and refreshing! The cat 🐈 was a bonus so cute. Decoration is relaxing!
Kind of hidden away inside the courtyard of this building. Staff was incredibly friendly and helpful. Coffee was fantastic and this cat kept me company while I enjoyed an iced mocha!
We stopped here by chance and drinks were great! But what stood out is my toddler dropped his pastry while he was coming out and a gentleman who I believe to be the owner. Got up from his coffee and conversation and personally went to the back and got him a new pastry and told the staff not to charge us. It was really nice gesture that I really appreciated.
Didn’t take long to place our order or pick up our food. The egg croissant with pesto was incredible. So was the French toast. Service was excellent. Definitely stop here on your visit to old San Juan.
The moment we walked in, we were greeted by a senior employee who took the time to explain the different products and share recommendations. We decided to buy some coffee for home, and he went above and beyond—giving us a mini lesson on the different coffee varieties and even accommodating us by grinding the coffee right there. Excellent service paired with high-quality products made this a great experience.
This coffee shop was a quick and easy stop before visiting the Fort. The food was fresh and delicious. The owner was very nice, stopped by to check on the food and make sure we were happy with the service. It is located inside of the plaza. The map takes you to the outside and you will have to walk around to find the entrance.
The atmosphere is undeniably chic—industrial-meets-historic with high ceilings and a view of the beautiful courtyard. While the coffee is good, the service can be a bit slow. If you’re in a rush to catch your cruise, the wait times during peak hours might test your patience.
The coffee was delicious! The food was on the more casual side, but tasted good. Loved the cat in the cafe & staff were extremely friendly and helpful.
I was expecting a bit more from what I've read about it but turns out it's an okay coffee shop. Maybe because it was an Easter holiday but it was any typical coffee shop. There weren't a lot of pastries on display but you can order sandwiches from their menu. It was a bit confusing to locate it via maps, so you have to look for the museum and go inside to find the coffee shop. I had a typical cappuccino which was quite good and the cheese pastry was okay too. I was looking towards bringing coffee home but there weren't a lot to choose from either. So ended up not buying anything.
A really cute place. The food looked and smelled amazing. I wish I could have stayed to try it. I love the look and their coffee is good but this place is super difficult to find. It is all the way inside of the courtyard of the museum and the sign is very difficult to find. There is better coffee in easier locations in old San Juan.
I asked for an iced Irish coffee and was scoffed at and told that’s not a thing. I have traveled many places and always ordered this but I just politely said ok and started to order something else, he cut me off and said they could make it and put it on ice if I wanted, so I said ok, and completed my order with food. He charged me for an Irish coffee plus three more dollars for a shot of whiskey…that’s supposed to be part of the coffee price, but I did not say anything. When my coffee came out it was black coffee on ice with whiskey in it and he said we don’t have any cream for it. I was flustered by this point but didn’t want to cause problems so I just asked for a little milk. I sat for around 40 minutes watching people come and go with their food and eventually saw the cook bring one of his co-workers out a sandwich, so I went and nicely asked about how much more time it would be. The cook looked shocked and started speaking to the man working the register and the man never sent my food order back although I had already paid and tipped. The cook was very friendly apologized and said he would make it and bring it out to me. Five minutes later I had my food. The food was delicious and the cook was very apologetic. The man at the front counter however said nothing, just looked at me with disdain.
Decent coffee. I believe it’s single origin medium roasted in house . Service is okay. Nothing to rave about . The space and atmosphere was cool. Cool little spot in old San Juan . I tried the Irish coffee, the whipped cream was delicious. The iced coffee we had wasn’t anything special. No notes that stood out. Prices are decent. Nothing to rave about.
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Cuartel de Ballaja, Calle Norzagaray Esq. Beneficiencia, San Juan, PR 00901, Puerto Rico
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Cuartel de Ballaja, Calle Norzagaray Esq. Beneficiencia, San Juan, PR 00901, Puerto Rico
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Museo en San Juan, Puerto Rico
escultura monumental en San Juan, Puerto Rico
park in the Old San Juan, Puerto Rico
park in San Juan, Puerto Rico
museum administered by the Institute of Puerto Rican Culture
park in San Juan, Puerto Rico
park in San Juan, Puerto Rico
antiguo edificio del gobierno español en San Juan, Puerto
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