Justin L.
Yelp
Caña is the fancy in-house restaurant at the El San Juan hotel (now owned by Fairmont). It's nicely decorated with a mix of Spanish and general 'stuff I found at HomeGoods' influencers. It's also located by the pool but set back a bit, so it's pretty quiet with both indoor and outdoor tables. They use the same space for all meals however it's effectively 2 restaurants in 1: for breakfast/lunch it's the main restaurant for the resort, and for dinner it becomes the fancy place. Please note this as it wasn't clear the first time we went.
Service was stellar across the board, unlike other places at the ESJ (looking at you, pool bar). Typically had Enrique during breakfast/lunch-time and Alberto for dinner. Enrique was a super nice and accommodating guy, while Alberto knew the menu--and every single thing about every dish--like the back of his hand. One of the more professional waiters I've ever had, and without any snottiness. For dinner, the chef was there trying out the next iteration of the menu; they keep no cans/microwaves in the kitchen so everything has to be fresh. In other words, the people working here actually take pride in their food.
For dinner, the result of all of this was one of the best meals I had anywhere. Came here 3 times, once with my wife/kid, once for takeout (baby wasn't cooperating), and once by myself. For appetizers we had the buñuelos (white yam fritters), wahoo tartar (their take on a delicate ceviche), and a roasted beet salad (with a local white cheese). All 3 were superb, with the wahoo being the best ceviche I've ever had, the buñuelos being like a savory zeppole, and the roasted beet salad being just an excellent rendition of a classic. For mains, I had the whole grilled red snapper, the arroz con cangrejo y langostino (crab rice with prawns), the camarones al ajillo (garlic shrimp), and tostones (fried mashed green plantains) as a side. The crab rice was excellent although on the heavy side. The snapper is what I got for takeout, and as weird as that was, it was a great piece of fish. My favorite was the camarones al ajillo, which was the best version I've had of this classic anywhere. Perfect for dipping the tostones in the sauce. Had the bread pudding and 1 other item (I forget) for dessert, and these were awesome too; one of the richer bread puddings I've had. Drinks were similarly excellent, both alcoholic and the coffee.
Things were a bit simpler for breakfast/lunch. Menu seems to have changed since then but the mallorca egg sandwich and truffled califlower pizza were great, especially when paired with some local hot sauce (just ask). For lunch they share the kitchen with the pool bar so the menu is the same. The burger, reuben, fish tacos, shrimp bowl and chicken caesar were all solid. Again it's served in a friendly and enjoyable atmosphere, unlike the pool bar where they forget orders and then get pissed when you call them on it. They keep the bartenders the same between the casual/fancy meals, so would also recommend drinks here (killer mai thais but reall anything is good).
This place almost single-handedly makes up for other shortcomings at the El San Juan. Very happy to see this be the Fairmont's first change to the hotel as it bodes well for the future. Special place for dinner, while being perfectly serviceable for breakfast lunch. Even if you're staying nearby, it's worth the trip.