Lechonera Los Pinos

https://www.afar.com/magazine/in-puerto-rico-where-to-eat-on-guavates-pork-highway

25,132 Postcards · 3,702 Cities

In Puerto Rico, Where to Eat on Guavate’s “Pork Highway” - AFAR

"Operating since the 1970s and typically open seven days a week except for a brief Easter pause, this green-and-yellow awning landmark draws travelers from around the world after a 2006 television spotlight boosted its fame. The pork is widely praised for its exceptional flavor, attributed to a commitment to sourcing ingredients locally, including pigs from a nearby cooperative. Beyond the pork, the octopus salad is a must-order, and the overall experience blends classic lechonera fare with a steady stream of international visitors who come away impressed." - Katherine LaGrave

The Best Restaurants in Puerto Rico

25,132 Postcards · 3,702 Cities

"For years, only the most adventurous travelers who happened off the highway and onto a local road in the town of Guavate discovered what was once a best-kept secret: Puerto Rico ’s "Pork Highway." Los Pinos is one of many roadside stands, kiosks, and restaurants offering spit-roasted pork and all the trimmings. Don’t expect barbecue sauce (don’t worry, you won’t miss it), but if you mustadd a splash of something, try pique , the white vinegar infused with ají (chili pepper)on many tables. Los Pinos isn’t fancy, but nobody seems to care a bit."

Photo by age fotostock

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-restaurants-in-puerto-rico

42,481 Postcards · 5,683 Cities

21 Best Restaurants in Puerto Rico | Condé Nast Traveler

"Like most lechóneras on La Ruta del Lechón—AKA Pork Highway —Los Pinos is a casual, open-air restaurant with cafeteria-style tables, whole pigs roasting on spits, and a man behind the counter hacking up lechón with a machete and heaping it, piping-hot, onto styrofoam plates. The atmosphere is always buzzy and crowded, but it gets especially rowdy on weekends, when the space transforms into a lively dance party with live music." - Kris Fordham

https://www.cntraveler.com/story/best-lechon-in-puerto-rico

42,481 Postcards · 5,683 Cities

Best Lechon in Puerto Rico | Condé Nast Traveler

"A little further north on La Ruta, Los Pinos is a local favorite that's a little less rowdy than El Rancho, but equally authentic and delicious. Come before noon and you can watch fresh-from-the-spit lechón being expertly taken apart with a machete, moments before it's heaped piping hot onto your plate—you can even request your favorite part. Los Pinos is also known for its delicious sides like morcilla (blood sausage), arroz con guandules (rice with pigeon peas) and fried-to-perfection plantains."

Tucker

Google

The best Lechonera I have had to date. Had what was quite possibly the best pork I have ever had this trip. Have been to a few in the area and Lechonera Los Pinos is the best in my opinion. Even with my almost non existent Spanish speaking skills we were able to order and get the best food of our trip. Service was awesome aswell.

Fausto L.

Google

What a great way to spend an afternoon. Eating great food with great company. No matter who you’re with or what your mood, this place is a mood of its own! You wait in line and then order at the counter. The line can get long, but no worries. Grab a cold beverage to help you along! The person that takes your order also puts it all together. They will tell you to meet them at a register. Done. Whether you sit and eat or take it to go, it’s the same.

Sally L.

Google

The ribs and roasted pork are amazing, we ordered round 2. The side dishes, sweet plantain, rice and beans were great. The chef was very friendly and came out to said hello to us. A lot of restaurants may not open on weekdays, and they are.

Teri Y.

Google

Very interesting place. Food was pretty good, but we're not huge fans of pork and just bought a bit of everything to try out. $5 minimum charge for cc. Kind of had a cafeteria feeling to the place. The drive up was a long mountainous road.

Andrew B.

Google

Fantastic food and service. We drive up here from the city just for the morcilla. The lechon was cooked to perfection. New go to lechonera.

Alexander S.

Google

Arrived quite by accident on a Sunday but very happy to have made the stop, best we had in Puerto Rico and cheaper than an American fast food

Google

So delicious and so cheap! It’s also one of the last restaurants to close in Guavate (some of them close very early).

Athena V.

Google

The most amazing pork ever. Be prepared to eat like theirs no tomorrow. Try it all because it’s all soo delicious. Well worth the trip off the beaten path to go eat. Bonus souvenir shops across the street.

Teresa T.

Yelp

Traveling in the mountains in Puerto Rico, you will find several of these eatery's serving up authentic Puerto Rican cuisine. Roasted pork, beans and rice, yuca, and much more can be found at the roadside restaurants. All seating is outside which makes this place a wonderful experience for dining. Wide open space, equipped with tables and chairs with salsa music blaring from around the restaurant. There's parking on the side of the restaurant. The staff quickly takes your order and you pay. The staff were friendly and helpful. We ordered several items beans and rice, pork, blood sausage, etc. The pork wasn't as tender as I would have liked. The beans and rice were good. I would recommend for the experience but I would suggest trying another eatery in the area.

Parker W.

Yelp

Take a ride on La Ruta del Lechon aka The Pork Highway! This is a beautiful mountain region in Puerto Rico with many roadside eateries and bars. Roasted pork is the specialty here. Ask for how much you want by weight and they will chop it up with a machete. Fantastic food and it was a cute atmosphere in December with fun holiday decorations.

Fernando R.

Yelp

Sabado 11 de enero de 2025 nuestra segunda parada fue aquí. Desde temprano la comida criolla del día esta disponible para comer. Local grande, limpio y con estacionamiento. Todo en orden. Servicio bueno y ambiente familiar.

Lisa S.

Yelp

Right after we ordered and got our food (with exceedingly gracious help from the older woman who was called up to help the gringos when the sweet young thing who was probably HS age balked at our language incompetence -- not hers, absolutely ours), a veritable parade of abuelas y abuelos queued up to order. That is immediate validation that we chose the right place of all the possible lechoneras along Pork Highway (Rt 184). And the food was amazing -- the pork succulent and Juicy, the crispy skin simply a marvel, and even the sweet potatoes something worth noting. We ordered one meal for two people with plans to make additional stops at other lechoneras, but I don't know, maybe we should just stock up here and roll out like overfilled beach balls in a few hours?

Tea L.

Yelp

This is a late post only because I was too busy eating the food I have so waited long for and almost my soul reason to go so I didn't have tons of pictures to share. You must and I mean you must go to Lechon highway. Go to the top of the hill and hit up this place! Outdoor seating with a creek and plenty of patios to eat in.... So awesome! It's not a long strip to walk but pleabty of souvenir shops to see. Back to the food! It was absolute everything I thought it would me. We had ordered a meal that could feed 6 plus 3 beers for (drum roll please) $42!!!!!!!! I ordered an additional 2 lbs to take back to our Airbnb The people were awesome and very helpful in explaining the food. I miss it! If you're there ship me some lol

Brian E.

Yelp

Pork heaven...would give more stars if I could First stop on our trip down the pork highway

Sophia N.

Yelp

The CRISPIEST pork skin I've ever had. I also loved the rest of the pork because it was so juicy but not too greasy. It's also such a steal for the price!! My friend and I shared one portion and it was more than enough along with a couple side dishes. Also, don't skip on the cassava. The people were also so nice. There is a man directing the parking lot for the store and he also gave us a lot of great recommendations around the island. You definitely need a car to get up here and if steep, narrow, and windy mountain roads intimidate you then you may want to avoid the pork highway. Otherwise, this restaurant is very worth the drive up.

Internet S.

Yelp

At the recommendation of a coworker, I decided to try here. It was worth the hour drive from San Juan. Had pound of pork, pink beans, white rice, yellow rice, rice with pigeon peas, marinated cassava, and water. The pork with the chicharrones was very tender and flavorful although some pieces were heavy with salt. The pork is roasting on a spit in the front window and they just take a hunk off and use a machete to chop it in smaller pieces. The pink beans were basically pinto beans with potato, ham, and pumpkin in a broth. They were flavorful. The casava was a little bland and tasted like it had been sitting there a while. The rice and pigeon pea was good. I took the liquid from the beans an poured it over the white rice and casava. Over all the meal was good and I would recommend going. Bring a spanish translator. Total with tax was about $30.

Von H.

Yelp

Well worth the drive. The best and most flavorful lechón I've had. The seasoning was on point, cooked perfectly and not dry and crispy in the right places. The rice came out of the kitchen of someone's grandmas house, the flavor was so good. They gave you a whole fried Madura, wasn't greasy at all with perfectly crisp edges. We also had alcapurrias were good the masa had a lot of flavor. It was a friendly spot with quick service. And the cheesecake was perfect. Ice cold drinks and very authentic food and extremely well priced. Don't skip this place.

Marynell K.

Yelp

We were kind of confused on how to order so the cashier was getting impatient with us and started yelling at us. My boyfriends first language is Spanish so it's not like we didn't understand Spanish. Other than that we enjoyed the experience. We watched a video before coming that showed the tripe and that's what made us come. Unfortunately, they didn't have tripe that day The arroz con gandule was okay. It was a little hard to be honest. the Lechon though... amazing. No other words to describe it. Very well cooked, flavor was perfect. Another pro is the portion for the price is great! The most affordable meal we've had in Puerto Rico.

Toni P.

Yelp

We travelled and triedthe Lechonera Los Pinos here at Guavate. Most of the restaurants (at the area are close by each other)on Thursday. We ordered Lechon, Arroz Con Gandules (Yellow Rice), Pork Sausage and Plantanos Madurai (Sweet Plantains). Lechon skins that we got are tough and chewy (guessing that big pig Lechon is matured). The Sausage, Plantains and Rice were delicious and tasty. We'll definitely try it again. Service is good.

Reagan H.

Yelp

BEST EMPANADILLAS ON THE ISLAND!! Staff is always very kind. You have to watch out for the bees and you absolutely should get there early for the freshest empanadillas but this is an absolute must visit.

Will C.

Yelp

Made my long-awaited trip to Pork Highway despite the efforts of COVID and Southwest Airlines. Well worth the wait to get our plates filled with lechón, loganiza, plantain maduros, rice, and stewed pinto beans. Highlights were the lechón, which were a good balance of juicy and fatty pork without being solely fatty pork, unlike the other lechonera we went to. Also loved the plantain maduros. I know the plantain crop has better devastated this year and there's a good chance that these were frozen/shipped in, but they were still tasty and less sweet/carmlized than the kind I'm usually used to. And the stewed pinto beans, though simple, were a great way to top off the rice. Only downside of the meal was the crispy pork skin, which was way too hard and tough. Plenty of airy seating to enjoy the mountain breeze. Service...is...not the best. But the food istasty and made me glad that I finally go to see the Pork Highway.

Tina A.

Yelp

Very very good food came all the way down from Brookline Massachusetts to eat here and it was amasing will recommend this place to anyone who wants Real Puertorican Food

Dang N.

Yelp

3.5 stars. The whole roasted pig in the window is awesome to look at. Love it. The pig itself though is pretty dry and not a whole lot of flavor. I also got blood sausages and a tamale with yellow rice. Honestly, it's all lacking a bit of flavor especially the rice and tamale. The blood sausage's alright. The service though is super friendly and I love the atmosphere.

Dave B.

Yelp

The food was good! I can't wait to go back. The service was quick and easy. Very simple type of system that they have.

Reinita D.

Yelp

First time in PR visiting and we stopped here to have lunch. It is sooooo clean, food is amazing and where the food is kept is spotless. Very trustworthy and delicious. Restrooms are so clean as well and staff very friendly. Definitely deserve more than 5 stars. They even have our must have Grand Manier after eating.

Marilyn D.

Yelp

Delicious food, great atmosphere with friendly people. My favorite is the chicken longaniza.

Nyal F.

Yelp

We were here about 1.5 hours after landing in SJU. My daughter had given up 18 months of vegetarianism to have "the pig". And the fact that I hadn't been anywhere but Cunao in 30 years, but wanted to give something else a chance. First starting off with why no five stars. Despite some decent Spanish and knowing all the food since I was a kid, lechonaras without waitstaff can be challenging to order from. Like you don't know the system. But maybe that one star is on me, my family left Cayey years ago, give me a lot of knowledge, but not how to order in everyone of the 20 plus lechonara in a 10 mile stretch. Or of course that nothing is ever marked as to the price. Menus are just kinda lists. But anyway, great food, I mean every thing was well seasoned and well cooked. Habichuelas, gandules, arroz blanco the bomb and of course my pescatarian wife has been to PR enough times to know she's going to find pork in the habichuelas and probably chicken broth in the rice at best. The lechon was perfect and ribs pretty damn good as well. On the not meat side, I thought i ordered yuca frita but got yuca guisada which was actually even better and maduros which were also outstanding. The service despite the misunderstanding was fantastic and everyone there is superfriendly and seemed super proud of their work. So here's the secret related to me by a kind cayeyano fellow customer, to the right hand side, there are styrofoam container, labeled 1 to 5, 1 is probably good for an individual or little people to taste, 5 is you are going to a party, when you figure that out, you have a 5 star experience. Oh and by the way, the prices are great, we had our entire lunch including soft drinks for 4 for 50 bucks.

Arun M.

Yelp

Friendly people and good food. I just wished the menu was easier to figure out and that they gave more pork skin. Worth the trip.

Madeline A.

Yelp

Everything was horrible, don't waste your money here. Pleased don't pork was undercook to salty, the rest, just save your money an go to other lechoneras.

Raymond S.

Yelp

A bit of a drive from San Juan but worth it. Authentic Puerto Rican food. Off the beaten trail, not too many tourists. Not five star dining, cafeteria style, lots of pork and sausage. We had the blood sausage-good, chicken sausage-awesome, fries sweet potatoes-I am in love! And of course pork cut from a pig on a spit. Open air with loud conversation but a great experience.

Leif H.

Yelp

My dream of eating in La Ruta de Lechon finally became a reality. I went to PR earlier in the year and there wasn't a single car for rent so I became stuck in the city. It was a must to come back to try these roadside pork establishments and I was not disappointed. It is so much different in beauty than the coastal areas (and much cooler) which was a welcomed change from the heat of the city. We stopped at Los Pinos due to the reviews read and recommendations from locals. The pork was crispy, the rice well cooked, the Medalla was cold and I happy as happy as a man could be having this delicious meal for breakfast. My only complaint which I've had while dining at many PR establishments would be the lack of salt in some dishes. I tried the Pulpo salad and there wasn't even a dash of salt or any acidity. When comparing to other latin countries and their cold seafood salads PR needs a bit of a lesson on seasonings and accompanied sauces. This has only taught me a valuable lesson. Stick to what they are known for and you generally will not be disappointed.

Esteban V.

Yelp

Wow! This was worth the flight, long drive and long wait! This is the best damn pig I have ever eaten! I have heard stories about the oh so famous ruta del lechon and even saw that Tony Bourdain visited this place. So I had to stop by and check it out. Man when I say I wanted to eat and try everything it's because it all looks and smells amazing. I ordered pork with arroz con gandules, plantains and blood sausage. The pork was perfectly seasoned, cooked and had the amazing crisp skin that crunched with every bite. The rice was on point and blood sausage was packed with flavour. The best way to to is to wash it down with an ice cold Medalla beer. This is a match made for kings.

RL M.

Yelp

Whole pig on a spit, and hacked to order leaving you with mounds of succulent roast pork. Morsilla, yuca, pasteles, arroz con gandules......nothing fancy, but alsoooo well prepared. A party of 6 for $65.00 & there was enough take home for a whole other dinner, but since we went for lunch--there was no way we could hit it again after several hours without an ER visit --in a good way. Ambiance is non-existent. Just picnic benches giving you plenty of room to lay it all on the table and "pig out". Authentic Puerto Rican county food that spans generations & tradition. Service is all smiles. About an hour trek south out of San Juan to Cayey & worth every gallon of gas to get there.

Meg C.

Yelp

Tasty pork, a bit on the salty side, pique vinegar helped balance it a bit. Was a bit bummed the lechon was cold and some of the skin was very tough. Blood sausage was a surprise hit, some of the best I've had. Very good value for the price tag, 2 plates under $20. Open air seating area, filled with locals enjoying their meals and community.

Andrei P.

Yelp

We drove through the mountainous middle area of Puerto Rico known as Guavate, as this place is the most well-known and rated Lechón (Slow Whole Roasted Pig) in the island. They open as early as 6:00 AM and we were the first ones in line to order a pound of this delightful delicacy from the happy faces of the owners Tomas and Carmen to dine-in and even take it on our way back to San Juan. The Lechón was one of the best that I have ever tasted. The skin, so crispy and smooth from all those hours of roasting and the meaty inside was so tender and juicy and was expecting this very well and defnitely worth the drive! Fun Fact: This place was featured and shown on Anthony Bourdain's "No Reservations" many years ago, as he made beautiful memories for his viewers at this place, full of zest to try on the best Lechón in the country :)

Nikki L.

Yelp

Casual but roomy lechonera in the mountains with the lechon and many side dishes on offer. I found the pork to be a bit too salty for my tastes. The fattiness of the pork was soft and chewy but the skin was crisp with a hard crunch to it. The lechon here was just okay. I tried the side dishes of potato salad, conch salad, and octopus salad. I think the oil used in the conch and octopus salads were too heavy, it needed a lighter oil. I favored the potato salad a little more but all three were just okay. What I really liked was the sweet potato, light and natural flavor, very good and the fresh juices. Both parcha (passionfruit) and guanabana were tasty and refreshing.

Denisse V.

Yelp

My favorite place during my visit to PR. I must say the drive to get here is pretty scary. Once we got to the restaurant there was no line and we got our food super fast. The service was great! The lechon was AMAZING! The ribs too. It definitely was with the drive!

Mai L.

Yelp

I think the food is a 4 but their service really put them over the top Came by early on a Tuesday (around 9am) because it was our last day in Puerto Rico and we had things to do! We were the only people there. When we arrived, the lady said there was only breakfast available... bummer! Just drove an hour to get some lechon and lechon is what we wanted! The lady asked around and they said that they were going to bring out the pork soon. When they brought out the pig, we ran outside to take a picture of it But they told us to come inside/go through the kitchen to take pictures So they gave us hairnets and we headed back. The owner gave us a cleaver to hold (lol!) for the pics.. completely unexpected, but pretty cool After we were satisfied with our pictures, we thanked them and went to take a seat while waiting for them to chop up our lechon. But instead, the lady who took our order gave us a tour of the place! Again, unexpected but appreciated! She even showed us to the back room with the pigs that haven't been cooked yet and introduced us to the owner (who didn't speak English, but was still very friendly and welcoming) Onto the food: the lechon was good, but I think Rancho de Apa's is better. Pork was tender and flavorful, but the skin was not as crispy as I would've liked. Arroz con gandules was great. I did end up ordering some extra to take home though :p Their hospitality made the whole experience so much better! Glad we got the chance to stop by and try the lechon!

Raquel C.

Yelp

Fresh, well-seasoned, and delicious authentic Puertorrican food. Prompt and professional service displayed by all Los Pinos Staff. The ambiance is conducive to enjoyment and comfort in a tropical setting.

Robert S.

Yelp

I'm not gonna say this food was amazing. My puerto rican abuela was... less then impressed with the food. She wasn't happy with it at all. We were walking down la Guavate (the Pork Highway) and we spotted this pleasant looking restaurant. It's an open air restaurant, you can watch the pigs cooking through the window and watch all the food being made. I came with my family, a group of 11. This restaurant had some pretty good deals for groups. Starting at groups of 4, 8, and then 12. You would get a better deal if you just ordered multiple of the 4 person meal... that's what we did. We waited in line for around 25 minutes with only a few groups ahead of us. The person serving us forgot a few things from the deal, and on the desk it said a gallon of water but they actually just gave us 4 small bottles, so we had to purchase several more. The cups they gave us for our two liters of soda were the size of the cups I use to wash my mouth out, which was inconvenient. Our food was delicious. The pernil was perfect and hit the spot after not eating all day. The white rice and beans were SO GOOD, but they definitely didn't provide enough beans. The american pasta salad that we got was quite bland, but still good for my empty stomach. My puerto rican family was unhappy with the food hear but I thought it was great. I would come again, especially with a big group for the deals.

Camille S.

Yelp

Long wait but worth it! Went during three kings day and ate till they closed. 10/10 would recommend come with family! Just no babies bc it's loud.

Michael U.

Yelp

While some may find it strange that a person who travels to dine does not watch "Food Television" the fact remains, but on the same day as a trip to El Yunque National Forest the opportunity to visit Puerto Rico's famous "Pork Highway" proved impossible to resist. Locally known as La Ruta del Lechón, a dozen or more Restaurants at elevation on a winding road in Guavate, it is following the 45 minute drive from San Juan that travelers will find Lechonera Los Pinos, a bit of rain and pandemic precautions seeing few guests at 9:30am even though staff and Food were ready to go. Found along Route 184, stories of visits by Andrew Zimmern and Anthony Bourdain prominent across Social Media, it is from the parking lot that the smell of cookery becomes prominent, the friendly all-Spanish servers helping first-timers navigate a menu loaded with Proteins and Starches. Open air and spacious, the sort of place already designed for spreading out long before "social distancing," it was after watching an older man hack bits of Pork from the whole Hog with a machete that seats were taken, Los Pinos' Lechon perfectly seasoned with rendered Fat glistening beneath skin that shatters like glass with a smoky finish. More than just Lechon Asado, Rice with Pigeon Peas and sides of Sauteed Plantains plus tender Yam also delicious, those in search of more Pork will do well to order both garlicky Longaniza and boldly flavored Blood Sausage with Rice before wrapping up with individual Tres Leches in a small aluminum cup.

Mel A.

Yelp

Uphill and downhill you must travel to get here. Through winding roads that make google map look like some doodling job of a 5-year-old. Lechon is a whole roasted pig over an open fire with crackling, crisp skin and deliciously tender meat. I used to eat lechon as a child living in the Philippines during fiesta or during a very special birthday celebration. Well, since we are visiting Puerto Rico on my birthday week, it is only fitting that I have some lechon this week! So, off we made the trek outside of old San Juan to find the pork highway and into the parking lot of this lechonera. It's a cafeteria style setting in an open building with some lively music playing in the background and a modest bar toward the back of the building. The staff of the lechonera are super friendly and served everyone, local and tourists, with a smile on their faces! This has got to be one of the happiest eateries we've stumbled upon while here in Puerto Rico. Even the locals eating there were warm and welcoming! We ordered 1 lb of lechon to share. They were generous with the pork skin. My favorite! Then we ordered 1 lb of marinated cassava and some sweet plantains. Everything was delicious, from the pork skin, to the actual meaty parts and the sides, I really have nothing to complain about. Perfect seasoning all over and the meat was juicy and flavorful. What a delicious treat! We lingered slightly to enjoy a bit of the view and some fresh air but as I bid this place farewell, I take with me the fond memories of this travel and that mouthwatering smell of lechon still on my hands.

Maria A.

Yelp

We arrived at the restaurant at closing time, but to our surprise, they welcomed us with a smile and served us great food and provided excellent service. The restaurant was spotless and had a great ambiance.

Guillermo G.

Yelp

Lechonera Los Pinos is located on PR-184 in an area called Guavate. This stretch is commonly known as "la ruta del lechón" (the pork route or pork highway). Here you will find several lechoneras. The all basically sell the same thing, local food with lechón being the star of the show. Lechonera Los Pinos is in my opinion among the better ones, worth checking out. They also have a stage for live music.

Nicolas L.

Yelp

A visit to Guavate is a must for foodies in Puerto Rico. This town is full of Lechonera's which serve traditional mouthwatering Lechon (roasted pig). However, once arriving, it's overwhelming to decide which one to visit. Lechonera Los Pinos is seemingly the most popular because it was featured by Anthony Bourdain years ago but I ultimately chose to visit here because family living in the area also recommended it. Yes! Lechonera Los Pinos lives up to the hype! The Lechon was some of the best I have ever tried: super tender, meaty and juicy with juicy crisp skin. However, the additional menu items were also phenomenal. I had flavorful and savory Arroz con Gandules, tender and citrusy Ensalada De Pulpo (octopus), starchy Pasteles De Masa filled with tender pork, rich, flavorful and savory Morcilla (blood sausage), and lightly sweet and starchy Batata (sweet potato).

Sophie Y.

Yelp

Drove 90 mins from Toroverde to this place on a weekday afternoon. Thank God there's no queue. Would be helpful if there's sign in English given PR is a US territory. Kinda confusing where to start and not to mention staffs don't speak English as well. So it is helpful if you learn some basic Spanish as the food aren't labelled too. We ended up getting 3 lbs of lechon, rice with pigeon peas, liver, sweet plantain, blood sausage, yucca, cod stew and some tamale like thing. It was pretty good but everything is on the saltier side. Glad we tried here once!

L M.

Yelp

Pretty much what I expected. My husband absolutely loves this place. Good food. See how happy the spouse looks?

Maria L.

Yelp

Although you get a great selection and it's a nice drive into the mountain I would not recommend for dinner. Lechon was very dry but the rice was great! Only reason why I would return!

G K.

Yelp

Food was delicious! Some locals in the next table told us we were lucky because we got a whole bunch of delicious "chicharrón", the crispy skin. The meat underneath was moist and delicious, not as tender as pernil, which is prepared differently so not sure why people would compare it. We got the family dinner for 4 and the 3 of us (husband, toddler and I) were stuffed, YOLO. We also got a side of pork sausage and yautia which is type of tuber I never had before and it was all amazing. The parcha mojito was one of the best I had on the island, it was obvious it was the natural fruit juice with the seeds. We went on a Sunday during lunch but got super lucky with very little traffic and short line compared to typical weekend craziness.

Rafael S.

Yelp

We are visiting from Miami... Humble place with Very nice people. Good food and clean place. The Yuca & Mojo is delicious, as well as the Puerto Rican Pasteles. Nice Lechón with crispy Chicharrón....

Enrique E.

Yelp

Good food, but a bit pricey. Not too well organized when it came to their lines and protocol. Very basic dining experience. It's all about the food and not much else, very basic overall.

Stacy S.

Yelp

Took a beautiful backroad drive through the mountains from Loiza to get here. Got there at peak customer hours(3 or 3:30) so there was a line. However, staff moved everyone along very efficiently. The food was definitely worth the drive & wait. I had the roasted pig, pork sausage, rice with peas & potato salad. Salad was fresh & very tasty, sausage very flavorful but the star of the show was definitely the roasted suckling pig. Bar was seperate from food ordering, so getting drinks was also super efficient. The live music was a little loud for my taste but entertaining none the less. I would definitely make this trip again. The Ruta del Lechon is a Puerto Rican must-do. You won't regret it.

Lilly L.

Yelp

You kind of go for the experience more than anything. Expect about a 1/2 hr wait during busy time and staff that will require a bit of Spanish to get your order right. The pork is, well...porky . Come if your inner carnivore is trying to break out. We tried the ribs, the pork shoulder(?) with skin, yams, and the rice with the pigeon peas (gandules)-all pretty good but way too much for two. Also ordered the tres leches cake (yuck...overly processed, not home made...avoid). Tip: if you wanna make the line feel like it's going faster, stop by one of the neighboring bars and get a to-go bevvy to keep you company or I think you can also order at their bar.

Aaron H.

Yelp

Los Pinos must only used prize pigs because their pork was perfectly on point! I can't say that I have ever had better roast pork and I can without question say that this is the best morcilla I have ever eaten. The flavor of the pig was came through in every bite and the seasonings, fire and smoke were vey welcomed added flavor. The morcilla is rich and gritty and you can really taste the freshness. All the sides were good as well but the their power is definitely in their pork!

Indranil D.

Yelp

The Pork Highway, or La Ruta del Lechón, is a roughly three-mile stretch of Route 184, which is located in a central area of Puerto Rico called Guavate. This winding road is lined with more than a dozen casual roadside restaurants, known as lechoneras, specializing in slow-roasted whole pig (lechón). Each restaurant uses a unique (and usually secret) combination of spices to season the pig, which is then roasted over an open fire for 6-8 hours. I learnt about this place from Andrew Zimmern show Overall the pork was delicious and blood sausage was ok but definately worth coming. You can ask for specific parts if you are adventurous (eg. Cheek, snout, etc).

Jose H.

Yelp

Best lechón is the Guavate (Cayey) area. Live music depending the time/date of the week. Lots of sides to choose from, my personal favorite sweet potatoes, sweet plantains, rice with "gandules". While going up the road you will pass several places, but once arrived you know you are at the right place. Be prepared for at least 30 minutes line, be patient and enjoy music. Don't forget to have your order set in your mind for when your turn comes.

https://www.afar.com/magazine/in-puerto-rico-where-to-eat-on-guavates-pork-highway

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Photo by age fotostock

https://www.cntraveler.com/gallery/best-restaurants-in-puerto-rico

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https://www.cntraveler.com/story/best-lechon-in-puerto-rico

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