Serafina San Juan Restaurant

Flashy decor, atrocious service, and the most disrespectful staff I’ve ever encountered. If you’re thinking about trying Serafina in San Juan, honestly, save yourself the headache and go literally anywhere else. It looks stylish from the outside, but the second you sit down, it becomes painfully obvious that this place is an overpriced tourist trap running on pure attitude. My husband and I walked in around 10:00 PM after a great day exploring Old San Juan and the beaches. The vibe seemed fun, so we figured we’d grab a late dinner. Instead, they stuck us at this damp, corner table that smelled straight-up musty—like the basement of a run-down dive bar, not a place charging $40 an entrée. Then came our server, Luis. He didn’t even greet us. His very first words were barking that the kitchen was about to close. The second he realized we were sticking to water and weren't going to rack up a massive cocktail bill, his entire face dropped into pure annoyance. We rushed to order our drinks and apps, and then Luis completely vanished. With the "closing kitchen" ticking away, my husband and I started stressing that we wouldn't even get dinner in. Meanwhile, we looked over and saw Luis casually hanging out, gossiping and laughing with other servers. It took about 12 minutes just to flag him down again. Because of the rush, we felt forced to order everything at once, entrées, and dessert just to make sure we'd get food. When the food finally came out, getting a simple water refill or side of sauce was completely out of the question. No one checked on us. By the time our main courses arrived, we realized we were completely stuffed and had no room for dessert. Luis was glued to the POS screen, chatting away with another waiter. We waved politely, said "excuse me," and literally called his name multiple times. He stared straight past us. When he finally bothered to stroll over, we asked for boxes and politely asked him to cancel the dessert so it wouldn't go to waste. He gave us a condescending speech about how “everything is made from scratch here” and said he’d check. He came back from the back and flat-out told us no. I looked directly at him and said we really didn't want it, but he brought the cake to the table anyway. When we pushed back and told him that if he had paid attention to our table instead of hanging out across the dining room, he could’ve canceled it before it was plated, he lost it. He actually started arguing with us, getting defensive and saying he’s “worked here for 12 years” and that the “politics of this wouldn’t allow it”..whatever that is supposed to mean. To make matters worse, Luis went straight over to the female manager sitting at the bar. For the next ten minutes, we watched her casually having a drink at the bar while on the clock, both of them staring across the room and mean-mugging us like high schoolers. Luis finally stomped back, threw the check down on the table, and when my husband politely said thank you, Luis turned on his heel and walked off mid-sentence. On top of the awful service: -The pizza was lukewarm with a soggy, rubbery crust. -The music was blasted so loud we had to yell to hear each other. -They quietly slap an automatic gratuity onto your bill, forcing you to pay an 18–20% tip for the worst service of your life. This meal completely ruined our evening. When servers act like you're an inconvenience, managers drink at the bar while glaring at paying customers, and nobody gives a damn about basic courtesy, the whole place is a mess. Do yourself a favor and support a local Puerto Rican restaurant that actually treats people with respect.

**Worst experience I’ve ever had at a restaurant.** I rarely leave reviews, but this experience was bad enough that I felt I had to. My wife and I came here after a long day of exploring Puerto Rico. As soon as we sat down, there was a horrible, musty, moldy smell coming from the table. We could only assume that a dirty, old rag had been used to wipe it down before we sat there. We waited about 5 minutes before anyone came to take our order. We ordered appetizers, dinner, and dessert (the chocolate cake). About 15 minutes later, our appetizers arrived. We ordered the truffle fries and calamari rings. The fries were extremely oily and had an overwhelming garlic smell. There was nothing particularly enjoyable about them. The calamari, however, was delicious. Another 15 minutes later, our dinner arrived. We ordered the goat cheese pizza with burrata on the side. The pizza was okay at best. The burrata, on the other hand, was delicious, but it came with only three small, hard pieces of bread. The vast majority of the dish had to be eaten with a fork, which was disappointing. Before we finished dinner, we were full and asked our waiter if he could cancel the chocolate cake. The cake had **not even been brought to our table yet**. I explained that we were full and no longer wanted it. He told me that it could not be canceled because we had already ordered it. I told him again that I did not want the cake and that it hadn't even reached our table yet. Instead of canceling it, he brought the cake to the table anyway. I told him that I was not going to pay $20 for a cake and one scoop of ice cream that I had specifically asked to cancel **before it was served**. He then argued with me and went to speak with a manager who was sitting at the bar across from us. He was talking with his hands and pointing in our direction, although I couldn't hear what was being said. He eventually came back, took the cake away, and brought us the check without saying anything to us. It was obvious that he was upset. Our check was around $98. As we were leaving, the manager continued staring us down the entire way out. The food was a mixed experience—the calamari and burrata were genuinely good—but the service and overall treatment completely ruined the meal. For nearly $100, I expect much better service and professionalism. I don't usually leave negative reviews, but based on this experience, I would not return.