Blessed Cafe

On my last trip to Puerto Rico, I was on a mission to check out the Island’s “only” Jamaican restaurant, Blessed Cafe. This seems to be the only one in the San Juan area. However, I can’t confirm if it’s truly the only one on the actual island, hence my quotation marks. Located in Old San Juan, Blessed Cafe, is on a busy street full of a lot more tourist and a lot less locals. Personally, I was intrigued by the fact that a Jamaican restaurant would be sitting the middle of this side of town.  A little jerk chicken never heard nobody.

Blessed Cafe was relatively empty at the time but it was happy hour. They brought us to the back of the restaurant with two drinks in tow. There was definitely a rustic aesthetic to the place and my drink was great. After a long day of walking and shopping, this was a refresher. I ordered the jerk chicken, which came out lathered in sauce. I was excited to bite into the dish, especially having heard of the restaurant before.

It barely met my expectations. The chicken wasn’t spicy as jerk is expected to be, and even without heat, it lacked the flavors I know too well. While I’m not Jamaican, I know jerk chicken and this unfortunately, was not it. I was surprised by the lack of delicious I was looking for in both my dish and my moms. It barely even looked like the jerk chicken I know and love so I stuck with the plantains on the side. Perhaps Blessed Cafe is not a complete disappointment and there are other menu items that suit your liking but that’s for you to find out and tell me about.

Have you ever been disappointed when you were traveling while hungry? Comment below and share your experience.