A Meal with a View: Asador Isla Bonita

Wow what a view…. Those were my thoughts when we arrived at Asador Isla Bonita restaurant near Aibonito. The restaurant offers expansive panoramic views of the mountain regions of Cayey, Cidra, Guayama and the Caribbean Ocean to the south from a vantage point 2700ft above sea level and very close to La Tetas de Cayey.

The drive to Asador Isla Bonita takes you through the scenic Aibonito region along decent two way roads, until you reach the final ½ mile that becomes little trickier as the road narrows and the inclines increase (my wife was not a fan of this section). The drive is well worth it, as you finally descend into a large open car park space and amazing views.

Tip: If the car park is busy, head to the restaurant and put your name on the list before checking out the views.

The 2 storey restaurant has a rustic charm with chairs and tables made from beer barrels in the main dining area and large expansive windows in the south facing dining area. The menu is typical Puerto Rican with various appetizers, meats, fish and when available lechon.

We arrived for a late Sunday lunch and waited around 10 minutes to be seated and started with the appertizer sampler plate that came with surullitos, emapanadillas and relleno de papa. As morcilla was on the menu we had to check it out too. All the appertizers were tasty especially the morcilla and my son gave the surullitos a big thumbs up.

Our group then tried the Churrasco, Chuleta Khan Khan, lomo de cerdo relleno, pechuga de pollo empanada (breaded chicken breast) and chicken mofongo with creole sauce.

The restaurant seems to get an average rating for its food on Tripadvisor, but I have to say that everyone in our group enjoyed their meals. The only slight negative for me was the unavailability of the Lechoncito, as they had sold out of this. Service was on the slow side, but then again with views like this, you really do not want to rush your meal.

Asador Isla Bonita is open Friday to Sunday, plan to get there for an early or late lunch. Once there, take your time, enjoy the food and great views.