Date of Last Visit: Thursday, January 25 2006

The  Victims: Syl, Feathers, Jimmy, Dave

The Damage: Unknown.

The Background: We really wanted to go to Marmelade, but the earliest they could take us was 9:45. Being Americans (well, except for Jimmy) this was way too late. So I asked the concierge for other suggestions, and he came up with Sonne and an earlier booking. He told me Sonne was a newer restaurant, but he’d heard good things about it.

The Approach: We arrived, and the restaurant was empty. Very empty. Too empty. I could tell Feathers was nervous. Nevertheless, it had the design factor going for it so we went with it. And really, we had nowhere else to go.

The Drinks: FANTASTIC. I had a coconut martini of some sort. Super delicious, although the last dregs were not pleasant. (Too gooey.) Feathers went with something lemony and vanilla-ish, which I switched to later on; I was quite pleased with it.

The Food: Our server encouraged us to share. And so we did. We started with some empanadas–how I love them. A particular highlights was the ribs–really super delicious. And the cold noodles. Who knew cold noodles could be so nice?

The Service: I felt like the entire restaurant waited on us. Everyone was really nice, although they failed my “What do you recommend?” test. (I dislike it when they tell me “everything is good.” This cannot be true.)

The End: Feathers cleared the table next to us of glassware. Classy.

The Verdict: Why aren’t more people here? (Feathers said she thought some of the dishes were salty. I did not have this problem.) If I’m ever in Puerto Rico again, I’d go.

The post Puerto Rico: Sonne first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.

Date of Last Visit: Saturday, January 20th

The Victims: Julie, Feathers, Erin, Molly, Jean, Geoff, Christine

The Damage: $75 USD each

The Background: I am in Puerto Rico for work. I work for the best company in the world.

More Background: Being me, I did a little research on where to  eat in Old San Juan before boarding our very fantastic Virgin flight. Love Virgin, seriously. Recent reports on Chowhound mentioned Dragonfly over and over again, so I persuaded the gang to give it a shot. Yes, the concierge said it was impossible given the festival going on in town and Dragonfly’s no reservations policy, but being inherently optimistic people, we were not deterred and in fact scored the largest table in the restaurant and were seated immediately. Two of our fellow patrons even treated us to a little show! It was our night.

The Drinks: An ominous sign of the days to come. There were many, and they were very fruity and very delicious. I tried the Mojitini (a mojito martini), the Triple X (just a sip!) and I capped it all off with some sparkling wine. I was not alone.

The Starters: Molly hooked us up with sushi rolls and edamame. Feathers was kind enough to share her ceviche, which was served with really cool wonton chips. Good stuff. Really good stuff. Now, the restaurant was a bit dark so I can’t really tell you what was in the ceviche, but boy did I enjoy it. (Described on the menu as Ceviche de rodaballo con ginger, leche de coco y scallions.)

The Service: Ted was great! We even went back to visit him on Tuesday!

The Mains: I had the rock shrimp tempura tacos with sweet ancho mayo and fresh lemongrass salsa. 2007 is seriously off to a great start. I was so very happy with my meal. Everyone was very into sharing, so we passed around our plates and I tried…

• Seared tuna in a szechuan peppercorn sauce
• Saffron Basmati Rice with Chorizo estilo Stirfry
• Wassabi Croquetas
• Asian marinated churrasco con dragonfries

Lovely, all of it. Really. I particularly liked the wasabi croquetas. (If you haven’t guessed, Dragonfly is Asian-Carribean.)

The Dessert: I demured, but my colleagues licked a couple of bowls clean.

The Verdict: Loved Dragonfly, loved Ted, loved the Mojitinis. Loved the atmosphere. Loved the lighting. Only drawback–the loo could have used another toilet.

The post Puerto Rico: Dragonfly first appeared on Passport Delicious | Solo Travel Blog | Solo Female Travel.