Complicated and Delectable… those are the two words that come to mind when I think about the restaurant RAYA by Mario Pagán located on the first floor of the O:LV hotel in Condado. Although complicated due to the challenging parking, the effort is justified by the exceptional gastronomic experience. RAYA is one of five restaurants by Mario Pagan, the Puerto Rican chef with well-deserved international fame. The chef was born and raised in San Juan, where he developed his passion for cooking. He started out studying architecture in Miami, but in 1994, he realized that his passion was in gastronomy and he switched direction and entered the prestigious Johnson and Wales culinary school. He has worked with renowned chefs, including Alfredo Ayala at El Chayote.
The menu at RAYA consists of a fusion of Caribbean and Asian flavors with truly complex and exquisite dishes. The restaurant boasts a luxurious ambiance with a modern and elegantly designed interior. The dining room can accommodate 8 tables inside and 4 outside, making it a relatively small restaurant. Due to the limited space insi
de, it can be a bit noisy when full.
Their wine list is extensive, with around 100 options ranging from $40 to $770. They also offer a selection of cocktails, many inspired by Asian flavors. I tried the Mai Tai, which was good but a little too sweet for my taste.
The dinner started with an exceptional Amuse Bouche, a mushroom soup with a Japanese touch of furikake. The complexity of such a simple soup is intriguing and left us wanting more. It also set the mood for the rest of the meal.
The appetizers we tried included the Maduro Chorizo Wonton, which combines the complexity of goat cheese with the saltiness of chorizo and the sweetness of plantains. We loved the fusion of Puerto Rican and Asian flavors in every bite of this dumpling. We continued with a dish off the menu, the Ahi Tuna Toro, served on perfectly crispy yautía fritters. The Longaniza with Shrimp Gyozas were tasty, although compared to the other appetizers, they were the least exciting. However, the Oxtail Guisada Dumplings were my favorite appetizer. Perfectly executed by first steaming and then pan-searing, they had a crispy texture with an explosion of flavors.
As for the main courses, the crispy fried rice duck was spectacular. The rice was simply perfect as they use “pegao,” which gives it a special touch. We also enjoyed the Mongolian Wagyu Brisket, which provided a beautiful balance between sweet and vinegar.
On to the desserts… although there were only two options, we were quite satisfied. The Sticky Date Pudding with horchata ice cream was an unusual but divine combination of flavors. The chocolate cake with coconut ice cream and salted caramel is a more traditional dessert, although I found the salt level to be slightly imbalanced in the ice cream.
The restaurant staff provides exceptional service. They are very attentive and willing to offer excellent recommendations. Unfortunately, the valet parking service was quite problematic. After a long wait in line for valet, I was asked to park my car on the street and leave them the keys because they didn’t have enough staff. At the end of the night, we waited for over 20 minutes for them to bring the car, even though we notified them 10 minutes in advance using the text system they provide. Additionally, the $22 parking fee seemed excessive, especially considering the poor service. In the future, I’ll use Uber to avoid this headache from ruining what was an almost perfect evening.
In summary, Mario Pagán has created an exceptional gastronomic experience at Raya. I give it 4.5 out of 5 crowns. Without a doubt, he deserves the numerous awards he has received.
The Queen's Critique 