The 10 Best Places to Get a Piña Colada in Puerto Rico

Barrachina is one of two restaurants that lay claim to having invented the piña colada. Credit is given to Don Ramon Portas Mingot, a Spanish bartender, who is said to have come up with the drink in 1963.

The restaurant has a plaque on the building commemorating the bartender and sells branded merch. They have self-proclaimed themselves to be the birthplace of the world’s first piña colada.

Since they’re so well known and oft-frequented, they have a high bar to maintain. They make their piña coladas from scratch daily.

The restaurant has a classic Old San Juan feel and specializes in paella. Guests are served in an ambiance surrounded by local artwork and occasionally featuring live music.

Caribe Hilton claims they invented the piña colada first, in 1954. They credit the hotel’s bartender, Ramón “Monchito” Marrero, who experimented with a recipe that blended rum, coconut cream, and pineapple juice in an icy beverage.

The blender was invented after Monchito came up with the recipe, so it was originally served on the rocks. Translated, piña colada means “strained pineapple.”

Their recipe is simple and consists of three main ingredients — Bacardi Gold, Coco Lopez cream of coconut, and pineapple.

La Casita de Rones is the official home base for Rums of Puerto Rico, a government organization tasked with promoting local Puerto Rican rums. Located in Old San Juan, you can taste your way around the island’s rum providers in one spot.

They have various versions of a piña colada, including the Sexy Colada, which has ginger syrup, coconut water, and a Ponce of sea salt, finished with a top of Bacardi Black.

They also have a 1950 Hand Shake Colada, paying homage to Monchito’s version.

The Copamarina is a well-known hotel on the southwest coast of the island. They’re a kayak ride away from Gilligan’s Island and feel like a secluded island resort.

One of the most popular things to do here is to order a classic piña colada and lounge by one of two outdoor pools, steps from the sand.

Try the Colada Chichaíto here. Chichaíto is a popular shot served with rum and anise-flavored liquor. It comes together in a blended concoction created by the hotel’s chef, César N. Gonzaléz.

Serallés Castle is the estate of the Serrallés family, founders of Don Q rum. While you can’t visit the Don Q distillery, at the castle you can take a rum tour. You start your tour with a complimentary piña colada, and end it by creating your own in a mixology class.

You can see machinery used to distill rum displayed on the property, as well as decades of promotional materials and past rum products. The estate has a gorgeous view for you to lounge and enjoy a drink after the tour, overlooking Ponce and seeing out to the ocean.

Notably, for locals, Don Q is Puerto Rico’s best-selling rum. 

The Luquillo kiosks are Puerto Rico’s version of street food. They’re lined up one after another, offering fried bites to pick at and snack on. Most kiosks offer the same food options and many are owned by the same owner.

This is where you’ll find the most scenic piña colada on the island, served in a pineapple with multiple pineapple slices hanging out over the top and whipped cream piled high in the middle, topped with a maraschino cherry. It’ll take longer to take pictures than to drink it.

This a casual, affordable spot with the beach right behind it.