The Bottom Line
For delicious, tender and richly flavored boricua cooking, you'll be thrilled to find yourself at Pasión por el Fogón, one of Fajardo's best restaurants. Far removed from San Juan's trendy restaurants, Pasión por el Fogón keeps things simple, succulent, and seafood-friendly.
Pros
- You can't get fresher seafood or more local flavor than this restaurant.
- Chef Myrta and her partner are gracious, talented hosts.
- If they've got it, order the whole, fried red snapper
- The appetizers are classic Puerto Rican finger-food fare
Cons
- It's certainly off the beaten track, and you'll need a car or a taxi to get here.
- The decor is simple and without much fanfare.
Description
- Pasión por el Fogón is part of the Mesones Gatronómicos program, which celebrates local cuisine island-wide.
- The formula at Pasión is to choose your fish and then choose an accompanying sauce, which range from tropical to classic.
- For a totally new take on a classic, try the Caviar Puertorriqueño, which replaces roe with blood sausage and plantains.
Guide Review - Review of Pasión por el Fogón Restaurant in Puerto Rico
In the east-coast town of Fajardo, seafood is king, and best served at a string of local restaurants all along the coast. Like a lighthouse in that culinary ocean, Pasión por el Fogón (the rather unpoetic translation is "passion for the stove") stands out, a beacon of good home cooking championed by Chef Myrta Perez and her partner, Norma Guadalupe Gimenez.
Together, these ladies have garnered an impressive collection of awards and trophies for their interpretation and execution of classic seafood dishes. Their whole-roasted snapper, grouper and turbot are crispy, succulent meals dressed in their best Puerto Rican seasonings. I recommend sticking with the ocean's bounty as long as you're here, but if you feel like migrating toward land, the osso bucco in a red wine and mushroom sauce, mofongo, and churrasco skirt steak won't disappoint.
But the star is the seafood that has made this restaurant a local and national favorite in a neighborhood famed for its seafood. Here, it's all about passion for the stove.
