San Juan

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El Batey

thedrifter
thedrifter
First Reviewer
4 out of 5
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2
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El Batey

  • January 19, 2008
  • Rated 5 of 5 by Mike hancho from mikeville, Nebraska
I spent the last two summers in Puerto Rico in the San Juan area. El Batey has a whole in the wall feeling with warm beer, which is fine, your in Puerto Rico. If you go there early you can have a few beers and chat with some people who try to act like they hate tourist, but actually if you give them enough hastle and act as hard as they are, they will crack and tell you some good stories about Puerto Rico. Make sure you ask for David Jones, he is either a homeless guy that hangs out at El Batey every night or he owns the place. He says he is the owner but will be just as spirited as you are if you know what I mean...
Editor Pick

El Batey

  • February 28, 2002
  • Rated 3 of 5 by thedrifter from Nashville, Tennessee
El Batey, on Calle del Cristo, is one of the better known bars in the old quarter. This little joint enjoys a certain amount of legend. It was once used in a movie as the setting for a haven of gunrunners and drug smugglers. I'm not sure it lived up to its hype, but I do consider it a cool bar. They are evidently aware of their own notoriety, judging from the t-shirts for sale behind the bar.

The rooms are small and have an unfinished look to them. Perhaps unfinished isn't the correct phrase, though. They look as if they may have been gutted at some point in the past and then had some rudimentary furniture thrown in when they decided to open a bar. The main room, of course, houses the actual bar. Behind that is a small room with a pool table and there are two smaller rooms off to the side with tables and chairs.

You can feel free to scrawl graffiti on the walls here, assuming you can find a spot that hasn't been covered already. If not, just write over someone else's. You wouldn't be the first to do so.

After you leave your mark, check out the tunes. I have to give El Batey kudos on their jukebox, which I had heard beforehand warranted inspection. It's quite an eclectic array of music, but leans more toward the classic rock era. As with most of the bars in town, don't waste a lot of time looking for Latin music. The bars and pubs tended to churn out American music, though I have to point out that it did not seem to be for the benefit of tourists.

The crowd here was on the younger side, but not exclusively so, by any means. I was there a bit on the early side, but I would imagine that El Batey gets cranking quite nicely as the night wears on. Given its small size, it wouldn't take much to fill the place. I enjoyed myself when I was there, but next time around I will make a point to drop in at a later hour. Somehow I think El Batey would be best experienced around midnight.

From journal On the Cheap in Old San Juan

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