Santo Domingo Food and Nightlife

Overview

Santo Domingo eats well at every price. The capital has the country's best restaurants, run by Dominican chefs who trained abroad and came home, but most of the city lunches at a comedor (a canteen serving a set plate) and snacks from a colmado (corner store) or a street cart. A good trip here mixes both.

The rhythm differs from US cities. Lunch is the big meal, and offices empty out for it. Dinner is late, and a Friday night out might start at 10 pm and end at dawn. Sunday belongs to family lunches, then to music in the colonial city.

This page covers where to eat and drink in the capital. For the dishes themselves (mangú, sancocho, chicharrón and the rest) see Dominican food, and for rum, beer and coffee see drinks.

How eating out works

The bill

Restaurant prices on the menu usually exclude tax. The bill then adds the 18% ITBIS (the national sales tax) and a 10% service charge, labeled servicio or propina legal, so a dinner that looks like RD$2,000 on the menu comes to about RD$2,560 (about $42). The service charge is shared among staff, but servers rely on an extra tip, so leave another 5–10% in cash for good service. In comedores and street stands, prices are final and tipping is optional. Details are on the money page.

Booking

Most restaurants take reservations by WhatsApp; the number is on their Instagram profile, which is often more current than the website. Book for Thursday to Saturday nights and for Sunday lunch at popular places. Weeknights you can usually walk in.

Dress

Dominicans dress up to go out. In the better restaurants of Piantini and the colonial city, men wear long pants and closed shoes at dinner, and many nightclubs refuse shorts, flip-flops and tank tops at the door.

Comedores, colmados and street food

A comedor serves la bandera (the flag): white rice, red beans stewed with herbs, a meat (stewed chicken, beef or pork), and a salad or fried plantains. You point at the trays behind the counter, and it comes on one plate. Comedores are open from late morning until the food runs out in the afternoon, and a filling plate usually costs a few hundred pesos. They cluster around offices, hospitals and universities; in Gazcue and around the Plaza de la Cultura you will find several within a few blocks.

The colmado is the corner store, part shop and part social club. It sells cold Presidente beer, rum by the bottle, snacks and phone credit, and often has plastic chairs and a speaker outside. A colmadón is a bigger version with tables and music late into the night, a local hangout more than a tourist stop.

Street food to try

• Chimi: the Dominican burger, a patty with cabbage and sauce in a soft bun, sold from carts at night.
• Yaniqueques: crisp fried dough sold on the Malecón and at beaches.
• Empanadas and pastelitos: fried turnovers with cheese, chicken or beef, from stands and bakeries.
• Chicharrón: fried pork, best from the stands in Villa Mella, the northern neighborhood famous for it (Metro Line 1 ends there).
• Coconuts and fruit: green coconuts chopped open with a machete, and cups of cut mango and pineapple.

Eating in the Zona Colonial

The colonial city has the densest choice and the best setting. Prices run higher than elsewhere for comparable food, and some places on the main squares rely on passing tourists. The streets that reward a little exploring are Calle Hostos, Calle Padre Billini, Calle Arzobispo Meriño and the blocks around Plaza de España.

The Malecón and Gazcue

The seafront boulevard is where the capital goes to cool off. On weekend evenings families stroll the seawall, vendors sell grilled corn and coconuts, and the bars of the big hotels fill up.

Piantini, Naco and the modern city

Most of the city's top restaurants are in the business district around Avenida Abraham Lincoln, Avenida Winston Churchill and Avenida Gustavo Mejía Ricart. This is where Dominican professionals take clients, celebrate birthdays and go out on Friday night. Expect valet parking, a security guard at the door, prices close to US big-city levels and a dress-up crowd.

• Steakhouses and grills: Argentine and Dominican-style grills are popular, with imported and local beef.
• Modern Dominican: chefs reworking locrio (Dominican rice dish), sancocho, cassava and local cacao in tasting menus.
• Japanese, Peruvian and Italian: all well represented, reflecting the city's international business crowd.
• Mall dining: Blue Mall and Ágora Mall have food courts and sit-down restaurants, useful with kids or in the afternoon heat.

Restaurants here open and close quickly, so check Instagram for a place's current status and book by WhatsApp. A main course in a good Piantini restaurant typically falls in the $$$ range, and cocktails cost about what they do in Miami.

Rooftops and sunset drinks

Many boutique hotels in the colonial city have rooftop terraces with bars and small pools overlooking the cathedral bell tower, the river or the sea. Some open to non-guests in the evening, others only for hotel guests or by reservation, so ask at the front desk or message them first. Uptown, several Piantini hotel towers run sky bars with city views.

The best time is from about 5:30 to 7 pm, when the heat drops and the light turns gold over the Caribbean. Sunset comes early, around 6:20 pm in late October and 6 pm in December, and later in summer (about 7 pm), because the country stays on Atlantic Time all year.

Live music: son, merengue and bachata

Music is everywhere in Santo Domingo, from car speakers to colmados. For hearing it live and dancing, a few long-running nights stand out. For the history of the styles and dance classes, see music and dance.

Baseball nights

From October into January, the winter league turns Estadio Quisqueya into the city's best party. The Tigres del Licey and the Leones del Escogido share the stadium, and a game comes with brass bands, dancing in the aisles, rum sold by the bottle in the stands and vendors selling chicharrón, empanadas and cold beer. Seats cost much less than at a major-league park. See baseball for schedules and tickets.

Nightlife safety

• Take Uber or a called taxi to and from every night out, even for a few blocks.
• Watch your drink being poured and never leave it unattended; drink spiking happens in bars and clubs.
• Carry one card and some cash in a front pocket; leave the rest in the hotel safe.
• Be wary of very friendly strangers who suggest a second bar or a private party.
• The legal drinking age is 18. Expect police checkpoints on main roads late at night.
• The emergency number is 911. More on the safety page.

A food day in the capital

1. Morning

   Breakfast on El Conde

   Mangú con los tres golpes and a Dominican coffee at a café on Calle El Conde or on Parque Colón, then walk the colonial city before it gets hot.

2. Midday

   Comedor lunch

   Find a busy comedor in Gazcue or north of El Conde for la bandera, or go to Adrian Tropical on the Malecón for mofongo by the sea.

3. Afternoon

   Street snacks and juice

   A cold morir soñando (orange juice and milk, a Dominican classic) or a fresh coconut on the Malecón, and empanadas from a bakery.

4. Evening

   Drinks and dinner

   A rooftop drink at sunset, dinner on Plaza de España or in Piantini, and on Sunday, son at the Ruinas de San Francisco or a ballgame in season.