Skip to Main Content
La Fête du ChampagneCode: PEARL
New York · Save 18%Chicago · Save 11%
← Back to cities
Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo

Restaurants, hotels, bars and wineries in Santo Domingo from the En Primeur Club guide.

CountryDominican RepublicLocations152Restaurants141Hotels6Bars5Wineries0

Accolades in Santo Domingo

1
136
2
2
1
1
1
1
3
1
2
Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Santo Domingo’s guide counts 9 exceptional wine programmes and 2 Wine Spectator Award of Excellence winners, both citywide. Restaurante Filigrana Santo Domingo in Zona Universitaria holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, and its list is weighted toward Spanish selections. Ajualä in Piantini holds World’s Best Wine Lists accreditation, with labels available by the glass through sommelier discretion. Menu formats in our guide run from tasting menus to trattoria service and sushi. Ajualä in Piantini cooks Dominican ingredients with Caribbean, Italian, and South American flavours, and the menu changes frequently, as a tasting menu, à la carte, and small plates. Il Bacareto in Plaza Juan Dauhajre is an Italian trattoria with an open kitchen, a chef's blackboard, and fresh customisable pastas. Samurai in Piantini serves Japanese-Dominican fusion sushi and sashimi led by chef Hideyoshi Tateyama, with local ingredients such as guatapana fish.

Restaurants with the strongest wine programmes

These restaurants lead with cellar depth, wine awards, or sommelier-led service. They show where Santo Domingo’s most serious lists are concentrated.

  • Ajualä

    Ajualä in Piantini pairs modern Caribbean fusion with an exceptional wine programme. Its 3-Star World’s Best Wine Lists recognition and regional winner status sit alongside 800 labels available by the glass through sommelier discretion. The menu format includes tasting menu, à la carte, and small plates.

  • Restaurante Filigrana Santo Domingo

    Restaurante Filigrana Santo Domingo in Zona Universitaria serves Mediterranean grilled cooking with Dominican fusion. It holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2026. The list has 130 references and 500 bottles of inventory, weighted toward Spanish selections. Formats are à la carte and tasting menu, and service is sommelier-led.

  • La Bodega

    La Bodega in Cabarete is a wine restaurant with Latin, international, and Spanish cooking. Its 2-Star World’s Best Wine Lists accreditation places it among the most seriously wine venues in the Dominican Republic. The list spans classic Old World producers alongside newer, progressive labels.

Tasting menus and focused dining rooms

Ajualä offers tasting menu service in Piantini, Il Bacareto brings an Italian trattoria to Plaza Juan Dauhajre, and Samurai serves Japanese-Dominican fusion in Piantini.

  • Ajualä

    Ajualä in Piantini works Dominican ingredients into Caribbean, Italian, and South American flavours in an airy modern space. The menu changes frequently and is built almost entirely from local ingredients, with a local produce showcase. The formats are a tasting menu, à la carte, and small plates.

  • Il Bacareto

    Il Bacareto in Plaza Juan Dauhajre is an authentic Italian trattoria with Venetian home-style cooking. The chef curates a blackboard menu, the kitchen is open, and the pacing is leisurely, with fresh customisable pastas. Service is à la carte, and the wine list is extensive.

  • Samurai

    Samurai in Piantini serves Japanese-Dominican fusion led by chef Hideyoshi Tateyama, with local ingredients such as guatapana fish in the sushi and sashimi. The formats are à la carte and small plates. The restaurant holds a Macarfi 8.1 Food Rating for 2026.

Planning FAQ

Which neighbourhoods matter most for serious wine lists?

Piantini and Zona Universitaria are the neighbourhoods for serious wine lists in our guide. Ajualä in Piantini has World’s Best Wine Lists accreditation and 800 labels available by the glass through sommelier discretion. Restaurante Filigrana Santo Domingo in Zona Universitaria has a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, with 130 references and 500 bottles of inventory.

How many Michelin-starred restaurants are in your Santo Domingo guide?

Santo Domingo has no Michelin-starred restaurants in our guide. Restaurante Filigrana Santo Domingo in Zona Universitaria holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence, with a wine list weighted toward Spanish selections.

Which places hold Wine Spectator awards?

Restaurante Filigrana Santo Domingo holds a Wine Spectator Award of Excellence for 2026 in our guide. The restaurant is in Zona Universitaria. Its list has 130 references and 500 bottles of inventory, weighted toward Spanish selections, and the wine service is sommelier-led.

Where are the city’s strongest tasting-menu options?

The strongest tasting-menu options in our guide are in Piantini and Zona Universitaria. Ajualä in Piantini offers tasting menu service alongside à la carte and small plates. Restaurante Filigrana Santo Domingo in Zona Universitaria also offers tasting menu service with an exceptional wine programme.

By Emmett Haley · Updated October 8, 2026 · Editorial standards

Santo Domingo

Where to eat in Santo Domingo

Selected entries from the current guide for Santo Domingo.

Ajualä restaurant in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Ajualä

Ajualä operates at the intersection of Dominican terroir and tasting-menu discipline, building a frequently changing menu almost entirely from local ingredients. A 3-Star accreditation from World's Best Wine Lists and a Regional Winner designation for South and Central America and the Caribbean signal a wine program of serious depth, with 800 labels available by the glass through sommelier discretion. It is among the more credentialed dining addresses in Santo Domingo.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Casa Gazcue restaurant in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Casa Gazcue

Qui la pizza è la nuova sfida di Francis Pena, chef specializzato in cucina spagnola, che passando dai fornelli al banco porta un piglio gastronomico sulla pizza, rendendola molto elegante nell’aspetto e raffinata nel gusto. C’è attenzione all’impasto: morbido e lievitato con precisione; grazia nella scelta dei condimenti, frutto di studio e uso consapevole degli ingredienti domenicani che permettono di giocare con abbinamenti dolce-salato con equilibrate concessioni alle nuaces amare o piccanti di erbe e ortaggi. Passano per la creatività anche le forme: non solo pizze tonde – anche in formato breakfast, ma anche calzoni ripieni di farciture sia fresche che in cottura. Da provare assolutamente la versione della casa delle “katibias de queso”, street food dominicano servito in una veste molto raffinata. Cocktail e dolci al livello del menu. Servizio capace di sottolineare l’esperienza in un ambiente pulito e raccolto. Here, pizza is the new challenge for Francis Pena, a chef specialized in Spanish cuisine, who, moving from the stove to the counter, brings a gastronomic touch to pizza, making it elegant in appearance and refined in taste. There is attention to the dough: soft and precisely leavened; grace in the choice of toppings, the result of study and conscious use of Dominican ingredients that allow for playing with sweet-savory combinations with balanced concessions to the bitter or spicy nuances of herbs and vegetables. Creativity also extends to the shapes: not only round pizzas – also in breakfast format, but also calzones filled with both fresh and cooked fillings. A priority-try is the house version of "katibias de queso", Dominican street food served in a refined way. Cocktails and desserts are at the same level as the menu. The service is capable of emphasizing the experience in a clean and cozy environment.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Il Caminetto restaurant in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Il Caminetto

Una precisa identità in cui la pizza napoletana viene esaltata e diventa una discriminante di qualità. A cominciare dal grande forno a legna che domina la sala, l’ambiente semplice, popolare e al tempo stesso curato nei dettagli, a cominciare dalla esibizione dei prodotti utilizzati. In questo locale è il trionfo dei lievitati ben eseguiti, la pizza è gustosa in tutte le sue declinazioni a cominciare ovviamente dalla margherita, da quella con i pomodorini e il fiordilatte, sino al ripieno al forno. Non mancano la capricciosa molto ricca di ingredienti e quella con il salame. Servizio attento e scrupoloso, ambiente caldo, amichevole. Un’autentica espressione della gioia napoletana di stare a tavola. A precise identity where Neapolitan pizza is exalted and becomes a quality discriminator. Starting from the large wood-fired oven that dominates the room, the environment is simple, popular, and at the same time cared for in detail, starting from the display of the products used. In this establishment, it is the triumph of well-executed leavened products, the pizza is tasty in all its variations starting obviously from the margherita, to the one with cherry tomatoes and fiordilatte, up to the stuffed one baked in the oven. There are also the capricciosa, rich in ingredients, and the one with salami. Attentive and meticulous service, warm and friendly environment. An authentic expression of Neapolitan joy of sitting at the table.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Pat'e Palo European Brasserie restaurant in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Pat'e Palo European Brasserie

On the cobblestones of Plaza España in the Colonial Zone, Pat'e Palo European Brasserie occupies one of Santo Domingo's most historically loaded addresses. The kitchen draws on European brasserie tradition while operating inside a dining scene that is quietly redefining what Caribbean fine dining looks like. For visitors working through the city's restaurant circuit, it represents a useful reference point between colonial heritage and contemporary cooking.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Samurai restaurant in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Samurai

Samurai occupies a quiet address on Calle del Seminario in the Colonial Zone of Santo Domingo, placing Japanese culinary tradition within one of the Caribbean's most historically layered neighbourhoods. The restaurant represents a strand of Santo Domingo's dining scene that has long maintained an appetite for precision-oriented Asian cuisine alongside its Dominican and European counterparts. Visitors seeking focused, format-driven dining in the capital will find it worth investigating.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Mesón de Bari restaurant in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Mesón de Bari

On Calle Hostos in Santo Domingo's Colonial Zone, Mesón de Bari is one of the neighbourhood's most established addresses for Dominican and Spanish-influenced cooking. The setting draws on the architecture and rhythms of the Zona Colonial, placing it firmly within the city's historic dining corridor alongside addresses like Pat'e Palo and Il Bacareto. For visitors orienting around the old city, it serves as a reliable anchor point in a walkable cluster of serious restaurants.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo

Where to stay in Santo Domingo

Selected entries from the current guide for Santo Domingo.

Casas Del XVI hotel in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Casas Del XVI

A ten-room colonial boutique hotel in Santo Domingo's historic Zona Colonial, Casas Del XVI frames its identity around the sixteenth century, the era of the Americas' oldest continuously inhabited European settlement. Rates from $249 per night position it at the upper tier of the city's intimate hotel category, with butler service, a turquoise pool courtyard, and four-poster rooms that resist blandness through a programme of purple walls, modern art, and pineapple light fixtures.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Billini Hotel, Historic Luxury hotel in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Billini Hotel, Historic Luxury

Occupying a restored colonial building on Calle Padre Billini in Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial, Billini Hotel carries Michelin Selected recognition for 2025 and sits among the neighbourhood's most carefully preserved heritage properties. The address places guests within walking distance of the oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city in the Americas, with 16th-century stonework and cathedral spires as immediate context.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
Hodelpa Nicolás de Ovando hotel in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Hodelpa Nicolás de Ovando

On Calle Las Damas, the oldest street in the Americas, Hodelpa Nicolás de Ovando occupies the 16th-century mansion that once housed the colonial governor of Hispaniola. The architecture is the argument here: thick coral-stone walls, arcaded courtyards, and a pool terrace that reads as a living document of Spanish colonial ambition. For travellers who want to sleep inside Santo Domingo's UNESCO-listed Zona Colonial rather than merely visit it, this address is one historically grounded option on the street.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic
JW Marriott Santo Domingo hotel in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

JW Marriott Santo Domingo

Occupying the upper floors of Blue Mall on Avenida Winston Churchill in Piantini, JW Marriott Santo Domingo trades on a sharp contrast: the city's busiest commercial district outside, a quiet, well-staffed retreat within. With a 4.7 rating across more than 3,500 reviews, a glass-floor cocktail bar 101 feet above street level, and an infinity pool with city views, this is Santo Domingo's most coherent answer for internationally standardized urban luxury.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo

Where to go for a drink in Santo Domingo

Selected entries from the current guide for Santo Domingo.

Lulú Tasting Bar bar in Santo Domingo

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Lulú Tasting Bar

Lulú Tasting Bar occupies a address on Parque Billini in Santo Domingo's Zona Colonial, positioning itself within the neighbourhood's small but growing cohort of craft-focused drinking destinations. The bar format suggests a programme built around considered pours and close-quarter hospitality, placing it closer to the specialist tasting-room tier than the hotel bar circuit that still dominates the city's premium drinking scene.

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic

Santo Domingo

Which wineries to visit in Santo Domingo

Selected entries from the current guide for Santo Domingo.

No venues found.

Venue lists for Santo Domingo

Best-of lists

All lists

Continue exploring

Nearby Destinations

Florida Keys travel destination

Florida Keys

Explore destination

Tampa Bay travel destination

Tampa Bay

Explore destination

Yucatan & Riviera Maya travel destination

Yucatan & Riviera Maya

Explore destination