Where to Eat

Many excellent restaurants serving a wide variety of international foods are scattered all over the San José area. Most of these restaurants are incredible bargains when compared to similar establishments in the United States. You will be happy to know that Costa Rica's restaurants are clean and health codes are strictly enforced by the Health Department (Ministerio de Salud). For your convenience we have included a list of our favorite places to eat but you are sure to discover many on your own or by word of mouth once you have lived in Costa Rica for awhile.

Some of the best sea food you will ever savor may be found at La Fuente de Los Mariscos behind the Hotel Irazú in the San José 2000 Shopping Center. El Banco de Mariscos in Santa Barbara de Heredia and El Balcón de Maricos in Curridabat round out our list of affordable seafood eateries. La Cascada in Los Anonos has very tasty fish and meat dishes.

There are also many Italian restaurants. The Balcón de Europa serves about the best pasta dishes in San José. If you like U.S.-style food and beer served in foot-tall mugs, try Fridays near the university in San Pedro. La Soda Tapia is famous for its gigantic fruit salads and typical breakfasts. Restaurante Grano de Oro, in the charming hotel with the same name, offers an excellent menu.

You can dine, watch TV and read an assortment of newspapers at The News Café in the Hotel Presidente. They just installed a new street-side bar which is great spot for people watching. If you get a case of the munchies and want to grab a late-night snack There many places you can go. Located off the lobby of the Hotel del Rey, City Café, is one of many all-night restaurants and popular North American hangout. There is a lot of action here with the adjacent gambling area and swinging bar. Chelles (Ave. Central, Calle 9) serves great sandwiches. Café Parisien, in the Gran Hotel Costa Rica, never closes and is one of the best locations in town to people watch. Rounding out our list of all-night eateries are Manolo's outdoor café.

Good Spanish food is served at Casino Español (222-9440), and at La Masia de Triquell (296-3524). Zermatt (222-0604) serves European style dishes.

Chinese restaurants abound in the San José area. It seems like there is one on every block. The oriental food served here is not as tasty as what you will find in San Francisco's China Town but is inexpensive. If you want something other than chopsuey, chow mein and rice dishes, try the Tin Jo (221-7605) restaurant. They have a wide selection including tasty Mandarin, Szechuan and even Thai food. Shil La is a new restaurant in the suburb of Rohrmoser which features authentic Korean and Japanese food including sushi, sashimi and tempura. Villa Bonita in Pavas is an institution and famous for its oriental food.

Lovers of Mexican food should try any of the Antojitos (four locations) restaurants, Las Tunas in Sabana Norte and Los Panchos in Zapote. The latter has a great atmosphere together with roving mariachis to serenade you. Tex Mex in Santa Ana has become very popular with foreigners.

Excellent French cuisine is available at El Refugio del Chef Jaques located in a beautiful mountain setting above Heredia.

The Pops and Monpik ice cream parlors sell every imaginable flavor of your favorite ice cream. TCBY, the U.S. frozen yogurt chain, even has a couple of stores here. The Spoon pastery shops sell the best cakes and pasteries in the country. They have four locations in the San José area. Bagels can even be found in Costa Rica. Haagaen Dazs now has stores in Escazú and Curridabat and is available in many super markets.

Boston Bagle in Pavas and San Pedro offers a wide selection of fresh baked bagels, sandwiches andexcellent coffee. Coffee connoisseurs can savor a cup of their favorite local brew and grab a bite to eat at the Café Parisien in the Gran Hotel Costa Rica, La Esquina del Café or La Casa Verde in Barrio Amón. Coffee lovers should also try Café Britt's coffee. They offer a great coffee tour to their farm in the hills of Heredia. We recommend this excursion to tourists as well as permanent residents. They explain every step of how coffee is grown and processed and relate the history of coffee in Costa Rica.

If you like to eat-on-the-run, you can, because all of the American fast food restaurant chains are operating in Costa Rica. Pizza Hut, Papa John's, MacDonald's, Taco Bell, Burger King, Kentucky Fried Chicken and Subway sandwiches all have restaurants conveniently located in San José, the suburbs and several shopping malls. However, the best chicken is served at the Rosti Pollos restaurants in downtown San José, San Pedro, Escazú and Guadalupe. They cook their chicken over coffee branches which gives it an incredibly delicious flavor. Denny's just opened its first 24-hour restaurant next to the Hotel Irazú. Two more restaurants will open during the next couple of years. The chain will offer breakfast to serve specials just as they do in the States. Perhaps the best-kept secret is the Criollita restaurant diagonal to the Costa Rican Insurance Institute and around the corner from Parque España. They have a special every day of the week and the food is a bargain. Meat lovers will be pleased to know that Tony Roma's Barbecue famous for its ribs will soon be opening a restaurant in Costa Rica. The same owners plan to bring both the Wendy's (hamburger chain) to Costa Rica. Los Anonos in Escazú is famous for its meat dishes.

Goya in downtown San José and La Masía de Triquell in Sabana Norte offer a wide variety of Spanish and International dishes.

For the best Costa Rican style cooking try La Casa de Doña Lela located on the main highway to Limón about a mile past the Saprissa Soccer Stadium. Since it is located somewhat off the tourist path not many foreigners have discovered this great restaurant. The food is delicious and a steal. The Rústico, a local chain, also offers a wide selection of Costa Rican style dishes. They have restaurants in Multiplaza, in the San Pedro Mall and in El Real Cariari Mall. La Casona del Cafetal is a real find. This restaurant is located about 45 minutes from San José in the heart of the Orosi Valley and has a great Sunday buffet. The setting is incredible. It is located next to a lake and surrounded by a coffee plantation.

Sodas are plentiful and found all over. You can be assured, almost any small shop displaying the sign soda serves affordable food since the majority of working class ticos eat in these establishments. Most big towns and cities have a central market whre a lot of sodas can be found. Both San Jose's and Heredia's central markets have dozens of sodas where you can find almost everyimaginable dish at rock bottom prices. We've eaten at the maket in Heredia and many a time couldn't finish the huge amount of food that was served to us. The bill usually never runs over three dollars.

There are of vegetarian restaurants all over San José and surprisingly in remote areas of the country like Montezuma Beach. As more and more Costa Ricans become health conscious these establishments grow in popularity. Prices are generally low priced and the servings are huge. One establishment in San José offers oups, salad, rice, a vegetable dish, dessert and a natural fruit juice drink for under three dollars. La Mazorca and the RestauranteVegetariano of San Pedro, located near the University of Costa Rica in San Pedro, are our favorites and popular with the college crowd. SIGLO XXI 300 meters west of POP'S ice cream in west Sabana is a vegetarian chinese food restaurant. Vishnu has a couple of locations in downtown San José and another in Heredia. The Mango Verde also in downtown Heredia completes our list of vegetarian eateries.

The Tico Times and Central America Weekly both carry advertisements for restaurants and feature occasional restaurant reviews.