www.CostaRicaTicas.com

In a neighborhood that's a bit dodgy, next door to Eros Massage and across the street/down the block from Bar Item (calle 11, south of Av. 6) you'll find Tinjo (pronounced "teen Ho" by the locals). I've never been to a restaurant that combines cuisines from China, Vietnam, India and Thailand before, but Tinjo makes it work, and does so beautifully.
The decor is an odd mix of influences, as is the background music. Thai elephants cavort on the same wall as Chinese watercolors, the music shifts from Shankar to traditional Vietnamese folksongs. Despite the apparent schizophrenia, Tinjo and its capable staff serves up some of the best Asian food I've ever enjoyed.
Service was absolutely first-rate. Taking into account my blindness, the waiter was careful to inform me of the location of glassware, bottles, plates and the like but was otherwise almost invisible. Ashtrays were quickly and silently emptied, water glasses kept full, used plates promptly removed. Yet we never once felt rushed.
Plan on taking at least 30 minutes to look over the extensive menu; you'll need the time. From soups, salads and appetizers to an astonishing array of main courses, the Tinjo dinner menu is something like 18 pages long.
Prices were a bit on the high side, but the food and service are of the highest quality. I have a new goal for my next trip to Costa Rica (along with the usual goals of pulling the "trifecta" on a spinner, having two girls and a trapeze, and sucking plantains from the pouting vulva of a virgin); I want to try everything on Tinjo's extensive menu. All major credit cards accepted.

_________________
Pura Vulva! Wandering through the dark, I am El Ciego.

Welcome to the board and excellent reviews on the reaurants. You found my favorite restaurant in San Jose.Life doesn't get any better than a trip to Idem and dinner at Tin Jo.I as well was surprised to find a resaurant of this quality in the neighborhood.My food was outstading esspecilly in a restaurant with such an extensive menu as and service was extremely good.Looking forward to more of your posts.rbc100

El Ciego, welcome to the CRT brotherhood.

I also enjoy eating Asian food whether it is Thai, Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Indian, Laotian or Cambodian. My favorite is Thai food. I have to say that I did not enjoyed the taste of Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese food at Tin Jo.

For me the Chinese food was average in taste..at best. The Thai and Indian foods were very poor in taste. The Thai and Indian foods did not taste anything like or even similar to the food I have here in the US. Since I am not impressed with the taste of their food I would also have to say that it is grossly overprice. I do agree, however, that it is a nice restaurant with very attentive service.

_________________
Live today as it was your last day, for tomorrow may never come.

Dino:
I could not have said it better, I know there are many CRT members that love Tin Jo, and I will not sit here and knock the place. They do have excellent attentative service, but the last couple times I've been there the food has been average at best. Very high in price with very little substance or real flavor to any of the dishes and I've tried many of them as I've eaten there well over 2 dozen times. A couple years back it used to be unsurpassed, but for whatever reason, I've become quite disappointed in their overall quality of their food lately... Just one mans opinion who eats out 6 nights a week.. you think my bitch wife would cook down here.. I THINK NOT!

FYI, that type of cuisine is often referred to as "pan-asian" or sometimes "asian fusion" when different elements are mixed in the same serving. My take on those types of restaurants in general is that they are a "jack of all trades and a master of none" in other words how can you really expect them to be superlative in any one cuisine when they are trying to do so many things? Do you think an Indian chef is going to know all that much about cooking Japanese food or vice versa?

I also think it unfair to compare what you get there to what you would find in cities with much larger Asian populations, whether in the Bangkok, or Bali or even LA, SF, NY etc. That said it still might not fare all that well compared to other Asian restaurants in SJ in terms of quality of the food itself or value, but I, and I'm guessing most other members here, don't really go there for that.

For me it is; a) the HUGE selection of menu items to choose from,one person may be in the mood for Indian and another for Thai and everyone can still get what they want or one person can mix and match from a variety of cuisines; b) convenient location, it is close to the Gulch and makes for a nice place to visit in conjunction with a late afternoon visit to IDEM; c) it makes for a nice change from the usual rice and beans and meat of some kind; and d) it has great service and a very classy ambiance which can be appreciated on a date with a novia or with friends.

You're probably aren't going to want to eat here more than once on each trip anyway. When dining solo, I usually don't go for anything that fancy, opting instead for much better values and unpretentious surroundings at the local soda or other nearby places like Cafe Mariscar

Prolijo wrote:


Prolijodude....that's exactly was my thinking. The restaurant may appeared to be trying to be "jack of all trades and a master of none". Thus, to me, the chinese food did not taste as good as I would preferred. I did, however, like the food at a Chinese restaurant in Tibas where Gman, myself, Hoserack and Texcdn went for lunch.

I just want to reiterate that I'm not saying don't eat at Tin Jo as it is not my place to tell people what to do. We all have different taste in food and I know that our CRT brother "DonGordo" loves this place... but it is not for me.

_________________
Live today as it was your last day, for tomorrow may never come.

I tried TinJo for the first time on this trip. I agree with Dino that it is a jack of all but a master of none. I do feel the food is very good in relation to other San Jose restaurants, but I have been to very good Chinese Restaurants, Thai Restaurants, Indian Restaurants so I know what to compare the food to.

It is a good place to eat though although I felt that spices could have been more present.

All in all good though.

_________________
I'm just having fun so sue me !!!

I like things that are built for speed!!!

You guys have good taste in more than just women. Make a point to eat at Tin Jo everytime I come up from Jaco. I think it's already on the board but Cafe Mundo is also an excellent with a great atmosphere. Machu Pichu for good Peruvian and Taj Majal for Indian in Escazu.