www.CostaRicaTicas.com

On my last trip, Deeshot3 and Whoelse42 and myself had a great lunch at Cafe Mundo. Whoelse42 had the lasgana(lunch special) and Deeshot3 and I had the grilled chicken. Everything was very good and I recomend the garlic bread

I had dinner there yesterday evening with my chica friend. I was pleasantly surprised to see how much the place has changed since I was there 2 years ago. It has been remodeled and redecorated.......seems to be much more space than before. I enjoyed a great grilled chicken breast salad......a large salad that tasted delicious. I will prabably go there again this evening.

Zebra

The decoration and everything is very nice, but the food was much better some years ago! The last two times I ate there the food didn't taste good. The chicken tasted like it was prepared a day before and the sauce had a boring taste. The other time I ate some noodles and they lacked some taste, too. The salads are ok and I like the different breads that you get served with every dish. Like I wrote, some years ago the food was much better! The overall service is not the best, the waiters are always in a hurry. Maybe at lunchtime it is different I was there at night. It is till a nice location where I will for a glass of wine or a salad, but not to eat!

I was very well pleased with the food and the service. I thought it had improved since my last visit a a couple of years ago.

Zebra

The sea bass is the best in SJ, also their mini pizzas are good. Wines are decent and at good prices.
Classy joint and alot of locals go there. It is closed on Sunday nights though.\

The problem he had with the cab probably is not their fault, younger ticos who are taxi drivers are always a little shifty, squirrely and dishonest , I prefer the older cab drivers that dont expect something for nothing.

Cafe Mundo was just across the street from my apartamento at Hotel Rincon de San Jose, so my Colombiana favorita and I tried it out for lunch. We dined on espegueti mariscos and filet mignon and loved it. The filet was the biggest cut I have ever seen, and it was very tender and tasty. The place was packed on Friday afternoon with ticos and tourists alike.

I'm glad I gave the place another shot after a disappointing meal there last year. I plan on visiting Cafe Mundo more often.

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Blue Devil

Pura Vida...enjoying life to the fullest...

Went for the first time for lunch yesterday. The bread was great and even the pizza was pretty good. Nice atmosphere.

This is one of my favorite spots in San Jose. It has been 11/2 yrs and I still remember the excellent bread, pastas, desserts and attentive service. I have dined there with many ladies over the years and hope to again.

RESTAURANT RATING- CAFE MUNDO

Walking distance from SL. I went on a romantic first date with a non player Tica I met at a private New Year's party at Balmoral.
Looking for an artsy avante- garde cafe for quiet dinner conversation. Very hard to find remodeled house on the corner of a
steeply sloped street. No signs here and taxis corner on 2 wheels- pedestrians beware.
Plantation Victorian design with vibrant colors and trendy atmosphere. Terrible music- yes techno. No signs and it is difficult
to find the entrance. Up some steep grade past some elaborate metal sliding gates. You could walk right by this one and never
miss it. I got there early and waited in a beautiful courtyard with Brazilian stone surface and lighted gold fish pond. Checked
the front door and since it was 7 PM on a weekend it was fairly busy but no receptionist could be seen. I walked around and saw
various small rooms all newly decorated and partially filled. It has a front room and back rooms and a beautiful coverd patio
area that is a raised deck with views over the street. Since it was only half filled it looked like the ideal spot for two.
Still no date so I checked my cell and calls were coming in saying Anonymous so I left them as missed calls. Went down to
the street and got very strange looks from men down the street. Her taxi came and she said she had been calling me on her
cell and she was annoyed I didn't answer. We went in and still could find no help and began to look for a seat. Suddenly a
very agitated slick manager type came up and said we couldn't sit anywhere we wanted. He quickly ushered us to a
small outside table near the entry which I would assume is the worst seat in the house. In the US they seat a beautiful
lady in a place where she wants. The place was half full of deadbeat types. No other beautiful women and no bar that I could see.
The waiter seemed in an unusual hurry and not friendly. She spoke in Spanish and sat down. Just to test him I produced
a Ben Franklin and he of couse said he couldn't take it in disgust. This deck had a view over the front yard to the street
and I noticed that houses not converted to hotels or restaurants were overly covered with security bars from top to bottom.
This is considered a relatively safe area for walking.
The menu attempted to be Euro chic with fish specialties. I tried the chicken parmesan which was a special he recommended.
Vanessa orderd a pasta dish and salad. My dinner was two large chicken potions that were hard and precooked. Very
average potatoes and garnishes. Her pasta was left uneaten although she tried to act like she was eating it. Price was
moderate with the drinks so I paid by credit card. Very unfriendly service although good atmosphere and beautifully designed
decorations. Rate this a 6 out of 10 and I'm not interested in returning any time soon.

Must've been one of our dinner outings.

I mostly agree with the review, although I didn't notice the Brazilian stone or lighted goldfish pond. The food was average. The first time, we completely missed the entrance.

Dswan,
If you want a romantic place to take a date, try La Esquina de Buenos Aires. It's an Argentinian steakhouse. It's behind the Soledad Church (detras de la iglesia de Soledad)

Somehow I have to question a full restaurant review from a first time poster…

Dswan wrote:


Your not in Kansas Toto… an obnoxious money flashing gringo will get the worst seat in the house…

I could rip Dswans report apart piece by piece…but why? YMMV… I and many members of this board have had many great meals at Café Mundo…

Mendo

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"It takes a lot of good beer to make a great wine"

Deadbeat types? ok. I mean this place caters to local artsy, univ.
professors and maybe gay clientel. Not the type gringos are interested in.
But my date said that she went there many times for lunch and the
locals really like it. Its an upscale crowd but not friendly.
The Brazilian stone and goldfish pond are off to the left of the entry
in the front yard of this old house. Its kind of a waiting area before
you go in. Very nicely done.

I am particularly found of upscale fusion type restaurants and think Mundo does a very good job, especially compared to the CR competition. I also very much like the artsy crowd atmosphere - A group of nine large slightly older (but good looking ) gringos with young small hot Latinas wearing skimpy clothes did stand out and catch some looks. I find service there to be efficient if not overly warm.

BKTUNA

I am never going home

Swan et al,

I must agree with two of Swan's points. First, Cafe Mundo is not easy to find if one hasn't been there before. The lack of exterior signage I'm sure has to do with the owners not wanting to present an eyesore for what is essentially one of San Jose's most elegant barrios.

Second, I agree that the techno-trash music is insufferable. I understand that they're trying to be trendy, but I find the music to be an offensive distraction (and this is coming from someone who enjoys techno).

As far as unfriendliness of the staff is concerned, I don't see it. Sandra the hostess has always been very friendly and accomodating. Yes, the staff is officious and occasionalllyrushed, depending on the crowd of diners. On the other hand, I've never been rudely treated there, quite the opposite in fact.

I wonder if Swan's problems stem from a lack of Spanish?

Regarding food quality: I find the food at Cafe Mundo to be among the best San Jose has to offer. Cafe Mundo has made my own exclusive "repeat" list; I plan on dining there again in early September. I love the place.

To each his own, YMMV and all that, but in four visits to Cafe Mundo, I've never had a bad dining experience.

Re: Pirate taxistas. It's better to walk either to Calderon Guardia hospital or down to Sportsmen's to catch a cab. On the whole, you'll have a better time with licensed drivers (yellow triangle sticker on door) than with unlicensed cabs. That being said, pirates Marvin, Christian and others have given me fair and dependable service from Cafe Mundo.

To GergeGee and Swan: I would humbly suggest you give them another try.

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

Bktuna

I think I saw that group, only there were seven of them. Despite the fact that the restaurant was crowded, they managed to get a good seat within seconds. I think it was due to the charm and dashing good looks of the guy who had no tica with him that such great service was rendered. Maybe they thought he was gay.

Ciaociao