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I am looking for the best restaurant recommendations for San Jose. I am here now and wanting to visit several of the best the city has to offer. Your thoughts are appreciated. Looking for the best quality, service and atmosphere the city has to offer. If there are better just out of the city, don't hesitate to mention. Thanks

Not trying to squash any new discussion but for reference here's a few of the recent "best restaurant" threads SR-

https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=14334

https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=10511

https://costaricaticas.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=9502

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If price is not an object, the White House in San Antonio de Escazu has great food and a fantastic view of San Jose and the valley. Probably the best all around place is the dining room at the Hotel Gran d'Oro, about a 5 min. cab ride from the gulch. It's on calle 30 and ave. 6. It's high class, but not nuts on prices, excellent consistent meals.

The best I've had in SJ are:

La Esquina de Buenos Aires-Argentinian steakhouse, dinner is about $30 pp, this is my fave restaurant is SJ
Colonial Casino Restaurant-the restaurant as you walk into the casino, "Sea Bass Colonial" is the best seafood dish I've ever had, but be careful, they have 2 menus (Spanish and English), we paid $30 pp for dinner using English menu
Mirador Ram Luna-nice restaurant in the mountains ($12 taxi each way), great view of the city at night, take a date, very romantic, dinner for 2 was about $80

Favorita: Il Riturno in the Italian Embassy. Tell the cab driver Casa Italia.

Tony, the owner, is from Firenz. (Florence-for the unitiated) and is the real deal. Veal Saltimbocca for approx $7.00! Great house red wine, super service, fantastic bread etc.

Luck

Is that really veal@7.00? Meow

It looked like veal, tasted like veal but for all I know, it could have been rat strips.

Donde Carlos gets my vote if you enjoy modern decor and great food.

http://www.dondecarlos.com

La Esquina de Buenos Aires gets my other vote.

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I have to echo the recommendation for the dining room at Hotel Grano d'Oro.

The hotel recently underwent a substantial expansion, adding five rooms, a conference center and a major expansion of the restaurant.

Prices for entree's (everything is a la carte) run from about U.S.$6.50 - $18.00, with most in the thirteen dollar range.

Their wine list is excellent for Costa Rica, with a few rare Chilean gems for around ten bucks a bottle.



For novo italiano, I love Cafe Mundo (right around the corner from the Sportsmen's Lodge.

For pan-Asian, Tinjo is an excellent, but far from the only choice. Don Wang can be spectacular, as can the Japanese restaurant at the Hotel Trip Coribisi.

The Japanese restaurant in the Trip Coribisi features a private dining room where one sits low to the floor on tatame mats. The decor and the food is authentically Japanese, the prices are typically padded expense account huge.

Fabulous Peruvian food is available at Machu Pichu, across from Oasis massage parlor on Paseo Colon. They make a sea bass that will make you cry. Drinks BTW are generous and the service is at worst a C-plus (high marks for Costa RIca).

I agree with Orange about the Colonial. Their food is excellent, and if you order from the "bar menu," the prices are very reasonable. As Orange pointed out, they'll try to give you the tourist menu first. Request the other menyu; you'll save 20-30% off the tourist menu prices!

There are a number of restaurants I'm eager to try: Mirador Ram Luna , Esquina de Buenos Aires, Bacchia and the White House, just to name a few.

That being said, I'd still like to try Mariscar, JR Ribs, Pollo Campesino and some of the other lower-priced restaurants. I've heard good things about the burgers at both the New York Bar and The Hamburger Factory, neither of which I've yet to try.

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

For great seafood at resonable cost, I like Princesa Marina. However, I will admit that it is not a swanky place. Nice, but not fancy.

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Providing humanitarian assistance to self employed chicas, one cash grant at a time.

I was kinda dissapointed with TinJo the last time. I got the teryaki chicken. It was extremely dry and the sauce was seperate. The meat was not marinated.

Tinjo is overrated. Nice concept, but the food simply doesn't measure up. I don't understand why the f Frommers gave it such high mark then.

There are better places for Asian food in SJO.

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About TinJo, it's been open for about 25 years per a local prof. at UCR, go there on a Monday or Tuesday, you''ll see a good number of customers. They must be doing something right. A friend of mine who owns a very popular and excellent Chinese restaurant north of Boston was here last month, she loved the place. That being said, I'd avoid the fancy mixed drinks such as Mai Tais, etc. Stick to beer, rum and coke etc. The atmostphere is great and then visit Idem for dessert.

Just my opinion.

I have been there a few times in the past 3, 4 years. Once out of curiosity, the other times were to meet up with friends. Foodwise, I don't know your friend, but as an Asian food lover, their cuisine is IMO more hype than quality, be they Chinese, Thai, Japanese.


None of the local Chino restaurant owners I have met over the years ever recommended that place for quality authentic Asian cuisine . For those that care, that indeed says something.

Their food is not bad, just simply blend. More style than substance.




No argument there. Different strokes for different folks, Tinjo indeed has its fans. But look elsewhere if authenticity and quality are important. Again, a fine place for drinks.

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My last trip to the US was July '06, next one this June. So as a resident living in the Central Valley I'm genuinely interested to know the names and locations of the Chinese restaurants those critical of Tin Jo feel are better. For Chinese, I think it's slim pickins down here. Enlighten me!