www.CostaRicaTicas.com

Which restaurants have the best view of CR for night time dining. Something with a table by the window and a great view of the city while sipping on a few coctails.

The Mirador Ram Luna in Aserri and Le Monestere in Escazu are probably the two best and well-known 'miradores' (restaurants with great views).
They are both about a twenty to thirty minute ride from the Gulch.

If you want to remain in San Jose, there's always the restaurant on the top
floor of the Holiday Inn.

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Also in Escazu is the Pico Blanco Inn good food, great view and about half the price of La Monestere. The old Tara has reopened as The Capital Grill have not yet been there so can comment on the food but off course the few is great as always.

_________________
Pura Vida
Only Irish coffee provides in a single glass all four
essential food groups:
alcohol, caffeine, sugar and fat.
Alex Levine

well MARISCAR use to have a great view the gran hotel does, also the resteraunt at ZONA has excellent views

Have been to ram luna, and thought the view was phenonemal. The food was just o.k. 8 of us there, mixed reviews, however, not very pricey. Drinks and steak and pescado entrees for my date and I (no appetizers), only 16,000.c with tip.

and florida, I do agree about mariscar, we have seen some beautiful scenery from there!

Agree, with zig and gt, ram luna has phenomenal views. Food is okay, nothing special but MUCH less expensive than the Monastere, which from what I hear is QUITE pricey. The best night to go to the Ram Luna is wednesday night when the have a special Tico Buffet. All you can eat and drink food and cocktails (all typical Tico food and beverages), a floor show featuring costumed dancers (and some guys in those big paper mache heads), a band with local music, a small fireworks show and of course the view of the city. All for a very reasonable price. Just be careful you don't get "taken" by the cabbie on the way up there.

4 gringos, and chicas, and a van, cost us about 6 c. each, around 25,oooc for the trip up and back and waiting there for the 2 hours while in the restaurant, good price in my opinion for the time frame, but just glad to split it among friends...Solo would have been expensive!

Gentlemen,

I have read many posts about restaurants with great views during the evening and night...

I am looking for a restaurant that has really nice views of the mountains DURING the DAYTIME, either for a late breakfast, lunch, or late afternoon lunch. Preferably nothing too fancy and not too expensive becuase I am eating solo and not trying to impress anyone. I am hoping to pay in the neighborhood of ~ $10-$15 for a lunch considering that I never order appetizers nor drinks, nor dessert.

I have this urge to get out of the gulch for a couple of hours so that I can 'smell the roses' (gaze at the beautiful mountains and daydream) while I am eating a meal.

If the restaurant is located in the mountains, then, a nice view of the central valley would be great.

Can anyone help suggest a restaurant that is within 20-30 minutes of the gulch via taxi ?

I am open to trying out little sodas with a nice view if anyone cares to share.

During my last departure from san jose, JunFan pointed out a soda/restaurant next to the airport and it was mobbed with people eating out on the second floor deck.

Much obliged.

This place might be a little far but it had great veiws of the mountains its a restruant on the hillside of a coffee plantation just past atenes on the way to jaco. They have great coffee great veiws and great food. My friend had a burruito that he seemed to love for 4 dollars and I had chicken fajitas for 2.50. They had real Cuban Cigars for 20 bucks.
This place is called cafe something or other and is probly about 30 min from the airport. i will be stopping here on the way to Jaco again. When the veiw of the mountains starts to look good just look for a place on the left. You can see all the way to Punta Leona from here on a clear day.

Surfdog

I think I know the place you're talking about. Heading towards Jaco, is it a few miles past Atenas, on the left side of the road on the top of the mountain(s), on a sharp right-hand curve? I've stopped there a few times, and indeed, the view is awesome! However, the last
time I stopped there, my chica and I were sitting at the counter/bar, and I looked down to see about a million ants near the bottom of our feet! I think it might be called Mirador del Cafetal.

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Hey GT

It could have been worse-the ants could have been on your plate instead of the floor!!!

I just checked the website for the Mirador del Cafetal, and I don't think that's the place I was thinking of. The restaurant that I'm thinking of wasn't that fancy, and I don't think it had an Inn on the premises.
Anyone know the place I'm thinking of?

_________________
"In a nation ruled by swine, all pigs are upwardly mobile, and the rest of us are phucked until we can put our acts together; not necessarily to win, but mainly to keep from losing completely"...Hunter S. Thompson (RIP)

Actually, if you think about it what these mountain top miradors really have is a view of the valley more so than a view of the mountains. Of course there is sometimes a mountain to admire on the other side.

I wasn't going to post on these since they do not qualify as being within 20 minutes from the Gulch, but as long as we are mentioning Miradors on the way to Jaco. There are some nice places just off the PanAm Hwy near the Atenas exit but before you actually pass through the town. I've already mentioned Fiesta del Maiz in other threads. Well sorry, the food is really good there but no view except of the road. HOWEVER, on the other (right) side of the road there are some similar soda/miradors with some pretty nice views. The valley is on the right so just pick a place on that side of the road.

One of my favorite country miradors is on the road between Naranjo and Zarcero. Its called simply enough El Mirador. The food there is really good and the views of the central valley are simply staggering. The fastest way there is to get off the Pan Am near Naranjo, but driving in that area is so scenic I prefer to go through Alajuela, Grecia, Sarchi, Naranjo and Zarcero on my way to or from Arenal or even as just a day trip from SJ.

The 3rd mirador, I'd recommend is also a bit far from downtown SJ, but like the others can be fit in as part of a trip to some common tourist destinations (Jaco, Arenal/Tabacon, Saarchi, Irazu, etc.). This place is located just below the summit of Irazu and is called Linda Vista. They claim to be the highest restaurant in Central America (at over 10000 ft). I don't know if that is true but their name is certainly accurate. The food is nothing special, but again the views are simply fantastic. I suggest you stop there on your way back down the volcano. The views are even better on top and you don't want to risk getting there after the clouds have moved in. But do stop at Linda Vista and bring your business card to put on the wall next to the thousands of other cards from all over the world.

In fact once you get more than 20 minutes outside of SJ, there are no shortage of mirador/sodas with stupendous views, which is just another reason why guys should try to get out of SJ more.

The last place I'll list was actually one of the first ones mentioned in this thread by GT in the 2nd post. The top floor restaurant of the Holiday Inn, may be the only place mentioned so far that satisfies HL's criteria - great view of the mountains, appropriate for daytime meals (lunch or breakfast), ~$10 and within 20 minutes or less of the Gulch.

Oh yeah, one other possibility is the food court at the San Pedro Mall. They have a balcony dining area on the 2nd or 3rd floor, with some fairly nice views of the mountain range to the south (albeit partially obstucted by another tall bldg). The food is pretty good there and cheap and you have your choice of eateries. The only thing is you main find you prefer the views of the chicas in the main dining area inside.

The San Jose Marriott has a very nice view from its veranda. A great place to eat lunch. Ten minute taxi ride from the gulch, but very few chicas walking around.

La Monestere is the best view I have seen but it is very windy when you go outside to really take in the view. I took a Card dealer form DR & her best friend there one night. They have a little bar that you have to go down some stairs almost like a basement type bar but has windows on one side. It was a big hit for these girls as they had never been there & loved the bocas & drinks. It was nice & quiet with few people so we could really talk.

Zippy