The Costa Rica Restaurant Review

Sale e Pepe - Restaurant Review

Sale e Pepe (Italian for Salt and Pepper) is an Italian restaurant located in San Rafael de Escazú.

I had been to Sale e Pepe before a number of years ago for lunch with a friend of mine (if my memory serves me, I had a seafood pizza the last time I went). The restaurant was much as I remembered it. Simply but tastefully decorated, and moderately busy, but not crowded. This most recent visit was with a much larger group (6 adults and a child). We were arriving late from out of town, and rather than cook for a large hungry group of people, we opted for an Italian excursion to Sale e Pepe.

Upon arrival we made our way to the second floor and sat down. We were attended quickly and courteously and placed our orders. As I frequently do when I eat at an Italian restaurant, I ordered a calzone, in this case with ham and cheese. Others in the group ordered various pastas and pizzas, and we asked for a half-liter of house wine. While the food was not brought to the table exceedingly quickly, it was brought within a reasnable amount of time -- except for mine. I sat and enjoyed some of the wine while waiting for my dish and watching everyone else eat. Everyone was very satisfied with their order, and the wine was very nice for a reasonably priced house wine. In the meantime we asked the waiter several times what was going on with my order and we were told that it was taking the chef some extra time to prepare, but that it would be out shortly. Well it wasn't out shortly. By the time it was brought to the table everyone else was already FINISHED eating. In any case, my calzone was finally served hot and since by that time I was rather hungry and had built up an appetite watching everyone else eat, I made short order of it. The others didn't have to wait too long for me to finish.

I had no complaint about my order other than the inordinate amount of time it took to bring it out. While, again, everyone was very happy with both the quality and quantity of the food, and with the reasonable price tag of about $110 when all was said and done, it must be said that letting one person out of a group sit there while others are served is really not an acceptable practice in the service industry. I don't let things like that irritate me, but others might (especially if it were a business dinner, for example). The restaurant could have handled this in a much preferable way: instead of allowing me to sit there with nothing on the table in front of me, they could have brought out an appetizer (on the house), or they could have just said after passing the order to the chef that my order would take a while to prepare and thus given me the option of choosing something else. I probably would have opted to wait (as I said, waiting doesn't irritate me -- I would have preferred to wait and get what I wanted), but it still would have been more proper to at least have the option.

All this said, I think it is somewhat likely that my case was more of an anomaly than the norm. I have seen many restaurants come and go over the years, but Sale e Pepe has survived, which I deem to be a good sign overall. They can't be upsetting too many people.

There are a number of upper scale Italian restaurants available to choose from in Escazú and the western suburbs of San José. Sale e Pepe is probably among the more reasonably priced options, and quality is not sacrificed (even my long wait is a good indication that the food is prepared from scratch and not just thrown together out of a package or a can). I have eaten at much more expensive Italian restaurants here in Escazú, and while the service was wonderful, the food left something to be desired. Without a doubt I would rather complain about a long wait, than complain about a high price tag for sub par food. Still, it would be better to have no complaint at all.

M.C.

Note: Sale e Pepe is located in San Rafael de Escazú, right next to (and slightly behind) the Pops Ice Cream shop. Call them at 2289-5750, to make reservations.

Beach Edition: Hotel Vista de Olas - Restaurant Review

The open air BBQ-style restaurant at Hotel Vista de Olas is situated next to the hotel's infinity pool. The hotel is at the top of a hill that is accessed only via a fairly rough dirt road. Being up on the hill allows for a beatuiful view of the ocean below, and the restaurant has become somewhat of an area hot-spot for having dinner at sunset. However ambience is very nice at any time, so dinner after dark is also very enjoyable, though visitors showing up after the sunset rush run the risk of a more limited selection of meats because they can easily run out of any particular item during what is their busiest time.

If you plan to enjoy your dinner at sunset, a reservation is recommended, at least during high season.

The dining model at the restaurant is an interesting one. You order your meat (choose between t-bone steak, rib-eye, filet mignon, baby back ribs, bratwurst, tuna steaks, etc.) which is brought to you on a platter -- uncooked. You take turns with the other customers at the grill and barbecue it yourself according to your personal preference. Along with the meat you get an all-you-can-eat salad bar, and all-you-can-eat baked potatoes. For those that aren't interested in the meat, you are also able to order just the salad bar/potatoes.

If the restaurant is particularly busy, there may be a slight wait because you have to wait for the people ahead of you to finish with the grill. But that whole process doesn't take too long, at least for most people, and they do have a variety of nice cocktails to choose from while you are waiting. I ordered a pina colada which was made with fresh pineapple and fresh coconut. You don't find that very frequently, even in the beach areas. I had small chunks of fresh fruit and coconut at the bottom of my glass when I got towards the end of my drink. It was very nice. My only complaint about the drinks was that I couldn't get a Mai Tai...

For meat, among the various people that constituted our party, two ordered the t-bone steak, two ordered rib-eye steaks, and two ordered baby back ribs. The cuts of meat were well proportioned. The t-bone was the most expensive cut, but was one of the largest steaks I have ever seen in my life. Mine was one of the orders of ribs, since that is probably my favorite meat to barbecue, and it turned out deliciously, as ribs usually do. And since I was manning the grill for purposes of cooking the two rib orders, they were sure not to get overdone.

As is my custom when eating at an all-you-can-eat arrangement, I ate my fill and then some. A pina colada, an order of ribs, several helpings of various styles of salad, and several baked potatoes with lots of butter and sour cream after sitting down to eat, I felt like my own ribs would bust from the effort of holding my abdomen within a confined space.

I don't know what the final tally was, because I didn't pay the bill. It wasn't exactly cheap, but grilling the meat yourself does save them the labor cost of having a chef do it for you, so it really isn't as expensive as you might pay for the same cuts at an ordinary restaurant, and the all-you-can-eat aspect ensures that you will leave well filled. I would definitely eat here again... bring your appetite.

M.C.

Note: Vista de Olas is located in Mal Pais on the Nicoya Peninsula. Call them for specific directions and/or reservations at 2640-0183, or visit them online at www.vistadeolas.com

Mountain Edition: The Lava Lounge Bar and Grill - Restaurant Review

The Lava Lounge is a bar and grill located in La Fortuna de San Carlos, near Volcan Arenal.

I was recently on an excursion to Volcan Arenal with a group of friends. It had been several years since I had been there, and I was looking forward to getting out into the rainforest again. My last trip had been pretty lean in terms of worthwhile dining experiences, so it was important to find the right place to eat this time. After a long day of walking while doing the suspended bridges tour and then ziplining, the tour guide that my friends hired suggested that the Lava Lounge would be a very nice place for us to go, and besides, it was right across the street from the little motel we were staying in...

There was a decent crowd there, and the place was getting set up for some live music by a lone performer. It is a fairly rustic decoration, but nice. Wooden benches and tables. But it meshes very well with the setting and decoration of the place.

The menu had several interesting options. We got started off with drinks. I ordered a Mai Tai, which is one of my personal favorite cocktails. It is unfortunate that I haven't found anywhere, whether it be bar or restaurant, in the city that offers Mai Tais. The only places in Costa Rica that I have found them have been in the Arenal area, Tamarindo, and Mal Pais. I am sure there are other places that have them, but it would be nice to find a place in the city so that I don't have to wait until I am on vacation to have one.

The food wasn't served particularly quickly, but it was ok because it was a very nice ambiance, and we had our drinks and were enjoying each others' company and were reminiscing about our day's activities.

Eventually the food came out and by the time we got started the musician started playing. I don't know if I had consumed just as many Mai Tais as were necessary to get the effect, or if it was the ambiance, or if he was really quite talented, but the live music was very enjoyable. It seemed to be just the right smooth sound to set a very pleasant mood. One of the couples with us actually got up and danced to one of the songs because it was hard to just stay in your seat (note that the place doesn't have a dance floor, you have to dance between the tables wherever there is room).

The food?

Well, as nice as the performance was, I almost forgot about it. Until I actually started eating. I ordered a hamburger -- which of course was made from local, grass-fed beef. It was delivered on the rare side, which is what I had asked for, and was actually quite impressive. It was superbly prepared, and was a large portion. Others in the group ordered the chicken and beef fajitas, while a couple others ordered steaks that were the special for the day. I tasted the fajitas and they were very good. Everybody was very happy with what they received and we left nothing but clean plates. We had 6 people in total (and 1 small child that just picked a few items from mom and dad's plate without needing a dish of his own), and the meal with the drinks was about $106. All in all a very fair price to pay for the pleasant evening that we enjoyed.

The music was so good that we had a hard time pulling ourselves away from the table and heading back to our rooms. Only our plans for a full day following was able to motivate us to return to our rooms and get some rest.

I would certainly return to the Lava Lounge, and would recommend it to anyone that happens to be visiting La Fortuna.

M.C.

Note: Lava Lounge is located in La Fortuna (which is a very small town, so the restaurant will be easy to find). Call them for reservations at 2479-7365, or visit them online at www.lavaloungecostarica.com

Comments Disabled

I apologize to readers of this blog, but I have had to disable comments.

This decision has been so long in coming, mainly because I appreciate and very much welcome reader comments. However, the amount of spam that is posted on this blog in the form of comments is absolutely staggering. Unfortunately Lifetype's spam filter mechanism, or at least that which comes with the version that is active on this site, leaves much to be desired.

Those that are following my reviews on this site will notice that, prior to my most recent post, it had been quite some time since I have posted a review. That is not because I have had nothing to say. In part it is because the majority of the restaurants that I have been to recently have failed to impress (and I tire of writing a bunch of negative reviews in a row), and also because every time I am in the mood to log on and write something I am innundated with spam comments on every subject from fake watches, to viagra, to pornography and 1000 other subjects that have absolutely nothing to do with food, nor with restaurants, nor with Costa Rica (in fact much more often than not they originate from IPs that are not even located in Costa Rica). If I let the computer run by itself it takes literally hours to purge all of the spam posts, and by the time it is finished, my inclination to write has long been used up by many other tasks.

I expect that this decision will result in me making more regular review posts regarding Costa Rica restaurants on this blog. And with any luck the spam bots will eventually "forget" about this site and I will be able to reactivate comments. But I'm not holding my breath.

Thanks for reading.

M.C.

Cafe de Artistas - Restaurant Review

Café de Artistas is a nice little café style, artsy restaurant located in San Rafael de Escazú.

I have been to Café de Artistas many times over the years since I have lived in Costa Rica. However, prior to going today it had been about 3 or 4 years since my last visit. Since that time, the previous owner had sold the business to someone else, so it now has "new" management, though I did recognize the waiter that attended me as having worked there for the prior owner.

As more of a café than a restaurant, they do most of their business in the morning, with the majority of the items on their menu being breakfast dishes. Their lunch menu is much smaller -- consisting mainly of sandwiches (they have a selection of 8 or so different possibilities to choose from). They do not serve dinner.

Under the previous owner they used to have a daily special, usually a meat or a fish of some sort, with a vegetable on the side. That seems to have been discontinued, or perhaps they offer a special on weekends. I neglected to ask.

This particular foray was for purposes of a business lunch meeting with a long-time associate that I bumped into several days ago after not having seen him for a few years. Evidently he is a regular customer. Per the suggestion of the waiter, he ordered the barbecued beef sandwich, which, when it arrived, looked delightful. I ordered the French dip Roast Beef sandwich, which was also impressive, nicely presented, and tasted fabulous. I believe the sauce was rosemary. Very well prepared, and fresh. All of the sandwiches that they serve come with a side dish of french fries, pasta salad, potato salad, or fruit salad. I had the potato salad, which was not great, but respectable. We finished off our meal with a cup of coffee. All in all, a success... The downside? They do not have a liquor license, so no beer with your lunch. The previous owner would slip you a beer under the table if it was obvious that you weren't an investigator or someone who would likely turn him in to the local authorities. Evidently the new guy wants to do things a little more by the book. Fair enough.

The ambience in Café de Artistas is very agreeable. Not luxurious, but nice. Service is good, albeit fairly slow. I think there was one other person there at the same time as us, but it seemed like it took them quite some time to bring our food after we ordered. That's not necessarily a bad thing, because it is a nice atmosphere in which to relax, and moreso if you have someone with you with whom to share a good conversation. And perhaps it takes time for the food to be prepared carefully, up to the standards that they wish to provide. Nevertheless, if the place was unduly crowded, I think the wait to receive one's order might become a bit of a bottleneck.

The price was reasonable for the amount, and certainly the quality, of food received. Figure on a price of about $8 to $10 for a well-prepared sandwich, side order, and a cup of coffee.

At minimum, worth a visit and possibly worthy of being a semi-regular place to do lunch.

M.C.

Note: Café de Artistas is located in San Rafael de Escazú, about 100 meters south of Plaza Rolex (the shopping center where Citibank is located). Call them for reservations at 2288-5082, or visit them online at www.cafe-de-artistas.com