The initial purpose of this thread is to collect an inventory of good restaurants. As a starting point Katokay turned me onto an Asian place down toward Club Idem called Tin Ho. I understand that El Gato initially discovered this place. It's about a block before Club Idem on the opposite side of the street. Service and atmosphere are decent and the food is very good.

I have heard again from Katokay that there is a good seafood place called Michu Pichu. Is this the Peruvian place that is up on Calle 24 ? El Gato can you help out a little with this ?

Gitano - I'll make two additions to your list. My favorite steak restaurant is Parrillada Churrasco in Barrio Escalante, a very short cab ride from Gringo Gulch. It's small so reservations are definitely recommended. Their phone number is 225-0778, and the direction is 500 metros al este y 100 al norte de la Iglesia Santa Teresita. They serve only Argentinian beef and everything is great, but I particularly recommend their "Baby Beef". Don't ask me why they call it that, but it's a massive sirloin filet grilled over a wood fire and it's fantastic. It's an upper-end Tico place and I've never seen another Gringo there.

The atmosphere and service are very good - perfect for a romantic rendevous or a last night dinner with friends before leaving town. Considering the quality, the prices are reasonable. I usually spend about $25 or $30 per person, including a before dinner coctail and a decent, but not extravagant, Chilian wine with dinner.

My favorite inexpensive restaurant is El Farolito, 150 metros este del Mall San Pedro, phone 234-2000. Again, all of their food is good but I particularly recommend their Quesadillas with two or three types of fillings. Prices are very reasonable, $6 to $8 per person including beverages, and the service and atmosphere are excellent for an inexpensive restaurant.

Pura Vida,
TG

Tampa,

Let me first say that i have read almost all the post on various sights tsm, zonaroja, costaricasex.com, worlsexarchives etc always found yourself don gordo very informative. These tidbits about restaurant outside of the gulch are just another example of the vast knowledge you have laid(no pun intended) out. Thanks. Will be in san jose early aug for 10 days if you are of a mind to would love to buy you 7to9 beer's and pick your brain a little further. Please e-mail me back. Madddog

Machu Pichu is "peruvian" style restaurant in
Paseo Colon around calle 30.great food,but a bit
pricey for San Jose.Its worth a try if you can
afford a $12 lunch.


One of my favorites is PRINCESSA DEL MARINA
in SAbana across from the park.Order the
ENTIRE FISH FRITO ,head,tail and everything in
between for about $6

The HACIENDA ,right off Avenida Central, has an
all summer special on saturday and sunday from
noon to 5 only
ALL THE PORK RIBS{COSTILLAS DEL CERDO}
YOU CAN EAT WITH FRIES AND COLESLAW FOR
about $5 !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
they serve them as full racks of ribs
and encourage you to eat more than you should

COSTA DEL SOL ITALIAN for pizza and other dinners
av central near calle 9 [where the busses turn around]


You will never have a problem finding good,cheap food in costa rica.

An excellent place to enjoy Chinese food in San Jose is Restaurante Ave Fenix. This place is great for dinner. It's elegant and the price is moderate ($8-$10)per plate.

Moreover, there are a few good restaurants in El Pueblito. They have great food, however they are a little pricey ($12-$14). Nice place to take a date!

The Rock

best italian is ponte vechio...its located one block past the mall san pedro....good selection of wines....dinner for two shouldnt be more than $50 and the service is actually good...there is a place in the mall san pedro food count called"lo-cal"...its tucked all the way in the corner, but well worth the look....typical meal might be grilled corvina(sea bass)with rice a small salad and some grilled vegies...a bit more pricey than other places in the food court, but well worth the extra couple of bucks.....remember to grt there early , because by 3 pm they are pretty much sold out ....there is a new sushi/japanese place in the mall called opium....havent heard anything bad yet, but i hear its typical tico slow as shit service.......fuji in the hotel corobici is a good bet with both suhsi and tepanyaki.....i went to "little souel" a korean /jap place located down the block from plaza mayor in rorhmoster on thursday, and it wasnt bad, but not as good as fuji in my humble opinion ....there was a water scare last week so it may be better to stay with the bottled stuff for a while

Nydavell:

Since I am travelling to San Jose in 2 short weeks, I'd buy you a beer....or even a pair of sandals, if you would please elaborate on what the water problem was, as reported locally...and as you "know" it to be.
Thank you so much.

-regards,
-wmax2

There was, and in my opinion still is, a quite serious problem with the public water supply in parts of the San Jose area (notably around Desamparado, south of town, but in other areas as well). This week's on-line version of the Tico Times has coverage. The link is as follows: http://www.ticotimes.net/topstory.htm.

The water here is generally very safe, at least as good as it is in the States, but this has been a real crisis. For now, I'd say you are safe drinking the water in downtown San Jose but I'd be very careful for the next couple of weeks in other parts of the metro area until they are absloutely sure that there isn't another outbreak.

Bottled water is available everywhere. Why take a chance?

Tampa Gringo:

As always, you are on top of it and I thank you for the great information. The article you noted was inclusive and told me what I wanted to know. I agree, bottled water, juices, cervesza, et al is the bill of fare.
What size did you say you were for that pair of sandals?
-wmax2

Is the Green Pig still around? It's an inexpensive barbecue place and I enjoyed eating lunch there. The waitresses were pretty cute too.

Took a date to Machu Pichu on Saturday night. Food and service were very good. Not a lot of Gringos in here.

My amiga liked the fish stew appetizer so much that she wanted to go back the next night just for that, pero está cerrado el domingo. Two dinners, 2 appetizers and drinks came to 12,000 C. A little pricey for San Jose, but more than a cut above the rest.

Place gets crowded at about 8:00. You might want to plan a 7:30 dinner or make a reservation.

last week there was a problem with the local water...it has supossedly been fixed...ther were reports of both kerosene and poisons in the water...the poisons came from runoff from the moutains(it s the start of the rainy season)...where the kerosene came from nobody seems to know...boiling and filters like the ones that are used in ice machines wont help in this case....the problem was said to have been solved by monday, but better safe than sorry

Another good restauraunt is Cafe Mundo...very few gringo's and lotsa upscale Tico's...A good plae to impress that special girl...

I forget the name but ate there at least 5x on my last trip....wlak out of the Presidente and turn right...about 5 shops down is a place that sells rotissiere (sp?) chicken...I think you can get a 1\2 chicken and 2 beers for under $5.00...there's also a sandwich shop on the corner that is decent...especially at 1:00 a.m....the security guard will usually make the trip for you...Just ask ALan..(if he's still there)...man I wish I was going soon....I'm just gettin back into the dating scene and have only found 1 f__K buddy so far...maybe the prices will drop or nononense will loan me some "miles" :-)

I don't know milkman... I'm burning through my miles lately. lol

I kinda figured that!

Hope the new job is going well...tell B I said hi...I'm to lazy to call...and he probably still hates me for that stock tip :-o

There's another Asian food restaurant right around the corner from Presidente and across from La Hacienda called Fuluso. It's a small place and not very fancy, but it has an extensive menu and is good for a quick bite to eat without having to walk more than half a block.