Yeah, I love food. I love it so much that I often snap photos of what I eat to make my facebook friends jealous. Hell, I even embarrass the Japanese tourists with their big ass Canon 3CCD HD camcorders.

That’s how much I love food.

So when I get to a new city, good food is a priority. Here are 5 restaurants we discovered from our research, during our time in San Jose Costa Rica that would make a good starting point for you if you are ever there:

1. Cafe Mundo
Address: Calle 15 and Av. 9
Phone: +506-2222-6190
Cuisine Type: Italian
Hours : Mon-Thurs 11am-11pm; Fri 11am-midnight; Sat 5pm-midnight
Price range: $5-$20

We ate at Cafe Mundo on our very first evening. The owner at our hotel (Casa 69) recommended it to us. With no signs out front, it took us a little while to find it. Good thing my blackberry had GPS built in. The restaurant is well hidden in an old converted mansion, and a great spot for people watching. The menu here, while varied, is mainly Italian. Options range from salads to pasta to steak. Wall murals by Costa Rican artist Miguel Cassafont adorn the place. Our waiter looked like a Russian hit man, but service was generally ok. The standard 23% surcharge for tips and taxes in Costa Rica adds up though, so bear this in mind before thinking you are going to splash it like a king.

2. La Esquina de Buenos Aires
Address: Calle 11, Avenida 4
Phone: +506 2223 1909
Cuisine: Argentine
Hours: M-F 11:30 am to 3:00 pm and 6:00 pm to 10.30 pm, Sat 12:00 pm to 11:00 pm, Sun. 12:00pm to 10:00pm.
Cost: $25-$30 per person

Insist you want to splash your cash? Well, La Esquina is the place to do it. This Buenos Aires restaurant is rated as the best place for a steak and glass of red in town by the Lonely Planet. Food was on the spot, and service was fantastic. When you walk in the restaurant, the colonial touch will make you feel like you’re in San Telmo (the oldest barrio in Buenos Aires, Argentina). In fact, the entrance door to the restaurant was actually imported from Argentina.  My mouth still waters at the thought of those perfectly tender medium
rare filets. Yummy.

3. Vishnu
Address: Av. 1, between calles 1 and 3
Phone: +506 2256-6063
Cuisine Type:  Vegetarian/ fast food
Hours: Daily 7am-9:30pm
Prices: Main courses $3.50-$5

Costa Rica, surprisingly, has alot of vegetarian options. Vishnu is one of them. A famous San Jose chain, Vishnu is where both gringo and tico veggies go to, thanks to its no frills prices and great food. They also serve freshly squeezed orange juice unlike many places serving jugo de naranja with 50 spoons of sugar out of a bottle despite claiming it to be ‘fresco’. What to start with? Try the very filling plato del día that includes soup, salad, veggies, an entree, and dessert for under $4 for lunch. Oh… and the organic fruit ice cream layered over pineapples and papaya… yummy. We will be back.

4. Tierra Nuestra
Address: Avenida 2 & Calle 15
Phone: +506 258 6500
Price: $20-$30
Hours: 24 hours
Phone: (506) 258-6500

Tierra Nuestra is a ranch style restaurant located between downtown and the embassy area. It has a Costa Rican campesino (farmer/peasant) style theme, as witnessed by the cups, onions and peppers dangling from the ceiling as soon as you walk in. The food is served on heaving wooden platters spilling casados. Even Tico families pack the place on weekends. But this place is not cheap. Our total ended up as US$56. But the portions here are huge, and frankly we should have gone more conservative as one dish was really enough for 2 hungry gringos with leftovers. Look out for Jeffrey, get him to serve you. He will try his best to chat up your girlfriend… and fail miserably. Adds to the amusement.

5. El Buen Comer
Address: Just off Calle 25bis
Phone: +506 233 3857
Cuisine: Latin American
Price: $5-$10

They say to leave the best for the last (but not the least). El Buen Comer would be that last but mandatory best. This is a restaurant we discovered on our very last day in San Jose before departing to Dominical and Santa Teresa. This simple looking restaurant from the outside may not immediately catch your attention, but as soon as you walk in, you will notice that there are almost no tourists. Instead, ticos pack the place, enjoying their healthy portions of casados, ensaladas and papaya shakes. This restaurant actually reshaped the rest of our dining taste here.

Got any other places that we should check out when we return to San Jose Costa Rica? I’d love to know. Please share them in the comments below.

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