The Best Restaurants In San José, Costa Rica

For an exceptionally well-crafted evening, make sure to seek out the Park Café. This gastronomic restaurant, located by the large Sabana Park, provides only the best and will not sacrifice quality for a larger influx of guests; so much so that you will need to make reservations here in advance. Whether sitting inside, surrounded by antiques, or in the elegant garden outside, the Park Café provides an intimate environment to enjoy an evening with close companions. The gourmet, European-inspired dishes, crafted by Richard Neat, are inventive and beautifully presented. The array of pictures on Neat’s blog exhibit his skill. In light of the precision required to create the evening, expect to take your time soaking up the entire experience.

With a setting that feels almost more like an art gallery than a restaurant, Café de los Deseos whisks you away to a funky evening that is, in a word, hip. With dishes inspired by cultures all over the world, it really will fulfil your deseos (wishes). They offer a variety of coffee drinks and alcoholic beverages including craft beer and sangria.

The fine-dining restaurant Grano de Oro, located in the boutique hotel of the same name, serves gourmet cuisine for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Featuring both European and Costa Rican dishes, the restaurant offers a variety of flavors as well as an extensive wine list. It’s no surprise the restaurant has gained such an outstanding reputation with alluring dishes such as the ‘a foie gras crème brûlée with caramelized pears.

This Italian restaurant located in the neighborhood of Santa Ana is not to be missed while visiting San José. Enjoy traditional Italian dishes such as gourmet pizzas, ravioli, panna cotta, antipastos, calamari and gnocchi that will make you feel like you’re in Italy. The the welcoming ambience and attentive staff make for a relaxed experience, even attracting famous clientele such as actor Chris Hemsworth.

In Escazu you will find this cleverly-named restaurant (they put a twist on the title of Dante’s classic, replacing ‘comedy’ with ‘comida’, meaning ‘food’ in Spanish) which brings a bit of South America to Costa Rica. Described as Peruvian-fusion, La Divina Comida specializes in seafood plates such as ceviche. The restaurant is headed by the renowned chef Marco Antonio Ganoza, who even has his own series of lifestyle videos called La Dolce Vita.

To visit this restaurant is to feel like you are in the Argentine capital itself. Found in the center of San José, La Esquina de Buenos Aires brings the best of the Buenos Aires parrilla (grill) into an inviting environment. Pictures of Argentina’s iconography line the walls as soft music plays in the background. The steak, of course, comes highly recommended and the establishment has a variety of wines to accompany the meal. For a classy evening of fine Argentine food, La Esquina de Buenos Aires is the place to go in Costa Rica.

Le Chandelier in Los Yoses specializes in authentic French cuisine, and they do it well. This establishment is both fancy and accommodating; its different rooms vary in size and style, fitting a range of events from weddings to business meetings to simply lounging around.