RHR

Will be arriving at San Jose International airport and flying out of Tobias Bolanos Airport four hours later. Any good lunch suggestions along the way.

dfarmer

Not sure if this works, someone else will I am sure.
But we had lunch across the highway from the airport at something like Rosta Pollo? Anyway I assume it is a chain, but it was pretty good. It is near the Hampton Inn.

shillmac

Rosta Pollo is okay--sort of like KFC, but perhaps a bit more upscale.

My favorite place is a little soda in San Joaquin de Flores, about 10 minutes or less from the airport. But I would be hard pressed to tell you how to get there! It's about 2 blocks north and 3 blocks west of the church. Just across and down a bit from the new condos that have been built on the cemetery road. It's just a little open air (as is common) corner establishment with a few interior seats and stools around the outside. Carlos serves up the best casado in the world! Rice, beans, your choice of meat (I prefer fish), platanos, a veggie, salad, and a drink for about $2.00. To die for--this tipico comida! Typical food in Costa Rica.

How are you getting to Tobias Bolanos? If a driver or taxi is taking you, have them select someplace. Or tell them about Carlos's place in San Joaquin. You won't be sorry--it will give you a great "taste" of Costa Rica right off the bat!

rbrazill

I agree with shillmac about Rosta Pollo. But there is a very nice Peruvian restaurant just to the left of the Rosta Pollo described above. It's also a sort of Tico sports bar with four or five different soccer matches on TV at once. (Sorry, can't recall the name.) It's about a two minute walk from the Hampton Inn.

TripleSecDelay

Yep. Went to both of those. The sports bar with the iron gated patio seating out front (same place?) was where we ordered Tres Leches and Flan - to go - one night after dining elsewhere and returning to the Hampton Inn. They were closed and let us in, anyway. Nice people there.
Rosti Pollo was a quick snack immediately after getting the rental car. It's a couple hundred feet between the two. Their tortillas are handmade. The chicken is cooked w/o additives. The salsa fresca was interesting. Our idea was to get a quick snack before "exploring the countryside" in a foreign land.

While we're on this - if a person makes a "wrong turn" near the Rosti Pollo and auto rental agencies, you might find yourself deeper and deeper entrenched in the "wrong neighborhood". It will be obvious as the quality of even the security grates on the homes decreases. Isn't that something? We saw the nicest homes not far from the Supermercado and the banco, (to the south of the airport) and we knew this from a distance because their security grates were more attractive...

I learned something valuable : I now find myself wishing I had researched <i>the</i> restaurant to dine at first, immediately upon arrival. (Travelers are always hungry after clearing customs.)

shillmac

Yes, rbrazill, I've seen that place. Drove by it at night a few times this past July. We'll give it a go next time!

c_wooten

I almost forgot about Rosta Pollo!! It was not the greatest place to eat to get into the feeling of actually being in Costa Rica &quot;feels sort of like a Costa Rican Friday's&quot; but it was a good place to get a meal after a flight and getting our rental car before heading through the traffic &quot;maze&quot; that sits right in front of Rosta Pollo. I would go by shillmac's suggestion unless you are just starving after getting there.