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Costa Rica's capital beckons with the country's most varied and cosmopolitan restaurant scene. Italian, Spanish, Asian, French, Middle Eastern, Peruvian—they're all here, along with upscale Costa Rican cuisine.
Wherever you eat in San José, be it a small soda or a sophisticated restaurant, dress is casual. Meals tend to be taken earlier than in other Latin American countries; few restaurants serve past 9 or 10 pm. Local cafés usually open for breakfast at 7 am and remain open until 7 or 8 in the evening. Restaurants serving international cuisine are usually open from 11 am to 9 pm. Some cafés that serve mainly San José office workers limit evening hours and close entirely on Sunday. Restaurants that do open on Sunday do a brisk business: it's the traditional family day out (and the maid's day off). Watch your things, no matter where you dine. Even at the best restaurants, thieves occasionally target purses slung over chair arms or placed under chairs.
Duck into the Teatro Nacional's sumptuous café, off the theater lobby, to sit at a marble table and sip a hazelnut mocha beneath frescoed ceilings. The frescoes are part of an allegory celebrating the 1897 opening of the theater. Coffee runs from $5 to $7, depending on how much alcohol or ice cream is added. Sandwiches and cakes are $6 to $9.
In a wonderful example of repurposing the old, this friendly café serves great coffees in the skylight-covered courtyard of a one-time department store. Modern art decorates the walls of the building that dates from 1907. The place can be hard to spot since you don't immediately see it from the street.
Just a few tables and a small counter are the only seating in this tiny converted garage. But the coffee, harvested from its own plantation in Tarrazú in the Los Santos region, is robust and flavorful, as are the cakes and ice creams. The main branch here in Barrio Otoya has very limited seating. A more spacious outlet operates in Heredia, out in the Central Valley.
We have to admit that Costa Rican baked goods tend toward the dry-as-dust end of the spectrum, but Italian-style bakery Giacomín is an exception—a touch of liqueur added to the batter makes all the difference. Stand European-style at the downstairs espresso bar or take your goodies to the tables and chairs on the upstairs balcony. You'll also find branches in suburban Moravia, as well as Escazú, Alajuela, and Heredia out in the Central Valley.
This sleek, modern west-side coffee shop and store is an island of all-Colombian products, both beverage and souvenirs, in Costa Rica. They serve cakes, pastries, and delicious coffee milkshakes. We won’t tell anyone if you go here.
Kick off your day with a breakfast platter here: the americano (U.S.-style) or the tico (Costa Rican), with eggs, fried plantains, and natilla (sour cream). Snag one of the precious tables in the back garden, an unexpected refuge from noise and traffic, in the morning or late afternoon. The lunchtime decibel level increases markedly with government workers arriving from nearby office buildings. (This is the one time of day we recommend avoiding the place.) If you stop by for dinner, make it an early one. The place closes at 7.
To sample the crème de la crème of locally made ice cream, head to Pops. After a long walk on crowded sidewalks, it may be just what the doctor ordered. Mango is a favorite flavor. You'll find several outlets downtown, as well as around the metro area and the country. This longtime Costa Rican institution is now Colombian-owned.
Don't expect anything fancy at this extremely popular restaurant, but food here is cheap and filling. The ubiquitous gallo pinto for breakfast and casados (meat, fish, or poultry, accompanied by rice, cabbage salad, and dessert) for lunch are on the menu, along with a variety of sandwiches and burgers. You can dine outdoors, but you'll have to contend with the traffic noise and the sight of the guard flagging cars in and out of the tiny parking lot.
