Restaurants in Escazu & Santa Ana

These two suburbs have a surprisingly vibrant restaurant scenes.  In addition to the places we devote full reviews to on this site, try La Central ★ (tel. 2289-4594) a cantina and sports bar at Calle 134 near Escazú’s plaza, Vasc ★ (tel. 4080-8170), for high-end Basque fare near the Lindora mall, or Mas Fish ★ (tel. 2288-2760), to the southeast of Rose Plaza for ceviches and seafood sourced from sustainable fisheries.

Good restaurants are also clustered at Plaza Itskatzú (just off the highway and sharing a parking lot with the Courtyard San José), and Avenida Escazú (which is anchored by the Marriott Residence Inn and is next to the CIMA Hospital). Good options at Plaza Itskatzú include Chancay ★ (tel. 2588-2327), which serves Peruvian cuisine. On Avenida Escazú, there’s Terraza Toscana ★ (tel. 4000-2220) an excellent and elegant Italian restaurant; or  Búlali, Café y Repostería Artesanal ★ (tel. 2519-909), for  farm to table comfort foods.

One of the best Costa Rican experiences is dining on the side of a volcano with the lights of San José shimmering below. These hanging restaurants, called miradores, are a resourceful response to the city’s topography. Because San José is in a broad valley surrounded on all sides by volcanic mountains, people who live in these mountainous areas have no place to go but up—so they do, building roadside cafes up the sides of the volcanoes.

The food at most of these establishments is not spectacular, but the views often are, particularly at night, when the wide valley sparkles in a wash of lights. The town of Aserrí, 10km (6 1/4 miles) south of downtown San José, is the king of miradores, and Restaurant and Mirador Ram Luna ★ (tel. 2230-3022), open since 1967, is the king of Aserrí. Grab a window seat and, if you’ve got the fortitude, order a plate of chicharrones (fried pork rinds). There’s often live music. You can hire a cab for around C15,000 or take the Aserrí bus at Avenida 6 between calles Central and 2. Just ask the driver where to get off. We also like Mirador Restaurante La Tranca★  (tel. 2230-3505), which is nearly as old, having opened in 1975, and has a similar menu and view.

Miradores are also in the hills above Escazú and in San Ramón de Tres Ríos and Heredia. The most popular is Mirador Tiquicia ★ (tel. 2289-7330), which occupies several rooms in a sprawling old Costa Rican home and has live folkloric dance shows on Thursdays.