Patagonia del Mar — Restaurant in Cabo Velas

Disappointing Experience and Unprofessional Management!!!

My recent visit to Patagonia Del Mar was unfortunately marred by an incredibly unprofessional and condescending encounter with the restaurant manager.

While I understand the need for a pleasant dining atmosphere, the way my family and I were treated was unacceptable and left us with a very negative impression.

It was raining during our visit, and with young children, it's natural for them to want to explore a bit. My children were walking around the tables, but not disturbing any other diners or tables. Despite this, we already felt a subtle sense of discomfort from the staff regarding their presence. The situation escalated when the manager approached me with an unnecessarily condescending tone, instructing me to "control my children." She even went as far as to dramatically claim my son was "risking his life" by simply walking around – a ludicrous statement, as any parent knows children can be playful without being in actual danger. My son is a cheerful goofball, not someone who would put himself at risk.

I attempted to offer a constructive suggestion, pointing out that a family-friendly establishment might consider providing simple amenities like coloring pages to keep children entertained, especially on a rainy day. Her response was dismissive and equally condescending: "I'm a mother too, and I know how to take my children out and control them." This retort not only invalidated my suggestion but also implied a judgment on my parenting, which was completely out of line.

To make matters worse, she then walked away from me in the middle of our conversation, a truly rude and unprofessional act. This entire interaction left me feeling disrespected and incredibly disappointed. Given this experience, I absolutely would not recommend Patagonia Del Mar to anyone, particularly families. No patron should have to endure such condescending remarks and outright rudeness from a manager whose job it is to ensure a positive...

Patagonia Del Mar is an eclectic beachfront restaurant whose menu encompassed everything from Argentinian steaks to Asian seafood dishes including sushi and poke. We were started with a basket of warm, dense, chewy rolls with chimichurri for dipping, and these were literally the best bread rolls I’ve had in Costa Rica! We continued with the Ceviche de Corvina, made of tender chunks of corvina in a flavorful acidic marinade, served with plantain chips on the side. The Salmon Tiradito came with tender slices of raw salmon in a passionfruit sauce and topped with dollops of a wasabi cream and thin strips of fried wonton. The Salmon Tataki Salad came with seared chunks of salmon rolled in black and white sesame seeds, served over mixed greens, cherry tomatoes, and red onions in a soy-based dressing.

For mains, the Maruja Poke came with marinaded chunks of raw tuna and salmon mixed with mango and avocado, topped with shredded cucumbers and carrots, and served over rice. The Chicken Milanesa was a classic (but not particularly remarkable) Argentinian schnitzel made of a pounded, breaded, and fried chicken breast. Finally, the Caribbean Soup was made with shrimp, calamari, clams, fish, and a whole small crab in a spicy broth. All the seafood dishes were fresh and delicious, though interestingly, my favorite item was simply the complimentary bread rolls with chimichurri!

And finally came dessert. The Cream Caramel was a flan topped with caramel and a crispy laced cookie; and the Banana Tempura was made with slices of sweet banana in a crispy batter, served with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, cookie crumbles, and fruit on the side. Overall, the elegant atmosphere made for a nice setting for a delicious meal, and the restaurant featured a dedicated parking lot and even a...

The food was good, the setting was nice but that’s where the good things I have to say stops. We had a party of 8 and we were being served water non-stop. We thought the server was just on top of it and like any good restaurant would do, they would make sure the table has water. Long story short the bill comes and there is a 60$ usd charge for 8 bottles of water. Really bad restaurant etiquette to serve a table something that costs money without them asking for it or letting them know. It felt like it was done purposely to jack up the bill and in turn the servers tip that automatically gets calculated into the bill. It wasn’t even like the bottles were brought to the table so we could even question or have an idea about if this costs money. The server would literally just fill our cups with water, which is expected of a good restaurant, and almost all restaurants in the world will fill your cup with water for free. I’ve been to many restaurants around the world, and even all over Costa Rica and have never experienced this. For all we knew it was just normal filtered tap or fridge water being topped up. When I showed the server and asked you charged us 60$ for water we didn’t order? He just nodded smiled and said yes. So although the food was good, I’ll never come back and that comes down to just bad service and etiquette. The place has a lot of potential if the service was honest, but it felt...