Chile Rojo — Restaurant in Cahuita

Went for the All-You-Can-Eat sushi night on Monday (mid Nov 2018), and oh boy. Disaster. Service was great, they were friendly, and worked hard to accomodate all but you can see that they dont like what atmosphere this event brings. Firstly, the place is WAY too small to do a buffet like this. Secondly, if you want to do this night, you have to have reservations...which I dont think makes sense, it should just be first come, first serve. Luckily we got there right at 6 and only had to wait 15mins for a seat to clear. Thirdly, there wasnt many options for sushi, 4 tops, but there were many different sides to choose from which made it a little more worth it but, you come for sushi, not curry, right...there was a veggie roll, a california roll with crunch (or close too cali), salmon roll (basic but decent), and another i couldnt remember that was okay. Fourth, the customers this event brings ruined the whole mood for my guests and I, not that this is any fault of Chile Rojo but it didnt help the situation. The Customers were mostly European, rude, overflowed their plates with the little bit of sushi they were trying to produce to keep up with demands. It was ridiculous. Sushi was basic and eh. Nothing fancy, nothing speaking to me. Made my mom's stomache a little queezy but the others felt fine. The Owner/Manager was doing his best to help but the location/size just doesnt work for these things. They do serve other food which looked and smelled amazing but i was looking for that budget and i got what i asked for. During this same event they do 2x1 alcoholic drinks and they were decent (cuba libre, mai tai), got my friend pretty drunk. ~$6 for 2 drinks...not horrible price for area. Just, if you want sushi, this isnt the place to go. I dont have another suggestion for sushi in area. Wait til you get back to states, much better. The other food they serve may be better but i didnt go back...

Decent sushi for an acceptable price. BUT the ambiance is ok at best. if you do not sit outside close to the street, you are already in the area where they prepare cutlery etc. Our table was next to the sink which was used by people exiting the bath. No visual barrier and the sink was in a bad condition as well(plumbing visible & rusty), they had a wooden fence in front of the sink not even one meter away, so they could fit another table into the room. So whilst washing your hands your back was touching this fence and people were eating right behind it. In the toilets the lightswitch was dangling from the ceiling wires exposed, screws on the floor and it was not entirely clean. Now for the best part. We ordered the combo which icludes an appetizer, sushi and dessert. While we were still eating our last pieces of sushi they suddenly started to stack tables and chairs on top of each other to close up for the night. It was past their opening time but there were still around 10 people in the restaurant! When dessert arrived there was a stack of 4 tables 30cm behind me and in the end my girlfriend had to move chairs to even get out of the restaurant. Oh and whilst this was happening the owner was sitting at the bar drinking a huge glass of whine.

Service was straight up bad. Noone asked how our food was or if we need anything. After looking at the waitress with my wallet in hand standing in a half packed up restaurant i still had to ask for the check to pay. The half surprised half eliviated waitress then handed me a wrong check which was swiftly corrected by her colleague. The one star is for the sushi the only...

Delicious sushi and Thai food right in the main most happening part of Puerto Viejo. We started with tuna nigiri which was creamy and perfect. Wasabi was a little on the hot side. The second starter dish was Edamame Chili. While I thought the edamame was watery after biting into it, the chili oil/sauce really kicked in to punch up the flavor. The first main dish we had was Tuna Poke salad bowl which was very yummy and tropical, augmented with mango and diced tomato. The second main dish we shared was the Indian Curry Shrimp served at medium heat. Shrimp were perfectly cooked and curry really delicious… note for a warm weather evening that “medium” spice is not too spicy, but dish is served at a pretty warm cook temperature (my friend broke out in a sweat 😂). We came in with no reservations but we’re easily and most hospitably accommodated by he host (maybe also owner?), being given options to have the only available table at the back by the bar or wait a few minutes for a better table. We elected to take the back table, and were immediately greeted by our server who talked to us about the menu and got our orders started. Only after a few minutes into our drinks, the host came back to our table and asked us if we would like to move to a better table, right at the front and with an amazing view of all the action on Puerto Viejo’s main artery of life, Ruta Nacional Seccundaria 257! To top it off, a fun little strolling Calypso trio stopped to serenade all of the patrons from the street. So much fun, delicious food, and great...