La Vasconia — Restaurant in Carmen

We are in San Jose and did a walking tour yesterday. Our guide suggested we visit a local 100 years old pub called La Vasconia with great food and supposedly cheap. At night, my husband took our 3 children there for supper - the guide said children were allowed in. The food was excellent BUT beware, they tried to scam him in the bill. He authorised a certain amount for tip which was over 15%. They took his credit card and he followed them to see the payment even though they told him not to come. He wanted to see the amount before the waitress tapped the card (as many places showed us before we paid here in SJ and all over the world) and she refused to show him. He then asked for the bill and she had no choice but to give him and that’s when he saw the extra charge. He asked her why did she charge more without his permission and she didn’t explain. He told her to reverse the charge and she refused. Only when he threatened to call the police did she reverse the charge. She understood English enough to know not to show him the amount before she tapped, or why he was upset or to...

I had avoided this bar on several previous trips but finally decided to check it put. What a surprise. Mostly local clients with a few gringos thrown in. Excellent attentive service from the always-smiling staff. An extensive menu of snacks and dinners and every meal I had was very good. This ended up being my go-to bar for my stay and i centainly look forward...

This place was suggested by our tour guy and it was very good. I liked that they had a big selection of Costa Rican dishes that were not the obvious casado. We ordered exactly what the guide suggested and everything was good, including the juice. Price were low and waiter was friendly and suggested us the best way to...