Valicha Cocina Peruana — Restaurant in Catedral

Very high prices for incredibly mediocre food. It was our first day in Costa Rica and we'd had little time to rest or research what to do, our journey down here having been marked by a series of unfortunate events. My aunt wanted to eat here very badly so here is where we were going. It was terribly difficult to find the restaurant as its only signage is the writing on the glass windows of the establishment, and cars were parked blocking the view of even that. I felt like the proprietress was perhaps very anxious about Covid; we were both vaccinated and entered masked but as she did not ask we did not tell her; we simply washed our hands as asked before sitting. My aunt ordered the papas a la Huancaína (a little over $5 USD). I will state up front, I am not anywhere near experienced with Peruvian food. But I can expect that any cuisine should be pleasing to the palate, flavorful. I also am a farmer, and I know what the underlying food (especially vegetables) are supposed to taste like. These were nasty, bitter potatoes, some of the worst quality ones I have tasted. The sauce on top tasted not as though it was made with any recognizable chile, but with mustard powder. It had no spice or heat, and reminded me quite a lot of a German dish called Senf Eier (mustard eggs) except that the potatoes were so incredibly subpar. I ordered for my dish the ají de gallina. I was so incredibly disappointed. The garlic may have been somewhere, but I could not taste it. Bland, bland, as was the steamed chicken and the sauce atop the whole thing was indistinguishable from what had been poured atop the potatoes of the previous dish save it had a little less of the mustard flavor. Exact same color, making me think that this is just their 'base sauce' and someone forgot to add the garlic before ladling it over my food. It was tasteless to the point of, I ate the eggs, and some of what was there, and the rest was bleh. I don't know why I took it to go, I found it inedible. So that was a little over $11USD for what would be the worst and among the most costly meals I ate in my entire stay in Costa Rica. My aunt ordered a margarita ($5.50 USD) without knowing that margaritas here are tequila, citrus juice and triple sec only, no sweetener of any kind. That's on us, but holy wowzers, Batman. It took them a crazy long time to bring this drink, despite there being onlyt two other couples in the establishment. Basically we think they forgot our order My aunt ordered pescado a la Valicha ($13 USD), which she enjoyed. I am very glad something went well. IWe felt that the hostess/proprietress was unfriendly and distant (we both spoke Spanish though mine is not so good as my aunt's but we were making the effort). I did not believe we were demanding aside from asking for the beverage we ordered. We left a 15% tip for service of no particular quality. Total cost, $40 USD. I am seeing the stars most diners have given this establishment and I wonder if we ate the same place, or if the owners/staff were having a terribly off day. I cannot say. All I know is that when I return to Costa Rica I certainly will be eating...

The ceviche was some of the best we’ve had - just the right punch with the sour + the lady gave us extra onions.

The rest of the food though was pretty average - especially for the price. The peruvian skewers were on the dry side. The calamari was good but nothing special. Similarly the chicken with mushroom was very normal.

For 3 appetizers and 1 main we spent a total of close to US$80. I think, I would go back just for the ceviche.

That said, the staff are very nice. They took the time to help me understand the menu as I wasn’t as familiar with...

Came here twice during our stay in San Jose. Food: Authentically Peruviano and delicious with generous portions! We tried their ceviche, anticuchos, tacu tacu con mariscos, and taquena con relleno de queso; All were excellent!. Pisco sours were nice and strong! Service: Our waiter (I'm sorry I didn't get your name!) was very courteous and helpful (including being very patient with helping me improve my Spanish!). Value: average prices and generous portions make this a...