Espacio Picante — Restaurant in Hospital

A Top Spot for Traditional Chinese Hot Pot in San José

Espacio Picante is one of the best places in San José to enjoy traditional Chinese cuisine, especially if you're looking for something authentic and full of flavor. It's one of my go-to places when I’m craving Hot Pot, and honestly, it's among the best I’ve had in the city.

This is not your typical Chinese restaurant where every person orders their own dish. The dining style is designed for sharing large plates among the group — which is how traditional Chinese food is meant to be enjoyed. That said, they do offer individual dishes for those who prefer personal portions, though it's clear their strength lies in shared, family-style dining.

The Hot Pot experience here is fantastic. The menu has great variety, and the ingredients are always fresh and plentiful. The dipping sauce setup is also worth mentioning — sesame oil, soy sauce, fresh ginger, scallions, and Chinese spices make for a flavorful and customizable combo. Don’t forget to ask for the extra peanut sauce — it adds a rich layer of taste to every bite.

The service is efficient, and the food comes out quickly. You’ll also notice that the restaurant is frequently visited by members of the local Chinese community — always a great sign that the food is both authentic and appreciated.

Whether you're familiar with Chinese cuisine or trying it more traditionally for the first time, Espacio Picante is highly recommended. Come with friends, come hungry, and come...

We had dinner at this restaurant May 3rd, the food was delicious, service was great. Went back May 5th, ordered the same, plus two other new dishes. The food was not the same at ALL, brought it to the waiter's attention twice. The seafood tasted old and the rice was flavorless and very dried, the secret dish was flavorless as well and diced cucumbers soft and soggy, not crunchy as on Friday. Also mentioned to him that there was no way it was the same cook. Went to the front to pay, I brought it up again and was told I should have said something I told this person I did mentioned twice. Extremely disappointed, will not be back at all, service to the customer is extremely important. The waiter from Friday and Sunday were great. Lacking customer service...

The place gave me dirty vibes…and it wasnt just the roach and mosquitos sprays next to the big soup spoons table, nor the random cap/hat that was on top of some of these spoons…In general we didnt like the place. Also, kids kept going in and out the kitchen…The food is good in portion, the sauces and broth had flavor, but ended up leaving most of our food intact. The beef gyosas filling was basic. Just a bunch of meat (too much) w no flavor. The fried eggplant was soggy and oily but had good flavor. The glass noodles w beef; broth had good flavor but the beef pieces did not taste like anything and were dry. Note: Agree with the server comment. There was only 1

Will not...