The Jungle Monteverde — Restaurant in Monteverde

Wow! Mr David has knocked this straight out of the park here.

If you have a trip to Monteverde Costa Rica, make time to come here. If you don't, maybe you should plan a trip here just for a visit to this amazing restaurant. And the other beauty Monte Verde and Costa Rica have in general.

First, as usual I'll speak to the food:

Unbelievable. I got Tom Gai soup and Pad See Ew. The flavors he drums out of these ingredients are fantastic. I have eaten Tom Gai soup all over the US and in multiple countries and this is, hands down, the best I've ever had. While it's simultaneously a standard take on my favorite soup, it's executed perfectly. The spice, the sweet, the silky smooth texture and each individual ingredient are perfect. Each part not only stands out but also balances with each other. The Pad See Ew is individually unique against other drunken noodles. I got it with the beef and it is perfect. The meat was so tender, it felt like butter in my mouth. The texture was outstanding with peanuts for crunch, perfectly cooked chewy and silky noodles, and a most exhilarating blend of spices for the perfect dish. We also had a flight of locally made beers. We had a sour sop cider, a coconut beer, an Irish style stout, and a pilsner. They were all fantastic.

More to the food, they offer menus for Thai, as mentioned. They also have Indian, pita pocket Mediterranean, and sushi. My wife tried the Paneer Tikka Masala and garlic naan. She loved them. I asked some neighbors about their sushi and they really liked it. Next time I'll be trying the pita pockets.

Oh, don't let me forget they offer a free shot. We tried the cacique they infuse with ginger and lime (I may need fact checked there). It's a very refreshing take on Costa Ricas warmest libation.

Let me talk about the service. We sat with Dany taking care of us and he was great. He was informed and excited about each dish they offered. Dishes are brought out in perfect time. Long enough to know they were made for me but not so long for us to lose interest. David, the chef/part owner (again fact checking might be needed) came around and talked to us about the dishes, the restaurant, his history, and plans. He even gave us recommendations on accommodations and entertainment in the next town we are visiting. They have heaters out and gave us blankets for our laps (it's cooler than you might expect). They even called us a cab at the end of the night.

The atmosphere is AMAZING. Open air and beautiful. You feel like you are eating in the cloud forest itself. But you are right in town. Great music playing on the speakers. The lighting is great. The seating is wonderful. Everything was beautiful. I can't say enough great things about all of this.

Seriously, you HAVE GOT TO GO HERE. This is a reason to come to Costa Rica. If this place isn't recognized by that tire company soon, they aren't doing their jobs. When you get here, the vibe of Monteverde is matched and embodied by this one restaurant. I can not wait to come back and eat here many more times.

Thanks for a wonderful experience. 100/5. I can't just recommend this place, I'm begging you to better your life by...

The Jungle Monteverde is the definition of overpromise and underdeliver.

My family and I arrived at the restaurant at 1:30 pm for lunch and were extremely hungry. The atmosphere was nice, there was nice music playing, and the waitress helped us with water very quickly and took our order. But this is where all of the good things stop. We had ordered Indian food from one of their many cuisines since we were craving our home food.

After ordering, we waited for almost 1 hour until our food arrived. In this hour, multiple families that had ordered after us had received their food much before us. We also ordered appetizers (Samosa Chaat and Papdi Chaat). After waiting for 30 minutes, we asked the waitress to bring the appetizers even if the main course was not ready yet, to which she just said that they were still making the food and left. The appetizers ended up coming with the main course, defeating the purpose of a starter.

We ordered Samosa Chaat, Papri Chaat, Paneer Tikka Masala, Aloo Gobi Mattar, and garlic naan. The Papri Chaat was not terrible, but it was not at all a Papri Chaat. The papdi itself were tiny chunks, and there were none of the unique Indian chutneys that make a Papri Chaat a Papri Chaat. The Samosa Chaat was horrible. The samosa had to be dug out of the toppings, and when we found it, it was a tiny little piece that tasted and looked like frozen samosas.

After writing off the samosas, we wanted to start with the main course but realized that we were not given any serving spoons for the main dishes. Our waitress had disappeared, and nobody was there to help us. We had to serve ourselves with the spoons we used to eat the appetizers. The food itself was horrible at best. There was no semblance whatsoever of Indian food. We were not expecting 100% authenticity, even 40% we would have been happy with. But the food was so far off and tasted really bad. The Paneer Tikka Masala was way too sour, bland, and none of its iconic flavor. The Aloo Gobi Mattar was even worse. It was too sour, and there was pretty much no cauliflower in the whole dish. The naan was not terrible.

We ordered more naan to finish the paneer. It took 20 MINUTES just for an order of naan. After being very disappointed with the whole experience, we decided to talk to one of the staff who happened to be a manager at the restaurant. We told him how our experience went. He kept saying that they had just recently opened the restaurant 5 months ago and that the chefs had no idea how to cook Asian food but were trying very hard. If you don't know how to make something, then why would you start a restaurant advertising these foods? On top of that, we had to pay full price for the horrible food and service.

Please save yourself the time and disappointment and do...

When I went to write this review the first time, The Jungle had a average review of a full five stars, with 193 reviews. Less than a week later, it's up to 226 reviews — still with 5 stars. What does this mean? It means the restaurant is reliably good, and that people who eat there are passionate about sharing the experience with others.

The QR code on the table took me to a few different menus. I had intended to have Indian food, but when I saw the Thai menu I had to order my favorite soup — Tom Yum — which is very hard to find near Monteverde. I'm very picky about my Tom Yum, and this one was freaking delicious. It was packed with vegetables, in a way that felt generous without undermining the flavor of the broth. It was spiced well and was almost big enough to be a main course!

But I wanted to try more, so I ordered the Coconut Curry, and I got to try the Korma and the Tikka Masala ordered by my friends.

What can I say? Each dish was delicious. The fresh naan was great — my kids made me order another garlic naan after they had finished their main courses. I kept trying other people's food (we dined as part of a big party) and I was consistently struck by the quality of the food and its preparation. I remarked to my wife that the flavors stuck with me long after I had eaten each dish.

What else? The staff was friendly and attentive. The lower parking lot gave our kids room to run around. The bathrooms were clean.

I had heard that the other Indian restaurant in town suffered from small portions and high prices. I don't know from first-hand experience. But the portions at The Jungle were ample, and the prices seemed totally reasonable!

The friends we ate with were on their third visit in the last month. I recommend this restaurant, and I intend to visit again soon....