El Gran Escape Bar and Restaurant — Restaurant in Quepos

Our party of nine left hungry, very hungry...

What began as an exciting night out in Quepos for New Year's Eve turned into a nightmare of frustration over the course of a 3+ hour meal in which we did not receive 77% of our entree orders. The manager failed to acknowledge the problem and demanded we pay for a $200 portion of what would have been a $500 ticket. Unfortunately we were at such a disadvantage with the language barrier that we paid that bill to avoid further conflict and not miss the fireworks at midnight. If you've read enough to understand why I leave one star, I thank you for taking the time and hope you never experience this place. If you wish for more detail, I'll continue...

The Gran Escape reserved the nine of us a table at 9PM and offered a three course prix fixe menu from which most of the party ordered. We had options of crab dip or Cesar salad, BBQ ribs or a seafood rice dish, and a brownie with ice cream or bread pudding. Our sangria, wine, beers and Cupa Libre arrived relatively promptly, in hindsight, and we put in our food orders. The atmosphere was nice as we waited and waited. An hour and a half after sitting, or 10:30 for those keeping score, we finally saw our first course. Looking around the table, some enjoyed their crab dip and others did not. I thought my salad could use more dressing, but it was good and fresh. Fast forward to 11:30 and we are two and a half hours in with no entree in sight. We've now watched all the tables be served and some bussed clean for the night. Enter our first complaint to the waiter...

The waiter promises our food will be ready in 5 minutes, but once that time elapses we see, or taste, no progress. Upon the second complaint we ask the waiter to just bring out all of the food as it is ready so that we can make the fireworks and celebration at 12AM. The waiter promptly arrives with only two entree orders and the six desserts with melting ice cream. At this point I'm fuming and ready to walk out, but the fear of the police in a foreign land with a language I don't speak keeps my butt firmly planted in the seat. Two members of my party decide to speak with the manager, to which we all appreciate and watch with anticipation and hunger in our eyes. At first, the manager agrees that our experience is unacceptable but after consultation with his wait staff, he deems us responsible for the entire $500 bill. Our two feisty liaisons just about lose it over this and the fact that we are now mere minutes from the end of 2017. The restaurant's solution? Pay $200 of the bill because some of the food was served and consumed. We did, we left, and we caught a part of the firework show from in front of the restaurant.

Ultimately, and for obvious reasons if you made it this far, I can only recommend that you stay as far away from this restaurant as possible. Additional conversations with our hotel owners and other patrons revealed poor experiences that make me question a 4.1 rating here on Google. I hope this review...

I asked for chips, salsa, and guacamole. The waiter tells me they are out of guacamole. I then asked if the price would be the same without the guacamole. Waiter: "Yes." I ordered a beer from the menu and the waiter had to check with the bartender if they had that beer. None of the local craft beers on their menu were what they had on tap. Then, I asked if I could order a few sides instead. The waiter informed me the cooks might get frustrated if I only order sides as they usually come with a meal...even though I am most certain that these sides are cooked separately. Basically, I ordered a couple beers to ease the frustration of my experience here.

Just be warned....while the food looked delicious (judging from other plates...not my own empty table) you may not get what you want and half the menu may not be available or even correct. It gets two stars because the waiter was honest. But I would suggest you make a 'grand escape' to another restaurant. This was a sour way to end my 'pura vida' experience...

My husband and I are in town for a little over a week and 2 nights in a row, we could not resist eating at this restaurant and we will be back again. The food was absolutely magnificent...not only it's flavor but it's presentation! I had salmon poke bowl and requested that the salmon was cooked...so flavorfull!! The next night I had the tuna tataki with avocado and plantains...YUMMY. Each night, I had a different salad for my starter. Caesar in the house salad.: both were huge portions, fresh and satisying! LESTER, our server was very attentive to the two of us, and especially to my husband's needs, as he has celiac and is highly allergic. Both nights we received specially mixed delicious shots on the house and the chef/owner personally came over to introduce himself!! Great music and a pretty bar with TV s to watch sports as well. In my opinion, this is one of the best restaurants i've...