Sentido Norte — Restaurant in Tempate

Amazing food and view but poor restaurant management.

THE GOOD To start, sentido norte has an amazing view overlooking catalinas from the walk up to the hotel, down the path, the pool, the bar and the restaurant itself. Definitely a beautiful place to enjoy a sunset drink with a romantic date or even just a couple friends.

The food is actually really delicious. We ordered quite a few dishes to share to try out as many as possible and we ordered from both the lunch (before 6pm) and dinner menu (after 6pm) (which is separate and discuss later below).

Seared tuna salad. This was very delicious and fresh, the flavors were really good, a good mix of everything in both the leafy greens and the tuna itself rolled in sesame seeds.

Octopus poke. I really loved the flavor of the rice that went with the octopus poke in this dish. The octopus was salted, not grilled but it is deliocious and rich in flavors. The rice was almost like a jasmine coconut ... Could eat the rice alone!

Tuna lettuce cups. This was very similar to the seared tuna salad in flavor. I think it was the same sauce they used in both dishes (sesame oil and soy sauce mix).

Chameleon burger. We ordered this one with Swiss cheese and it was actually quite a delicious burger. The meat was tender and juicy, the flavors were well balanced and it was paired with sweet potato fries that was just perfect. 👌🏾

THE BAD These are the only reasons I've rated this restaurant lower in stars. They have a very strange management of the restaurant. The staff work hard behind the bar and the tables so I wouldn't blame them for lack of service but more management.

We arrived at around 5pm for sunset and the entire hotel including the restaurant and bar was empty. However, they stopped us at the reception of the hotel and told us they have to check if there is space (it's empty!) and we only asked to sit at the bar. The guy at the front acted like a bouncer checking on his radio with the restaurant if they could fit us. I also had called earlier in the day and they said the restaurant was fully booked until 830pm .... We sat there at the bar from 5pm-630pm, ..... More than half the restaurant was empty. I can understand if they reserve a % of the restaurant for hotel guests but to tell walk ins that the restaurant is full when it was more than half empty the entire time they're there is a little odd .... Again, I think this is a management issue not thr actual staff.

Secondly, the bartenders were also waiting tables on the opposite side of the restaurant. It would be better to keep their bartenders at the bar and not running between waiting tables and making drinks for the entire restaurant. So the service is slow not because the staff were not working but because I think they were understaffed. Imagine an actual full house night ... I'm not sure how service would be with that kind of staff distribution.

Lastly, the food portions were very small, some of the main dishes could almost pass for appetizers.

OVERALL Overall, the food quality and taste is amazing the view is spectacular but the cost was a little pricey for the size of the dishes and I'm not sure the price is worth the drive all the way to catalinas if we judge price of the food for the view. The service was slow and the hotel management of the restaurant needs work. I wouldn't drive all the way to Catalinas to go to sentido norte again but if I'm in the area, and with visitors it might be worth a visit. But not a purposeful drive out there...

We stayed in Las Catalinas back in late April and heard this place was a must, so we made two reservations for 5:15 and 7:45 to watch the sunset and then have dinner. What an amazing spot to watch the sunset!! The hotel and attached restaurant sit high atop a bluff with a kind-blowing view of the bay, cove, and coastline. You get to sit on a little couch while watching a magical sunset, so bring a good camera. The drinks are also very good - creative and delicious. So what’s the reason why I am rating this restaurant so low? ….The food is, well to put it nicely, and professional… not up to par. I will say we had the tuna tataki appetizer with our drinks and that was delicious and certainly befitting the ambiance. Dinner was disappointing. My wife had a shrimp risotto that was not a risotto - it was undercooked rice floating in canned tomato sauce with a few pieces of basic shrimp. I had poorly conceived calamari that tasted like bits of the fryer - could not taste any squid. We also had a ‘ceviche soup’ and a trout Caesar salad that, while tasted OK, just felt like it shouldn't have been put together. The menu itself is strange and way overshoots its mark…panko crusted tuna with ginger vanilla spicy caramel? Miso tzatziki fish? Fusion confusion…. The flavors and dishes are not well thought out and it seems like it's coming from a chef who needs guidance and accountability. When they can’t even make a basic risotto and are putting out crazy bad-tasting fusion dishes it is concerning. Look at what's around this restaurant! Keep it simple… get rid of the Italian/Asian confused dishes and focus on authentic Costa Rican seafood dishes. This restaurant needs to focus on the basics and use what is right on their doorstep.

So very disappointed I had to write that, but we’re only trying to help. I should mention, most people giving this restaurant 5 stars overall are doing it for the ambiance which I agree is impeccable - but they are doing the place a disservice because it disguises what is wrong with the food. We are big foodies and this place has a lot of promise. We will certainly be back to have cocktails and snacks, and try dinner again in the future if things...

A MUST when in the area! We visited Sentido Norte yesterday, to celebrate my husband’s birthday. We were staying at the W and a lady working there said that this restaurant is a must and she kindly booked us a table here - and she was right!

We arrived at 5 o’clock to enjoy drinks with stunning views of the sunset over Pacific Ocean at the top deck, and were seated at a table with direct ocean views one level below afterwards for dinner. VIEWS HERE ARE BREATHTAKING.

The food is also phenomenal and the portions are generous. We started with tuna tartar appetizer which was a delight, with crispy rice chips that perfectly complimented the taste of fresh tuna. For entrees we had short rib with mushroom risotto and crusted tuna in coconut broth - both yummy and highly recommended! We also had truffles mashed potatoes that was just ok, didn’t really feel any truffle in it. For dessert we had banana caramel tart with Nutella gelato and it was a perfect ending to our delicious dinner! Service was efficient but a little rushed, likely to the fact that the restaurant was full (which I assume it always is).

Another highlight was the saxophone musician playing trendy tunes and creating incredible romantic vibe 😍

Now, the reason I took out a star is they did not acknowledge my husband’s birthday, even though we mentioned it twice - to the host initially greeting us and our server… It did not feel good when they congratulated another guest in the dining room with a lovely saxophone birthday tune :) I mean … we all want to feel special, at least on our birthday :) As we were exiting the restaurant Carlos (who I am assuming is a manager) asked us about our experience and I shared with him the above - he was very nice and apologetic and suggested to fix it right away, however we already had our taxi waiting for us.

Overall still great experience and we will definitely come back and...