Cafe Costa Rica — Restaurant in Madison

One day while on our way to the "Bayou" (a lovely restaurant) - me and my girlfriend saw "Cafe Costa Rica", and we thought to our selves "Do we want to go in there? Nah... we're going to the Bayou, but we will try that next time". And true to our word we looked them up online to see if they had a menu. Now, today being Easter - we were not sure they'd be open, so we decided to give them a call first.

First of all when I called, a little girl answered the phone (no she didn't say "Hello this is Cafe Costa Rica...", she simply said "Hello"). I said "Hello, are you guys open today?", and she then called her mother to the phone. Her mother answered saying "Hello?" (again not saying it was Cafe Costa Rica). I said "Hello, is this Cafe Costa Rica?", she said "Yes" (in a condescending tone). I then continued "I was wondering if you were open for business today?", and she said in a sarcastic tone - "If I were open for business, wouldn't the door be open?". Being shocked at her her remark I said "I am on the phone with you..." and she said "What do you want?". So, then I hung up the phone.

Too bad, because we really wanted to try this resturant, but that kind of customer service can't be a good thing.

If I'm being treated this way over the phone, what's it going to be like once I get to the door?

Disappointed...

I was a bit leery about going there because of all the bad reviews, but I am so glad I did. Yes, it could be described as a hole in the wall, but a good hole in the wall. It's super small inside and definitely not fancy. You have to be the type of person who likes that though, or who is open to a place like that. Hole in the wall yes, but with lots of cute charm. I bought two $30 certificates for $20 from half price deals so we had $60 to spend there which was awesome because we got to try a few different things that we wouldn't ordinarily spend the money on. We each had a mojito, they were small but potent and good, and kinda different than other ones I have had. We each had an empanada; sooooo good, small but good. For the main dish I had chicken tacos. This plate was really big and filling. It was two tacos with some beans and rice. The tacos had a limey lettuce salad type thing on top. Really good! There was only one girl waitressing, she was super nice and brought things out fairly fast. I definitely would recommend this...

We tried calling twice but no answer. Let me put this in the proper context. We spend our winters in Costa Rica and live an hour away from this restaurant. We know a thing or two about Costa Rican food. My wife is also a food and recipe evaluator for a major food magazine and website. We researched Cafe Costa Rica and decided it's not worth an hour long drive to get to a restaurant that's apparently only opened two hours a week and on a Wednesday. We long for a good cosada meal and home made empanadas but it appears we'll have to go elsewhere...unless maybe we bump into one of their food trucks someplace and then it might be iffy if they make that stuff. Good luck in their future endeavors. It might be worthwhile for someone to assist them to create a professional business plan. There is a need for authentic Costa Rican food in the area and it could be a good mine...