PARK CAFE, Restaurant and Antiques. SAN JOSE, COSTA RICA

"Perhaps the most important restaurant to ever hit the Costa Rican dining scene......"

Sherman's Travel Costa Rica Guide -

Address and Reservations.

Tel. (506) 2290 63 24
Fax.(506) 2296 57 20
Sabana Norte, 100 meters north of Rosti Pollo,

San Jose, Costa Rica.

New Collection of Antiques from Bali and India.

Cabinets.

Louise and Richard invite you to join them at their restaurant and Antiques shop in San Jose.
The restaurant is set within a stunning antiques shop in Sabana Norte, San Jose, where the tables are scattered partly around a garden with a trickling fountain or beneath the aisles that house the antiques. Lunch might include a Roasted Tuna Fillet with Confited Toamto and Gazpacho Soup accompanied by a glass of New Zealand Sauvignon Blanc in the shade of our flowering Orchid tree, or a plate of Caramelised Scallops wrapped in Smoked Salmon with Fennel Coleslaw. Then evening arrives to enjoy a candlelit dinner of Roasted Duck Breast with Cannelloni of Confit Leg and Chocolate Sauce under the gaze of stone Buddha’s and imposing Rajastani columns.

Louise has lived in Costa Rica for fifteen years accumulating antiques from all over the world.
She works as an interior designer accessorizing many local homes with treasures from her travels, as well as providing the themes and decorations for luxurious condos.

Richard added the restaurant in the fall of 2006. Before that he had been the chef/proprietor of Restaurant Pied-a-Terre in London where he earned two Michelin stars.
Later, his eponymous Neat restaurant in Cannes won a star after just seven months of opening, where he was the only British chef to win a star in France.

APPETIZERS

Ravioli de Cangrejo con Esparragos, Alcachofas y salsa de Jengibre

Ravioli of Crab with Asparagus, Artichoke and Ginger Sauce

9,200 (11,316)

***

Ensalada de Pollo a la Parrilla con Tocineta y Salsa de ‘Caesar’

Salad of Grilled Chicken Breast, Bacon and Romaine with Caesar dressing

8,800 (10,824)

***

Calamar frito relleno de paella, Salsa alioli

Fried Squid filled with Paella, Aioli Sauce

8,800 (10,824)

***

Vieiras rostizados envueltas con Prosciuto, Vegetales “provensal” y salsa pesto

Roasted Scallops wrapped in Parma Ham, Provencal Vegetables and Pesto Sauce

9,300 (11,439)

***

Filete de Atún y Cerviche de Pargo con Berengena pure y Tomate confit

Fillet of Tuna and Marinated Red Snapper with Aubergine puree and Tomato confit

8,900 (10,947)

MAIN COURSES

Filet de Pargo con Anis, Guacamole y Ensalada Remolacha

Fillet of Red Snapper with Aniseed, Guacamole and Beetroot Salad

13,200 (16,236)

***

Lomito de Res con Cebolla caramelizado, con Vegetales rostizados

Grilled Beef Fillet with Caramelized Shallots and Roasted Vegetables

13,900 (17,097)

***

Chuleta de Cordero a la parilla, con Ravioli de Hongos, Alcachofas y espinaca

Grilled Lamb Cutlets with Ravioli of Wild Mushrooms, Artichokes and Spinach

15,500 (19,065)

***

Pechuga de Pato rostizado con Canelón relleno de Pierna confitada y Salsa Chocolate

Roasted Duck Breast with Cannelloni of Confit Leg and Chocolate Sauce

13,200 (16,236)

***

Conejo envuelto con Tocineta con Dátiles y Gnocchi en salsa de Gorgonzola

Rabbit wrapped in Bacon with Dates and Gnocchi Gorgonzola

13,200 (16,236)

Visa credit card accepted /

Se acepta la tarjeta de crédito Visa.

(Los precios incluyen el 13% de impuesto y el 10% de servicio)

The Restaurant is unsuitable for young children and babies as there are many dangerous and precariously placed columns and statues.

Dress Code for the Restaurant. Casual smart. Please no shorts and baseball caps for the evening. Thank you.

Park Café Wine List

Laurent Perrier Champagne France 72,900 (89,667)

½ bt. 38,430 (47,270)

Kir Royale Concha Toro Chile copa 4,500 (5,535)

*********

Babich Winemakers Sauvignon Blanc New Zealand 21,200 (26,076)

Glass. 4,400 (5,412)

Masi Masianco Pinot Grigio/ Verduzzo Italy 22,500 (27,675)

Glass 4,500 (5,535)

Zuccardi ‘A’ Chardonnay/Viognier Argentina 19,200 (23,616)

William Cole Sauvignon Blanc Chile 19,800 (24,354)

Laborum Torrentes Argentina 23,800 (28,290)

Vionta Albarino Spain 24,500 (30,135)

Fransican Chardonnay United States 31,000 (38,130)

All major credit cards accepted / Se aceptan las tarjetas de creditos.

(Los precios incluyen el 13% de impuesto y el 10% de servicio)

Half Bottles available.

Montecillo Crianza Tempranillo Spain 11,500 (14,145)

Penfolds Koonunga Hill Shiraz/Cabernet Australia 11,900 (14,637)

Barton & Giestier Cotes du Rhone Syrah, Granache, Mourverde France 18,200 (22,386)

Glass. 3,900 (4,797)

Broquel Malbec Argentina 18,400 (22,632)

Glass. 4,200 (5,166)

Serie Riberas Carmenere Chile 19,800 (24,354)

Ruffino Chianti DOCQ Sangiovese Italy 21,500 (26,445)

Callia Magna Shiraz Argentina 21,500 (26,445)

Columbia Crest H3 Merlot United States 22,500 (27,675)

Chivite Gran Feudo Reserve Tempranillo Spain 22,500 (27,675)

Ravenswood Zinfandel United States 23,500 (28,905)

Axel Cabernet Sauvignon Chile 25,800 (31,734)

Juan Gil Monastrell Spain 27,000 (33,210)

Babich Pinot Noir New Zealand 27,500 (33,825)

Estancia Pinot Noir United States 29,500 (36,285)

Medalla Cabernet Sauvignon Argentina 29,800 (36,654)

Amauta Malbec Chile 29,900 (36,777)

Marques de Cáceres Reserva Tempranillo Spain 30,750 (37,822)

Wolf Blass Presidents Selection Shiraz Barossa Valley Australia 30,800 (37,884)

Amauta I Malbec/Cabernet/Syrah Chile 31,500 (38,745)

Caliterra Tributo Syrah, Cabernet Sauvignon, Viognier Chile 32,500 (39,975)

Founders Collections Carmenere Chile 34,500 (42,435)

Erath Dundee Hills Pinot Noir United States 37,500 (46,125)

Pulenta Estate Gran Malbec Argentina 38,500 (47,355)

Luigi Bosca Gala Malbec/Petit Verdot/ Tannat Argentina 39,500 (48,585)

Antiyal 50% Camenere / 40% Cabernet Sauvignon/ 10% Syrah Chile 44,500 (54,735)

Louise has designed and furnished many of the houses and hotels in Costa Rica.

Benches and Stone Panels

Louise travels to Asia each year to personally pick the pieces, thereby guaranteeing unique and one-off objects to decorate your homes.

Some Press about the Food...........

"Park Cafe is divine, the food exquisite, stunningly presented and a dining experience you can't find anywhere else in San Jose." Tico Times.

"...the best-kept secret in the country." Beach Times.

"A place where the food evokes and provokes in a sanctuary of stunning antiques."
La Nacion.

"This is what makes dining out exciting; cooking that surprises your palette and commands your attention." Tico Times.

...and earlier.

" one of the most talented chefs of his generation..." Caterer and Hotelkeeper.

"The highlight of my culinary year, a roasted veal sweetbread with pea puree - a masterful riot of soft, sweet flavours." London Newspaper.

"A symphony of savours, orchestrated with expertise and devotion." Gourmet magazine.

"The dishes exhibit an unforced originality, gentle and distinct flavours, fantastic deftness". Johnathon Meades, The Times. Jan 2000.

"it is perhaps ironic that the best Snails I have ever eaten should be cooked by an Englishman in France". Table Talk. Eating Out.

"A cuisine ingenious and creative..." Le Figaro.

"Richard Neat is an extraordinary chef. Presentation is stunning, with each dish a miniature work of art'. Time Out. 2005

"Neat is the complete craftsman - dead clever, cautiously wild, fabulously precise. And constantly on song". The Times. Jan 1995.

"To eat the food of one of the most talented young chefs to come out of Britain, you must now go to France. .....casually sublime food.... Fay Maschler. Evening Standard. 3***/3.

"Neat's Smoked Foie Gras. Utterly, utterly delicious. Sometimes all a restaurant needs to keep people coming back is one gobsmackingly terrific dish and this one alone would do it". Telegraph Magazine. 2001.

"Neat is a consistent perfectionist, who can touch greatness in a simple parsley sauce". Harper's 100 Best.

"Neat has a brilliant understanding of modern cuisine, incorporating a respect for tradition and curiosity for the new". Homes and Gardens Eating Out.

"Possibly the best new restaurant in London.." AA Guide.

"Neat delivers innovative, exquisitely cooked French food with ultra-delicate taste." Tatler Restaurant Guide.

"The food is electrifying, the most powerful expression of a chef's personality and talent since Marco-Pierre White opened Harveys, but with more originality and consistency". Telegraph Newspaper after Pied-a-Terre's first week.

"Deserves to become one of the London restaurants of the decade". The Times.

«....cuisine of bewildering technicality,some say avant-gardiste, where the Tian of Crab and Skate with Veloute of Cucumber is in itself an enigma,such an object of fascination that we hesitate to undo it. No irony here, just a vague sense of powerlessness in the face of a desire for perfectionism». Gault Millau Magazine.

"The food on your plate is more a work of art than the Warhol and Liechtenstein's on the walls. Faultless, impeccable, imaginative cooking that dares to mix anchovy with Foie Gras, knowing the end result will be spectacular." New Journal Review of the Year. 1995.

Richard's Book.

OBSERVATION'S FROM THE KITCHEN














Observations from the Kitchen is an autobiographical adventure story that unfolds around the metaphoric battlefield of a chess board that The Cook uses to describe his life experiences.
Set within the sweatshops of gastronomic kitchens, it is a journey that takes you through the frenetic chaos of London’s West-end, to the narcissistic playgrounds of the Cote d’Azur, the snow-covered domes of the Kremlin before ending in the steamy jungles of Costa Rica.
The Cook invites different companions to join him “a table” where, while preparing his signature dishes, they discuss such universal themes as Ambition, Loyalty and Contentment and whether these themes are truly universal or comprehensible only to its author.

Richard Neat was the chef-proprietor of Restaurant Pied-a-Terre in London from its opening in December 1991 until May 1996. He won a Michelin star within the first year of opening and a second three years later before his thirtieth birthday.
After a two year sabbatical in India, he opened his eponymous Neat Restaurant in Cannes, south of France, where just seven months after opening, he became the first British chef to win a Michelin star in that country.
Gastronomy took him back to London and Moscow, before he finally bought a Riad in Marrakech, Morocco to enjoy a more pedestrian life style. The restaurant in his Riad was considered by ‘Time Out’ to be “possibly the highlight of a trip” to that magical city, while Condé Nast Traveller included it in its ‘Hot List 2005’ of that year’s best restaurants in the world.

He now lives in Costa Rica with his English girlfriend Louise.



















Petrified Stone pieces and hand carved Buddhas.




Dozens of chair styles.

A selection from dozens of imposing columns.


Stone panels that might line the walls of your bathrooms.




































Room designs at Park Cafe.



We hope to see you at Park Cafe soon.......

Our favourite places to visit in Costa Rica.
Tabacon Hotel and Thermal Spa in Arenal.

In an era when superlatives have been appropriated by advertising companies, I should take caution in my description of our trip to Tabacon this weekend. Therefore, I will try to restrain myself. The entire two night stay was astounding. On checking in, we immediately made our way to the hot springs as the hotel hosts a collection of -I believe- thirty-three pools of warm volcanic waters set amongst the most beautiful vegetation. We sat in various pools for the afternoon and soaked away aches and ailments before devouring a sumptuous tray of sushi in a Bali day-bed. This was in the adult-only area Shangri-La, a haven of tranquility and beauty where we also enjoyed breath-taking views of an active volcano. As evening drew in, the atmosphere changes as torches and ambient lights illuminate the pools and waterfalls. This was perhaps even more beautiful than the daytime. The following morning we awoke, had an wonderful breakfast before returning to the thermal pools, finding hidden pools that we had neglected the day before. In the afternoon we had an excellent massage in their Spa and then on to dinner. We had booked an exclusive table on a platform in the jungle. One chef, one waiter, the deck strewn with rose petals; it was simply one of the great dining experiences I have ever had the pleasure to discover. On return to our room the house-keeping had run a bath scattered with more rose petals and floating candles. As a reference we travel four months of the year for business and pleasure and have the privilege of staying in some quite wonderful hotels and destinations. This weekend in Tabacon was amongst the most memorable ever. Thank you.