Sikwa
Another Barrio Escalante gem, Sikwa takes a singular approach: the menu is built exclusively around pre-Columbian ingredients and indigenous Costa Rican cooking traditions, interpreted through a contemporary lens. There is no wheat, no dairy, and no European-introduced produce. Instead, the menu draws on corn, beans, squash, chilli, cacao, and foraged jungle plants, prepared with techniques that predate colonisation.
Clay-pot cooking, smoke, and fermentation are handled with modern precision, and each dish arrives with a brief note on its cultural context, delivered naturally rather than as a lecture. The result tastes completely different from anything else you will eat in the country.
Expect around USD 50-70 per person for the full tasting experience. Reservations are necessary.
Guest Reviews
The food was very tasty and full of flavor, and the cocktails were also good. Highlight was the starter with tuna. The service is friendly and welcoming but still has some room for improvement, as it felt a bit chaotic at times. When the restaurant is full, the noise level is unfortunately quite high and some sound-dampening would really help. Additionally, the air conditioning was a bit too cold for my liking. Overall, it is definitely one of the very good restaurants in San José and worth a visit despite these small drawbacks.
This place was amazing. When you hear about affordable fine dining, this is what I think of. From the restaurant ambiance to the service to THE FOOD! Everything is great. Started off with shrimp tartare and bone Marrow. Two of my favorites dishes I’ve had on the trip. The presentation was gorgeous and not too filling. That bone marrow with the beef crudo! Lawddddd. That was fire! We moved on to our mains and got the chicken cashew and pork tenderloin dish. The squash purée was perfect and they added some texture with some nuts on top and the tenderloin was the perfect amount of saltiness. I said I wasn’t going to eat pork on my trip and that changed my mind right away! Finished off with the Yol Tamal! It reminded me of this cereal called “Corn Pops”. Of course 20 times better but the horchata ice cream made it the perfect finish. Definitely will come back here again.
Dined at some of the best restaurants in the world and without any doubt, this is in my top 5. Every single bite of every single dish was a revelation, the whole experience was thoughtful and emotional, and it all felt like a great value. Do not miss this place- heck, we seriously discussed flying back to CR just to eat here again!
Another fine dining restaurant worth visiting when in San Jose. It’s definitely an experience and worth a visit. The flavours are a mix of local and foreign flavours.. of course this doesn’t suit everyone, and there were a few highs and lows when i tried as much as i could eat. This doesn’t take away from the amazing effort put into the creation of these meals (its more what i like or don’t like). The food is presented in an immaculate way and the drinks (cocktails) are an amazing mix of flavour and definitely worth a visit. The staff are super friendly and setting is quiet and relaxed. I do recommend you reserve your table.
I visited Sikwa on a Saturday for a friends' night out. The food was absolutely marvelous. I made a reservation and wanted to impress my friends, and I succeeded. We followed the Chef's reccommendation to try different dishes as entrées and then main dishes. It worked well for us and all of us shared different flavours. I loved the explanations on how each dish was created and the origins and ingredients used.The service was superb and world-class! My only reccommendation was to elevate the customer's arrival as the hostess felt a little quiet and shy. I'd expect a confident greeting and for them to show us our table. Otherwise i'd just say I am definitely coming back. Ps. We finished at the Cantina having chiliguaro shots and the music back there was groovy! Loved it!
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