Silvestre

My friends and I got the eight course tasting menu and it was delicious. It was the right amount of food and the water courses were our favorites. The vibe inside is classy and private, perfect for conversation. If you’re traveling and speak little Spanish, they speak perfect English. The desserts were great and the cocktails were good as well. I also recommend the hot herbal tea, it was excellent.

The food and service were amazing! Aaron was a fantastic server. The reason for 4 stars for Atmosphere is that the room we were eating in was hot and stuffy. We had the Óptica tasting menu and almost everything was delicious and fresh. The tasting itself had a great element of whimsy that I won’t spoil :) Our least favorite dish was the last savory course, a smoked pork cheek dish. The pork wasn’t really rendered so it was a piece of pretty solid fat and the dish was overly smoky. My favorite course was the first seafood course with the shrimp ham - delectable!! Would absolutely come back.

Beautiful and original presentation, outstanding service, and delicious desserts. The food was good overall, though some dishes felt a bit overcomplicated, with too many ingredients taking attention away from the main element. My lamb dish was slightly too salty, but the starter salad was excellent. Cocktails were good, though lacking a bit of personality in presentation. Overall, a creative and enjoyable experience that I would recommend.

I am genuinely angry and extremely disappointed with my experience at Restaurante Silvestre. We made a 8:45 pm reservation and I ended up throwing up in this restaurant bathroom around 10 pm. The only good thing about the food here is that it looks decent in the photos………. We paid around $200 per person for the tasting menu with wine pairing, expecting at least a basic fine dining standard. What we got instead was completely unacceptable. The fish was clearly not fresh — it had a strong, unpleasant smell and tasted extremely fishy. The pork had an overwhelming gamey flavor that was very hard to tolerate. To be completely honest, the food made me physically sick. I had to run to the restroom and vomit after eating. This has NEVER happened to me at any restaurant before, and it is absolutely unacceptable for a place positioning itself at this high price. The wine pairing was just as bad — several wines tasted unpleasant and did not match the dishes at all. Service was also far below expectations. There was almost no proper introduction of the dishes. In multiple cases, we finished eating and only then did someone come over to explain what we had just eaten and what wine we were drinking. That completely defeats the purpose of a tasting menu. I’ve been to so many fine dining around the world. At $200 per person, I am not asking for something extraordinary — but I expect at least a basic level of quality, freshness, and professionalism. This restaurant failed on all fronts. In Costa Rica, you can easily find much better food and service for the same price or less. This is, without exaggeration, the only restaurant in Costa Rica that has ever made me physically ill. I left feeling angry, disappointed, and honestly shocked that this place position itself at this price level. I would strongly advise others to stay away. Only good thing about this restaurant is that it looks decent in the photos.

Love the interior and the food is great. I absolutely loved the cacao tamarind soda. Service could use improvement, especially for a higher end establishment. Areas of Improvement: I had an empty glass of wine on the table when my main dish arrived. I was not offered another glass.. had to ask for a wine menu, & then I sat for 10 minutes while my dish got cold, nobody came to ask about my wine selection.. eventually I gave in and just ate my meal without a glass of wine.. quite sad as it was a very strong beef dish and I did desperately want to enjoy it with a wine. Throughout my entire dish, nobody came to ask if I wanted wine… despite clearly having asked for the wine menu (which insinuates I did want another glass, of course). I also had to pour my own water, while seated, from a quite heavy bottle. It’s not about whether I’m able to pour my own water or need someone to pour it for me but it’s quite awkward to maneuver such a heavy bottle while seated. Also there were no coasters for any of the glasses so both the cold water bottle and my cold water glass created large pools of condensation all over the table which made the table feel cold and wet and slippery and had my glasses sliding around. I did enjoy my experience overall… the food was good. I would return again despite the wine situation. Maybe it was my fault for not speaking up better. I did dine alone though, and I simply don’t like to have to call attention to myself.