So, we spent two nights in the Arenal area during the late 2020 pandemic season, and we made a reservation and ate here on the second of those evenings. I'm glad the open air restaurant was open, and it was incredibly clean. They actually sat...us 15 minutes early, which was very kind. We started with a glass of wine each (later had two more) and an appetizer - ceviche was good but not memorable. For our main course we had NY Strip, which was advertised as grilled but must have been pan seared (or so I wished) but the pan must not have been hot enough on entry because the steak appeared to have simmered for a bit in its juices more than seared. The result was a steak cooked perfectly medium as I requested but a bit more tough and chewy than ideal. My wife ordered the exact same meal and it was consistently the same. The best part of the meal was the accompanying side, a potato and onion boulanger, or a warm potato tourine-like stacked potato and onion masterpiece. The steak also was served with an accompanying tomato paste-based sauce that was quite tasty.
The meal went fine and we were relatively pleased, despite the chewy steak, and ready to order dessert. We waited over 30 minutes for our server or anyone at the bar to return to our table. No one ever did. So, we politely went to the bar, paid, and left. This was not typical behavior seen in other countries where the diners are left to enjoy their meal and not be hounded by their servers the entire time. We were ignored, and I know because I watched as our server spent over 30 minutes talking to two young guests at the bar offering sips of this wine or that wine - giving them the fine attention that paying guests who had reservations should have been. The service to that point had been outstanding, but frankly we left very disappointed.
We probably spent $100 total for our meal, not an unreasonable amount for the experience. Just not sure that we wouldn't spend 1/4 and go to a soda in town next time.More
