Restaurante Silvestre
Costa Rican restaurant · San José ·
Contemporary Costa Rican cuisine reimagining local ingredients and traditions
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Contemporary Costa Rican cuisine reimagining local ingredients and traditions
"Local ingredients and the regional cuisines of Costa Rica are the core of the menu at chef Santiago Fernández Benedetto’s restaurant set in an old remodeled house in Barrio Amón. His caldosa, or corn chips with ceviche, features the day’s sustainable catch delicately cooked in Rangpur lime with ginger, avocado, chives, radishes, and daikon. He finishes his version of the street snack with a sardine mayo dressing. His empanadas are stuffed with ricotta cheese, chives, and egg yolks, and the Guanacaste-style arroz guacho, a risotto-like dish of rice and chayote topped with grilled chicken and shrimp." - Bill Esparza
"A fine-dining restaurant in San José offering a seven-course tasting menu with optional wine pairings, positioned as a go-to choice for a memorable, chef-driven dining experience." - Lauren Dana Ellman Lauren Dana Ellman Lauren Dana Ellman is a New York-based writer and editor who specializes in travel, lifestyle, food, and shopping content. Travel + Leisure Editorial Guidelines
"Housed in a beautifully restored 1930s Barrio Amón residence, this restaurant stages contemporary Costa Rican cuisine through elaborate tasting menus that reinterpret local ingredients with fine-dining technique." - Nicholas Gill
"A contemporary, product-driven restaurant in a remodeled Barrio Amón house that highlights Costa Rican ingredients and traditions, this venue reimagines the caldosa with refined techniques and local seafood. The chef’s iteration has used house-made corn crisps and high-quality proteins such as snook, octopus, and mussel ceviche, translating the playful, street-snack original into a composed tasting-menu bite that honors the dish’s textures while elevating its flavors." - Rafael Tonon
"Santiago Fernández Benedetto pioneers Costa Rican fine-dining with modern takes on traditional cooking, including fish baked in banana leaves, under a vast chandelier."
