Nestled in San José's Los Yoses, Sikwa offers a vibrant culinary journey through Indigenous Costa Rican flavors with a modern twist, all in a charming jungle-themed space.
"Chef Pablo Bonilla has diligently studied Indigenous Costa Rican cooking to refute critics who doubt the country’s historical gastronomy is equal to that of its Latin American neighbors. At internationally acclaimed Sikwa, he uses local ingredients and provincial techniques in a warm, casual atmosphere. The menu is filled with spectacular displays of Costa Rica’s ancestral Indigenous cuisine: Several dishes are prepared with native annatto seeds, the pastel de pejibaye (peach palm) fruit is filled with pork marinated in vino de coyol and served over tamarind sauce, and grilled bone marrow topped with beef tartare comes with tortillas made with native maiz pujagua. Through grilled jumbo shrimp over arroz de maíz (porridge) — a play on shrimp and grits — and sweet corn yoltamales for dessert, Bonilla finds connection with pre-Hispanic maize cultures all the way north to the American South." - Bill Esparza
"Pablo Bonilla serves pejibaye tamales and achiote chicken with pineapple, while working closely with the Bribri people in the Talamanca mountains. Part of a foodie buzz on Calle 33, with sell-out falafels at Faqua’s and craft brews at Costa Rica Beer Factory."
"Pablo Bonilla’s restaurant Sikwa, in San José’s Los Yoses neighborhood, has led the way, strengthening relationships with fishermen and foragers. The chef has also been working closely with Indigenous communities like the Boruca and Bribrí to resurrect ancestral dishes. The operation was originally located in a small corner in a cultural center, but since 2021, Bonilla has served a seven-course tasting menu from a more formal, jungle-themed space, complete with a full bar of original cocktails utilizing ingredients like passion fruit mead and breadnut bitters. In 2024, Bonilla is opening the 30-seat Crudo Izakaya Latino next door, melding Japanese and Costa Rican flavors." - Nicholas Gill
Geetanjali Chugh
Ashwin “Ashwin” Ramdas
Ben Daniels
Gabriel Ramirez
C Connelly
Nash White
Law Mak
Kolby Goodnoe
