Eating
For a Central American city of its size, San Jose has a surprising variety of restaurants . Many of the best places are in the relatively high-income and cosmopolitan neighbourhoods of San Pedro , along Paseo Colon , and in Escazu , but wherever you choose, eating out in San Jose can set your budget back on its haunches. The 23 percent tax on restaurant food can deliver a real death-blow, so it's cheapest to eat in the centre, at the sodas and snack bars, where the tax doesn't apply. A sit-down lunch of the plato del dia at a soda will rarely set you back more than US$5, or for a quick sugar fix you could feast on churros dispensed over the counter. Healthier choices include empanadas and sandwiches to take out - combine this with a stop at one of the fruit stalls on any street corner and you've got a quick, cheap lunch. Cafes also abound: some, like Giacomin , have old-world European aspirations; others, like Spoon , are resolutely Costa Rican, with Josefinos piling in to order birthday cakes or grab a coffee . Of the major ice-cream chains Pops is the best, with particularly good fruit flavours. Working Josefinos eat their main meal between noon and 2pm, when sodas especially can get very busy. Many restaurants close at 3pm and open again for the evening. In the listings we have given a phone number only for places where you might need to reserve a table.
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