Vishnu Restaurant

This is one of my favorite restaurants in San José. Why?  Well, even though I'm not a vegetarian, the food is very good, it's healthy, and accessible. You can go for breakfast, lunch, dinner or just go in the afternoon for coffee or ice cream. I love the fruit salad with ice cream, the ice cream is a combination of regular milk with soy milk, and even though there are only two flavors, strawberry and vanilla, they are delicious!

The place has  a very relax atmosphere and a friendly layout that makes people feel comfortable. Most of the dishes come with two small recipients with salsa to accompany the food, if the dish does not have it, you can ask for them and if you like spicy, they also have their own spicy salsa, only given if requested. The place is not fancy but it is clean and pleasant to the eye and it can be a little expensive depending on what you order.

My suggestion is to go the first time for lunch, and order the "Plato del Día", the Day's Special, and make sure that you are hungry enough because you'll get plenty of food. The "Plato del Día" includes an entree, the main course and a small dessert plus a drink, it has a cost of 3550 colones which is around $7.

There is a great variety of choices on the menu,and  if you want to check on the  "Plato del Dia" available for the day, you can see it at their Facebook page Here.

On my last visit, I decided to try the "Vigorón" which is a Nicaraguan dish that consists of salad with fried pork and  cassava. The vegetarian version uses fried cheese dices instead of the fried pork.

Vegetarian Vigorón

Vishnu is one of those restaurants that I go when I want to catch up with a friend, have lunch after a morning running errands or to buy a quick snack to go. My all time favorite is the "Copa de Helados" which i basically a plastic cup with ice cream, and granola on the top, it has a cost of $1100 ($2).

At the Cashier bar, you can buy granola, sweet dried bananas, honey, vegetarian pastry and many other vegetarian products.  There are 4  restaurants in downtown San José, the biggest one is the one located behind the Perimercados in the Avenida Central (Central Avenue) which is a well-known supermarket in Chepe.  This will the the proper address :

Restaurante Vishnu Himalayas. 

AV. 1 Calle 1 y 3 Frente al Edificio Cristal.
2256-60-63 / 2222-25-49

These will be the addresses for the three other in downtown San Jose and in Heredia as well:

Restaurante Vishnu Montaña: 2223-99-76 / 2256-57-86
AV. 3 Calle 0y1 Costado de la Iglesia del Carmen.

Restaurante Vishnu Valle Verde: 2223-44-34 / 2222-57-85
AV. 6 y 8 Calle 0 Frente al antiguo Cine Metropolitan.

Vishnu Natural: 2223-30-95
AV. 4 y 6 Calle 1 Costado Banco Popular.

Vishnu Mango Verde: 2237-25-26 / 2560-02-36
Heredia, De la entrada principal de la Universidad Nacional 100 Oeste y 75 al Sur.

El Sótano de Barrio Amón

Finally, I got my fingers to the keyboard to writte a little about this place. El Sótano (The Basement) is a new underground bar that provides a space for vinyl music lovers  and the possibility for young artists to make their proposals. My first visit was to hear Dinamita and her band which is a fusion of hiphop and jazz. I've heard her before and I knew  I liked her lyric and presence on stage; she's a strong woman with lots of character and a fast, spicy tongue. So, hearing her fusing hip hop style music with jazz was something I had to hear.

As I walk down the four blocks at Calle 3 which is the street that goes north exactly from the corner where supermaket Automercado is, I'm thinking how strange it is for a woman to be walking alone at night at downtown San José; however, I'm not afraid at all, I'm actually excited since I get to see and enjoy my capital  as I know many people would not even dare. I'm actually expecting to see a least one transvestite since I know  this is the area where they usually are. When I get to the third block, there are no transvestites and the only people that were also walking the same direction as me get into this lesbian bar called Castilla which is on the opposite site of where I'm walking so it is only me an half a block more to walk. There are also the taxi cap drivers who cannot miss the horn as they see me. So, as they do this, I wonder, do I look like a crazy girl who's walking alone Barrio Amón or may be as a sexual worker that is looking for its next client, I think I was dressed more like the crazy girl walking alone, loose aquamarine blouse, black pants and black boots. Definetely  a street walker.

When this street walker finally gets to the corner of the fourth block what is in front of me is the bar VIPS which is known as a brothel so I turn left and 3 meters later there's my friend and her boyfriend at El Sotano's entrance. The place is a beautiful white house right on the corner that has two entrances. One that leads to the main floor of the house and it's accessed from the north side of the house and the basement which is the entrance right around the corner. The basement  is where the bar is and where the vinyl records are played. It  has also a small stage for instruments when there is jamming. This area gets crowded very quickly so it's a good idea to get early if you want to get a seat.Upstairs is for events that need to hold more people and it also has a room with tables if you wish to grab a bite. Haven't eaten there yet but the menu looked provoking, so definitely next time. 

What kind of music can you hear? Jazz, Blues, Rock, Punk, Reggae, Neo Soul, Alternativo, National, Hip Hop in  vinyl or live.  

I loved the placed, it is definitely for people who enjoy  music and the vibe of a crowd that shares the same passion. It is also a promising place that I looks to be defined by the same artists that want to show their art. Whether it is fusioned rhythms,  theather plays or a dance show, we''ll see what comes next...