Reviews for Cafe Costa Rica

02/05/2011 - Chemist
Throughout Madison there are restaurants that everyone knows. Restaurants that are popular for their cuisine as much as they are for the priciness. Then there are places like Cafe Costa Rica. Literally, a hole in the wall restaurant that is more cramped than most efficiency apts in town. The outside is lit up like a liquor store in Vegas, while the inside is smokey and covered in tiles like a bad 70s bathroom in Puerto Rico. But the charm that those things add to the unbelievable skill of the Mango Man (the cook and owner) is part of what makes this place one of the hidden treasures of Madison. The menu at CCR is made up of two things. Rum drinks and authentic South American cuisine. The menu consists of a delicious and juicy steak known as Tico steak, curry chicken (that has such a succulent flavor followed by a spicy bite that can easily be cooled by an amazing drink called a Jamaican Iced Tea) to salmon dishes and multiple nightly specials, all covered in a generous portion of cilantro. CCR offers something that no other restaurant in Madison can match, authentic cuisine from a man who's passion is cooking and offering up a taste of his home country.