THE COLDEST BEER IN JACO BEACH, LOS FAROLES BAR
Aug 22 '01 (Updated May 09 '05)
The Bottom Line It also has the best steaks in town and usually a wicked game of pool.
It was my last day in Costa Rica, and while part of me was looking forward to getting home, mostly I was dreading leaving this charming little country. I was therefore more than a little excited when the front desk at my hotel advised me that my flight had been delayed for at least two hours. It seems there was a severe snow storm in the North Eastern US and Eastern Canada, and flights couldn't get out.
There was also the possibility of further delays, and even a chance we might have to spend another night in Jaco or the capital San Jose. Some choice, another dinner in a beach front restaurant, or struggling to get a taxi at a blizzard swept airport. I knew which one I was hoping for.
I told the hotel rep that if he needed me, I'd be across the street at a local bar, checked my bags with the porter, and strolled across the street to Los Faroles to spend the last of my Colones. I figured that this was a better place to kill a couple of hours wait than either the hotel's bar or worse yet pacing in the lobby, like several others were doing.
I'd discovered this great little bar the night before. It's on the main drag of Jaco, at the north end of town. It's literally across the street form the Best Western Hotel, where I'd spent the last couple of nights. I'd gone in the night before to catch a local singer, a guy named "Benjamin", an expat from Arkansas whom I'd seen the night before at another bar in Jaco. His style of laid back music seemed appropriate for what I thought was going to be my last night in the country.
What I found, in addition to an excellent singer, was a great little bar which I wish I'd found earlier in my stay. It was perfect, and not just because it seemed to sell the coldest and cheapest beer in all of Jaco, and probably Cost Rica. It was nice little place, furnished in a lot of dark wood, and open to the evening breeze coming off the Pacific, a block away. This was supplemented by several large ceiling fans.
I preferred this to an ice cold air conditioned place, like a couple I'd visited earlier in the week. My only complaint, were the fans are so powerful, that it was impossible to light a match while sitting under them. It took me a couple of attempts before I figured out why I couldn't get my cigar going, and then had to step outside to get it lit.
When I went back the next afternoon, I had a chance to chat with the owner operator. He'd been involved in pool game the night before, so I'd only had a chance to have a few words. Besides whenever he took a break, Benjamin was over at the bar chatting with me. I guess he must have said something to the owner, after I left. The next day he was very willing to chat with a travel writer from Canada.
Having a couple of hours to kill, I got his life story. It's probably similar to a lot of expats in Jaco, and throughout the rest of Costa Rica. He's an ex navy type, who fell in love with Central America while working here. Later he moved down here and fell in love with a Tica, who is now his wife. He also opened a diving business which he still runs.
Later on he ignored some advice from another expat, about never opening a bar or restaurant. He bought Los Faroles, which he calls a "work in progress." There's a lot of work still to be done to get it the way he wants it to be.
One thing he wants to do is to double the length of the bar. That would be a nice start I think, as it is a little short now. While it can be a bit cozy, when all of the stools are occupied, it could be a bit crowded especially considering a two of the nightly regulars are a couple of large dogs who love to nap under the bar stools. After a night of tipping back bottles of ice cold Pilsen, they could be a hazard to someone leaving the bar. Trust me I speak from experience on this one.
The location is good though. Literally the first bar in town as you drive in from the highway. There seem to be a good core of regulars, expats who stroll in to gossip and hear the news from "home" wherever that may be. There appear to be a fair number of Ticos frequenting the place too. I guess the quiet laid back atmosphere appeals to them more than the high intensity tourist places further down the strip, as do the more than reasonable prices.
The food is good too, and as reasonably priced as the beer. I can personally vouch for the steaks. A lot of places in the Caribbean and Central America it seems "steak" is an adage for a thin piece of what appears to be old boot leather. Not here though, they're thick, pink and juicy. The perfect match for a bottle of beer so cold there's drops running down the side.
For now though he seems content to slowly run and expand his business and enjoy the good life that Costa Rica has to offer. Hey that's why he moved here in the first place. When my flight finally came in and I had to pry myself off of the bar stool to catch the shuttle back over the mountains to the airport I was more than a little bit envious.
Los Faroles Restaurante Y Pizzeria 100 m Norte del Hotel Jaco Beach, Jaco Costa Rica
Tel: 643-3167
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Member: James Smith
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