Rayuela, Check!

From the minute you walk into Rayuela, you are overcome with this feeling of knowing that you are about to have a great experience. The outside of the restaurant is unassuming, and I realized how many times I have walked or driven past this place and not even noticed it. But once I stepped inside, I felt transformed into a magical place, kinda like Disney land for me with all the food and drink options like the different rides I could go on. I was excited. I always love it when restaurants bring a little bit of outside in, and the tree in the middle of the first floor, going up to the second, along with the little lights and candles, gave the place a feeling of coziness.

The service was outstanding. Our waiter in particular was not only attentive, but knew his job. We asked a lot of questions, about the food, the menu, the executive chef. He answered all without missing a beat. I have to admit, I truly believe that all front of house staff should be able to inform customers of the chefs intention and vision of a restaurant, but unfortunately not everyone can. When we asked about the background of the chef, our waiter was very knowledgeable. He also informed us that the idea behind Rayuela is that it is designed to serve food from Spanish speaking places around the world, with an Asian flair. This was evident from the food to the cocktails and even the beer and wine. We were particularly excited to see Imperial beer on the menu! This is the official beer of Costa Rica, and it had been a while since I tasted the sweetness of it. I was also excited for the Picso Sour I had to start off the evening. There was a Peruvian restaurant uptown in my old neighborhood where I had one for the first time, and since then it has become one of my favorite drinks.

The menu was fantastic. I had high expectations because my Chefs at school were always talking about how much they love this place. We are definitely looking forward to going back because there were so many great things on the menu, that we were not able to try everything we wanted. Which is really EVERYTHING. They do have a 5 course tasting menu, which is the chefs choice, but we had specific dishes in mind for that night. In a future visit we will definitely try the tasting.

Course 1

Tuna Rellena-Shrimp, crab, and avocado wrapped in sliced tuna served with cucumbers in a soy vinaigrette



Carica Tejada - Chilean papaya stuffed with duck confit, spinach in a pedro ximenez duck sauce



Course 2

Carne a la Parrilla - Grilled beef tenderloin with oven roasted potatoes, mushrooms, diced spanish onions, pork belly and cabrales fondue



Paella de Coco - Valencia rice infused with lemongrass, coconut milk and ginger, served with shrimp, calamari, scallops, octopus, manila clams and peas. Served with head-on shrimp and ginger oil



Dessert

Pear tres Leches - Traditional sponge cake with spiced white chocolate mousse and poached pear