Fish Restaurant in Avenida Escazu - Product C

Located in Avenida Escazu, Product C was a huge disappointment.  I will try it several more times in the future and try to taste the range of items in the menu but for my first trip it was not what I expected. 

Clearly I didn't know what I was asking for when I ordered the Chorizo de Scallops.  I thought I was in a "Fish Restaurant" not a meat restaurant.  Lets get to the point(s).


Web Site - http://product-c.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=63&Itemid=75

Service - non attentive.  With the restaurant half full I had to wait 10 minutes for my drink.  When we asked the first waiter what was the specialty he turned around and looked through a clear glass wall at a chalk board 30 meters away, said a couple of things I didn't understand and said he would be back.  He didn't come back.  The waitress who attended us was doing ok but rattled a list of maybe 10 things as the specialty.  None of which I remember.  All we wanted was "the" specialty.  The least any waitress could have done was to have told us there were no oysters or lobsters available to save us the time of thinking about what to order without having to review and order twice.  When we changed tables to get out of the wind and cold our waters did not follow, we carried our own drinks, and no one ever asked if we wanted water again.  When I had to ask for a refill without being asked, my fiancee was totally ignored.  Lucky she didn't want another drink.

Food - no fish flavor in the two items ordered.  Pargo was bland and could have been anything.  The mash potatoes were mashed except one big chunk of un-mashed potato.  The chorizo de scallop was good but not what I wanted - I wanted something that tasted like fish not pork.  What made it worse is that I truly love scallops.

Ambiance - loud and reflective.  This restaurant is located in one of the most "trendy" places I've seen In Costa Rica.  Everything is new and fresh.  Very expensive high rise towers have been built next door, low rise trendy "loft apartments" in four levels across the street and high end stores within the Avenida complex.  When you drive in you expect these restaurants to be good.  The interior of the restaurant was clean looking but relatively small with no more than 10 to 12 tables and room at a bar for drinking and eating.  The kitchen was open and split in two sections.  One of the sections had large containers reminding me of fish tanks where I'm sure fresh fish were stored.  Unfortunately, they were empty.  The majority of the seats were outside and the typically strong and slightly colder winds made eating outside uncomfortable.  We asked for a seat inside and were lucky there were two "two tops" available where we finished the meal.  Actually, from the inside, the place reminded me of south Florida, kinda-of, Coconut Grove type of place mixed with a little South Beach.

General - big advertising for Oysters including one of only two signs mounted from the ceiling and a focus in the web site.  Unfortunately Oysters were not available.  Lobster tail was also not available.  How can a fish restaurant who specializes in these two items not have it available on a peak day for going to a restaurant.  In fact, the waitress the sold for lunch but ran out - what kind of management is this?  Parking is terrible.  The restaurant was only half full at 7:00pm but we were lucky and had found the last parking space in the building before having to park in a location 200 meters away.  By the end of dinner the parking was clearly very restricted.  If you like driving around, and around, and around for a parking space then this is a place to visit.  Just don't go when it rains.

Final Note - I can't believe this was a good night for the restaurant.  I'll try two or three more times before making my FINAL NOTE.