Issue #13: Culinary Crossroads: Casa Victoria opens its doors

From Global Flavors to Local Pride: A Gastronomic Journey into the Heart of the Community

If you like me and lived in a major metropolis before coming here, the following is a familiar conversation:

- Where should we go out to eat tonight?
- How about that new Indian place?
- Or may be Japanese? The Omekase bar down the street just got a Michelin star.
- Let’s just do Italian, I’m craving good pasta…

When we escaped that world to come here, we left behind both the good and the bad. No matter how much we try to adjust to our current reality and tell ourselves a new story of community, of self-sufficiency, of adjusting our habits and diets to the foods that are available here and integrating into the new culture, part of us still yearns for that old world convenience when it comes to food. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good Casado as much as anyone, even when its overly salted as seems to be the norm here, but once in a blue moon on those special days that end with “y”, wouldn’t it be nice to have an option of going to a restaurant where the chef has a slightly more refined palette and offers something unique and flavorful? A place that when in-laws come from their fancy cities and you take them out, instead of trying to make arguments of why you chose to leave the comfy life behind and come here to be in this sweaty place with bad roads, a beach almost an hour away and no coffee shops, the conversation turns to “an amazing Pad Thai, that rivals the best that New York has to offer”…

Until this week, the “usual suspects” were Poza Blanca, The Pad@Buen Camino, Mae Culpa, Mansoon, Shanti, Aeromar, Almendra and a host of local Sodas. For the extra special meal you’re either going to Jaco’s Jerah for an amazing Thai, or to Santa Ana/Escazu. Now however San Mateo has something to be truly proud of: Casa Victoria, which opened its doors this past week.

Started by a talented local Chef duo Fernando Vargas Carranza and Luis Jiménez Molina, this was a project almost 3 years in the making from fund-raising to finding appropriate spot to getting a permit, a true journey. Feeling like Gallo Pinto, Casado, Arroz con Camorones? You’ll find none of these items on the menu, instead it is an international creation with focus on high quality ingredients, prepared with utmost attention to detail, served on a beautiful platter, complete with golden Casa Victoria branded utensils.

Both Fernando and Luis have university degrees in culinary arts, but beyond that they come from a long lineage of chefs and were very connected to the kitchen since they were little. Their grandmothers were the official cooks at the community events as were their mothers and now they take the lead. While they have the modern techniques that they learned in university, the cuisine is signature, directly linked to their ancestors. I had an opportunity to chat with Fernando about the restaurant:

How did you come up with the name Casa Victoria?

The house is 50 years old and we decided to preserve it as the restaurant's façade due to its architectural history. The decoration is inspired by Victorian and vintage culture. That's why the name "victory" In our culture: house, home, are an important family base. Casa Victoria is the home of the community!

Why open a restaurant here in San Mateo instead of Atenas or some more popular area with more tourism?

The local market has a lot of potential, it is located in a broad urban-rural development, we are from San Mateo, we love our community, we want to contribute gastronomic culture to our canton.

How do you think about the locals and how do you involve them in the restaurant? How do you think they will benefit?

We want to grow hand in hand with local producers, Casa Victoria is more than a restaurant, we are in the process of opening our store (convenience store) in which artisans, farmers, etc., will be able to exhibit their products and promote their products.

When thinking about the menu, what was most important to you?

In each dish there is a story, an experience, a lesson. Connection acquired on our travels, where we embrace the culture of other countries. Gastronomically speaking, we bring new cultural experiences to locals and visitors.

You mentioned that a lot of the restaurant's furniture was recycled, talk more about that, what made you think?

We believe in the process of restoration and transformation, over time deterioration is inevitable. be it human, matter, geography. We decided to restore each piece acquired and tell its story, windows that came from a vineyard in Spain to furniture dating back to 1965. And the motivation or driving force behind all that work was the desire to create a unique space from its service, decoration, vision, gastronomy to the need and monetary lack of not having a total economic flow to finish the work.

The whole family enjoyed our first lunch at Casa Victoria and are looking forward to coming back here many times in future. I can see Casa Victoria becoming one of central meeting points for the Machuca Valley community and can’t wait to see what Fernando and Luis come up with.

Casa Victoria is located in the center of San Mateo, here:
https://maps.app.goo.gl/DMqFTwbYFyUAmr7E8

They are currently open Thursday to Saturday 11am til 8pm and Sunday 11am til 4pm. They serve all kinds of food, catering to both meat and non-meat eaters alike.

Casa Victoria founders Fernando Vargas Carranza and Luis Jimenez Molina