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La Dolce San Jose is one of those restaurants that just feel good. It is located on the main square near the church in downtown San Jose. The building was, at one time, a house and now over a hundred years later still has some of that character showing through with its wood beamed high ceilings and exposed brick walls. The main bar area has six or seven tables which look out onto the square with the rest of the seating on the back patio. The back patio is great for groups as the tables can be pulled together.
La Dolce is not one of those fancy-smancy Italian restaurants that require attitude and intimate knowledge of truffle types. Instead La Dolce offers up appetizers, soups, salads, wood oven pizzas, pasta, with a few meats and fishes to balance out the choices.
For appetizers we had the Caesar Salad ($7), crisp whole leaves of romaine, shaved Parmesan, capers and croutons, with a zesty dressing. You really need to order the Funghi Trifolati ($8), sautéed mushrooms, garlic, red pepper and white wine when you go. All the thin crust pizzas are baked in a wood-fired oven, which is in the back patio area. I regularly order their pizzas to go. My two favorites are the Gregorio ($12) - chicken, mushrooms, arugula, pine nuts and the Quatro Stagioni ($12) - cooked ham, mushrooms, olives and anchovies. There are at least seventeen other pizzas to try.
The pastas at La Dolce are where the menu starts to hum. A couple of must-haves would be Fettuccine Gorgonzola e Funghi ($12) - gorgonzola, mushrooms, parmesan and cream or Spaghetti alla Puntanesca ($11) - tomato sauce with mushrooms, olives and capers. What neither of those gets you dancing? Now worries there are 16 other pastas and sauces to choose from. The wine list is not extensive by any means but you’ll find something you like. If not, a cold, cold Pacifico beer is always a good option.
There are dessert choices but you’ll need to go there to find out what they are, as I only want to recommend one dessert…Tiramisu ($5.50) - lady fingers, mascarpone cheese, amaretto and coffee all layered into a heap of mind blowing wow-why-have-I-never-had-this-before revelation. It’s religion as a dessert. Eat up!
Hidalgo and Zaragoza, Plaza Antonio Mijares, on the main plaza downtown, San Jose del Cabo. Open Tuesday through Sunday from 1 pm to 11 pm. MasterCard, and Visa accepted. Appetizers from $5 U.S. with entrées from $9 to $22 U.S. Small parking lot and street parking. Seating for 24 inside and 42 on the patio. Groups welcome. For reservations call (624) 142-6621 or (624) 142-6622.––Bradley Fraser.
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