Travel Reference
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Philadelphia transplant and foodie Josh Meyers confirms Luigi's realization of his
goal, “They have great bread. The meats and cheeses are very fresh. All the sauces are a
big hit. My all-time favorite is the Cheese Ravioli with Bolognese sauce.”
Lorraine Champaigne from the Si Como No Hotel says, “It's one of my faves for a
great lunchtime pasta dish and a glass of wine.”
Scott Cutter, co-owner of 2Costa Rica Real Estate says, “I like going there because my
kids love the Spaghetti Bolognese. Gigi loves kids. You can see it in his face when we walk
through the door. The food is all cooked to order. It's a small and charming place with a lot
of personality and character that are a reflection of Gigi.”
Food is clearly a passion for Luigi, and it is this passion that makes the food at
L'Angolosoauthentic.“OurrecipesareoriginallyfromItaly;IworkwiththeonesIknow,”
he says. “But some are modified for our customers.” It turns out that what most people ex-
pect in Italian food is a bit different from real Italian cuisine. Luigi is well aware of that
and adjusts his offerings to cater to his clientele. “If you serve original Italian food to the
folks here, they're not going to like it, at least a lot of people won't,” he explains. “People
here love white sauce; we Italians rarely use it with pasta. If you make pasta without sauce
though, it's going to be tasteless, so a few modifications are necessary. But the recipes are
original; just like they use them in Italy, we use them here.”
What they do offer is something like a deli, alongside a variety of authentic and pop-
ular Italian dishes. “We offer Italian cheeses and sausages,” he says. “People come in and
take those home. We also make fresh pasta.” The main focus though is the restaurant side
of the business. “People come here and sit down, or take the food home,” Luigi explains.
“We serve everything as far as pasta goes; we have a wide selection. We have Italian sand-
wiches, salads, entrees, appetizers.” Most of the pastas are produced fresh on site in order
to give customers an authentic experience. “The lasagna that we make is made with fresh
pasta. The prosciutto hanging there in the back is produced by us. We also do a couple
of sausages ourselves, Italian chorizos and pancetta.” What Luigi can't produce himself is
imported directly from Italy, right down to the produce, like tomatoes. “They're 100% ori-
ginal,” Luigi tells us with pride.
L'Angolo has been a success for Luigi, and not just as a restaurant. Nine years ago
he met Marianela, his wife, while working there, and they now have two young children.
When he mentions his children, his face lights up like a flash of sunlight in a mirror, “Mari-
anela used to work at Escalofrio,” Luigi says gesturing across the street. “So she also has
experience with Italian food.” Marianela is a Quepos local and juggles time at the restaur-
ant with being a mom.
Like his family, the restaurant has grown over the last ten years since Luigi took over,
and he feels there is still plenty of room to expand. “When I got here, the place was very
small and had only three little tables,” he says. “I had the opportunity to make it bigger, so
