HiR Fine Dining

HiR Fine Dining reviews from people who’ve dined at this restaurant. Based on recent rating.

1. j

   jpmorganjr

   Hawaii6 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on November 27, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   I’ve waited four years to eat at HiR and it was everything I’d hoped for and more! After closely following Noam’s journey online and reading the glowing one five star review after another, I was of course anticipating something special, but this experience really blew me away. The food was not only delicious, but plate after plate was an intriguing example of the philosophy behind HiR Fine Dining which Noam shared is to ‘integrate opposites’. I love how Noam uses his food to take his diners (or as he calls them ‘clients’) on a kind of philosophical journey. My group of five left not only having enjoyed the food and experience immensely, but also thinking about our lives in new ways. Because of how ‘outside the box’ and ‘contrary to the rules’ Noam’s cooking is, our conversation was inspired about how we could bring more of that way of being into our own lives too. The idea of putting fish scales as a topping on ice cream is absolutely insane - and yet it works so well! Who does that!? Normally when my wife and I go to fine dining restaurants (and we frequent many) we drink wine but our group choose the no-wine option and let the food be our focus. I am so glad we did as it stands on its own. I also appreciate how Noam serves the dishes very quickly at first and then slows down. He has a keen attention on how his dishes impact appetite. He remarked that being both the table service and the one cooking gives him a unique perspective that allows him to see and adjust things a chef normally wouldn’t. As always with fine dining, it’s the little things that count. It also felt very warm and welcoming at HiR, as if Noam was having us for dinner at his home. (Which since he lives there, he was!) I like that we paid in advance and no requests for money were made at the end. I’m glad we included a tip though. Being a one man job, it sounds like he worked all day to prepare our dinner. Highly recommended and worth traveling to Costa Rica for! ❤️👍🏼
   

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2. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   San Francisco1 review

   2.0

   Dined on November 20, 2019

   1. Overall 2
   2. Food 3
   3. Service 2
   4. Ambience 2

   I booked HiR (actually Noam, a one man operation) a few weeks in advance after reading rave reviews that this was once in a lifetime memorable experience. It certainly was that but perhaps not in the same manner. Noam lives off the beaten path so if you are driving yourself be sure that you have the right car. Upon arrival we were greeted by Noam and the two other people we were dining with. Noam is very welcoming, however, if you are dining with only a few people and they are terrible, well, you are stuck with terrible company for two plus hours. That is completely outside of Noam’s control so just fair warning. We immediately began the 7-course meal and for me, there were some hits and misses. As expected. Was wasn’t expected was the size of the portions. Yes, this is fine dining. But the portion sizes were essentially amuse-bouche portions. And it didn’t help that Noam explained how he used to charge $75 per person but after hearing how “cheap” that was from his guests he doubled it. I was shocked. At the end of the meal, I thought, “Ok well, not the greatest experience but it’s a meal we’ll never forget so best to just move on.” And then Noam brought our bill. He charged us $25 for corkage because we brought our own champagne after he told me on the phone that we could and should bring our own booze. I was floored. With such an intimate, personal experience, it felt like a pure money grab. This is not an actual dining experience in a restaurant. You are eating on a self proclaimed “not a chef’s” porch. That left such a bad taste in my mouth I paid him $30 (he said he could give me change) just to leave as quickly as possible. Oh, and if you want to buy Noam’s wine he has $10 bottles that he’ll charge you $30 for. So you’re better off buying his wine.
   

   HiR Fine DiningResponded on November 25, 2019

   Everything you complain about is clearly written on my website: "A rustic and casual family style environment. This not a standard white tablecloth restaurant", "Noam opens his home to 12 people per night", "For wine lovers, I recommend buying bottles at Walters Fish & Cheese and pay the corkage fee. I have a few bottles of mid-range wine", and "I have no formal culinary training and never worked in a restaurant before starting HiR Fine Dining" - I refunded you the corkage
   

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3. KS

   KateS

   San Francisco1 review

   5.0

   Dined on June 2, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   This was an incredible experience! Not only do you get a unique and delicious meal made in front of you while you relax, Noam also provides excellent conversation. Take the time to appreciate both the fine dining (each dish with a story and made from local ingredients, including from Noam’s own garden), but also Noam’s life story in general. You won’t regret it!
   

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4. AL

   AnthonyL VIP

   New York City7 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on April 8, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   This was an absolutely amazing experience. In fact, it was the highlight of our trip to Costa Rica. Not only is Noam a delight, but he actually enjoys being a part of the experience. Not only did he entertain us the entire time, but his food was absolutely extraordinary. If you love fine dining but don't love the pomp that usually comes along with those stuffy restaurants, you will adore eating in the open air at HiR.
   

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5. KP

   KatieP VIP

   Denver1 review

   5.0

   Dined on April 8, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   This is a true dining experience of a life time. You MUST do this. You won't be sorry. The food was amazing the host/chef was to die for. I will tell everyone I know to travel to CR just for this.
   

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6. BS

   BobS VIP

   St. Louis16 reviews

   5.0

   Dined on February 27, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Excellent tasting menu under the stars. Noam wowed us with his ingenuity and hospitality. Great use of indigenous ingredient, a fantastic meal all in all!
   

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7. KK

   KellyK

   Minneapolis1 review

   5.0

   Dined on February 25, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Noam is so welcoming and warm! His food is fantastic. We were in awe of him. He is going to blow up. This is such a well kept secret and it won't be for long. Our experience was truly magical and delicious.
   

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8. SF

   ShawnF

   San Francisco1 review

   5.0

   Dined on February 15, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   Incredible.....I would love to describe the experience, but don’t want to give anything away. Expect the unexpected....Prepare for adventure....We would travel back to Costa Rica just to have dinner with Noam.
   

   1 person found this helpful

9. OT

   OpenTable Diner

   Denver1 review

   5.0

   Dined on January 23, 2019

   1. Overall 5
   2. Food 5
   3. Service 5
   4. Ambience 5

   What an exceptional meal in a unique setting. Noam is clearly gifted. Everyone in our group of four was beyond satisfied. I would be considered a foodie, and there were ingredients I’d never heard of before, like crispy fish scales and shredded avocado pit. Do yourself a favor and go.
   

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10. K

    Karina

    Costa Rica1 review

    3.0

    Dined on January 1, 2019

    1. Overall 3
    2. Food 4
    3. Service 5
    4. Ambience 4

    It took me a few months to put our opinion on but here it goes finally. If you are looking for a different dining experience, in the woods and following the cooking process with a great explanation of each plate as well as getting to know a little your host during the evening and his house, this is a great experience. In our case, maybe because our expectations were high (it was new year's eve and we wanted it to be perfect), but I would say it disappointed us a little. The food was great even if Noam is not a professional cooker, the dishes were interesting and tasty (but not compared to a Michelin star restaurant as some said on their reviews). Noam and Nadia were very kind and welcoming as well. However, we felt cheated with the wine. We got the white one and the red one to share with another couple, in our opinion none of both worth it at all and the cost of each bottle was around 60$ for the red and around 35-40$ for the white. So the next day, we decided to check the real cost of the wine and saw that it cost in the store was less than 10$. Of course in any restaurant, the cost may be around 30-50% higher than in the store and it is normal, but an 80% it's too much in our opinion. Also he didn't have any other drinks like beer for example. We are food lovers and wine lovers. Maybe we got used to the Spanish good wines (quality and price) and this is something more common in the US or Central America, but as said we felt cheated because of this. So my recommendation, bring your own wine. We didn't do it because we understood from Noam that he also had a wine menu of medium level (he said) and if we wanted something really good we could bring ours. Anyway, without this incident we could value it as a good experience but little expensive for the value.
    

    HiR Fine DiningResponded on November 21, 2019

    My wine provider, Premier Wine & Food Company, is the sole supplier of this wine in Costa Rica The price of the bottle I served you cost less than $10 in the USA Because of taxes, transport, storage, and a smaller market, the retail price here is $32.27 USD I pay $19.94 because I get restaurant discount Industry standard on wine is 2-3x markup. You can confirm this with a Google search. Your statements are very misleading. I operate my business with the utmost transparency.
    

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