Editor’s note: The email address to contact Luis at the end of the article had a typo and has been corrected.
For 15 years, customers drove from Grand Junction, Durango and other corners of southwest Colorado for Luis Bolaños’ Costa Rican-style ceviche.
His signature chilled shrimp and mahi- mahi dish marinated in lime juice and mixed with a confetti of minced vegetables became an unlikely draw to the San Juan Mountains.
Some customers told Bolaños the views surrounding the Land & Ocean Costa Rican restaurant in Ridgway were simply a bonus. They’d made the trip for his fresh fish specialty.
But earlier this month, Ridgway regulars and others from far-flung places had to say goodbye to the Costa Rican native and his celebrated ceviche when Bolaños closed the restaurant at 185 Sherman St., Unit 101. Business was never bad — he’s just ready to retire and return home. He and his family are moving from Ridgway back to La Fortuna, Costa Rica, this summer.
Like everything on his playful neon whiteboard menu, Bolaños made his ceviche from scratch every single day.
Bolaños describes Costa Rican cuisine plainly: “It’s very simple. It’s everything natural.”
He said his mother never cooked anything from a can while he was growing up. And he was dedicated to doing the same with his menu, a collection of recipes he learned from her alongside his personal take on ceviche and guacamole.
When it came to his ingredients, Bolaños abstained from produce or fish from distributors, preferring to drive to Montrose or even as far as Grand Junction to handpick limes, avocados and fish filets.
That’s just one example of how he applied the attention to detail he adopted during his longtime career as a mechanic in his restaurant. Bolanos never owned a restaurant prior to opening the Ridgway spot in 2010.
At the time he was living in Telluride with his wife, Michele Kravat, whom he met on the beach in Costa Rica about a decade earlier. The two married within a few months and moved to Telluride. Bolanos worked a mix of jobs in the area before he was laid off during the recession. Once unemployed, he thought of opening his own restaurant, reflecting on years of seeing his ceviche recipe vanish in seconds at parties with his wife.
“It’s like an addiction, it’s very crazy,” he said of the dish.
He ran with his plan to open a restaurant. And ever since, the dish that inspired it all continues to rouse the same reaction: obsession. He’d always recommend new customers start with ceviche, guacamole and a round of drinks. They’d be so preoccupied with those dishes — especially the ceviche — they wouldn’t even realize it took him about 20 minutes to make their fish tacos from scratch, he said, laughing. During the summer season he’d prepare about 16 pounds of fish per day. And in a given week he’d use 200 to 300 limes.
On top of the crown jewel ceviche, customers would also flock to the restaurant for beachy mixed drinks, fish tacos and burritos.
Despite closing his restaurant and having no intention of opening another in Costa Rica, Bolanos won’t give up his secret, signature ceviche recipe. That’s because he hopes his loyal customer base and others will visit him in Costa Rica, where he plans to offer vacation packages including serving tourists as their private chef. He’s still working out the details of that venture, but said anyone can contact him with questions at luisbob62cr@gmail.es.
