Uni — fresh sea urchin — is one of those ingredients that most people only encounter at a high-end sushi restaurant, and even then it's often days removed from the ocean. In Jacó, on the Pacific coast of Costa Rica, we can do something different: source it fresh the same day and serve it in your villa that evening. When a private chef in Jacó has access to Pacific seafood this fresh, uni goes from a rare splurge to something you can have on your vacation table at www.jacobeachchef.com.
What is uni, and why does freshness matter so much?
Uni is the edible part of a sea urchin — the bright orange or golden roe found inside the shell. It has a rich, briny, oceanic flavor that's unlike anything else on the plate: creamy, delicate, and intensely savory. It's prized in Japanese cuisine as a high-end sushi topping, and it works beautifully in small plates, on toast points with butter, over fresh pasta, or served simply with a squeeze of lemon and sea salt. The problem with uni you find at most restaurants is that it degrades quickly — within a day or two of being harvested, the flavor loses its brightness and takes on a bitter, ammonia edge. When it's fresh, that doesn't happen. What you taste is pure ocean.
Sourced from the Pacific Coast of Costa Rica
Costa Rica's Pacific coast is rich in sea urchin, and working with local fishermen means we have access to uni that was in the water just hours before it reaches your villa kitchen. This is the kind of sourcing that's simply not possible at a restaurant — by the time product makes it through a distributor and onto a menu, days have passed. As your private chef in Jaco Beach, we skip that entirely. Watch the clip — this is what fresh Pacific uni actually looks like, right out of the shell.
How we serve it in your villa
Uni is incredibly versatile and we can work with it in a few ways depending on your group's preferences. Served raw on the half-shell with lemon and sea salt, it's a pure expression of the ocean — perfect as a starter or sharing plate. Over fresh pasta with butter and a touch of chili, it becomes a rich, silky sauce that coats every strand. On warm toast with crème fraîche and a few drops of hot sauce, it's an indulgent snack that disappears in seconds. If you have sushi lovers in the group, we can incorporate it into a handroll or nigiri presentation right at the villa. Let us know how you want it and we'll build the menu around it.
A once-in-a-vacation experience
Most guests who book a villa dinner in Jacó are looking for an experience they can't replicate at home. Fresh Pacific uni absolutely qualifies. It's not something you can walk into a supermarket and find — it requires a local connection, same-day sourcing, and a chef who knows how to handle it. That's what Jaco Beach Chef does on every seafood booking. Over 16 years and 400+ VIP groups served in Costa Rica, the most consistent feedback we get is: "I've never eaten seafood this fresh." Uni is the extreme end of that, and it's available to your group when you book a private chef experience at www.jacobeachchef.com.
Book a fresh seafood villa dinner in Jacó
Whether you want a full fresh-seafood tasting dinner, a single uni course to add to an existing menu, or a completely custom meal built around what's caught that day, get a free quote and we'll make it happen. We cook in Jacó, Herradura, Los Sueños, and Playa Hermosa — wherever you're staying, your private chef comes to you.