7 Best Restaurants in Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Dawn to dusk, this casually chic restaurant overlooking Playa Pelada is the most scenic place to have breakfast, lunch, cocktails, or dinner, with tables spilling out of the interior onto a wide, covered terrace and onto the sand. The menu is mostly Mediterranean, ranging from Moroccan-spiced or limoncello-marinated fish of the day, to beef or fish carpaccio and brick oven–fired pizzas. At sunset, you can cozy up in a settee on the sand with a cocktail, and share a Mediterranean platter of dips, including harissa-hot hummus served with fluffy pita. Breakfast, starting at 7 am, ranges from typical Costa Rican to full English, with eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, grilled mushrooms, and tomatoes. Vegetarians can opt for toast topped with avocado and goat cheese. Some outdoor, picnic-style tables make this restaurant family-friendly during the day, while the terrace tables are more romantic at night.

Vestiges of the original Swiss-French owners linger on at this bakery and alfresco eatery, open for breakfast and lunch. In addition to hearty sandwiches, the café serves burritos, bowls, and salads. It's a good place to cool off, and perk up, with a café frappé (espresso blended with bananas and ice cream). The adjoining bakery is great for take-out beach picnics, with French-style bread and an array of pastries and tarts, including chocolate mousse. There's free Wi-Fi.

A feast for the senses, this plant-filled haven has coffee, smoothies, and food that look lovely and taste delicious. Whether you order the impeccably presented "Eggs Nest" (sous vide eggs in a nest of crispy, fried sweet potatoes) or the art-topped green matcha latte, having an enjoyable meal here is practically kismet. Don't worry about trying everything on the menu, you'll likely be back. Note that the restaurant closes early at 3 pm. 

Head to this spot for the biggest pizzas in town in a large, roofed-over garden near Playa Pelada. The house pizza is thin crust with carrots, broccoli, olives, red peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham, and pepperoni. If you like it hot, dribble on some of the house specialty: red-hot flavored oil. You can watch your pizza being dressed, or choose from a full menu of salads, pasta, grilled fish, seafood, and meat—all done Italian-style. It's cheerful and hearty; no one leaves here still hungry. In high season there's sometimes live music at dinner.

Famous for its wood-oven pizzas, this breezy, all-wood restaurant with tree-trunk pillars is set amidst trees above the hotel of the same name. Lunch is the best deal in town, with pork, chicken, or fish casados elegantly presented with patacones (plantain fritters), a mound of white rice, a ramekin of red beans, and a mixed salad with creamy vinaigrette, all for $6. Dinners focus on grilled, stewed, and sauced meats including buffalo and lamb dishes, a rarity in these parts. Desserts are not to be missed—a passion-fruit crème brûlée is crunchy on top, smooth and tart below, and comes with a spoonful of strawberry coulis. The two-chocolate mousse, and a moist chocolate moelleux (cake) will make chocolate fans happy. The wine list features affordable French wines. Service is friendly and the chefs enjoy describing what's on the menu.

Robin's is famous for homemade ice cream in an array of tempting flavors—the Mayan Chocolate is a standout—along with refreshing tropical-fruit sorbets. This casual patio café also serves breakfast all day and lunch and dinner options like overstuffed veggie quesadillas, pad thai rolls, and yummy vegan veggie burgers. Locals line up to buy the dense, fudgy brownies when they come out of the oven. Gluten-free brownies and cookies are also on offer.