Manuel Antonio and the Central Pacific Coast Restaurants

You'll find the liveliest dining mix in the country outside San José here, especially in Manuel Antonio. The crowd of international visitors has brought about a crowd of international cuisines ranging from Japanese to Italian, but, as you'd expect in a coastal region, seafood still reigns here. For traditional Costa Rican cuisine, your best bet is a roadside soda where locals gather for their daily casado (rice, beans, plantains, and an entrée of chicken, beef, or fish).

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  • 1. Amancio's Pizza Pasta and Drinks

    $$

    Taste the passion that the chef and owner has for the simple things in life: fresh ingredients, made-from-scratch bread and pasta, and sauces that simmer all day. Grab some calzones to take to the beach, or dine in on the Italian plate, an overflowing platter of house-cured salami and other meats, along with olives and cheeses straight from Italy.

    Centro Comercial El Jardín, Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
    2643–2373

    Known For

    • Pizza
    • Chicken parmigiana
    • Lobster fettuccine

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
  • 2. Emilio’s Café

    $$ | Coffee

    Just inside the doors of this popular café you'll find sweeping views, organic cuisine, and a chic vibe that sets the stage for all kinds of good eats (and drinks). Breakfast offerings include eggs Benedict, waffles, or delectable French toast, while sesame-crusted tuna, falafel pita, or one of the vegetable sandwiches served with homemade pesto or salsa picante are available for lunch or dinner. If you're looking for a sweet treat, try the passion fruit pie or peanut butter cake with fresh fruit juice, frozen mint lemonade, or a frothy cappuccino. Vegetarians and gluten-free eaters have plenty to choose from, as does anyone obsessed with chocolate. Polished concrete floors, corrugated tin walls, and glass balconies give this place a more refined feel than their original building just next door. They often host live-music events on weekends during high season.

    Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    8655–5965

    Known For

    • A wide range of delectable homemade desserts
    • A Mediterranean spin on classics like ceviche and poke
    • Excellent coffee

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Tues.
  • 3. La Luna

    $$$$

    It’s hard to know what’s more impressive—the view or the cuisine at this restaurant without walls, where the sun melts into the Pacific and La Luna (the moon) takes center stage. Innovative starters range from Gorgonzola-and-tomato tarts to honey-garlic calamari. For something tender and moist, try the Parmesan chicken, the plantain-coconut mahimahi, or the ginger-and-panko-crusted tuna. Portions tend to be on the small side, but the service is outstanding.

    Km 2.7 Carretera Quepos, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    2777–9797

    Known For

    • Fine-dining tasting menu with wine pairing
    • Ginger-and-panko-crusted tuna
    • Happy hour with tapas and cocktails
  • 4. Cafe Agua Azul

    $$$

    Follow your nose to this simple second-floor room offering breathtaking views by day and a deliciously inventive selection of seafood by night. The lunch menu is strong on salads, burgers, and sandwiches, but the dinner options include some of the best entrées in town, like seared tuna over a tequila-and-lime cucumber salad and calamari sautéed with capers and olives. To sweeten the deal, try the coconut bread pudding.

    Main road, above Villas del Parque office, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    2777–5280

    Known For

    • Blackened fish sandwich
    • Seafood pasta with a Parmesan cream tomato sauce
    • Nightly seafood specials

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Oct.
  • 5. El Hicaco

    $$$

    It’s the setting that will lure you, but the food that will keep you on repeat at this seafood restaurant just steps from the sand. Bamboo, wood, and rattan decor will make you want to throw on a Tommy Bahama shirt and order a mai tai. Stars of the menu include grilled lobster, seafood curry, and jumbo shrimp in a creamy garlic sauce. The sound of crashing waves blends with chill-out music, setting the scene as one of the more upscale, and oldest, restaurants in Jacó.

    Calle Hicaco, Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
    2643–3226

    Known For

    • Lobster dishes
    • Tuna with crunchy plantain
    • Sunset views
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  • 6. El Lagarto

    $$$$

    Meat lovers can get their fix at this local grill, where sizzling cuts are seared on a wood-fire grill and served on chopping blocks. The bar serves powerful margaritas and daiquiris, but it’s the grass-fed beef from neighboring La Fortuna that you’ll want to try. Other specialties include whole red snapper, pork ribs, or lamb (with 24-hour notice). All mains include a baked potato, tomato, and grilled zucchini. Vegetarians can opt for the portobello mushrooms smothered in garlic and cheese, served in a cast-iron skillet. Take a moment to appreciate the charming floors, inlaid with tree stumps, and the tabletops, made from driftwood.

    Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    2777–6932

    Known For

    • Killer sunset views
    • Grass-fed beef served with baked potato
    • Grilled seafood

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch
  • 7. El Patio de Café Milagro

    $$$ | Coffee

    This cozy café is the only place in town that serves its own fresh-roasted coffee, with an eclectic menu serving inventive dishes like chilled avocado soup, mango chayote salad, roasted pork with sautéed papaya, and dorado with Caribbean salsa. Top sellers include jerk chicken, fish tacos, and the fish of the day with passion fruit sauce. The breakfast burritos, baked goods, and variety of sandwiches make this a top breakfast and lunch spot. Tables in the front dining room overlook the road, but there's also seating in the back garden. They have craft beers on tap, and there's live music Monday through Saturday from 7 pm to 9 pm. The attached store and their small coffee roaster in Quepos sell bags of their award-winning coffee to take home.

    Main road to park, across from Los Altos, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    2777–2272

    Known For

    • Fresh roasted coffee
    • Live music (usually acoustic) every night 7–10
    • Kombucha and craft beer on tap
  • 8. Graffiti Restro Cafe and Wine Bar

    $$

    The gritty-gourmet concept of this upscale Jacó hot spot plays with the senses with a menu that features fresh, locally grown ingredients. Check the blackboard for specials—whatever has inspired the chef that day—and wash it down with a signature lemongrass martini. Save room for extraordinary desserts like chocolate cheesecake or peanut-butter-and-banana flambé.

    Jacó Walk Open Air Shopping Plaza, Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
    2643–1708

    Known For

    • Cacao-and-coffee-rubbed beef tenderloin
    • Tuna tower
    • Happy hour 4–5 with $4 drinks and tapas

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch
  • 9. Green Room

    $$

    Bordered by a white picket fence, this charming art café serves meals prepared with organic ingredients delivered daily by local farmers. The ever-changing chalkboard menu usually features home-ground burgers with fresh-baked buns or seared ahi on buckwheat noodles with roasted vegetables. Breakfasts are hearty, ranging from banana pancakes to eggs Florentine. Salads are topped with fresh strawberries, and cocktails are made with natural fruit juice—try the lemon basil margarita.

    Corner of Avda. Pastor Díaz and C. Cocal, Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
    2643–4425

    Known For

    • Barbecue ribs
    • Live entertainment every night
    • Chipotle basil margarita
  • 10. Marlin Restaurant

    $$$

    The outdoor tables are pretty much always full, owing to a location on Manuel Antonio's busiest corner, across the street from the beach near the national park entrance. This is a convenient place to grab breakfast after an early-morning hike—maybe banana pancakes or a típico, with eggs and gallo pinto (black beans and rice). The lunch and dinner menu ranges from the ubiquitous arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) to tenderloin with french fries, and jumbo shrimp in garlic and lemon butter. The fresh mahimahi and tuna are always a good bet. Daily happy hour is 4:30–6:30, featuring two-for-one cocktails.

    Main road, south of hill, on corner across from bus stop and beach, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    2777–1134

    Known For

    • Casado (typical Costa Rican food)
    • Fresh fish
    • Margaritas with a beach view
  • 11. Mirador Restaurant

    $$$$

    White tablecloths, glass walls, and yellow-and-blue-checkered curtains contribute to the sophisticated but not overly stuffy atmosphere of this hotel dining room on the top terrace at Hotel Villa Caletas. Appetizers range from the traditional escargots to a shrimp-and-lobster bisque, and entrées include beef tenderloin with chimichurri, jumbo shrimp sautéed with white wine and passion fruit, and roasted duck with truffle oil. Expensive prix-fixe meals on Friday and Saturday include your choice of appetizer, main dish, and dessert. A covered terrace below the restaurant is popular for sunset viewing over a cocktail and offers a seafood-focused menu that is much less expensive than choices in the main restaurant. During low season, the restaurant is only open on weekends, so be sure to call ahead. 

    off coastal hwy., 3 km (2 miles) south of Punta Leona, Tárcoles, Puntarenas, 61102, Costa Rica
    2630–3000

    Known For

    • Extensive wine list
    • Creamy risotto
    • Stunning sunset views

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch, During low season, open weekends only.
  • 12. Ohana Sushi Tapas Bar

    $$

    Don't worry about getting dressed up for this unfussy sushi fusion restaurant, built from a colorful shipping container, found driftwood, and recycled pallets. The food is made with as much innovation, creativity, and care, blending flavors perfectly in popular sushi, salads, and Asian-fusion meat dishes.

    Calle El Hicaco, Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
    2643–2226

    Known For

    • Consistently fresh, delicious sushi
    • Yaki sticks (grilled skewers with tenderloin, fish, seafood, or chicken)
    • Vegan and gluten-free options

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Thurs.
  • 13. PuddleFish Brewery

    $$

    This brewery tasting room serves tasty American-style pub grub. Sit in the modern outdoor area under the shade, or belly up to the bar inside and try a beer flight to go along with your burger or sandwich.

    South end of Playa Jacó at the entrance of Calle Madrigal, Jacó, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
    4703–6301

    Known For

    • Flavorful craft beers
    • Tuna steak sandwich
    • Sunday brunch with bottomless mimosas
  • 14. Restaurante El Pelícano

    $$$

    It may not look like much at first glance, but this open-air restaurant across the street from the beach serves some dishes you'd be hard-pressed to find in other casual beach-town places. Request one of the outdoor tables under the bamboo dome and dine on dishes like fish croquettes in a lemon sauce, grilled tuna in mango sauce, and clams au gratin. Sea bass in a heart-of-palm sauce, lobster, and tenderloin are a few of the main dishes. The interior is limited to pebble floors, thin wooden columns, turquoise tablecloths, and soft candlelight.

    Herradura, Puntarenas, 61101, Costa Rica
    2637–8910

    Known For

    • "formal" beachfront dining
    • Deep-fried whole red snapper
    • Tagliata: lobster, octopus, jumbo shrimp, and mahimahi complete with tableside fire show
  • 15. Ronny's Place

    $$$

    Just behind the original location is a new and improved venue where a spectacular sunset view comes with friendly, attentive service and a tempting menu that includes such typical tico dishes as sopa negra (black-bean soup), ceviche, shrimp and fish on a skewer, and filet mignon wrapped with bacon and topped with a mushroom sauce. Up a long dirt road, this is the best place in town to soak in the ocean views—especially when accompanied by a glass of their famous white-wine-and-vodka sangria.

    Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    2777–5120

    Known For

    • Piña coladas served in pineapples
    • Seafood platters with whole red snapper
    • Coconut crusted jumbo shrimp

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: Closed Sept. 15–30
  • 16. Runaway Grill

    $$$

    This favorite with sportfishermen ("You hook 'em, we cook 'em") is the town's best place for seafood, serving everything from shrimp scampi to fresh tuna with mushrooms to fried snapper and orange chicken. Their location, overlooking the marina, offers the best view in town. You won't find any billfish (like marlin or swordfish) on the menu, owing to the restaurant's conservation policy, but the back wall is covered with pictures of them—and their proud reelers. Weathered fishing caps hang from the bar's ceiling.

    Marina Pez Vela, Quepos, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    2774–9095

    Known For

    • Fresh tuna and ceviche
    • Spicy crab dip
    • Kids' menu
  • 17. Samui Thai Bistro

    $$$ | Vegan

    The chefs at this popular corner restaurant have mastered Thai cuisine with a Costa Rican twist, starting with the ginger fish, cashew chicken, lobster pad Thai, and green curry that will have you planning your next vacation to Thailand. Daily specials are the way to go, based on the freshest catch of the day and creative sides like mango salad or fried rice served in a pineapple bowl. Request your own level of heat and cool down with a refreshing cocktail. The patio seating with basket lamps is the ideal platform for sunset views while macaws fly across the horizon.

    Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
    2101–7058

    Known For

    • Ginger fish
    • Curry puffs
    • Authentic Thai dishes
  • 18. Steven Lisa's

    $$

    A convenient location, free Wi-Fi, and good food make this roadside restaurant, just south of the entrance to Tárcoles, a popular pit stop for those traveling between San José and the Central Pacific beaches. The menu includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner with entrées that range from hamburgers and pasta to fried shrimp and a pricey surf and turf. The seafood soup and fried chicken are popular with locals. This restaurant is on the main road to Jacó, so plan to hear the sound of semis while you dig into your rice and beans.

    On Costanera Sur, north of gas station near Río La Pita, Tárcoles, Puntarenas, 61102, Costa Rica
    2637–0665

    Known For

    • Great breakfast
    • Shrimp with fries
    • Local casado
  • 19. The Backyard Bar

    $$

    Playa Hermosa's original nightlife spot has a wooden deck in back overlooking the beach that is great for lunch and sunset, mostly because of the pleasant sea breezes and view of the surfers. The usual bar food—Tex-Mex standards and burgers—is complemented by fresh seafood, including ceviche, grilled tuna, lobster, and jumbo shrimp.

    Costanera, southern end of town, next to the Backyard Hotel, Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste, 61101, Costa Rica
    2643–7011

    Known For

    • Surfing contest every Friday and Saturday
    • Buffalo wings
    • Breakfast
  • 20. Victoria’s

    $$$

    This Italian eatery is the perfect place to stop for brick oven pizza or homemade pastas. Thin and crispy top picks include New York style with pepperoni, sausage, and ham, or pesto-chicken pizza with toasted walnuts and caramelized onions. Staying true to Italian cuisine are the homemade meatballs, and fettuccine Alfredo. The tuna chipotle and filet mignon are hearty dishes and come with a side of roasted potatoes and vegetables. There’s a children’s menu, and a touch of Southern hospitality, especially when owner Mark Dalton makes his way from table to table (he's originally from South Carolina). If the lights dim, it just means someone ordered the banana flambé, a dessert and show worth saving room for. Live music is performed Saturday from 7 to close.

    Diagonally across from Tulemar, Manuel Antonio, Puntarenas, 60601, Costa Rica
    2777–5143

    Known For

    • Homemade meatballs
    • Live music Saturday
    • Banana flambé

    Restaurant Details

    Rate Includes: No lunch

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