Pura Vida

Pura Vida Review

Bohemian music and earth tones mix with down-home cooking at this romantic, vegetarian-friendly restaurant several blocks from downtown. You'll be surrounded by funky artwork, couples whispering over candlelight, and laid-back but efficient staff as you try to decide which big-enough-to-share dish you'll order and work your way through a great dome of steaming bread on a platter with lashings of butter. Choose between soups, curries, and bakes; the beef stew served inside a calabaza (pumpkin) is the signature dish. The cooking isn't quite up to the rest of the restaurant's charms, and the wine list is thin, but Pura Vida is more than the sum of its parts, attracting a curious blend of diners with an almost mystical allure.