We'll be staying at a house in the Arenal area for a week in April. Can you recommend restaurants we should try? Thanks!

Our favorites were El Novillo for really good steaks and La Choza de Laurel. Although the restaurants aren't much to look at, the food is good!

I second VGs recs. We really enjoyed both of those places. Both are basically covered cement slabs with plastic tables/chairs or picnic tables. Both had simply prepared, but very tasty food!

I know that there are other good food choices as well, but we didn't have time to try them. When I'm researching stuff like that, I usually refer to a guidebook or two to get their suggestions and then I search those restaurant names here to see if the fodorites concur. It's worked out well for me.

Sounds like your trip is right around the corner. Have a wonderful time!

Might want to try Don Rufinos if you go into LaFortuna. Our bartender recommended it and we found ourselves going back several times. They have a large menu and everything we tried was great. I believe they have a website with their menu.

Hi Travelgirl! I thorougly enjoyed reading your "trip of a lifetime" awhile back!! So you are off to Costa Rica now. We were there in February and had a great time.

In La Fortuna, we had a good meal at La Choza de Laurel. But be sure to ask the prices on their "specials". We ordered and were a little shocked at the price because we hadn't asked. DUH

For cheap and good eats, we had a couple of lunches at Soda Parada, right in town. The best meal we had, however, was at Eco Termales.

Enjoy!

Thanks for all the great recommendations. We tend to like little hole-in-the-wall places that have authentic food, so some of these will be right up our alley. Knowing us, we'll probably try all or most of these. Fodor's is the best!

(Thanks, maureencol, it was so much fun writing the trip of a lifetime report. Just this week, I put together a collage of photos from that trip and hubby hung it in the family room. So, we've been re-living that trip recently.)

El Novillo has decent food, but the best part is that it is out of town and you get an awesome view of Arenal at night.

Don Rufinos was my favorite in La Fortuna. I had the Mahi, cooked in banana leaves and the server slices it open at the table in front of you and it was probably one of the best meals I have ever eaten.

Enjoy your trip.

Its a bit of a drive, but the best meal on my trip was at Gingerbread Restaurant near Nuevo Arenal.

All of the food at the Gingerbread Restaurant is prepared from scratch and the menu changes each day. It is an international fusion with French, Mediterranean, and California influence.

Keith

Good food at Don Rufino's...Nene's...and for typical affordable food Soda La Parada...the best CASADOS in town!!

Luis GPS

Okay, what's a casado?

A casado is sort of like an American combo plate. You usually get a choice of meat - chicken or beef, along with beans and rice, plantains, etc. I think it literally means "married" i.e. that the food is all on the same plate together. It's very homey, comfort food. You'll see it over and over in CR - good and affordable.

Thanks volcanogirl. Sounds yummy.

You're welcome, tgirl - soda is another tico word that you'll want to know - it's just a downhomey affordable restaurant.

Even the Costa Rica president eat CASADOS...we love them...we costaricans can not live without a good casado at least once a week!!

The CASADOS is a Costa Rica tradition...is the way our grandmothers use to cook...based most of the time on white rice and black beans...and then they will tell you what is extra...like...chicken...pasta...meat...fish...egg s...soup...and the price includes most of the time a soda or a fruit juice...like...mora...pina...cas....chan...etc.

One of the best things about it is the price...starting around 1,000.00 colones about $2.00 up to ...I have a CASADO the other day at Marriot Hotel it was great...

Luis GPS