Please let us know your favorite spots! We're with kids (9 & 14) so not looking for 5 star restaurants.

In Arenal, El Novillo for steaks and La Choza de Laurel for rotisserie chicken. In MA, Ronnie's Place/Mi Lugar, Barba Roja, and Salsipuedes are good. Cafe Milagro is fun for coffee drinks/Starbucks fix. El Avion is neat if you'd like to see the plane.

ttt

In LaFortuna, Don Rufino's is very good. They have a website with their menu so you could see if it looks like your kind of place. They are right on the main drag through town, a couple of blocks from the park.

Lots of restaurants of all prices in the MA and Quepos area.

There is a pretty complete list on our website.
http://mycondocostarica.com/restaurants.htm

With kids, Marlin's across from the beach would be good. Its casual. Also Angel - a soda near Super Joseth on the Quepos/MA road

raquel

In Arenal, I'll second VG's suggestions.

I think La Choza de Laurel would be a good choice for the kids. I really liked El Novillo as well, although I don't remember how extensive their menu was (most people go for the steaks).

In MA we enjoyed Marlins and Cafe Milagro (they serve breakfast, deli-style sandwiches, and dessert items in addition to coffee).

I agree with alot of the earlier posters.
In MA, we ate at Marlins across from the beach, we loved Barba Rojas, and had breakfast and coffee every morning at Cafe Milagro (the one in MA not the bigger one in Quepos).

At Arenal, my favorite spot is toward the west end of the lake: Gingerbread Restaurant and Hotel.

Chef Eyal began his career in Israel, and had several years of culinary training in the US. The menu changes daily.

Kieth

In MA, our absolute favorite was Agua Azul. By the beach, Cafe Del Mar was also very good.

Oh, yes, Cafe Agua Azul was good too - forgot to mention that one. Your kids would probably love batidos - milkshakes made with fresh fruits.

I thought that a lot of the restaurants in MA had a very American vibe. In several of them, instead of being greeted with "Hola" - it was "Hey guys, what's up?!" Lots of American owners in this area.

Of them all, Ronnie's Place/Mi Lugar was our favorite - known for their lobster and their sangria, and they have beautiful views. Very tico vibe at this one, but set a little further out than the others.

The Arenal Observatory restaraunt is quite good --- they have a long kids menu ---AND they served us ice cream when the restaraunt was closed and my kids were melting down (pun intended.)

Yes Ronnie's Place! I couldn't remember the name of this (in MA). You cannot walk there but the views are gorgeous and the sangria was delicious!

Ronnie's place is wonderful and a great place to watch the sunset. El Avion has a cool setting and a nice open air concept with views. The food we had there was very good and the place is usually full. It's across from Gato Negro which also looked popular, but we didn't have a chance to eat there.

In MA, I'd recommend heading out early for dinner; most spots have gorgeous sunset views. Our first night there we went too late and missed it.