cruisinred

Hello

We're headed down to Mal Pais next week. Would love to get some restaurant suggestions for the area, as well as an idea of the prices I can expect to pay for lunch, dinner etc.

Thanks!

jlh370

I talked about several restaurants in all of these areas in my trip report. You can read it here:

www.vallimont.blog.com

Let me know if you have any specific questions about any of the restaurants.

cruisinred

Hi jlh370,

Thanks for sharing your trip report.

Can you give me a rough idea of the prices for meals at Milarepa, Tropica Latina and/or Chile Viola? Trying to figure out a budget for meals,and how much $ to bring. Thanks for your help.

siempretrvls

Hi cruisinred,
We just got back from a great trip to Mal Pais. We try to go every year and this year meal prices are higher but still not bad compared to most vacation spots. I can't remember exactly what each place charged but we usually spent about $25 to $35 US( for two of us )for meals at restaurants not including alcohol. Milarepa and Florblanca are alot more. Out of all the restaurants Marys in Mal Pais is our favorite and the prices are really good. I think we figured out my lobster was like $8 and it was incredible!Is this your first time to Mal Pais?Are you staying in Mal Pais or Santa teresa?Im asking because there are some little hole in the walls I can recommend but I don't remember what they're called.I can kind of tell you where they are relating to where you are coming from.

cruisinred

Hi Siempre
Yes, this is our first trip to Mal Pais. We will be staying at both the Blue Jay Lodge and Milarepa.(trying to figure out if a meal at Milarepa will be more than the cost of the room). Would love to hear some of your recommendations for smaller spots. Thanks

siempretrvls

Hi cruisinred,
We stayed at Casa Chameleon which is near Blue Jay. In between the two there's a place on the beach that was a cool little local shack and the fish was really fresh and good. It's the street before Mar Azul which was another local restaurant/bar. We were told Mar Azul was the first business in Mal Pais around 40 years ago(in all my trips to Mal Pais I never knew that). Near Milarepa is Chile viola (that you mentioned) and I had a great lasagna for around $7. I'll post more if I think of them in time.

jlh370

Yes, I think the prices at Tropico Latino and Chile Viola were in the $25-35 range for the two of us. We never ate at Milarepa other than dessert. I remember thinking that the entrees were in the high teens.

We tended to spend between $10-13 for lunches (for two of us) and $25-$30 for dinner. Sometimes our lunches were really cheap ($3/pp), but that was quite rare I think mostly in the Arenal area.

sandyc

I had a wonderful dinner at FlorBlanca in St. Teresa. They had a huge outdoor buffet of grilled seafood and steak, sushi, salads, fancy drinks, etc. All very good and a beautiful setting.
Sandy

siempretrvls

Just looked at my notes...trying to find time to write a trip report... BUT I made a mistake...the great lasagna was at Bella Napoli.Chile Viola was closed and we ate at another little place near Milarepa(don't have the name in my notes). We also ate at Casa Zen and had some great sushi there.Have a great time!

MissMalPais

Without doubt, the coolest place for a meal is Mary's Restaurant in Mal Pais (about 3.5km south from the cross at Frank's Place)I've been there loads of times (tried all the others) and still think it knocks spots off the competition. If there was one criticism it would be sometimes "iffy" service! It gets packed out in the season and I think they struggle to get good waiting staff to keep up. Still, if you have to wait a while, there are two pool tables and a great atmosphere while waiting for delicious, fresh food.