20 Best Restaurants in Central Valley, Costa Rica

One of the Central Valley's trendiest restaurants stands out with its daily fish and meat specials, including starter carpaccios of salmon, octopus, and beef. The sea bass and jumbo shrimp combination plate comes with a sauce of chopped fresh tomatoes, white wine, and garlic. Surf and turf is pricey, but includes grilled tenderloin and jumbo shrimp with a side of buttery spaghetti and asparagus. Lunch specials are a good value here. Service is as polished as the ample chrome, and there's usually at least one waiter who speaks English.

The country’s top Peruvian restaurant uses fresh local ingredients to re-create Peru’s greatest hits, served with style. A variety of ceviches accompany favorites such as aji chicken risotto, grilled octopus in balsamic vinaigrette, or lomito saltado (beef tenderloin in tomato sauce). You may have a hard time choosing one entrée; a sampler plate gives you small portions of six of them. A complimentary pisco sour comes with all meals. Top off the evening with a smooth, meringue-like suspiro de limeña for dessert. A few have reported glitches in the reservation system; otherwise, the place is a winner.

This burst of northern Indian flavor is a surprising treat. Richly swathed in warm fuchsias, red ochers, and golds, the mansion's dining area sprawls through a handful of small, intimate rooms and out to a gazebo in the tree-covered backyard. The price-to-portion ratio is a little high, particularly for North Americans used to good, cheap Indian food, but the sharp tandoori dishes, curries, and biryanis are a welcome vacation from ubiquitous European and American fare. Vegetarians may swoon at the options. Helpful waiters, in black or maroon traditional Punjabi dress, are frank about recommendations.

A local institution since 1952, this large rancho restaurant and bar is famous for its huge meat platters—we're talking 1 to 1½ kilos (2¼ to 3½ pounds) of meat—with all the típico side dishes, or you can dine more daintily on sautéed trout. The interior dining area is actually quite smart, with fresh white tablecloths overlaid with colorful cloths, and a view of the lovely Orosi church.

Costa Ricans have flocked here for over six decades to enjoy Los Anonos’ family-friendly grill fest. Your best bet is the grilled meat, and there is plenty to choose from, including imported U.S. beef and less-expensive Costa Rican cuts. Fresh fish, shrimp, and half a dozen salads round out the choices. The crowd tends toward families on weekend nights, whereas weekdays are busier during lunch, when business executives come for the midday specials. Choose between the original dining room, a rustic collection of deep booths with wooden benches, or a more elegant expanse decorated with historic photos.

The name means “honey” in Costa Rica’s indigenous Bribri language, and that—rather than refined sugar—provides the added sweetness to the baked goods here. Croissants, quinoa pancakes, and omelets make for filling breakfasts, while light beef, chicken, and veggie fare with salads round out the lunch offerings. Accompany all with cold-pressed juices, smoothies, or teas for what might ail you.

Fresas means "strawberries," and they’re the star at this rustic wooden place on the way to the volcano. They end up on your corn pancakes, in juices, as desserts, or as sides to the variety of típico dishes here. Gallo pinto (rice and beans) is on the menu for breakfast, of course. Hearty olla de carne and sopa de pozol—meat and bean soups, respectively, make for filling lunches. A good, economical bet is the casado lunch special, a Costa Rican specialty of meat, rice, beans, and salad.

An upscale tour of the street food of East and Southeast Asia focuses primarily on the owner’s mother’s native Taiwan, with flavors from Japan, Korea, Vietnam, Thailand, and Singapore mixed in for good measure. The wealth of riches includes gua bao (a Taiwanese steamed meat or chicken sandwich), gyoza (Japanese-style pork and ginger rolls), pad Thai, and Singapore noodles. The menu does vary slightly every few months just to shake things up a bit. If you come for dinner, make it an early one; the place closes at 7 pm.

Tasty, hearty, filling Tex-Mex food and a gregarious owner make this basic downtown joint a great place for lunch or dinner. Everybody seems to know everybody else here—this is a favorite hangout among the area’s expat community—and you’ll be welcome, too. Fajitas, burritos, enchiladas, and tacos make up the fare, all spiced up or simmered down according to your wishes. The kitchen is always happy to prepare a vegetarian version of any dish, too.

The Orosi Valley's most scenic and famous lunch stop sits on a coffee plantation overlooking the Cachí Reservoir; it's firmly on the beaten path, which means frequent visits from tour groups. The spacious indoor dining area has a high barrel-tile roof, but the most sought-after tables are out on the tiled, lakeside portico, draped with flowering vines framing gorgeous lake views. The menu has both Costa Rican staples and sophisticated dishes such as corvina guarumos (bass stuffed with mushrooms). Expect a wait on weekends, when diners come from miles around for the gargantuan $25 lunch buffet that ends with delicious, coffee-flavored desserts and the Casona's own coffee, made cup by cup in the old-fashioned Costa Rican way. After lunch, take a stroll down the garden path to the lake or check out the souvenir stands in the parking lot.

A cut above the usual soda, this large, long-established restaurant across from the basilica has been feeding pilgrims for seven decades. Along with hearty portions of seafood, grilled meats, and typical casados, the restaurant has a popular bar and terrace.

This monastery-themed formal restaurant high in the hills has a great view of the Central Valley. The dining room is dressed up in antiques, with tables set for a five-course meal, and the classic French dishes are outstanding. Waiters don short friar tunics over their standard black pants and white shirts, which makes the atmosphere too theatrical for some tastes, but the food makes up for it. The more casual Cava Grill dining area serves platters of grilled meat. Cantina La Cava, beneath the dining room, has tasty appetizers, live music Thursday to Saturday, and is open into the wee hours.

The menu here at this upscale countryside spot is predominantly Costa Rican, with such traditional specialties as trucha (trout) and rice with chicken, along with some more sophisticated dishes, like corvina (sea bass) fillet with a coconut-liqueur sauce. The Sunday típico buffet is a great introduction to Costa Rican cooking. Decorated with vintage photos of early-20th-century buildings and landscapes, this upscale restaurant teaches a history lesson of the region. The photos also document the disastrous 1910 earthquake that rocked this area and all but destroyed the colonial capital of Cartago.

Dine amid tall pines and colorful flowers on the upper slopes of Poás Volcano. There’s a small menu of traditional tico dishes that includes platters of gallos (homemade tortillas with meat, cheese, or potato filling) as well as delicious daily specials. The refrescos (fresh fruit drinks) are top-drawer, especially the ones made from locally grown fresas (strawberries) and moras (blackberries) blended with milk.

Perched on a ridge several miles north of town, El Mirador has a sweeping view of the Central Valley that is impressive by day but more beautiful at dusk and after dark. Get a window table in the dining room, or one on the adjacent porch if it isn't too cool. The menu, which includes lomito (tenderloin) and corvina (sea bass) served with various sauces, and several shrimp and chicken dishes, plays second fiddle to the view; you may want to stop in around sunset for drinks and appetizers instead of dinner. There are at least two other restaurants nearby with similar names and views—this is the one we recommend. It’s on the main road, close to the Buena Vista Hotel.

A permanent exhibition of local art and the expertise of the owner make this a worthwhile stop. This pleasant family-style restaurant has the usual midscale Costa Rican fare, ranging from fast food to filet mignon. The house specialty is beef tenderloin topped with a Spanish-inspired red-wine-and-mushroom sauce. Casados and gallo pinto compete with more-familiar chicken and seafood dishes. Even paella is on the menu (with three hours' notice), and there's homemade apple pie for dessert.

This is a good place to stop for lunch when you need a break from shopping, with a variety of steaks, spicy chorizos, arroz con pollo (rice and chicken), and soups—we recommend the maize soup—on the menu. You might not expect it in this mix, but the pizza is pretty good, too. Service is leisurely here (that’s a nice way of saying “slow”) and the time is lengthened in proportion to the number of tour buses in town that day.