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You can usually count on good food at this second-story restaurant in the trees. You can get wild with crocodile fingers, or try something more familiar, like the handmade pizzas. There are several vegetarian, lactose-free, and gluten-free options on the menu. Presentation is always beautiful, and service is efficient and friendly.
Hotel Cantarana, Palm Beach Estates, Playa Grande, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Fresh seafood like tuna poke bowl and fish tacos
- Unfussy breakfast fare
- Homemade tortillas and sauces
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Wed.
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There's something for everyone any time of day at this three-story bakery/bistro/lounge/cocktail bar. In the morning, there are savory quiches and homemade granola as well as tartlets, pies, and every other type of sweets and bread (including gluten-free), while lunch has a more upscale menu with delectable soups (bouillabaisse), salads (poached lobster), sandwiches, and artisanal pizza. Dinner standouts are linguine del mare with lobster, shrimp, octopus, and clams, or tender grilled guava barbecue short ribs.
Corner Of Hwy. 911, Potrero, Guanacaste, 50304, Costa Rica
Known For
- Tapas like fresh-from-the-sea tuna tiradito and sea-bass ceviche
- Rooftop cocktails
- European-style patisserie breakfast noshes
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and Tues.
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This surf café features such Peruvian specialties as ceviche and causa (cold mashed potatoes studded with shrimp and tuna chunks). The menu also includes a few familiar favorites like hamburgers and BLTs. Desserts are homemade and delicious, and the pisco sour cocktail is not to be missed.
Main street, Playa Negra, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Ceviche and sushi
- Pisco sour cocktails
- Beautiful presentation
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues. and Oct.
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The best perch along the Paseo de los Turistas is a table on the breezy veranda of this updated seafood and grill restaurant with a beach view. The menu is modern, with starters like salads, ceviches, and huge disks of patacones (fried, squashed platanos), served with frijoles and shredded beef. Along with the classic fish fillet grilled with butter and fresh garlic, there's a spicier option with a jalapeño and fresh tomato sauce, as well as tuna in teriyaki sauce and grilled salmon. Grilled beef and barbecue pork ribs will satisfy meat eaters. Save room for flan de coco, dense and creamy with toasted coconut and caramel sauce. This place has polished service, with friendly, attentive waiters.
Puntarenas, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Known For
- Sea bass ceviche
- Seafood grill
- South American, Italian, and Spanish wines
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It might not be beachfront, but this snazzy restaurant has an upscale vibe with hardwood floors, white brick walls, and a wine bar shaking up divine watermelon martinis. For more ambience, grab a table on the outside deck where dishes like salmon risotto, poached sea bass, and shrimp sautéed in coconut milk are served. For something from the land, try the caramelized pork in a honey-and-lime sauce or the heavily requested Dijon beef tenderloin. Don’t skip dessert—try the Bailey's panna cotta with passion-fruit coulis.
Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Creamy risotto dishes
- Lovely deck
- Caramelized pork tenderloin
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. No lunch
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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The "crazy coconut" is one of the few places where you can dine with your toes in the sand while watching the sunset without anything separating you from the water. Start with the fried calamari or mixed ceviche, and move on to mains like the blackened swordfish wrap, the sesame-crusted yellowfin tuna taco, or the slow-cooked ribs with pineapple barbecue sauce. Although not on the menu, they usually have a whole lobster for $20. Entrées come with a choice of coleslaw, fruit, fries, or rice and beans, and can be prepared Caribbean-style, with coconut milk. If you haven’t already overdosed on coconut, try the homemade coconut sorbet. Sunset diners should come with mosquito spray, since those little buggers love naked feet in the sand.
Flamingo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Tuna tacos
- Exquisite sunsets
- Signature drink served in a fresh coconut
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Follow the glow of multicolor lanterns to this dinner-only, open-air eatery within sight and sound of the ocean. The simple wooden tables are on a patio bordered with gardens or, during the drier months, practically on the beach. The Italian owners serve an eclectic menu ranging from shrimp curry to squid in spicy puttanesca sauce to tenderloin with porcini mushrooms. The restaurant usually opens just in time for sunset, at 5 pm.
Behind Hotel Pargo Feliz, on beach road, Montezuma, Puntarenas, 60111, Costa Rica
Known For
- Ceviche
- Mouthwatering coconut curry
- Unique oceanfront atmosphere
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. and last 3 wks of Oct. No lunch
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An ample selection of good Italian food, including crispy pizzas, decadent pastas, generous salads, and a lengthy Italian wine list (available by the glass, too), makes this sidewalk trattoria a good spot for lunch or dinner. Tuna carpaccio is a lighter option, or try the insalata caprese, with fresh basil. There's also a selection of local tico dishes and seafood. Unlike the checkered tablecloths you'd find elsewhere, here you have glass tabletops showcasing shells or plain wooden tables by the pool. Save room for a delicious mint-chocolate panna cotta.
Hotel Giada lobby, main road, 150 m north of beach, Sámara, Guanacaste, 50205, Costa Rica
Known For
- Poolside dining
- Seafood
- Tiramisu
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Paper lanterns suspended over wooden tables and polished concrete floors bring rustic elegance to this A-frame restaurant supported by tree-trunk columns. The place has been a favorite for years and remains trendy with international fusion dishes like Buddha bowls or seared yellowfin tuna with wasabi aioli.
Tamarindo, Guanacaste, 50309, Costa Rica
Known For
- Tender beef
- Wood-fired grill
- Laid-back charm
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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Sink your chops into steak (rib eye, New York, or T-bone) grilled on an open fire and served Argentine-style with garlicky chimichurri sauce at this family-run, pleasant rancho restaurant. Other specialties include grilled chorizo sausages or Milanesa, the classic Argentine breaded steak, served with french fries. Wash it down with a glass or bottle of Argentine vino tinto. There's salad, chicken, and, yes, fish when available, but people come here mainly because of the meat. Six air-conditioned cabinas, eight with kitchens, face a small pool next to the restaurant.
Carrillo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Mouthwatering steaks cooked to perfection
- Mussels with white wine sauce
- Argentine wines
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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El Lagarto serves up fresh, local seafood and high-quality meat, grilled to perfection on a massive, open-air, wood-fired barbecue. Sink your teeth into juicy tenderloin, lamb chops, mahimahi, prawns, tuna, mussels, chicken breast stuffed with mushrooms and cheese, portobello mushrooms, or a whole grilled lobster. You won't find any barbecue sauce here; everything is simply brushed with extra-virgin olive oil and seasoned with a bit of garlic, salt, and pepper to complement the flavor of the food. Dinners include grilled vegetables and potatoes; salad is à la carte. There's also a kids' menu, an ample wine list, and an extensive cocktail selection, not to mention banana splits. The restaurant is open for dinner only, though it opens at 3 pm for cocktails. Tax and service are not included on the menu prices, so expect to pay 25% more than advertised.
200 m west and 150 m south of Banco Nacional, Sámara, Guanacaste, 50205, Costa Rica
Known For
- Banana splits
- Dry-rubbed baby back ribs
- Specialty cocktails
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No lunch
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Montezuma’s first natural-food restaurant is named after the chewy dried bananas made by the owners, who also own the upscale Ylang Ylang resort on the beach. This popular eatery serves the best vegetarian fare in town, including scrambled tofu for breakfast and excellent wraps, salads, fajitas, and spring rolls, with plenty of vegan and gluten-free options. You can enjoy a delicious Mocha Chiller, made with frozen yogurt, or a fruit smoothie made with local coconut milk. The homemade cakes and pies are scrumptious. The standout is the Chocolate Volcano, a mountain of ice cream atop cake, with a lava of chocolate sauce. For vegans, there's a nondairy chocolate mousse. A shaded garden terrace behind the restaurant is cool and pleasant, but bring mosquito repellent. A battalion of ceiling fans keeps the air moving in the spacious dining room decorated with murals of tropical beach scenes.
Main road, Montezuma, Puntarenas, 60111, Costa Rica
Known For
- Sandwich with chicken and patacones (smashed and fried plantains)
- Great people-watching
- Super breakfasts
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This tapas restaurant, featuring Asian and Mediterranean flavors, is in a modern glass-and-steel tree house that's cantilevered on the side of a hill and includes a spacious deck. Delectable appetizer-size offerings include seared pepper-crusted tuna atop pickled ginger slaw, or panfried sea bass fillets with a divine ginger-and-mandarin-orange butter sauce. Not to be missed are Ginger's crispy shoestring fries, served with roasted garlic mayo. Portions are small, but layers of condiments and garnishes make them surprisingly satisfying. The fun thing to do is order several dishes and share. The varied wine list includes Old and New World wines by the glass, and specialty martinis and tropical cocktails go well with the tapas. For dessert, warm chocolate lava cake is rich enough to share, but only with someone you truly love. Be aware that the menu prices do not include tax and service (another 23%). It's open 5 to 10 pm.
Main hwy., south of Hotel Condovac, Playa Hermosa, Guanacaste, 50503, Costa Rica
Known For
- Spring rolls
- Pavlova
- Small plates, tapas-size dishes to share
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No lunch
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Tucked into the hills of the gated Mar Vista community, this open-air restaurant comes complete with dazzling ocean views, infinity pools for guests to enjoy, and a made-from-scratch farm- and sea-to-table menu. Chef and owner Frankie Becker cooks up fresh seafood, but vegetarians are in luck too, because the crispy cauliflower and hummus platter are mouthwatering. Their cocktail list is extensive and delicious, the passion fruit mojito is a must. There is also a playground.
Off Route 180, Mar Vista, Flamingo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Lobster bisque
- Cajun barbecue shrimp
- Amazing views
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Sit back and relax in the outside swinging seats at this taco and burrito haven. The polished wood and laid-back atmosphere are perfect for sipping a cocktail and snacking on chips with a trio of dips before indulging in made-from-scratch tortillas and mama's secret beef stew. Vegetarians and folks with food sensitivities will be happy with the large selection. Make sure to bring cash, credit cards are not accepted.
Behind Oveja Negra Hostel, Tamarindo, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Fresh and innovative tacos and burritos
- Amazing homemade hot sauce
- Friendly staff
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.
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Head to this spot for the biggest pizzas in town in a large, roofed-over garden near Playa Pelada. The house pizza is thin crust with carrots, broccoli, olives, red peppers, onions, mushrooms, ham, and pepperoni. If you like it hot, dribble on some of the house specialty: red-hot flavored oil. You can watch your pizza being dressed, or choose from a full menu of salads, pasta, grilled fish, seafood, and meat—all done Italian-style. It's cheerful and hearty; no one leaves here still hungry. In high season there's sometimes live music at dinner.
Across from Condominios Las Flores, road to Playa Pelada, Nosara, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Wood-fired brick-oven pizzas
- Spicy dipping oil
- Family-friendly setting
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun.
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North of Santa Teresa, this trendy sushi place off a dusty dirt road is one of the most popular restaurants in the area. Fabulous sushi, sashimi, and tempura are carefully crafted, and there's a daily blackboard menu featuring hand rolls and wraps. About 30 wood tables are scattered around a gravel-bottomed, Zenlike garden, with palm trees and a stand of bamboo. The decor is mainly votive candles, flaming torches, and tin-can hanging lamps. There's also tempura shrimp, beef tenderloin, and ginger-pork main dishes. Vegetarians can order spring rolls and steamed vegetables with quinoa, but it hardly seems worth it to make the trip here unless you are going to chow down on fish and seafood. To wash it down, there are coconut-milk fruit shakes, sake, Costa Rican craft beer, and notably expensive wine.
Buenos Aires Rd., Santa Teresa, Puntarenas, Costa Rica
Known For
- Koji roll made with shrimp tempura, avocado, cucumber, spicy tuna, and special sauce
- Locally sourced seafood, fruits, and vegetables
- Spicy sesame tuna
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Sun. and Mon. No lunch, Reservations essential
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A favorite local hangout, this rustic pizzeria has an outdoor clay oven and an open kitchen. There are 14 types of pizza, like the house special with goat cheese, pesto, and caramelized onions. They also serve salads and gluten-free pizzas, as well as barbecued meats from the pizza oven (with 24 hours’ notice). If you can’t find a pizza that sounds good, you can build your own from a list of toppings. As the area’s top local hangout, the place gets packed, so plan to enjoy some sangria while you wait for your food and bill.
Playa Negra, Guanacaste, Costa Rica
Known For
- Amazing crispy crust
- Busy atmosphere
- Sangria
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon. No lunch
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Two Italian brothers offer well-prepared Italian classics and thin-crust pizza, as well as some interesting seafood dishes like tuna tartare and tagliolini with crab in a cream sauce. For dessert there's an intriguing panna cotta or classic tiramisu. If it's a romantic night, try to get a table outside next to the fountain, and be sure to check out the selection of Italian wines. There's live music at least once a week. For those lazy evenings after a day at sea, you can call the restaurant and request delivery.
Playas del Coco, Guanacaste, 50503, Costa Rica
Known For
- Homemade pasta
- Catch of the day
- Beautiful courtyard setting
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While the day away listening to reggae, sipping on cold drinks, watching the surfers, and snacking on beach food. You can't beat the views or the service, and it's a great family spot owing to the large portions, good prices, and on-site ice cream parlor. American fare includes hamburgers and pizza and the casados (a plate filled with white rice, black beans, and salad) are fresh and delicious. Don't miss the breathtaking sunsets.
Main entrance to Playa Avellanas, Playa Avellanas, Guanacaste, 50303, Costa Rica
Known For
- Fish tacos
- Beautiful vistas
- Wonderful hospitaity
