20 Best Restaurants in Manuel Antonio and the Central Pacific Coast, Costa Rica

Dating back to 1983, this open-air restaurant across the street from the beach serves some dishes you'd be hard-pressed to find in other casual beach-town places. Request one of the outdoor tables under the bamboo dome and dine on dishes like fish croquettes in a lemon sauce, grilled tuna in mango sauce, and clams au gratin. Sea bass in a heart-of-palm sauce, lobster, and tenderloin are a few of the main dishes. 

Follow your nose to this simple second-floor room offering breathtaking views by day and a deliciously inventive selection of seafood by night. The lunch menu is strong on salads, burgers, and sandwiches, but the dinner options include some of the best entrées in town, like seared tuna over a tequila-and-lime cucumber salad and calamari sautéed with capers and olives. To sweeten the deal, try the coconut bread pudding.

It’s the setting that will lure you, but the food that will keep you on repeat at this seafood restaurant just steps from the sand. Bamboo, wood, and rattan decor will make you want to throw on a Tommy Bahama shirt and order a mai tai. Stars of the menu include grilled lobster and jumbo shrimp in a creamy garlic sauce. The sound of crashing waves blends with chill-out music, setting the scene as one of the more upscale, and oldest, restaurants in Jacó.

Meat lovers can get their fix at this local grill, where sizzling cuts are seared on a wood-fired grill and served on chopping blocks. The bar serves powerful margaritas and daiquiris, but it’s the grass-fed beef from neighboring La Fortuna that you’ll want to try. Other specialties include whole red snapper, pork ribs, or lamb (with 24-hour notice). All mains include a baked potato, tomato, and grilled zucchini. Vegetarians can opt for the portobello mushrooms smothered in garlic and cheese, served in a cast-iron skillet. Take a moment to appreciate the charming floors, inlaid with tree stumps, and the tabletops, made from driftwood.

This cozy café is the only place in town that serves its own fresh-roasted coffee, with an eclectic menu serving inventive dishes like calamari with chorizo, kale with quinoa, and roasted pork with guava glaze. Top sellers include Caribbean chicken, fish tacos, and spice-encrusted tuna with avocado salsa. The breakfast burritos, baked goods, and variety of sandwiches make this a top breakfast and lunch spot. Tables in the front showcase the lively terrace and bar, and there's more seating in the back garden. They have craft beers on tap, and there's live music Monday through Saturday from 7 pm to 9 pm. The attached store and their small coffee roaster in Quepos sell bags of their award-winning coffee to take home.

Just inside the doors of this popular café you'll find sweeping views, organic cuisine, and a chic vibe that sets the stage for all kinds of good eats (and drinks). Breakfast offerings include eggs Benedict, waffles, or delectable French toast, while sesame-crusted tuna, falafel pita, or one of the vegetable sandwiches served with homemade pesto or salsa picante are available for lunch or dinner. If you're looking for a sweet treat, try the passion fruit pie or peanut butter cake with fresh fruit juice, frozen mint lemonade, or a frothy cappuccino. Vegetarians and gluten-free eaters have plenty to choose from, as does anyone obsessed with chocolate. Polished concrete floors and glass balconies give this place a more refined feel than their original building just next door. They often host live-music events on weekends during high season.

The gritty-gourmet concept of this upscale Jacó hot spot plays with the senses with a menu that features fresh, locally grown ingredients. Check the blackboard for specials—whatever has inspired the chef that day—and wash it down with a signature lemongrass martini. Save room for extraordinary desserts like chocolate cheesecake or peanut-butter-and-banana flambé.

Offering everything from vegan to gluten-free dishes, this café popular with artists serves meals prepared with organic ingredients delivered daily by local farmers. The ever-changing chalkboard menu usually features home-ground burgers, pasta, vegan bowls, or seared ahi. Breakfasts are hearty, ranging from banana pancakes to eggs Florentine. Salads are topped with fresh strawberries, and cocktails are made with natural fruit juice—try the lemon basil margarita. There's live music nightly at 8 pm. 

It’s hard to know what’s more impressive—the view or the cuisine at this restaurant without walls, where the sun melts into the Pacific and La Luna (the moon) takes center stage. Innovative starters range from Gorgonzola-and-tomato tarts to honey-garlic calamari. For something tender and moist, try the Parmesan chicken, the plantain-coconut mahimahi, or the ginger-and-panko-crusted tuna. Portions tend to be on the small side, but the service is outstanding. The top-level Sky Lounge offers 25%-off drinks during happy hour from 5–7 pm.

The outdoor tables are pretty much always full, owing to a location on Manuel Antonio's busiest corner, across the street from the beach near the national park entrance. This is a convenient place to grab an early lunch or dinner after a hike with options that range from the ubiquitous arroz con pollo (rice with chicken) to tenderloin with French fries, and jumbo shrimp in garlic and lemon butter. The fresh mahimahi and tuna are always a good bet. Daily happy hour is 4:30–6:30, featuring two-for-one cocktails.

White tablecloths, glass walls, and yellow-and-blue-checkered curtains contribute to the sophisticated but not overly stuffy atmosphere of this hotel dining room on the top terrace at Hotel Villa Caletas. Appetizers range from the traditional escargots to a shrimp-and-lobster bisque, and entrées include beef tenderloin with chimichurri, jumbo shrimp sautéed with white wine and passion fruit, and roasted duck with truffle oil. Expensive prix-fixe meals on Friday and Saturday include your choice of appetizer, main dish, and dessert. A covered terrace below the restaurant is popular for sunset viewing over a cocktail and offers a seafood-focused menu that is much less expensive than choices in the main restaurant. During low season, the restaurant is only open on weekends, so be sure to call ahead. 

Don't worry about getting dressed up for this unfussy sushi fusion restaurant built from a colorful shipping container, found driftwood, and recycled pallets. The food is made with as much innovation, creativity, and care, blending flavors perfectly in popular sushi, salads, and Asian-fusion meat dishes. You can't go wrong with the Big Kahuna packed with shrimp tempura, avocado, tuna, and spicy mayo. 

This brewery tasting room serves tasty American-style pub grub. Sit in the modern warehouse setting, or belly up to the bar inside and try a beer flight to go along with your burger or sandwich. They host barbecues on weekends and open jam sessions every Wednesday. 

After 20 years at mountain top, Ronny is still climbing high at this open-air venue where a spectacular sunset view comes with friendly, attentive service and a tempting menu. Typical tico dishes include sopa negra (black-bean soup), ceviche, shrimp and fish on a skewer, and filet mignon wrapped with bacon and topped with a mushroom sauce. Up a long road, this is the best place in town to soak in the ocean views—especially when accompanied by a glass of their famous tropical sangria or cocktail in a coconut. If you arrive early, check out Ronny's gift shop, and if you stay late, ask about availability in the studio apartments. 

This favorite with sportfishermen ("You hook 'em, we cook 'em") is the town's best place for seafood, serving everything from shrimp scampi to fresh tuna with mushrooms to fried snapper and orange chicken. If you're looking for burgers or tacos, you'll find them on the menu featuring also American and Mexican classics. Their location, overlooking the marina, offers the best view in town. You won't find any billfish (like marlin or swordfish) on the menu, owing to the restaurant's conservation policy, but the back wall is covered with pictures of them—and their proud reelers. Weathered fishing caps hang from the bar's ceiling. 

The chefs at this popular corner restaurant have mastered Thai cuisine with a Costa Rican twist, starting with the ginger fish, cashew chicken, pad Thai, and green curry that will have you planning your next vacation to Thailand. Daily specials are the way to go, based on the freshest catch of the day and creative sides like papaya salad or pineapple rice. Vegetarian and gluten-free dishes are plenty. Request your own level of heat and cool down with a refreshing cocktail. The patio seating with basket lamps is the ideal platform for sunset views while macaws fly across the horizon.

A convenient location, free Wi-Fi, and good food make this roadside restaurant, just south of the entrance to Tárcoles, a popular pit stop for those traveling between San José and the Central Pacific beaches. The menu includes breakfast, lunch, and dinner with entrées that range from hamburgers and pasta to fried shrimp and a pricey surf and turf. The seafood soup and fried chicken are popular with locals. This restaurant is on the main road to Jacó, so plan to hear the sound of semis while you dig into your rice and beans.

Don’t let the “café” in the name fool you; this romantic restaurant has an intimate open-air dining room, ocean views, and a menu that lures guests and hikers alike for appetizers like ceviche, tuna tartare, and shrimp tempura, and mains of jumbo shrimp, Pacific lobster, or surf and turf. Hamburgers, pastas, and salads keep things familiar, while the coconut flan and mango bananas Foster will remind you that you’re in Costa Rica. This is the “go to” spot for post-hike breakfasts and sunset margaritas with a side of live music (Tuesdays and Saturday 5–7 pm). Even if you’re not staying at the hotel, simply make a reservation and grab an access pass to dine at the restaurant overlooking an infinity pool.

This Italian eatery is the perfect place to stop for brick-oven pizza; thin and crispy top picks include New York style with pepperoni, sausage, and ham, or pesto-chicken pizza with toasted walnuts and caramelized onions. Staying true to Italian cuisine there's also homemade pasta, meatballs, and fettuccine Alfredo. The tuna chipotle and filet mignon are hearty dishes and come with a side of roasted potatoes and vegetables. If the lights dim, it just means someone ordered the banana flambé, a dessert and show worth saving room for. Live music is performed Friday from 7 to 9.