197 Best Restaurants in Costa Rica

The daily fresh fish caught by the chef is a harmonious complement to his French-Caribbean fusion cooking style, and fresh oysters, mahi-mahi, and fish carpaccio receive a tasty makeover, adorned with tropical flavors like citrus and coconut, all thoughtfully prepared with attention to detail and presentation. Simple wooden furnishings are spread out among flowering plants under a wood and bamboo rancho, and a mélange of light fixtures and maritime paraphernalia hang from the rafters. The daily specials chalkboard menu does not not betray much except the main character of each dish, whether it’s surf and turf, rabbit, or fresh lobster, and the casual simplicity of the surroundings ensure the food is the focus.

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.

Kick off your day with a breakfast platter here: the americano (U.S.-style) or the tico (Costa Rican), with eggs, fried plantains, and natilla (sour cream). Snag one of the precious tables in the back garden, an unexpected refuge from noise and traffic, in the morning or late afternoon. The lunchtime decibel level increases markedly with government workers arriving from nearby office buildings. (This is the one time of day we recommend avoiding the place.) If you stop by for dinner, make it an early one. The place closes at 7.

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.

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.

This roadside restaurant is a typical Tico soda but the Caribbean version, serving the smorgasbord-style classic casado with fresh whole red snapper or meats simmered in flavorful sauces maxed out with spices and coconut. Also on the menu are patacones, a variation of the plantain that has been smashed and fried to crispy soft perfection, which are a must-have during any visit to Costa Rica.

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.

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 meat, white rice, black beans, and salad) are fresh and delicious. Don't miss the breathtaking sunsets.

This laidback seafood shack along the road at Playa Punta Uva Arrecife serves fresh seafood, pizzas, and savory burgers to satisfy that particular brand of hunger generated by hours of cavorting by a sunny seaside. Lighter fare such as bright citrus ceviches and chilled shrimp salads round out this small but well-executed menu, and for the ultimate cool down, sip a selection of fresh juices, tropical cocktails, and local beers.

Dining here (by advance reservation only) feels as though you’re a guest in a private home, and indeed, the restaurant is located in a converted house that dates back to the 1920s. Main-course offerings at this cozy restaurant rotate, but might include a blanquette de veau (veal ragout) or a daube provençale (a hearty wine-marinated beef stew). A couple of tips: the sign is easy to miss, and credit cards are not accepted.

The excellent, reasonably priced homemade pastas make this popular lunch spot worth the stop. Begin your meal with fresh bread and excellent antipasti, and make sure to save room for tiramisu. The back patio makes a pleasant respite during the dry season from the bustle of the city. Soft, live music is on tap Friday evenings.

This beach club–restaurant–lounge–jazz club is the most romantic and sophisticated dining spot on the beach. By day, you can lounge by the pool or surf between bites of ceviche, panini, burgers, or mussels with fries; by night, you'll find tables set with white linens and candles arranged under swaying palms around two glowing pools. Start with a lobster and mango salad or a flaky pastry nest filled with goat cheese and spinach. Move on to a divine fillet of sole bathed in a velvety, peppery champagne-cream sauce. For dessert, try the crepe suzette flambé. Come back the next day to work off your meal at the attached fitness center or yoga studio.

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.

It might not look like much from the outside, and it may have a weird name, but this Italian restaurant offers warm and friendly service and homemade dishes like tortellini in sage butter, lasagna with bubbly, browned mozzarella, and crispy thin-crust pizza with folds of prosciutto. Start with a caprese salad and move on to one of the pasta dishes buried beneath a blanket of shaved Parmesan. The back patio is a quaint spot to enjoy a glass of red wine. 

The Lebanese owners at one of San José's few Middle Eastern restaurants serve a wide variety of dishes from their native region, but if you can't decide, the meze platter serves two people and gives you a little bit of everything. Try the juicy shish kebab de cordero (of lamb) or, if you're feeling especially adventurous, the raw ground-meat kebbe naye (with wheat meal) and kafta naye (without wheat meal). A hip bar in the back serves the same menu. On Wednesday night there is live synthesizer music; on Thursday night, check out the immensely popular 8 pm belly-dancing show.

At El Mangroove’s trendy poolside restaurant, guests can dine with a glimpse of the ocean or head indoors to the more formal dining room enclosed in glass. Most ingredients are locally grown, and nearly every item on the menu is organic, including the grass-fed beef. Start with wild oyster tartar with artichoke and tarragon then move on to the signature entrées including cavatelli pasta with grilled octopus, and the remarkably tender ribs. Portions are small, which means you may have room for the chocolate cheesecake. The mosquitoes are enough to ruin your meal, so wear long pants or dine indoors.

If you want to enjoy a little local atmosphere, join the anglers, families, and backpackers at this tiny restaurant that has spilled over into a large waterfront garden. You can spend $10 for a plate of grilled fish or $36 on lobster. The menu is truly vast, with more than 50 platos fuertes (main courses) that run the gamut from seafood rice to whole lobsters to sirloin steaks. Wash it down with the only draft beer served in town, including microbrews, and gaze out at the Golfo Dulce. Marking the center of the dining area is a massive tree growing through the rafters. 

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. 

A giant, colorful chorreador, a traditional wooden stand for making coffee with a socklike filter, marks the spot for this tiny but sophisticated café, a showplace for the award-winning, high-altitude coffee from the nearby Tarrazú coffee region. Watch barristas expertly concoct flavorful espresso and cappuccino, complete with artistic swirls in the milk foam.

Pleasing a loyal legion of local fans since 1974, Nogui's offers a hearty menu of seafood and meat dishes that pair perfectly with a tamarind margarita. With feet-in-the-sand dining and ocean views, it's a great place to let the kids play on the beach while you enjoy one of Tamarindo's best places to watch the sunset.

The generous homemade meals at this ranch-style restaurant are delicious, and the incredibly friendly waitstaff, who epitomize Costa Rican hospitality and dress in folkloric clothing, prepare your coffee filtered through the traditional cloth chorreador. The place keeps late hours, just in case those late-night gallo pinto (Costa Rican–style rice and beans) pangs hit. Some disparage the restaurant as "too touristy"; perhaps it is, but it's also fun. The place is partly open and sits on a street with a lot of traffic, which is its one drawback. 

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. 

Although this century-old redbrick house with stained-glass windows serves the full contingent of Mediterranean cuisine, it's best for drinks and Spanish-style tapas. The pub atmosphere draws everybody from tie-clad business executives to university students, and there are umbrella-covered tables on the sidewalk to enjoy warm evenings. Groups liven up the large front room—the quieter, smaller back rooms maintain a bit more romance.

Grab a table at the second-floor lounge overlooking the pool while the kitchen cooks up fresh seafood delivered daily by local fishermen. Dinner reservations are recommended, so call ahead to try the coconut shrimp, sesame-crusted tuna, or Thai curry. There are also delicious salads with shredded papaya and tangy dressings, as well as local casados to remind you that you’re in Costa Rica. Wash it all down with an unparalleled passion fruit mojito. The breakfast specials are a bargain.