28 Best Restaurants in The Osa Peninsula and the South Pacific, Costa Rica

Tangy, tart, and refreshing, this ultrasophisticated restaurant lives up to its name, both in its daring decor and inventive fusion menu spanning the globe from the Far East, across the Mediterranean to chef Marcella Marciano's culinary homeland, France. The menu careens from classic French escargots and moules marinières to Japanese wasabi-spiced shrimp, to Indian chicken curry. Make a light meal of international tapas, say: Korean steamed kimchi-and-shiitake dumplings, Belgian cheese croquettes, or a duo of salmon and tuna tartare. Local seafood makes appearances as Greek-style fish fillet with almonds and caper butter or in a seafood-packed umami sushi bowl. The signature seafood platter reigns supreme with lobster, mussels, calamari, and shrimp bathed in a creamy lemon-and-garlic sauce. Craft beers are on tap, along with a wide-ranging wine list. Presentation is exquisite. Desserts are de rigueur; if you like chocolate, don't pass up the divine choco-choco flourless chocolate cake with vanilla ice cream.

In the off season (December through March), it's open only 7--10 am.

Fabulous French cuisine with tropical accents served on an intimate alfresco patio in the tiny French-Canadian enclave of Ojochal keeps this romantic restaurant at the top of locals' list of go-to special-occasion restaurants. Raked sand, red lanterns, and "curtains" of fairy lights set the tone for a menu that includes an intriguing Tahitian fish carpaccio bathed in a creamy banana and coconut marinade, a hearty serving of fish or shrimp in a banana-curry sauce, or a spicy Vietnamese chicken soup. French favorites include cognac liver pâté and a pricey but excellent duck breast with orange sauce. Presentation is artistic, with garnishes of flowers and sprigs of exotic greenery. The wine list is international and reasonably priced. Desserts are all homemade and luscious. Chocoholics won't want to miss the Devil's Fork flourless chocolate cake, rich and dense, with a hint of chili pepper. For a refreshing finish to a meal, the passion-fruit ice cream with a blackberry coulis will leave your taste buds tingling. This restaurant has just 14 tables encased in greenery under a thatch roof.

Picture a dream location: a high headland jutting out into the sea with vistas up and down the coast, and throw in a breeze-swept terrace, polished service, a boat-shape bar, and some fine seaside cuisine, and you are at La Parcela. The turquoise and white decor is reminiscent of Greece, the sunsets are spectacular, and shrimp and lobster dishes are pricey but excellent. A perfect, but less expensive, light lunch is the beer-battered fish with crunchy carrot and cabbage salad, served with guacamole. Reasonably priced appetizers include ceviche, fried calamari, and clams in white-wine sauce. Desserts here are rich and substantial enough to share. If you're just passing through Dominical, this is a good place for a cold beer and an appetizer, or a naturale, a tall glass of freshly whipped fruit juice.

Head to this casually chic, open-air beachfront restaurant for the most upscale and memorable dining, with a dazzling, postcard-perfect beach view and the most sophisticated menu in the Puerto Jiménez area. Standouts on the tantalizing menu include a four-soup sampler: black bean with egg, avocado, and cilantro; warm carrot ginger with red-pepper coulis; and a cold, spicy gazpacho as well as a green version. Fish cakes with sesame-cabbage slaw and ginger marmalade come with heaps of homemade chips. Mahimahi can be prepared tropical style, with a spicy Veracruz sauce, or in garlic butter. Vegetarian options include vegetable stir-fry with tofu, vegetable burritos, and pasta puttanesca. Wines and craft beers, along with exotic fruit drinks, are on tap. Save room for homemade ice cream and brownies. Portions are huge and served with style. The restaurant is owned by Iguana Lodge and high standards of service apply at both. Tuesday is BBQ night; come early to watch the sunset.

Be aware that menu prices do not include tax and service, which adds another 23%.

Authentic paella, made with nutty, saffron-infused Spanish rice and the freshest seafood, is the main reason to wend your way along a rutted dirt road behind Playa Ballena to this jungle outpost of Catalan cuisine. The smallish, open-air rancho is nothing fancy, with wooden chairs and tables and a few potted palms, but it fills up fast. The warm welcome along with the expertly executed Catalonian menu quickly dispel any qualms about the seriousness of this restaurant. There's a classic, spicy, Andalusian gazpacho for starters or tapas to share while you wait the 40 minutes for your cooked-to-order paella. Try the delicate, sweet mussels, bathed in a spicy wine sauce, or the succulent mushrooms marinated in garlic and olive oil. The list of seafood specialties includes whiskey-flambéed shrimp, and meat-lovers can sink their teeth into sirloin slathered with a wine-and-fresh-grape sauce. Chicken takes on tropical flavors with sauces featuring mango, rum, and curry. The pace is a little leisurely, but a pitcher of excellent sangria, studded with tropical fruit chunks, helps to pass the time enjoyably. There are only five or six tables at this dinner-only restaurant, so reservations are advised.

For consistently good American-style food, you can't beat this marina restaurant with a view of expensive yachts and sportfishing boats. Locals complain that the prices are high, but portions are hefty and include generous salads, sizzling hamburgers, and a delicious grilled dorado sandwich with a mountain of fries. Shrimp and fish plates are pricier ($15 to $22) but they couldn't be fresher, straight off the local boats. It's open for breakfast, too. While you're waiting for your order, take advantage of the free Wi-Fi.

Fortunately for food lovers, the "Good Luck Café" serves truly astonishing vegetarian food, along with intriguing exotic juices and thick fruit smoothies. The homemade yogurt is a revelation: light, almost fluffy, and full of flavor, served over a cornucopia of fruits, sprinkled with the café's own granola, and mixed into refreshing fruit-flavored lassis. Healthful sandwiches include excellent hummus, and hot daily specials might include curried hearts of palm or juicy veggie burgers. Their espresso machine makes a mean cup of joe and the cappuccino pairs perfectly with the fudgy brownie or brown-sugar oatmeal square for the road. Bring your laptop and use the Wi-Fi. It's open 8 to 5. Sometimes open for dinner in high season, April to July. Budget travelers might want to stay the night at their simple rooms.

Pull up a counter stool or sit at a table on the popular riverside terrace at this friendly café with creative vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, organic juices, local and imported craft beers on tap, kombuchas, and herbal teas. Desserts are not only gluten-free, they are addictive: the chocolate papaya pie combines dark chocolate with papaya to make a rich mousse filling for a date, almond, and coconut crust. For breakfast, try a hearty Tico plate chock-full of brown rice and pinto beans, topped by a mini-omelet with red peppers, spring onions, local cheeses, tomato, avocado, and plantains—with chipotle sauce on the side. A lighter option is smashed avocados on toast with goat cheese sprinkled with pink salt. It's open 6:30 am to 9 pm daily.

Fabulous fish burritos, steak with tropical sauce, and a savory fillet of sea bass with a smoky jalapeño cream sauce are a few of the delights at this screened-in-porch restaurant in a bright-yellow clapboard cottage on the beach. Chicken or fish curry is popular with the locals. Attention is paid to sides, too, including creamy mashed potatoes, cheese-topped toasted garlic bread, and perfectly cooked vegetables. Beer and wine by the glass or bottle are available. Service here is with a smile, and everything is cooked to order, so relax—you're at the beach. If you want to try the banana pancakes at breakfast, consider staying at one of the four beachfront cabins, or just come along at breakfast time, 7 to 10 am. Bikes and boards can be rented here as well. 

With a view over the Barú estuary, this open-air Japanese restaurant serves local seafood in all the usual rolls and sashimi, with some tropical twists, plus imported Sapporo beer, sake, or green tea. Dark bamboo furniture, Japanese lanterns, and colored globes set the modern, minimalist scene, while smooth, jazzy music sets a cool mood. Try the Tico Roll, with spicy shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and mango, wrapped in sweet plantain; or dig into the ahi poke salad, with cubes of raw tuna marinated in sesame oil, chili, and soy sauce, atop a Hawaiian salad sprinkled with peanuts or almonds. You can perch on a stool at the counter to watch the sushi chefs at work.

The kind of extraordinary restaurant you hope to stumble on in the most unlikely place, this intimate five-table wood-and-bamboo dining room is presided over by chef Esteban Acuña, whose family owns the attached small hotel. Drawing on his California training, Acuña gives local ingredients contemporary twists, flavored with herbs from the adjoining garden. Creamy soups are a meal in themselves. Trout, tuna, chicken, and tofu arrive in curry, vodka, red wine, and wasabi sauces. Desserts are delectable, so save some room.

Beer-battered onion rings, fresh hand-cut fries, and fried pickles have taken Dominical by storm at this laid-back alfresco kiosk in the Pueblo del Río complex on the riverfront. The fish tacos are outstanding—crispy beer-battered fish fillets accompanied by guacamole, red cabbage, and a spicy sauce are folded into a thin soft tortilla. You can substitute fried shrimp or go vegetarian with black beans and vegetables. The tortillas even come in a gluten-free version. Ultra-healthy grilled fish and vegetables are also on the menu, along with less healthy but delicious classic fish-and-chips. Beer, sodas, and fruit smoothies wash it all down. Seating is at wooden benches and tables on a covered wood patio.

This kitschy Italian spot within earshot of the surf serves savory bruschetta and 16 varieties of the town's most authentic pizza: crispy, with a thin crust, Neapolitan-style. The four-seasons pizza is a triumph, with thin, spicy pepperoni, flavorful ham, olives, eggplant, peppers, onion, and zucchini. The medium size is more than big enough for two. Save room for the knockout gnocchi, pillow-soft dumplings made with potatoes and cheese and bathed in olive oil and rosemary. Other choices include tortelloni in cream sauce and filet mignon. Tiramisu, piled high with whipped cream, and key lime pie do dessert duty. Japanese lanterns add a colorful touch, along with fuchsia and lime tablecloths. To find the place, look for the "La Piña" sign.

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 $9 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. An added bonus: there's free Wi-Fi.

A giant, colorful chorreador, the 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.

Besides crusty baguettes, buttery croissants, and divine pastries to go, this French bakery near the entrance to Ojochal serves hearty breakfast omelets and light lunches of fish soup, sandwiches, quiches, crepes, salads, and mussels with French fries. Customers perch on high stools at tables and counters in this casual thatch-roof café, many with their laptops open, taking advantage of the free Wi-Fi. Take-out dishes (which are great for picnics) include pork rillettes, smoked trout and salmon, and stuffed crabs.

Spice up your day with skewers of Indonesian satays and generous bowls of peanutty pad Thai and red or green curry at this hip open-air caravansary under a high corrugated-metal green roof. The kitchen, in a gaily painted converted bus, turns out portions large enough to share. Craft beers are on tap, along with organic kombucha. Less healthy but also fruity is the signature cocktail, a jalapeño-spiced pineapple margarita; on Thursday, there are two-for-one daiquiris. Service is as polished and friendly as the long, wooden communal tables. It's open from 12:30 to 9 pm daily.

This cheerful, family-run café comes with an authentic pedigree: the Colovattis are from Trieste, and the pizza is simply the best in the area. The crust is toasty crisp on the outside and chewy inside, topped with high-quality fixings and sauce made fresh every day. Calzones and homemade pastas are also on the menu, but pizza reigns supreme. Eat in the dining room—the fresh blue-and-white decor is reminiscent of the owners' hometown on the Adriatic Sea—or order takeout and bring your meal back to your hotel. The restaurant's rather odd name refers to the fact that this building used to be the post office.

On a porch with a palm-fringed beach view, this thatch-roof restaurant is open year-round and has an eclectic menu ranging from spicy quesadillas and burritos to pizza and fresh fish. There's a touch of Thai here, too; one of the most popular dishes is mahimahi in a coconut-curry sauce. The hearty bar food includes chicken wings, and there are barbecue specials on Friday nights. Homemade desserts are decadent and delicious, including a standout carrot cake, and a rich dark-chocolate brownie. Breakfasts are huge and hearty, featuring giant burritos. Credit cards are accepted but incur an extra 5% fee.

Among the handful of sodas in town serving typical Costa Rican food, this one is notable for its affordably priced whole fish and hearty portions of seafood served on a breezy veranda. Stick to the desayuno típico for breakfast, with traditional rice and beans and eggs, starting at 7 am. The omelets are great, but they come with limp french fries, the bane of tico restaurants. There are three big TV screens to keep you company while you eat, and loud traditional music blaring from the rafters of the burlap-bag covered ceiling. 

This simple alfresco restaurant in the heart of Puerto Jiménez is the most likely spot to meet locals and run into just about every visitor in town, making it a good place to pick up information. It serves decent comida típica, salads, pasta, reliably fresh seafood, and excellent fruit smoothies. For a taste of home, the menu has several "fast food" options ranging from burgers and hot dogs to tacos and chicken wings.

This pleasant terrace restaurant jutting out over the water has the best harbor view in Golfito, along with jaunty nautical decor and the coolest breezes in town. The seafood-heavy lineup includes grilled whole fish served in a variety of ways, including Caribbean style with coconut milk and a side of patacones (fried, mashed plantain). Tuna carpaccio and occasional sushi specials add a touch of sophistication. For a light lunch, the fish tacos are standouts—plenty of perfectly breaded and lightly fried fish plus fresh slaw and crispy calamari tossed on top. Salads are also on the menu, along with a few vegetarian dishes. The bar is a great place to hang out, particularly during televised sports events when fans gather to watch the two large flat-screen TVs. Grab a bucket of six beers for $12 all day long. Inexpensive, motel-style rooms and larger suites with the same view are available for rent.

This alfresco restaurant tucked beside a bona fide Boeing 727 (minus the engine) delivers generous portions of upscale pastas, succulent meats, and tasty fish and seafood, including Peruvian-style ceviches. During the day kids can frolic in the swimming pool and adults can order spicy tropical chicken wings. If you've had one too many cocktails, you can see if a room is available in the plane that operates as a BnB.

It's not always easy to find a great cup of coffee around Uvita, but the espresso here, brewed using organic coffee beans from the high-altitude Dota region, is excellent and ready by 7 am. Pair it with a homemade pastry for a heavenly morning. This hip café also serves salads, sandwiches, burgers, pizza, and divine desserts, including a tart lemon pie with clouds of perfect meringue topping. You also can buy Sibu's coffee beans to take home. Sit on the popular terrace and enjoy the free WI-Fi and laid-back vibe.

Bamboo decks the walls at this hilltop restaurant with a spectacular view of land and sea, but it's the upscale menu that grabs one's attention due to its innovative takes on fish, shrimp, chicken, and out-of-the-ordinary bar food. Crunchy, panko-crispy shrimp make appearances in salads and on their own, and the beer-battered sea bass keeps customers on repeat. Save room for homemade ice cream in unique flavors. Craft beers, cocktails, and wine are all on tap. The upbeat Canadian owner provides an enthusiastic welcome and makes sure everyone is happy. There's live music (Monday, Friday, Saturday at 6 pm) by local and guest musicians playing popular music for grown-ups, from oldies to jazz to country.

This perennially popular and casual surfer hangout is right across from Dominical Beach, which you can spy through a fringe of palm trees. Favorite menu items are the fresh-baked baguette sandwiches stuffed with interesting combinations and the excellent margaritas and flavored daiquiris, usually downed at the huge U-shape bar. Try the nachos, burgers, wraps, or coconut-crusted fish with a tropical sauce. Fresh-fish specials, notably the whole fried fish, round out the menu. Live bands or a DJ play from the stage, usually on Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday night. There's free Wi-Fi.

No worries if you can't decide between lunch or the beach, because you can get both at this cheerful, casual restaurant and beach club, complete with swimming pool and showers. Just steps from Playa Ballena, Villa Leonor allows you to stroll down to the beach between courses or chill out with ice-cold beer while the kids play in the pool. Typical casados are a bargain, with fish or chicken and lots of sides. Local lobsters, broiled in garlic butter, can be ordered ahead. The restaurant also offers mixed chicken and fish fajitas, excellent fruit smoothies, and tropical cocktails. Service is sprightly, and the friendly owners are usually on hand to greet customers.