66 Best Bars in Costa Rica

The viny, jungly interior and exterior might make you question if you’re indoors or outdoors here. Partake of a good selection of inventive cocktails and craft beers all to the accompaniment of burgers and appetizers. Enjoy mellow jazz or blues on occasional evenings with the over-30 crowd who frequents this place.

With an on-site, full-scale brewery below and a rancho restaurant above, this hip brewpub with live music most Fridays has become the liveliest nightspot in town. Belly up to the long bar, relax in a quieter lounge area, or take a table overlooking the garden and the Barú River estuary. Beer-battered tacos, tuna poke, and pizza accompany the 12+ beers on tap; you can order a flight of four ales to taste, then order your favorite. It's open till midnight.

This colorful bistro has live music several days of the week and handcrafted brews made in-house. Drop by on Wednesday to hear local musicians at open-mic night.

Ojochal has a live-music outlet at sunset on most Fridays, Saturdays, and Mondays at the Bamboo Room in the Alma Hotel. They showcase local and guest musicians playing popular music for grown-ups, from oldies to jazz to country. Check Facebook for the music lineup.

Snag one of the front tables at this enjoyable place for a nighttime drink on the second floor of the Hotel Balmoral, and you can survey the passing parade on Avenida Central. You’ll hear occasional live music on weekends.

The rain does get a bit loud on the metal roof, but the wide selection of coffee drinks here is worth the occasional racket.

Open sunset to midnight for tapas and cocktails, wine, and beer, this open-air lounge on the third floor has tasty drinks, fun music, dancing, guest DJs from New York, and a clubby feel you may not be expecting to find in the middle of the jungle.

A scant two tables and a small counter are the only seating at this tiny place, a converted garage, which serves coffee from its own finca in Tarrazú in the Los Santos region.

If you’re out this way, Chao’s makes for a pleasant open-air space for a beer and some seafood and fries at any time. Like Reggae Bar next door, there's beachfront dining, Caribbean menus, and nonstop reggae and dancehall booming from the speakers. After dark, it’s best to get here and back by taxi.

Music blasts from the dark, uninviting entrance, but farther back is a brighter, spacious deck with pool tables and dancing. Directly behind is an open-air beach bar with a more laid-back atmosphere and a breezy ocean view. You're likely to see fire dancers in the street out front.

The elevated, glassed-in café here lets you survey the ongoing hive of activity on the small, shaded plaza in front of the post office.

Lively reggae, soca, and samba blast weekend evenings from the turquoise Coco's Bar. The assemblage of dogs dozing on its veranda during the day illustrates the rhythm of local life.

Local expats meet up at this popular brewhouse, sports bar, and grill, with TVs for Monday Night Football, a full range of bar food, Costa Rican craft beer, and live music most nights. It's not the place to go if you're in a hurry, service can sometimes be slow. Tuesday features karaoke at 7:30. There's also free Wi-Fi, but don't expect to be able to focus on work over the noise.

One of Costa Rica’s budding brewpubs serves four of its own craft beers and one seasonally rotating one, as well as possibly the country’s best selection of international brews, plus burgers and appetizers. Look for the CBRF sign in front. Weekend nights get crowded.

One of the pioneers of the country’s nascent microbrewery industry has set up shop west of Santa Ana, serving two year-round ales and several seasonal ones. They make a refreshing change from the ubiquitous Imperial beer.

Craic’s certainly looks Gaelic and has several beers and stouts on tap—some are Irish, some are not—and the pub grub here is pretty American. The overflow at this popular place spills into the outdoor garden on warm nights.

Popular with the surfing crowd, Crazy Monkey Bar features live salsa music, a fire show, and DJs that attract locals who really know how to move—and a crowd of appreciative onlookers. Friday night is ladies' night.

The music and voices wafting out of this Main Street eatery most evenings attract both tourists and locals to huddle together over cacao margaritas and bottles of Imperial. Tables are set up on the sidewalk and the open-air patio, and on most nights of the week there is a reason to stop in, whether it's for drink specials, karaoke, or a DJ. The atmosphere is one of friendly neighborhood camaraderie, even though it may only be your first visit. The food is tasty and the portions are generous; the full menu features pizzas and seafood dishes, but as the night goes on, the menu becomes limited to pizza only.

After a sunset surf session, pull up a bar stool in the sand and enjoy a craft beer made at the neighboring Volcano Brewing Company. Happy hour is from 5 to 7, and there’s live music on weekends. If you’ve worked up an appetite, try the chicken wings, jalapeño poppers, hamburgers, and nachos. This is the best place to watch the surfers over a cold one.

The best place to enjoy a quiet sunset margarita—or make that a “rooster-rita”—is at this laid-back bar and restaurant on the beach. You can relax on the wooden deck, or at the tables right on the sand, and enjoy a romantic dinner featuring fresh fish and Tex-Mex favorites. Portions here are huge, and there's free Wi-Fi, a pool table, a big-screen TV, and occasional live music to keep you entertained. It's open 11 to 9:30, but if you get here early, you may end up staying all day.

The curved, polished-wood bar at this marina is cooled by breezes off Golfito Bay. It's a pleasant place to meet locals, tell fish tales, and sit and watch the sunset over the bay. Drink specials, including 2 for 1 cocktails are offered all day long.

Live acoustic music on Saturday night draws a big crowd.

A popular watering hole with the under-30 set, this spot has televised sports by day, varied music by night, and an island theme of beach paintings and surfboards. Costa Ricans refer to this style of bar as an "American bar," which is fairly accurate.

A wonderful breeze wafts through this huge, semi-open-air, U-shaped bar just off the beach. Nights are dedicated variously to bingo, karaoke, live music, and open-mic performances.

This lively beachfront hotel has live music select nights, and Taco Tuesday (half-off tacos). The crowd is thirtyish and up.

Music fans chill out here. The boxy club hosts an eclectic live-music lineup.