Four Must-Try Restaurants in Costa Rica!

With mouth-watering food just a few steps away no matter where you are in Costa Rica, you simply can’t go wrong when picking a place to dine! Restaurants and local Sodas are plentiful and often do not require reservations. That being said, some restaurants are small, and the more popular ones often cannot accommodate walk-ins so making reservations is a good move if there is a place that you simply can’t miss. Not knowing this ahead of time, we almost missed out on one of the culinary gems of La Fortuna, but we got lucky as the restaurant had a single opening the following day! Anyway, here are the restaurants that we absolutely loved — that we think you will too— in Costa Rica!

Snappers House

Located just off the main drag in La Fortuna, Snappers House is well known for its seafood offerings. The upbeat, open-air restaurant offers both international and locally inspired seafood dishes. Snapper’s menu is extensive, offering practically every seafood preparation you can think of and then some! We were particularly impressed by the wide selection of Ceviches on offer. If you ask us, the house ceviche made with perfectly prepared seafood in a passion fruit sauce was both bright and delicate and was perhaps the best ceviche we’ve had to date! We also thoroughly enjoyed the tender sea bass with cream sauce and the more traditional shrimp and rice. Prices are surprisingly affordable and portions are large at Snapper’s so bring your appetite!

Travesia

Also located in La Fortuna, Travesia is one of the most sought-after and fanciest restaurants in the city thanks to its charming open-air dining room and its unmatched offerings. Known for its grilled meats as well as its affordable prices, Travesia rarely finds itself with an empty table on any given night. This means that reservations are a must! The menu at Travesia is small but varied, offering both shared and individual entrees as well as Comida Tipica. Choosing isn’t particularly difficult as just about everyone intent on Travesia is headed there for the grills – us included! We started our meal with the Asian-inspired tuna tartare which was well prepared but didn’t really impress us. We then moved on to the star of the evening: the mixed grill for two!

Shortly after ordering, a portable grill was majestically deposited in the center of our table. Laden with enough meat to make any carnivore proud, our grill came with a fully cooked plethora consisting of a hearty helping of Picanha steak, chicken breast, plantains, garlic shrimp, potatoes and a bunch of sides and sauces that, even today, we’re still shocked at having managed to finish! So, was Travesia worth the hype? Yes, it definitely was! Not only was everything on our grill prepared well, but we also felt that the seasoning and sauce selection surpassed other similar restaurants that we’ve tried in the past. Honestly, our experience at Travesia may have left us with meat sweats but we absolutely can’t wait to go back!

El Pelicano

With tons to choose from when it comes to restaurants in Tamarindo, decision paralysis can be a real concern. But don’t worry! We’ve got you covered! Right in the heart of Tamarindo, is El Pelicano, an award-winning fusion restaurant with undeniable beach vibes serving up fresh seafood right off the boat! Although we were fortunate to grab a table given our impromptu stop at El Pelicano, reservations are highly recommended. While known for their ceviches, we opted to try the local seafood soup and the seared snapper with orzo in curry sauce, both of which were remarkable. The showstopper of the night, however, was the grilled, whole snapper! Artfully seasoned and grilled and served with perhaps the best fries on the island, the snapper was fork-tender and large enough to feed two! And did we mention that it only set us back 23 USD?

Pollo del Monte

Viewed as essentially a fast-food restaurant in San Jose, Pollo del Monte is a jewel in disguise. Serving up melt-in-your-mouth rotisserie chicken straight out of a wood-fired oven, Pollo del Monte is the best chicken restaurant we tried in Costa Rica. As with such restaurants, the rotisserie is sold by pieces and sides such as fries and yucca fries can be added on. We should mention that Pollo del Monte does not offer fried chicken as they exclusively focus on firewood roasted chicken. In addition to being practically the best rotisserie chicken in the world — next to the rotisserie of Peru that is — Pollo del Monte is also super affordable making it one of the cheapest, fastest, and tastiest meals in Costa Rica!