Costa Rica · best-of list
The 6 Best Restaurants in Costa Rica
All 6 restaurants our route editors picked in Costa Rica, across 3 destinations, gathered in one list. Each one is a stop on a route you can open and copy into a trip.
Our curated picks
6 restaurants in Costa Rica, grouped by destination. Destinations with the most picks come first; this is not a ranking.
La Fortuna 2 picks
Restaurante Don Rufino
La Fortuna · On our Costa Rica Pura Vida route
Long-running grill in town for steak and local plates.
Photo: Don Rufino · Google
Soda Viquez
La Fortuna · On our Costa Rica Pura Vida route
Local soda serving casados and gallo pinto.
Photo: Scott Partin · Google
Manuel Antonio 2 picks
Manuel Antonio Falafel Bar
Manuel Antonio · On our Costa Rica Pura Vida route
Fresh falafel, shawarma and hummus plates on the main road; a cheap, fast lunch between the park and the beach.
Tip: Grab a lemonade with mint; it gets busy at sunset.
Photo: Manuel Antonio Falafel Bar · Google
Ronny's Place
Manuel Antonio · On our Costa Rica Pura Vida route
Restaurant overlooking coves.
Tip: Closes for an annual break around late September; book for sunset.
Photo: Ronny's Place Restaurante · Google
Monteverde 2 picks
Monteverde Cheese Factory
Monteverde · On our Costa Rica Pura Vida route
Dairy shop selling cheese and ice cream.
Photo: Flying Squirrel · Google
Tree House Restaurant
Monteverde · On our Costa Rica Pura Vida route
Restaurant built around a fig tree.
Photo: Tree House | Restaurant in Monteverde · Google
How we picked these
Every entry is a stop on at least one of TripsCircle's hand-curated routes, chosen by our route editors, who wrote the reason to go shown with each place. These are our curated picks, not a scored ranking: we haven't rated or reviewed them against each other. The list is grouped by destination, and within each destination places that appear on more routes come first.
Prices ($ to $$$$) and visit lengths are rough guides from our route notes, not quotes. Check opening hours before you go.
About this list
How did you choose the restaurants in Costa Rica?
Each one is a stop on a TripsCircle route that our editors built by hand, and each comes with a written reason to go. This page shows all 6 of them. They are curated picks, not a ranked score.
Which part of Costa Rica has the most restaurants on this list?
La Fortuna, Manuel Antonio and Monteverde lead with 2 each; the other picks are spread across 0 more destinations.
More lists for Costa Rica
Best restaurants nearby
Destinations on this list
- La Fortuna 2 on this list
- Manuel Antonio 2 on this list
- Monteverde 2 on this list
Turn this list into a plan
Open a curated route in TripsCircle, add the spots your crew wants, vote with polls and keep everyone on one shared itinerary.