For the last three months, I ate my way through most of the eateries in Playa del Coco to write you a legit list of its best restaurants. It was tough, but I persevered. Food tastes are always subjective, so we tried to eat at each place a couple times to account for “off” days and consistency. In the end, though, these sorts of lists are always about personal preference.
We stayed five minutes down the road from the main drag in the Las Palmas neighborhood. This area has two lovely courtyards on either side of the street with massage and nail salons, a coffee shop, a grocery store, and many restaurants. If you’re staying closer to town, make sure to head over for the best Italian, best steak, best coffee shops, and best waffles in all of Coco!
Juls House— Las Palmas. We ate at Juls A LOT. Consistently good food and the best Tico or local plate we had, a fantastic house-made passion fruit vinaigrette on their salads, huge wine pours, best hamburger and the best ribeye steak we had in all of Costa Rica for only $15.
Java Coffee— Las Palmas. 99% of every word I wrote in Costa Rica was at a table in the courtyard of this beautiful place. Fresh fruit smoothies, excellent coffee, bagel breakfast sandwiches, and the best waffles I’ve ever had. Don’t forget to try the chunky monkey milkshake—one of the many reasons my shorts don’t fit anymore. They also have a lovely little book trade library inside.
La Dolce Vita— Las Palmas. Closed on Wednesdays. One of the best Italian restaurants I’ve ever been to. The service is exceptional, beef carpaccio is amazing, and if you ate nothing else but their truffle mushroom pasta for seven days it would be a happy week. Skip the lasagna. Oddly, also the best mojitos served in copper mugs!
Guayoyo Coffee— On the road from the main drag to Las Palmas. This one was a surprise. Set back in an unassuming little strip mall-like building, Goyoyo blew us away. They are open for breakfast and lunch and have the best latte, incredible in-house baked goods (try the red velvet cupcakes), and fantastic food. An interesting mix of Costa Rican and Venezulean, they make cachapas, a thin, slightly sweet, corn crepe stuffed with a variety of fillings like braised smoked chicken, cheese, and avocado and topped with a fried egg. So good. Their arepas are the best we had, and they have a great selection of vegetarian and vegan items.
Santorini— Greek restaurant on the main drag/rd 151. The main street in Playa del Coco is full of many touristy restaurants, all serving similar menus of similar quality. Santorini stands out not only for its soothing and beautifully decorated open-air dining room but for its fresh, quality, amply filled menu. The pork souvlaki melts in your mouth, the seafood is caught fresh each morning and expertly prepared, and the house-made sangrias are fantastic.
Nikkei – Main road, accross from Auto Mercado. Great sushi, great asian inspired dishes utilizing local ingredients. The braised pork belly melts in your mouth and their ceviche with passionfruit was the best we had.
Cafe de Playa Restaurant – Down the beach, 1 minutes past Las Palmas is this gorgeous beach front, toes in the sand, semi-fine dining restaurant serving some of the best seafood we had the whole trip.
And to simplify things here is my best of list:
Best Coffee – Java Coffee and Guayoyo
Best Breakfast – Guayoyo Coffee Shop
Best Steak, Best Local Tico Plate – Juls House, see above
Best Italian, Best Mojitos – La Dolce Vita
Best Pina Coloda – Zi Lounge, main drag
Best Empanadas –Don’t know the name! Fried chicken place on the side of the road, main street in town, near the Auto Mercato.
Best Local IPAs – Numu, main drag, across of the Auto Mercado grocery store
Best Whole Grilled Fish – Cafe de Playa
Best Fried Fish – If you end up at any one of the many places on the main drag through town, ordering whole fried snapper is almost always a win.
Street Skewers – In the main square in front of the beach and along the main road, you’ll find a number of meat skewer stands. We tried almost all of them, and they were all delicious and a great cheap eat!
As I said, these were our favorites. If you have a wonderful meal at a restaurant not listed, please tell me about it. We love to spread the love!
Sunshine Dunning 