Dining & Food

Marina Village at Los Sueños is the upscale dining hub: open-air restaurants overlooking the marina with fresh catch brought in by fishing boats earlier that day. Expect grilled mahi-mahi, yellowfin tuna sashimi, ceviche with coconut milk, and fusion plates blending Costa Rican ingredients with international technique. Prices lean resort-level (entrees $18-32), but quality and atmosphere justify it for special dinners. Thursday evening farmers market brings local vendors selling prepared foods, empanadas, and fresh fruit at ground-level prices. For casual dinners, walk 5 minutes to Herradura's beachfront restaurants for fresh fish plates at half the cost.

Jacó has the densest restaurant scene on the Central Pacific: 50+ spots ranging from beachfront sodas to white-tablecloth bistros. Avenida Pastor Díaz (the main strip) is wall-to-wall restaurants: sushi bars, wood-fired pizza, taco stands, smoothie cafes, Costa Rican casado joints, and farm-to-table experiments. Standout meals happen at places like Lemon Zest (seafood and cocktails), Graffiti Restro Cafe (fusion small plates), and Green Room (surfer-chef-run cafe with killer breakfast). Don't skip the beachfront sodas: plastic chairs, cold beer, whole fried snapper with rice and beans, and ocean views. Friday farmers market at Plaza Coral has prepared foods and fresh produce. Quality is variable but the volume of options means you can eat well for a week without repeating.

Herradura's beachfront restaurant row is where local Costa Rican families eat: casual open-air spots serving whole grilled fish (dorado, pargo, mahi-mahi), ceviche, rice and beans, and cold Imperial beer. It's unpretentious, affordable ($8-15 for a full meal), and delicious. The catch of the day is actually caught that day. Ask for extras like patacones (fried plantains) and pico de gallo. These restaurants lack the polish of Marina Village but deliver more authentic flavor and better value. A few newer spots are elevating the scene with craft cocktails and refined plating, but the vibe remains decidedly local.

Playa Hermosa's food scene is small but surprisingly strong: surf-town cafes serving smoothie bowls, avocado toast, and strong coffee morph into dinner spots with fresh fish, wood-fired pizza, and Thai-Costa Rican fusion. Jungle Juice Cafe and The Backyard are breakfast institutions. Dinner spots like Otra Ola and Noi's serve locally caught fish with global techniques. The energy is casual and creative: chefs cooking what they want to eat, not what they think tourists expect. Fewer options than Jacó (you can cover the whole scene in 3-4 nights), but higher average quality and more heart.

Santa Teresa punches well above its weight as a remote surf town. The food scene reflects the community that chose to live here: international expat chefs, wellness-oriented cooks, and local families all contribute to a main-road strip that runs from fresh-catch ceviche sodas to sophisticated beachfront restaurants with wine lists. Playa Carmen has the highest restaurant density with everything from sushi and wood-fired pizza to open-air BBQ and plant-based cafes. The wellness community drives a strong cafe culture with excellent breakfasts, cold-pressed juices, smoothie bowls, and freshly baked bread from early morning. For budget meals, local sodas serve casado with fresh fish for $8-12. For special evenings, beachfront restaurants offer whole grilled catch, craft cocktails, and Pacific sunset views. Prices are honest for a remote destination: good food at Jacó-equivalent prices without the tourist markup.

Escazú is the culinary capital of Costa Rica's Central Valley, and arguably the finest dining destination in the entire country outside of San José's top hotel restaurants. The concentration of international cuisine in a compact, walkable district is remarkable for Central America. Peruvian restaurants with serious pisco programs and imported Chilean wines (La Divina Comida leads the charge). Argentine parrillas serving prime cuts cooked over wood fire (El Novillo Alegre). Indian kitchens with garden tables and candle service (Taj Mahal). French bistros tucked into the Multiplaza complex (L'Ile de France). Traditional Costa Rican cooking served with panoramic Central Valley views from hilltop settings (Mirador Tiquicia in San Antonio de Escazú, the non-negotiable dinner for first-time visitors). International chain dining at Multiplaza (P.F. Chang's, La Fabbrica) for those who want quality without surprises. AutoMercado in Multiplaza carries imported cheeses, cured meats, international wines, and specialty groceries that let you stock a rental kitchen at a level impossible in beach towns. The clientele is business professionals, expat families, medical tourists, and the San José social set: a dining culture shaped by people who eat out weekly and have standards to match.