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Dining & Nightlife in Monteverde,
Costa Rica
There are many restaurants in Monteverde, with new ones appearing all the time and those that already exist changing ownership. Many hotels also have their own restaurants attached so that it is impossible to compile and maintain a complete and up-to-date listing of all the places offering food. Please remember that most prices do not include tax. Revised November
03, 2005.
In brief: Bar Amigos in Santa Elena is a good place to have a drink. It is the towns cantina. Fridays nights the 'taka taka' plays cumbia and the place is packed with the Santa Elena crowed. La Taberna is newly remolded and a good option for dancing. La Cascada and this place are the 2 most popular places to go out. La Cascada, the largest can be packed and deafening on weekends. Domingo's is not really popular with tourists. They have good pool tables up stairs. Avoid the karaoke at all costs.
Glossary of Typical Foods in Costa Rica.
Restaurant Listings:
Also Check out Sabores
Ice Cream Parlor.
Night Life (music, dancing):
Morphos Restaurant
This restaurant is located opposite the supermarket in Santa Elena, above the
Desafio Adventure Company office. It has a very pleasant atmosphere and unique rustic
décor that incorporates its Morphos butterfly theme. The food offered includes vegetarian options, Costa Rican dishes, pastas, fish and meat dishes. They also serve soups, salads and sandwiches (in two sizes with a good choice of fillings) for a light snack. Prices range from
$4-$11 per dish. There is also a selection of hot and cold drinks, including a wide range of natural fruit juices in water, milk or yogurt.
It's a very popular place to eat and can sometimes mean waiting
for a table.
Hours: 11.00 am - 10.00 pm Daily
El Marqués
This restaurant is located beyond the Panadería Jimenez and opposite the bank in Santa Elena. It does not look particularly special from the outside, with a rather basic décor and plastic tables and chairs. However, the food is good and very reasonably priced and the restaurant owner prides himself on always using fresh products. The restaurant specializes in fish dishes with a whole sea bass, served with fries and salad costing
$6, various other fillet options or seafood dishes and a range of prawn dishes. The restaurant also offers some chicken dishes and hamburgers and is planning to extend its menu to include Chinese rice (arroz cantonés), fried chicken, tacos, casados, etc. Well worth a visit.
Hours: Open Monday-Saturday, 12.00 md-10.00 pm. Closed Sundays?.
Las Palmeras Restaurant
Located just before the turning to the Butterfly Farm and Finca Ecológica on the road to the Monteverde Reserve, this
restaurant offers an extensive menu, ranging from typical Costa Rican cuisine, to pizza, pastas, fish, meat and chicken dishes. There are also dishes for vegetarians. It is a restaurant where you will see local people dining but which also caters for international
customers from the large nearby hotels. The food is reasonably priced with pizzas coming in two sizes and priced from
$6.50, pasta dishes costing $4.50 and fish or meat dishes ranging from
$5.
Recently expanded, Palmeras serves a lot of tourism groups, and
feels like an annex to one of the large, neighboring hotels.
Hours: 6.00 am - 10.00 pm Daily
La Pizzeria de Johnny (Johnny's Pizzeria)
This restaurant has an elegant but comfortable atmosphere and has been described by some as the best restaurant in the Northern Zone!
(We were not one of them) It is certainly a popular place to eat, offering a wide range of pizzas and pastas, meat, and some fish specialties together with a good selection of wines and a choice of sandwiches. Personal size pizzas start about $5.50. There is also a terrace if you prefer to eat outdoors. It is not the cheapest restaurant in town but far from being expensive and the food is
of good quality with very attentive staff. There is also a gift shop. The restaurant is less than a kilometer from Santa Elena and a taxi will charge around 500 Colones for up to 4 people from Santa
Elena. Recently was embroiled in the water scandal that
effected Monteverde and received some bad press. Same
owner as Claro de Luna B&B.
Hours: Gift Shop opens at 10.00. The restaurant opens at 11.30 to serve lunches and is open until 9.15 pm daily.
De Lucía Restaurant
This restaurant is located in a peaceful spot on the road towards the
Butterfly Garden. The restaurant offers typical Costa Rican casados, vegetarian lasagna as well as meat dishes, a selection of sandwiches and hamburgers. Great filet minion. There is a terrace where you can sit outside and watch the hummingbirds visit the feeders. Prices range from $5 or $6 for a vegetarian lasagna or a casado, to $12 for steak, while sandwiches cost $2.50 and a hamburger $3.50. The staff are very friendly and the atmosphere is relaxed. A nice place for a romantic dinner.
Same owner as De
Lucia Inn.
Hours: 11.00 am-9.00 pm -ish.
Bromeliads Cafe
This new cafe is located under the Bromelias
Art Cafe - next to the Amphitheatre. Great food!
Excellent atmosphere! Some nights offer special dinners
and live music. Every Thursday night is Reggae
Night. Enjoy Caribbean dishes such as patti, rondon, rice
and beans, Caribbean style chicken and more. Music with
local Monteverde DJs. We highly recommend Bromelias
Cafe. Be sure to check out what chef Max has cooking if
your in the area.
The amphitheatre is home to a couple annual
music festivals and miscellaneous other events. Inquire
upon arrival for concerts and shows being offered.
Hours: Open daily. Some evenings open
for dinner.
Café Flor de Vida
Located adjacent to Johnny's Pizzeria, this is an interesting place to stop as, in addition to food, they offer paintings, jewelry and batik for sale.
Also on the premises is found the new Salon Cultural which hosts
community events, concerts and arts productions.
As regards food, they offer vegetarian food and a mixture of Costa Rican and international dishes. For breakfast you can choose from fruit plates, granola, eggs, omelet's, gallo pinto or tortillas. They also offer bagels (from
$1.50), vegetarian sandwiches, pizzas and burgers. In addition there are a variety of desserts, including tiramisu and chocolate chip cookies, and a selection of drinks, from water to milkshake with ice-cream .
Hours: 7.00 am - 9.00 pm Daily
Moon Shiva
Relocated in Cerro Plano, Israeli owned Moon Shiva, offers a
combination of Mediterranean, Tico and international cuisine.
In addition Moon Shiva offers a variety of snack foods like guacamole and nachos
A few days a week live music is played, on others movies are
shown on a projection screen. A pleasant, popular place to eat or
relax.
Paradise Cafe
Located in front of the Hotel
El Establo in Cerro Plano, the Cafe Paraiso offers bagels, casados,
burgers, soup, sandwiches, and more. Relaxed place for a
snack or lunch. Board games and book exchange.
Monteverde Lodge
This is definitely one of the most expensive options, but is worth a mention more for the setting than for the food! The food is good but the menu is not extensive, with a choice of 3 or 4 starters and main courses. The restaurant itself is elegant but cozy, with an open fire in the middle.
Soda La Central
If you're looking for a more typical Costa Rican restaurant, this is it! Soda La Central is located next to the Sky Trek office in Santa Elena and is very unpretentious but good with very big portions. The different food options are written on a blackboard on one wall and the restaurant is functional rather than decorative but the service is good and so is the food. This is a great option for budget travelers who want a filling meal for a reasonable price. Great place for a
casado.
Restaurante Tramonti
This is one of Monteverde's best places to dine. Located just before CASEM and Stella's Bakery on the road from Santa Elena up to Monteverde. It is a good option for those staying in hotels nearer the Monteverde Reserve. The restaurant offers a range of different foods and is tastefully decorated. Pizza is prepared in a wood burning oven. The only
'authentic' Italian food in Monteverde!
Dulce Marzo's
This new bakery is located in Cerro Plano
between Johnny's Pizzeria and the turn off to the butterfly
garden. Popular with North American residents, Marzo's
offers coffees, fine chocolates and baked good. Events are
organized on some nights such as Trivia night, live music or
special dinner menus. Guaranteed a sweet stop.
Night Life...
Bar Amigos
This recently remolded bar is located in the center of Santa Elena and is very popular with the local Ticos.
Now more spacious with a split level and two bars. In addition to drinks, they also offer "bocas" (light snacks) for around $1 until 10.00 pm. The bocas are small servings of fried chicken, white beans, soup, a chickpea dish or a tortilla with meat. On Friday nights there is Taca Taca - live music, with local people getting up to dance in the middle of the bar. There are also
4 pool tables down the stairs at the back.
Hours: 12.00 md - 12.00 midnight.
La Taberna
Taberna Newly Remolded- nicer decor, same old music...
This is a bar with music and a dance floor, located a few minutes' walk from Santa Elena, on the road to the Serpentarium. La Taberna appeals to local people as well as to foreign visitors and the music is a mixture of Salsa, Merengue, Cumbia as well as other forms of Spanish and English music. It is rarely busy before 9.00 pm or even 10.00 pm but there are tables outside too so it can be a pleasant place to simply have a drink. They have a restaurant, which offers fast food if you need a snack but they also offer fish and meat dishes at reasonable prices and although the setting may not be ideal or tranquil, if you're already there and hungry, it's a good option.
Hours: 12.00 md - 1.00 am
Bar Unicornios (Domingo's)
This is definitely more of a bar for the local Ticos. It is situated opposite the plaza (soccer field) in Santa Elena (on the road towards Sky Trek and the Santa Elena Reserve). There are several pool tables available and a few tables and chairs where you can sit and watch the locals. The bar also offers karaoke on Thursday nights, and live music and dancing in the room upstairs from time to time.
Hours: 12.00 pm to 12.00 midnight.
Typical foods of Costa Rica
What you can expect to find in local restaurants and cafes (often called "Sodas").
arreglados - sandwiches or tiny puff pastries stuffed with beef, cheese, or chicken.
arroz con pollo (o pescado o carne) - a basic dish of rice and chicken (or fish or meat).
casado - arroz (rice), frijoles (black beans), carne (beef), repollo (cabbage), and plantano (plantain). Avocado (aguacates) or egg may also be included. Served for lunch and supper. One of the most popular dishes you will find.
ceviche - marinated seafood, often chilled, made of corvina (sea bass), langostinos (shrimps), or conchas (shellfish). Normally served with lemon, chopped onion, garlic, and sweet red peppers.
chorreados - corn pancakes, often served with sour cream (natilla).
elote - corn on the cob, either boiled (elote cocinado) or roasted (elote asado).
empanadas - turnovers stuffed with beans, cheese, meat, or potatoes.
enchiladas - pastries stuffed with cheese and potatoes and occasionally meat.
gallo - tortilla sandwiches stuffed with beans, cheese, or meat.
gallo pinto - the national dish (literally "spotted rooster"), made of lightly spiced rice and black beans. (often served with eggs and tortillas). Served traditionally at breakfast (desayuno).
olla de carne - soup made of squash, corn, yuca (a local tuber), chayote (a local pear-shaped vegetable), ayote (a pumpkin-like vegetable), and potatoes.
palmitos - succulent hearts of palm, common in salads.
patacones - thin slices of deep-fried plantain. A popular Caribbean dish. Served like French fries.
picadillo - a side dish of fried vegetables often with meat.
sopa negra - a creamy soup, often with a hard-boiled egg and vegetables soaking in the bean broth.
sopa de mondongo - soup made from tripe (the stomach of a cow).
tamales - boiled cornmeal pastries stuffed with corn, chicken, or pork, and wrapped in a banana or corn leaf. A popular Christmas dish.
tortas - Mexican-style corn pancakes or omelet's.
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