Restaurants in Interamericana Norte
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Trio's
A touch of class in sweet Santa Elena, this rather Ikea-chic dining room behind SuperCompro is perched in the trees and the menu also aims high. At first blush you may be shocked at how un-tipica it is. What with coconut curry, pork ribs slathered in guava barbecue sauce, chicken breasts stuffed with figs and goat cheese, and a Tico version of Cobb salad on the menu, but dishes deliver big time. Even the green salad is special – packed with avocado, hearts of palm and blessed with a passionfruit feta vinaigrette (yes, it works). The cocktails are tasty too, and for dessert it has an amazing looking mango split.
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La Chimera
Latin-infused tapas such as fried calamari with green chili-coconut sauce, slow-cooked white beans and pork, and sea bass with passionfruit cream and spicy mango chutney, are complemented by an excellent wine list featuring robust Chilean reds and crisp whites. Dine alfresco on the trellis patio or in the groovy, burnt orange dining room. The cocktails rock. Skip dessert.
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Sabor Español
She’s from Barcelona. He’s from Ibiza. And together, Heri and Montse have created one of the most authentic and lovely Spanish restaurants in Costa Rica. They specialize in paella, papas bravas, fresh fish, meats and chicken. Wash it down with some of the best sangria this side of the Atlantic. The ambience is rustic, intimate and super tranquilo and well worth the trip 2km north of downtown.
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Restaurante Maravilla
Just about the cheapest and most authentic restaurant in Santa Elena, this charming soda serves typical Costa Rican specialties, including excellent meaty and vegetarian casados, pasta dishes and burgers. It can get crowded during lunch hour.
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Johnny's Pizzería
Johnny's has been serving up wood-fired, thin-crust pizzas since 1993. We're partial to its original Traviesa with artichoke hearts, mushrooms, red onion and tomato sauce spiced with oregano, but the Monteverde sounds good too. Think: prosciutto, green olives and home-grown organic leeks. There's a warm and elegant atmosphere, and the tapas bar upstairs serves mussels, tortilla soup and mixed ceviche.
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Stella’s Bakery
Step into the terracotta entry way and browse temptations such as cinnamon rolls, cherry pie or the decadent frosted brownies. That spanakopita looks lovely too. It's all self service, except for the wine.
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Tree House Restaurant & Café
Built around a half-century-old higuerón (fig) tree, this hip cafe serves up everything from BLTs to pizza to grilled tenderloin to seafood specials. It’s a lively space to have a bite, linger over wine and occasionally catch live music.
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Puerta del Sol
Peruvian-style ceviche is the bomb at this four-table establishment, done up in blue and deliciousness. In addition to the specialty of the house, there are interesting corn-based desserts and drinks like the refreshing, nonalcoholic chicha morada. And if you're with someone special, you might consider one of the aphrodisiac dishes, like the leche de tigre (tiger's milk), made from seafood and tantalizingly secret ingredients.
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Bar-B-Q Tres Hermanas
Long before you get here, you’ll notice dozens of signs on the Interamericana advertising the best steakhouse in Guanacaste – Bar-B-Q Tres Hermanas. Believe the hype! This local landmark’s specialty is barbecue beef and pork ribs, marinated and slow cooked for eight hours. Kids will love the playground and noisy bull and monkey animatronics. Leave your vegetarian friends at home.
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Musashi
Crave good sushi in the Tico rainforest? Look no further than this tiny restaurant in the heart of Santa Elena. Jesus, the Venezuelan owner, is a classically trained sushi chef, and his sushi boats are a good deal for groups. You’ll also find other favorite Japanese dishes including teppanyaki, teriyaki and lunch bento box specials.
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Rincón Corobicí
This attractive Swiss-run restaurant is 4km north of Cañas on the banks of the Río Corobicí, and is a great lunch spot. A terrace provides river and garden views, and a short trail follows the riverbank where you can take a cool dip. English, French and German are spoken here, and you can book tours with Ríos Tropicales for the Río Corobicí or other destinations in Costa Rica.
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Sofia
Sofia has established itself as one of the best places in town with its Nuevo Latino cuisine – a modern fusion of traditional Latin American cooking styles. Think: sweet-and-sour fig roasted pork loin, plantain-crusted sea bass, and shrimp with green mango curry. The ambience is flawless – soft lighting, hip music, picture windows, romantic candle settings, sloping wooden ceilings, pastel paintwork and potent cocktails to lighten the mood.
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Restaurante De Lucía
On the same road as El Jardín de las Mariposas, this Chilean-owned place is Monteverde’s most famous restaurant. Chef José Belmar, who speaks more languages then you and your friend put together, regularly chats to guests and asks for feedback on the cuisine, and dishes (a good mix of Italian and South American specialties) are always flawless, and reasonably priced.
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Dulce Marzo
Yummy home-baked sweets, wraps, sandwiches, good espresso drinks and a favorite-cafe feel make this one of those places to linger over a late-morning coffee as you skim the paper or your guidebook. Foreign magazines scatter the tables and there’s also a book exchange if you need reading material for the next leg of your trip. Located next door to Atmosphera gallery.
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Café Caburé
An Argentinean cafe set in the gorgeous Santa Fe–style lodge above the bat cave in Paseo de Stella. It specializes in creative and delicious wraps, tortillas stuffed with chicken mole, chipotle rubbed steak, curried potatoes, or lemon shrimp. The beef empanadas are fabulous, and it has magnificent gourmet truffles too! Seriously, the chocolate is high art.
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Morpho’s Restaurant
This romantic downtown restaurant spices up typical Costa Rican food by adding gourmet flair. Casados feature a variety of European-influenced sauces (think sea bass in a fruity demiglaze), and are served with a traditional batido (fruit shake) or a glass of wine. The menu also has a good variety of vegetarian dishes.
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Hacienda La Pacífica
Once a working hacienda and nature reserve, this elegant restaurant is 4.5km north of Cañas on the Interamericana and is now part of a private hotel for researchers, and the odd tourist. Many of the ingredients are grown right here on experimental organic plots, including the only large-scale organic rice cultivation site in the country. The result are tipica meals, prepared and presented with taste and grace. Its rooms (doubles US$90) are quite lovely too.
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Panadería Alemania
A German bakery with beautifully flaky croissants, a respectably authentic sushi counter doing what it can with the local rice and an international kitchen turning out Euro-style numbers can all be found at this local hangout. The patio is also a great place for a beer under the canopy of the huge guanacaste tree.
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Cafe Chunches
Owned by an American biologist, this bookstore and curio shop has expanded to include a loft cafe with the best breakfasts in town. It has bagels, egg dishes, excellent coffee and smoothies too. There’s also a reliable laundry service, and the bulletin board is a good source of information.
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Pizzería Tramonti
It’s worth the trip to this lovely stone house if you hanker for authentic Italian, as the pizzas are baked in a wood-fired oven, and the pastas and seafood are consistently fresh. The atmosphere is relaxed yet romantic.
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Pan y Miel
The best breakfast in town can be had at this branch of the local bakery, which serves its excellent bread as sandwiches and French toast, as well as offering a buffet line with casado fixings, pastries and fresh fruit. There’s a bakery-only branch, with tasty, flaky pineapple turnovers a block north of Parque Central.
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Restaurante Los Mangos
The nicest restaurant in town is on the main road and does your standard mix of casados, ceviche and fried chicken. There are touches of elegance here too, what with polished concrete floors, a fresh coat of paint, twirling ceiling fans and pressed tablecloths, and it’ll get you liquored at night.
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Pizza Pronto
This very cute, old-world pizzeria, where the wood is stacked next to the smoking courtyard oven, keeps it romantic and simple – just pizza, pasta and salads... although we'll admit that the taco pizza does sound ambitious. Don't worry, you can choose from a long list of toppings and create your own.
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Hotel Cañas
You can count on the most reliable quality at this hotel restaurant, serving up a number of Western dishes, including chicken cordon bleu and beef stroganoff. Dine here if you’re pretty sure you can’t stomach another casado.
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Jumbo Supermercado
For a good selection of international groceries including tahini, Argentinean wine and curry paste, stop by the Jumbo Supermercado, conveniently located at the intersection, to load up on supplies before heading to the beach. They also have a savory lunch counter feeding the ravenous herd on the cheap.
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