Puntarenas Restaurants and Dining

(Puntarenas, Costa Rica)

Many of the upper mid-range and upscale hotels and resorts in Puntarenas give all-inclusive rates, with good restaurants onsite serving a selection of international dining, as well as local dishes. Along the Paseo de los Turistas beachside boulevard are a host of eateries of all types, as well as street stalls serving mostly local food.

The area surrounding the Pali Supermarket (Pali Supermercado) is known in Puntarenas for its cheap daytime dining scene. Farther afield in the eco-lodges and resorts in the forests and mountains, the culinary experience will be top-class, but these noteworthy restaurants will certainly come at a price.

What to Eat, and Where

Italian dining is very popular in Costa Rica, and there is no shortage of places to enjoy Italian food in Puntarenas. Chinese and American restaurants are also easy to locate here. Eating out is much more common across Costa Rica than in the West, and the best way to find a good local eatery is to check which ones have local customers. However, it is best to avoid the backstreets and the harbour area at night, for safety reasons.

Seafood is the star on the dining menus of restaurants in and around Puntarenas, due to the area's active fishing fleet, with fresh lobsters, crabs, Pacific prawns and all kinds of fish arriving daily.

Prices are reasonable and a variety of different seafood recipes can be sampled. Costa Rican cuisine is a blend of cultures including Spanish, Native American, African and, lately, Western dining. Every nationality which has found its way here has contributed culinary elements to one of the most delicious cuisines in the Americas.

Breakfast in Puntarenas is traditionally a dish of rice and beans (gallo pinto), with lunch consisting of 'casado' - rice and beans again, but with fish, white cheese, meat and a salad to complete the meal. Sodas (local eateries / lunch counters) serve little dishes of pickles, dips, pickled fish with lime juice and other fresh vegetable dishes.

Sweet red peppers, onions, yams and plantain are popular vegetables in Puntarenas and regularly make an appearance in restaurant dishes. Fresh liquefied fruit drinks are also favourites, while Costa Rican coffee is among the best in the world, and Costa Rican rum isn't far behind.