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Count on finding lots of fresh fish and tropical fruits on the menu, whether at a roadside soda (casual eatery) serving comida tipica (typical food) or a sophisticated restaurant in Dominical or Ojochal. Up in the mountains, don't miss out on eating fresh, farmed trout. The food at most remote eco-lodges is excellent.
Picture a dream location: a high headland jutting out into the sea with vistas up and down the coast, and throw in a breeze-swept terrace, polished service, a boat-shape bar, and some fine seaside cuisine, and you are at La Parcela. The turquoise and white decor is reminiscent of Greece, the sunsets are spectacular, and shrimp and lobster dishes are pricey but excellent. A perfect, but less expensive, light lunch is the beer-battered fish with crunchy carrot and cabbage salad, served with guacamole. Reasonably priced appetizers include ceviche, fried calamari, and clams in white-wine sauce. Desserts here are rich and substantial enough to share. If you're just passing through Dominical, this is a good place for a cold beer and an appetizer, or a naturale, a tall glass of freshly whipped fruit juice.
Pull up a counter stool or sit at a table on the popular riverside terrace at this friendly café with creative vegetarian and gluten-free dishes, organic juices, local and imported craft beers on tap, kombuchas, and herbal teas. Desserts are not only gluten-free, they are addictive: the chocolate papaya pie combines dark chocolate with papaya to make a rich mousse filling for a date, almond, and coconut crust. For breakfast, try a hearty Tico plate chock-full of brown rice and pinto beans, topped by a mini-omelet with red peppers, spring onions, local cheeses, tomato, avocado, and plantains—with chipotle sauce on the side. A lighter option is smashed avocados on toast with goat cheese sprinkled with pink salt. It's open 6:30 am to 9 pm daily.
With a view over the Barú estuary, this open-air Japanese restaurant serves local seafood in all the usual rolls and sashimi, with some tropical twists, plus imported Sapporo beer, sake, or green tea. Dark bamboo furniture, Japanese lanterns, and colored globes set the modern, minimalist scene, while smooth, jazzy music sets a cool mood. Try the Tico Roll, with spicy shrimp, avocado, cucumber, and mango, wrapped in sweet plantain; or dig into the ahi poke salad, with cubes of raw tuna marinated in sesame oil, chili, and soy sauce, atop a Hawaiian salad sprinkled with peanuts or almonds. You can perch on a stool at the counter to watch the sushi chefs at work.
Beer-battered onion rings, fresh hand-cut fries, and fried pickles have taken Dominical by storm at this laid-back alfresco kiosk in the Pueblo del Río complex on the riverfront. The fish tacos are outstanding—crispy beer-battered fish fillets accompanied by guacamole, red cabbage, and a spicy sauce are folded into a thin soft tortilla. You can substitute fried shrimp or go vegetarian with black beans and vegetables. The tortillas even come in a gluten-free version. Ultra-healthy grilled fish and vegetables are also on the menu, along with less healthy but delicious classic fish-and-chips. Beer, sodas, and fruit smoothies wash it all down. Seating is at wooden benches and tables on a covered wood patio.
Spice up your day with skewers of Indonesian satays and generous bowls of peanutty pad Thai and red or green curry at this hip open-air caravansary under a high corrugated-metal green roof. The kitchen, in a gaily painted converted bus, turns out portions large enough to share. Craft beers are on tap, along with organic kombucha. Less healthy but also fruity is the signature cocktail, a jalapeño-spiced pineapple margarita; on Thursday, there are two-for-one daiquiris. Service is as polished and friendly as the long, wooden communal tables. It's open from 12:30 to 9 pm daily.
Among the handful of sodas in town serving typical Costa Rican food, this one is notable for its affordably priced whole fish and hearty portions of seafood served on a breezy veranda. Stick to the desayuno típico for breakfast, with traditional rice and beans and eggs, starting at 7 am. The omelets are great, but they come with limp french fries, the bane of tico restaurants. There are three big TV screens to keep you company while you eat, and loud traditional music blaring from the rafters of the burlap-bag covered ceiling.
This alfresco restaurant tucked beside a bona fide Boeing 727 (minus the engine) delivers generous portions of upscale pastas, succulent meats, and tasty fish and seafood, including Peruvian-style ceviches. During the day kids can frolic in the swimming pool and adults can order spicy tropical chicken wings. If you've had one too many cocktails, you can see if a room is available in the plane that operates as a BnB.
This perennially popular and casual surfer hangout is right across from Dominical Beach, which you can spy through a fringe of palm trees. Favorite menu items are the fresh-baked baguette sandwiches stuffed with interesting combinations and the excellent margaritas and flavored daiquiris, usually downed at the huge U-shape bar. Try the nachos, burgers, wraps, or coconut-crusted fish with a tropical sauce. Fresh-fish specials, notably the whole fried fish, round out the menu. Live bands or a DJ play from the stage, usually on Wednesday, Friday, or Saturday night. There's free Wi-Fi.
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