17 Best Restaurants and Cafes in Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica

Every time we visit Puerto Viejo, the charming little town on the Caribbean side of Costa Rica, food features high on our things to do list. And for good reason. No, not just because both of us are foodies, but also because this small town is packed with several good restaurants and cafes. They mash up good delicacies from around the world, starting from as close as Caribbean Costa Rica, going as far as Thailand and as specific as South India! Therefore, we have compiled this list of best restaurants, breakfast joints and cafes for you. So next time you visit Puerto Viejo de Talamanca in Costa Rica, do not just hit the awesome Caribbean beaches. Fill your stomach too!

Restaurants in Puerto Viejo

As you reach Puerto Viejo, you will find the clusters of restaurants in the middle of the town, some inside the local neighborhoods or along the other beaches down the main road.

La Nena

Local foods are integral part of our travels. So if you are in the Caribbean corner of the country, you cannot miss the Rice and beans. It is a plate of, well, rice and beans, cooked in an awesome coconut milk based spice and served with chicken, salad and plantains. This small restaurant by the side of the road, opposite a football field, just after the Cocles beach, serves some best local Caribbean food of the town. We had the Caribbean rice and beans, a speciality of the region and wish we could come back often. The rice and beans and chicken with the right amount of coconut sauces made one of the best dishes that we had in Costa Rica.

Bamboocha Restaurant

While La Nena boasts of the local Caribbean dishes, the Bamboocha serves fusion cuisine combining Italian and local styles. The owner-recommended seafood dish and pasta had just the flavors we were looking for, during our late lunch. We had a nice chat with the Italian owners and learnt that the husband of the couple has been living in Puerto Viejo for more than 30 years now, a time when even electricity was alien to the town.

Koki Beach Restaurant Bar Lounge

Right in the heart of the town, you cannot miss this fine-dining place. It opens only for dinner and we have seen it almost always filled up. It has a great setting right across the Puerto Viejo beach and dinner tables are lit up with candles. The decor is beautifully spiced up with colorful chairs in different styles. We ordered octopus and shrimp dishes. The octopus was tender and had the perfect texture. The flavors with right amount of sauces in both the main courses and nice presentation make it a perfect and unmissable dinner experience in Puerto Viejo. Don’t forget to try their cocktails! Also, if you are planning to go on a dinner date in Puerto Viejo, choose Koki – your partner will definitely be impressed! [Thank us later ;-)]

Aunt Lidia’s Place

This is another great local food restaurant in the Puerto Viejo town. Aunt Lidia’s Place is located couple of blocks from the main road in a local neighborhood slightly away from the beach. We had the lobster and the red snapper in this absolutely value for money restaurant. The authentic Caribbean flavors, coconut milk flavored rice, the fried plantains are perfect local delight presented by the family-run restaurant by Aunt Lidia and her family. They don’t serve beer, but had great options of non-alcoholic drinks. They had wine on the menu as well.

Chile Rojo

This is a road-side Asiatic fusion restaurant with an open kitchen is at the center of the town. The cuisine is Asiatic fusion and they served delicious Thai dishes, Pad Thai and Seafood Soup. The owner was very welcoming and made sure we were comfortable all the time. He also ensured if we are really ordering ‘Thai spicy’ level of spice, and warned us that ‘Thai spicy’ is spicier than ‘Indian spicy’.

Stashu’s con Fusion

Few metres down the road from the center of the town is Stashu’s Fusion. The rustic decor in a casual and cosy setting in the quieter part of the town, gets you going. The name of the place is a smart play of Spanish and English words (‘con’ means ‘with’ in Spanish) and perfectly describes their specialty. The menu is a well curated mix (or fusion) of dishes from around the world. We came to know that these were crafted by the owner himself from his culinary interests and travels. Well, we got to try such blend of dishes in this small Caribbean corner of the country. We loved the Caribbean Madras curry, a mix of Caribbean and South Indian spices. If you are planning to have something different and original, try this place.

Bikini Restaurant and Sushi Bar

As the name suggests, this is a sushi bar. Also, as the names suggests, the restaurant’s decor is bikini themed. While we would not go mad about recommending the food at this restaurant, it is an easy option for budget eats right at the center of the town. We tried their plate of ‘Surprise Sushi’ which was served as a colorful platter.

Stanford’s Beach Club

This is a laid back beach-facing restaurant, a perfect spot to wash your food down with a chilled beer, while gazing at the Caribbean Sea. The place is more popular for the evening parties at Lazy Mon. We had the Caribbean rice and beans here, which was probably not the best in the town, but the setting was perfect to relax in the afternoon sea breeze.

Hot Rocks Restaurant

It seems the party doesn’t stop here. When you reach Puerto Viejo, Hot Rocks restaurant looks like the focal point of the town. Located at a street corner, it seems to attract all the attention with the music, whether karaoke or bands. It is an open restaurant and the music makes it crowded and makes the street look like THE party place. Food is the not primary reason you will want to go there, however, it serves local and bar food and of course, all sorts of drinks.

Breakfast Places & Cafes in Puerto Viejo

Before you hop away to the beautiful beaches near Puerto Viejo de Talamanca, start your day with a wholesome breakfast. And replenish your energies with some good coffee and/or other chocolate beverages. We got you sorted by finding some great breakfast restaurants and cafes in Puerto Viejo.

Bread & Chocolate

A good breakfast almost always consists of some breads and some beverage, to go with your eggs, bacon and fruits. Right? How about some freshly baked breads and homemade chocolate based beverage? Bread and Chocolate, as the name aptly describes what they sell best, is the place to be. This is a small cafe-restaurant just two blocks away from the main road of Puerto Viejo. The wooden decor accentuating the casual atmosphere beautifully complements the menu.

Port Vell

Port Vell is a hole-in-the-wall cafe serving good pancakes and great smoothies. Not much in terms of decor or view, but the food and beverage are on point. We had visited this cafe on a Sunday morning before the town was yet to wake up after they partied hard the night before. Sipping on my delicious mango smoothie, I enjoyed looking out to the empty streets while gorging on a hearty breakfast.

Cafe Rico

Okay, honest confession, we are a little biased towards Cafe Rico and might as well go to the extent of saying that this is THE best breakfast joint we tried in Puerto Viejo. In addition to great choices for hearty breakfasts and damn good coffee (as they advertise), what attracted us the most about this place is the setting. It is a garden restaurant where wild creatures can become your table companions, while you pick up a book or two to read under the sun. See, now you realize the reason for our bias! As a bonus, you may even end up receiving some surprise guests – well, we have so much to say about our breakfast experience at Cafe Rico that we wrote a whole post about it!

DreadNut Coffee

This tiny joint is very close to the main bus stop of the Puerto Viejo town. The place is really small with one sit-down table and a handful of stools overlooking from the railing of the sit-out balcony. But hey size does not always matter. Because dreadnut Coffee serves some great coffee and home-grown hot chocolate. Order one of those to go with your Dreadnut special omelette, and watch the local (and tourists) life go by while you fix your gaze at the Caribbean Sea in the distance.

Caribeans

This cafe is all that Puerto Viejo is all about. Relaxed atmosphere, rustic décor, delicious coffee and chocolate, organized tours and an appeal of global spiritual living. Caribeans is located just before the Cocles beach. If you are interested to learn about how chocolate is produced, you can consider taking their Chocolate Tour, which is highly praised by other travellers.

We did not take the chocolate tour, but, after a long day at Cahuita National Park, we were happy to crash on their low couch. We refreshed ourselves with some delish chocolate beverages, while listening to the calls of the Kiskadees fluttering next to the window. When we visited Caribeans, we were surprised to find out that a Satsang was going on, on the floor above, with all Westerners participating in the Hindu religious chants. Then we also noticed some flyers and posters of other similar events that keep occurring at this venue.

De Gustibus Bakery

De Gustibus Bakery, at the south end of Puerto Viejo, opens by seven in the morning, serving up American and Mediterranean breakfasts, and closes at 6pm. So grab your bite here during the day. Serving Italian coffee and desserts, this café is popular among the tourists. However, the Tiramisu we had here was far from the other good ones we have had in different places. So, why don’t you try this one out for yourself and let us know if we should give De Gustibus another try during our next visit to Puerto Viejo de Talamanca.

Eden Beach Restaurant & Bar

While this is not exactly in the town of Puerto Viejo, you should be fine to venture a bit beyond the town, right? Particularly, if we tell you that this beach restaurant is just few meters from Punta Uva, one of the many charming beaches near Puerto Viejo. Have a good tipico breakfast sitting under a thatched roof, and then hop a little to head straight to the beach.

Gelateria Deelite Italian Gelato

Let us conclude this list on a sweet note, shall we? This ice-cream shop stands diagonally opposite to the long distance bus pick-up point. So, when you are waiting in the queue for your bus back to San Jose, just drop in and buy your favorite flavors to lick on while you wait. Although Gelateria Deelite has breakfast and other elaborate desserts as well on the menu, every time we went there was for some delicious scoops of ice-creams. In fact, it is becoming an unsaid ritual for us to grab a double scoop gelato every time we drive back from Puerto Viejo.

Closing Thoughts

Our love for food drives us to try diverse cuisines and at different places. As we listed down the restaurants and cafes of Puerto Viejo, our craving for our next visit already began. If you have been to Puerto Viejo on the Caribbean coast of Costa Rica, are there any restaurants or cafes that you would recommend adding to this list? Let us know in the comments what you like best about the food scene in Puerto Viejo de Talamanca. Or is there any destination that you would consider revisiting solely for the food? For us, that answer is Peru! You can read about some must try Peruvian dishes here.

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You can check out our other restaurant guides for different regions of Costa Rica.

• Best Restaurants in Uvita and Dominical
• Best Restaurants in Monteverde

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