Monteverde is one of the top tourist destinations in Costa Rica, and rightly so. The cloud covered hill town is famous for its cloud forests, birding opportunities, magnificent sunsets, treetop suspension bridges, waterfalls hiking and adventure activities like zip-lining over forest canopy. To complement all that adrenaline rush, you will also find a decent assortment of restaurants in Monteverde, Costa Rica.
Whether you want to eat tacos after a zip-lining session or treat yourself with a double sundae at the end of a hike, you will find different options of wine and dine here.
This is our recommendation list for the best places to eat in Monteverde. Some of them are located in Santa Elena, the main town in the Monteverde region, while others are closer to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve.
As with all our restaurant guides, we are going to update this as and when we try more cafes and restaurants in Monteverde.
Plan your trip: Check out our Monteverde travel guide for details about other activities, how to reach, best time to visit, where to stay and where to eat. Check out different Costa Rica itineraries here and create your bucket list of Costa Rica vacation activities. For your complete Costa Rica travel planning, you can start here.
Sabor Tico
- Cuisine: Costa Rican
- Go here for: The best Tico food in town!
- Google Maps Location: Centro Comercial Monteverde
Located on the second floor of the commercial plaza in Santa Elena town, Sabor Tico is a popular restaurant, frequented by tourists and locals alike. They serve typical Costa Rican cuisine.
So, for eating at Sabor Tico, we ordered the typical Costa Rican lunch, casados. The wholesome dish consists of a meat serving, rice, beans, salad and fried plantains. Some restaurants make modifications to this according to their recipes. Sabor Tico adds fried eggs too to their casado plates.
I chose the casado with grilled chicken and Indranil opted for casado with Caribbean style chicken. While both were good, we still remember the delectable flavors of the Caribbean style chicken.
Taco Taco Taqueria
- Cuisine: Mexican
- Go here for: Delicious tacos
- Google Maps Location: Santa Elena town
Mexican cuisine is one of our favorites. With all the spices and salsas, a good Mexican dish can tantalize your taste buds. But you need to find the right restaurant for the right Mexicana flavors. Taco Taco Taqueria in Monteverde is definitely such a delightful find.
Located near the Super Compros supermarket in Santa Elena town, it is a restaurant with quirky decor and open smoking areas (sit inside if you want to stay away from the smoke). They specialize in tacos and burritos, and excel at what they create. We had ordered different types of tacos, and some chilled beverages to go with them.
Bon Apetit!
- Cuisine: Pizzas, Pastas, Local
- Go here for: Wood wired pizza and fine wine
- Google Maps Location: 300 meters NE of football ground, Santa Elena
Bon Apetit! is a fine dining place in Santa Elena. They have neatly laid out tables and a good selection of wine to pair with your mains.
However, we went here with the sole intention of eating a good wood fired pizza. The pizza options on their menu run over multiple pages. We ordered one with split toppings of seafood, meat and vegetables. We would go there again!
Restaurante Tico y Rico
- Cuisine: Costa Rican
- Go here for: Typical food, Seafood, Meats
- Google Maps Location: Santa Elena main street
Tico y Rico is another restaurant in down town Santa Elena, offering typical Costa Rican cuisine. They also have some typical bar food on their menu, like chifrijo. It is a nice place to have a comfy appetizing meal at a budget price.
Indranil had a steak, which was accompanied by fries. I went for sea bass in avocado salsa, that was served with steamed veggies and mashed potato on the side.
Stella’s Monteverde
- Cuisine: Bakery, Coffee
- Go here for: Cakes and Quiches, Smoothies and Coffee
- Google Maps Location: Opposite to Casem Coop
Stella’s Monteverde has some of the best baked goodies in town. Well, it is not exactly in Santa Elena town, but on the way to the Monteverde Cloud Forest Reserve. Here you will find tempting cheescakes and croissants, variety of breads and quiches, and a cool beverage menu of smoothies and coffees.
They have indoor seating as well as garden area seating. We chose to sit in the garden area, and were continuously entertained by various colorful birds hanging out casually in the garden. We even got to see a motmot there, yes that casually.
But our excitement soon shifted from the birds when the food and drinks were served. All that we ordered, croissant with chocolate filling, banana bread, passion fruit shake and iced mocha, are yummy.
Restaurante Morpho’s
- Cuisine: Light Eats and Beverages
- Go here for: Sunset drinks
- Google Maps Location: Monteverde
There are quite a few places in Monteverde for watching a beautiful sunset over the mountains. But if you want to grab a drink and munch on some snacks as you watch the sun go down, Morpho’s Restaurant is the perfect spot. They also have soups, salads and sandwiches, in case you are hungrier than beer, coffee or french fries.
The Green Restaurant
- Cuisine: International
- Go here for: Steaks and Burgers
- Google Maps Location: Centro Comercial Monteverde
The Green Restaurant is also located on the second floor of Centro Comercial, right next to Sabor Tico. It is a small place with casual dining atmosphere.
The food served varies from local to international. Indranil had ordered a steak and I chose a lamb burger for our dinner at The Green. Both the dishes were filling and delicious.
Tree House Restaurant
- Cuisine: Latin American fusion
- Go here for: Tree house dining experience
- Google Maps Location: Down town Santa Elena
Tree House Restaurant advertises itself as one of the top things to do in Monteverde. But interestingly, what makes it stand out is not its food, but its construction style. As the name suggests, this restaurant in down town Santa Elena is built around a tree. Yes, the tree exists inside the restaurant as a pivotal character to the stair case and some of the dining areas.
Spoilt for choice from the lengthy menu of seafood and meat dishes, local traditional meals and pizzas, we ordered a Costa Rican meat platter. With small portions of pork sausages, chicken, beef, tortillas and fried plantains, it was a nice lunch to wash down with chilled beer,
Choco Cafe Restaurant and Coffee Shop
- Cuisine: International, Healthy
- Go here for: Coffee and chocolates
- Google Maps Location: Opposite Centro Comercial Monteverde
Although Choco Cafe Restaurant and Coffee Shop serves breakfast and lunch as well, we went there for our evening cup of coffee. Typical of Monteverde, cloud had engulfed the town as the evening descended.
We felt the nip in the air and noticed the atmosphere visibility get hazier. Sipping on our cappuccinos while reflecting on life was a prefect way to keep ourselves warm on that chilly evening.
We also bought dark chocolates from here.
Heladeria Monteverde
- Cuisine: Ice-creams and Shakes
- Go here for: Ice-creams
- Google Maps Location: Monteverde
On your way to Monteverde Cloud Forest Biological Reserve, you will find Heladeria Monteverde on the left. It is a small ice-cream shop, serving delicious sundaes, shakes and coffee. From Curi Cancha Reserve, this place is only a couple of minutes drive away.
So, whether you go for birdwatching in Curi Cancha or hiking in the cloud forest, at the end, you can treat yourself to an ice-cream, or three. You can also buy Monteverde cheese and Monteverde coffee at this shop.
Please be mindful of the hours of operation for Heladeria Monteverde. It is open only till 5:00 pm. Due to our other activities during the day, we had missed being there before closing time on multiple occasions. So, when we finally did manage to get in there on time, we treated ourselves to double scoop sundaes with full toppings! One has got to make time and space for ice-cream, ain’t it?
You can also check out these popular guided tours in Monteverde.
Check out our restaurant guides for other destinations of Costa Rica.
Best Restaurants in Uvita and Dominical
Best Restaurants and Cafes in Puerto Viejo
Plan your Monteverde trip:
Monteverde: The Complete Travel Guide
Santa Elena Cloud Forest Reserve
Bajo del Tigre, Children’s Eternal Rainforest
Waterfalls Hike at El Tigre Monteverde
Birding at Curi-Cancha Reserve
Plan your Costa Rica trip:
Costa Rica 10 Days Itinerary (From Liberia)
Costa Rica 2 Weeks Itinerary (From San Jose)
Costa Rica Activities: A Guide for Planning your Trip
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