Costa Rican cooking is not about fire and spice. It is about fresh ingredients, simple technique and generous plates, and once you learn a few words, eating well in San José and around La Fortuna is easy and inexpensive. This guide covers the dishes to look for, the best places to start and a few habits that will make your meals more enjoyable.
Start with breakfast
The national breakfast is gallo pinto, rice and black beans stir-fried with onion, peppers and cilantro, usually served with scrambled or fried eggs, fried plantain, fresh cheese and sometimes sour cream or a tortilla. Add a cup of local coffee and you have the fuel for a morning on the trail. Many hotels serve a buffet that includes gallo pinto, tropical fruit and fresh juices, so ask whether breakfast is included in your rate.
The casado
For lunch, look for a casado, a plate of rice and beans served with a protein such as chicken, fish, beef or pork, plus salad, plantain and sometimes a vegetable or picadillo. The word means married, referring to the pairing on the plate. It is the standard lunch for workers and travellers alike, and you will find it at small restaurants called sodas, which are informal, family-run and good value. A soda is the best way to eat like a local, and the Central Market in San José is full of them.
Snacks and street food
Look for empanadas, tamales, which are traditionally made at Christmas but appear at other times, fried yuca, patacones, which are crisp smashed plantains with beans or cheese, and chifrijo, a bar snack of rice, beans, pork crackling and pico de gallo. Fresh fruit is a highlight, from pineapple, papaya and mango to mamón chino, the red, hairy lychee-like fruit that appears in the green season. Ask for fruit batidos, blended with water or milk, and for agua fresca, a fruit-and-water drink.
Coffee
Costa Rica is a coffee country, and the Central Valley is its heartland. Order a café chorreado, the traditional filtered method using a cloth filter and a wooden stand, if you see it, and try the beans in different roasts. A visit to a coffee estate on the slopes of Poás shows the whole journey from plant to cup and usually ends with a tasting. Buy beans to take home at a farm shop or café, and ask staff about the best way to store them.
Around La Fortuna
The town has a good mix of casual restaurants, sodas, pizzerias and fine dining. Many hotels and hot-springs resorts have their own restaurants, and the bigger resorts run several. Look for local trout, tilapia, fresh cheese from the nearby dairy farms, and dishes built around yuca and plantain. Cacao and coffee tours are popular in the area, and a short class lets you taste chocolate made from the bean, which is a good activity for children.
San José food experiences
The capital has more variety than first impressions suggest. The Central Market is a maze of stalls for sodas, spices, cheese, coffee and sweets, and a guided walking food tour is a relaxed way to try several dishes in a few hours. The better hotels also host restaurants worth a special trip, and the neighbourhoods west of downtown have a growing choice of modern Costa Rican, international and craft-cocktail venues.
Drinks
Try local beers, which are light and refreshing in the heat, and guaro, a sugar-cane spirit, mixed in a cocktail. Fresh fruit juices are excellent, and sugar-cane juice is sold at roadside stalls. Tap water in San José and La Fortuna is generally considered safe, but if you have a sensitive stomach, drink bottled or filtered water, especially in rural areas.
Tips for eating well
Eat your main meal at lunch, when casados and set menus are cheapest and freshest. Ask for the plato del día, the dish of the day. Tips are often included as a service charge on restaurant bills; check the receipt before adding more. Vegetarians can eat well on rice, beans, eggs, plantain, fruit and salads, but should mention it clearly, since some beans are cooked with meat. Carry some colones for sodas and market stalls, where cards are sometimes not accepted. If you are unsure what a dish contains, ask the server, who will usually be happy to explain and suggest alternatives.
