Our little town of Santa Teresa, Costa Rica is changing so much with every passing year. Santa Teresa started out as a off-the-beaten track destination for surfers and now, it has grown into a popular town for a wide variety of tourists coming to visit Costa Rica. There are more and more families coming here every year as well as elderly people and a growing number of non-surfers. So what does this mean for the town of Santa Teresa?
Luckily for those that live here, it means that there are now a ton of great restaurants here to service the growing number of tourists coming to visit Santa Teresa every year. Here is my list of the best restaurants in Santa Teresa:
Ritmo Tropical
Ritmo Tropical is a little hidden gem of a restaurant in Mal Pais, Costa Rica. Just passed the crossroads of Playa Carmen, don’t be surprised if you see a lot of locals eating here when you arrive. Known for its fantastic thin-crust pizza’s, Ritmo Tropical is an affordable restaurant with great taste. Ritmo Tropical definitely makes my list of Best Restaurants in Santa Teresa Costa Rica.
Alma
Alma is another one of the lesser-known restaurants in town but it is fantastic. It is a Asian-fusion restaurant that has yummy sushi appetizers, great Peruvian ceviche and a nice assortment of Asian-inspired main dishes. Sarah loved their Thai Coconut Curry Ahi Tuna while Sarah’s dad loved their Chilean steaks. Alma definitely makes my list of Best Restaurants in Santa Teresa Costa Rica.
Soda Tiquicia
This is by far the best local restaurant in town. I always recommend it to our guests at the Blue Surf Sanctuary Hotel because it is the best restaurant in town if you are looking for the most bang for your buck. Their plates are huge and you definitely will not leave hungry. Perhaps their most popular dishes are their casado dishes while their rice dishes, their burritos and their famous fish soup are also very popular. Soda Tiquicia is a Blue Surf favorite so it has to make my list of the Best Restaurants in Santa Teresa Costa Rica.
Zula Restaurant
If you are looking for something a little different for dinner and you would like to try some of the Isreali flavour that we have in town, try Zula Restaurant. Always busy, their food is great and rich in exotic flavours. Try their classic Isreali dish called “Shakshuka” and don’t forget to order a smoothie. They claim to serve the best smoothies in town and they certainly are pretty damn good. The smoothies along would put them on the list of Best Restaurants in Santa Teresa Costa Rica.
Chicken Joe’s
This is a classic chicken rotisserie restaurant that is good. The chicken is very tasty and surprisingly enough, they also have great fish tacos. The owner Bill is very friendly and I recommend their family specials if you are looking for a great deal. I love fish tacos so Chicken Joe’s makes the list of Best Restaurants in Santa Teresa Costa Rica.
Olam
I’ve never actually been to Olam but I have to write about it here because I have heard so many glowing reviews about it from our vegetarian guests that frequent the Blue Surf Sanctuary Hotel in Santa Teresa. Only open for breakfast and lunch, they serve up excellent vegetarian delights. I am not a vegetarian, but I will trust our friends that it should make the list of Best Restaurants.
Pronto Italian Street Food
This is a new restaurant in Santa Teresa this year and it is a welcome addition. When you walk in, you are overwhelmed by the lovely Italian smells wafting up your nose. It isn’t as cheap as it may seem but it is a great casual restaurant for a family lunch.
Brisas del Mar
This restaurant is definitely among the highest priced in Santa Teresa but if you are looking for a more fancy restaurant, this is it. Their menus are handwritten on blackboards and their seafood dishes are delicious. I highly recommend the Mixed Seafood main entrée. Brisas del Mar had to make our list, we take the staff there whenever we are in town because it is one of our favorites.
Las Piedras
This is an Argentinean BBQ restaurant that serves up some great flavours. Cooking their meats on an open fire, their chicken, pork ribs and steaks are all great. Make sure to try their classic Argentinean chimichurri sauce. Just as an aside, this restaurant is best in the rainy season. The roads here get very dusty in the dry season and with the proximity of their grill to the road, I would not eat here in the dry months. We did an awesome US Thanksgiving here a couple of years ago with all our staff. So they had to make our list of Best Restaurants in Santa Teresa Costa Rica.
All the photos in this post were taken from Trip Advisor, Santa Teresa Restaurants.
