When you close your eyes and envision Monteverde, a lush, green forest brushed with misty clouds and incredible views of the Nicoya Gulf sprinkled with small islands immediately come to mind.
When you close your eyes and envision Monteverde, a lush, green forest brushed with misty clouds and incredible views of the Nicoya Gulf sprinkled with small islands immediately come to mind.
When you close your eyes and envision Monteverde, a lush, green forest brushed with misty clouds and incredible views of the Nicoya Gulf sprinkled with small islands immediately come to mind. The blue skies are dotted with an array of birds and their song fills your ears and the taste of adventure in the cloud forest canopy or floor is etched into the spectacular image.
What may be slightly blurred is the collection of amazing restaurants, bars, and cafes that are the delicious beginnings, intervals, and ends to a day of adventure in Monteverde. Let’s explore the five best restaurants in Monteverde with the best dish recommendation for each! This is a gastronomic journey in the clouds!
When staying at Ficus Sunset Suites, not only will you enjoy the spacious suites with amazing views of the cloud forest and down onto the picturesque Pacific Ocean coast, but you will also be not far from the best restaurants in Monteverde. So after your day of adventure exploring and experiencing nature up close, you may want to venture out to explore some more and taste Costa Rica from different perspectives!
The Fig Restaurant is actually just steps from your beautiful room at Ficus Sunset Suites! This in-house restaurant is definitely first on our list of best restaurants in Monteverde, and we know you will think the same after tasting the variety of delicious dining options that The Fig rightly boasts! The Fig combines gastronomical creativity with a casually elegant ambiance while delighting in the uninterrupted views of the forest and down onto the coast.
The menu will satisfy even the most discerning diner thanks to the panorama of possibilities that have been created by the team of internationally trained chefs and cooks. All ingredients are locally sourced ensuring freshness, and transformed into unique flavors of Costa Rica with an innovative twist!
The Fig serves breakfast and dinner, ensuring a delicious start and finish to your day! It also has a fantastic top-shelf cocktail and drink menu that perfectly complements the dinner experience. What better way to wrap up your Monteverde day than watching a stunning sunset with an amazing cocktail before dinner.
Recommendation: Tiquicia Tenderloin, Coastal Chicken or the Prairy BBQ Ribs.
One of the newer gastronomical proposals in Monteverde, the San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience, is an opportunity to celebrate a special occasion while in this verdant, mountaintop sanctuary. This is a 7-course tasting dinner and wine experience and offers a private secluded dinner in a glass box in the middle of the forest.
While not an option for everyone, the San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience is one of the best restaurants on Monteverde’s list, and demonstrates how Costa Rica and Monteverde are becoming more and more sophisticated when it comes to dining.
Monteverde is about experiences, and if you wish to dine out at least one night during your stay at Ficus Sunset Suites, this could be the place, budget permitting.
Recommendations: The Pescatarian or the Vegetarian menus.
Celajes Restaurant is a great option for lunch or dinner where you can enjoy the sweeping views of the forest and the Gulf of Nicoya. The ambiance is quiet with a touch of elegance and the menu is varied with an emphasis on its farm-to-table concept.
The restaurant is housed in a Swiss chalet-style building with its distinctive wood featured architecture and retains a sense of formality that is a contrast to the more casual elegance of Antawara Restaurant. The wine list is really interesting too and complements the fusion of dishes and flavors.
Come prepared for higher prices here and a number of curry-inspired dishes and a more limited menu than Antawara as you explore the culinary adventures of Monteverde
A recommendation: Achiote Grilled Sea Bass or the Grilled Vegetable Curry
When in Monteverde, not only can you walk through the forest, fly through its canopy, or even throw yourself into it while doing bungee jumping, you can also eat on a tree. The Tree House Restaurant is a unique dining experience that is lots of fun.
Hugging a strangler fig tree, this restaurant with beautiful hardwood floors and arched beam ceilings emulates a treehouse. Add a laid-back, relaxing ambiance, big dishes, and live music and this is an entertaining night out on the town.
The menu is a fusion of Latin-American dishes with an emphasis on the world-famous Peruvian specialties so be prepared for some amazing fresh seafood dishes. The Tree House also has pizzas and traditional Costa Rican dishes on its menu.
The Tree House Restaurant is a good alternative if you would like to try a more casual and bustling dining experience than Antawara Restaurant. It is a bit of a tourist attraction so it could become a dining adventure so to speak, that may not be the way after a full day of activities in the cloud forest.
Our recommendation: Chupe de Camaron and the Seafood Pizza.
Costa Rica not only is becoming more and more creative when it comes to food, it is also creating new flavors when it comes to beer! So, on our best restaurants in Monteverde list, we are including the Monteverde Brewing Company, which specializes in the creation of craft beer in the middle of the Monteverde cloud forest. They also include beer as an ingredient in the dishes they serve.
This pub-style eatery has complemented its menu of artisan beers with a varied menu of casual dining options ranging from hot wings to hamburgers. Of all our best restaurants in Monteverde, this is the most laid-back and least innovative with its dishes but worth a visit to try the great beers and the pub-like atmosphere.
The Monteverde Brewing Company has the pub and also its brewery on site, so for the beer enthusiasts, you can take the tour too and see how they make their craft beer before sitting down and trying a few while eating.
Our recommendation: The Red Tapir beer and the Drunk Chicken Hamburger.
Ficus Sunset Suites is excited to share some great dining spots that you can visit during your stay in Monteverde and at the hotel. While the “stay-at-home” Antawara Restaurant is the best restaurant in Monteverde, if you still have some energy after a day of adventure in Monteverde, try these ones out!
Treat yourself to some amazing gastronomic delights that will have you trying more dishes on the menu. Fusion and innovation are what´s going on in the kitchens here in Monteverde with a generation of adventurous chefs boldly transforming traditional gastronomy into Costa Rican nouvelle cuisine.
Monteverde is a dream come true for adventure in nature and at the table. Ficus Sunset Suites looks forward to dining with you!
