Restaurants in Monteverde
Because most visitors want to get an early start, they usually grab a quick breakfast at their hotel. It’s also common for people to have their lodge pack them a bag lunch to take to the reserve, though there’s a decent little soda at the reserve entrance.
A popular choice for lunch is Stella’s Café (tel. 2645-5560), across from the CASEM gift shop. Bright and inviting, its selection changes regularly but might include vegetarian quiche, eggplant parmigiana, and salads. Stella’s also features a number of decadent baked goods.
For ice cream, the best in town can be found at Heladeria A Lo Tico, which offers artisan ice creams with natural flavors like green mango, cas, and nance. It’s in a colorful building near Choco Café.
If all the activities in Monteverde have worn you out, stop in at Las Orquídeas Café (tel. 2645-6850) or the Choco Café Don Juan (tel. 2645-7444), two excellent local coffee shops just off the main drag in Santa Elena. The latter is connected to the Don Juan Coffee Farm and has a small gift shop attached.
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Café Caburé
Set on the second floor of a small complex also housing the Bat Jungle, with open-air seating on a broad wooden veranda, this is a good place for a decadent dessert break (though lunches and dinners here are also solid). The homemade chocolates and fancy, flavored truffles here are…$$Around Town- Various
Celajes
Spilling out on the terrace and overlooking the rainforest canopy, this restaurant inside Hotel Belmar is where locals come for a good meal. Staffed with a group of international restaurant and bar veterans and utilizing the hotel’s organic farm, the menu here is one of Monteverde’s…$$Around Town - Costa Rican/Vegetarian
Morpho’s Restaurant
Although it’s moved around over the years, Morpho’s is a local institution, serving up hearty meals at reasonable prices. The large and varied casado (a local blue-plate special) is quite popular, as are the fresh fruit smoothies and home-baked desserts. For something a bit fancier,…$Around Town - Costa Rican
Sabor Tico
The name means “Tico Flavor,” and that’s what you get at this family-run, traditional joint. The portions are huge, and everything is extremely tasty and well prepared, although service can be slow (but friendly) when the place is busy. The casados, gallos, arroz con pollo, and fresh…$Around Town - Fusion
San Lucas Tree Top Dining
Dining here is like having a multi-course meal in an Ewok village. San Lucas’ 8 tables are set in glass boxes sitting 50 feet off the ground surrounded by trees and looking out towards the lights of downtown Monteverde. The 7-course menus were designed by Santiago Fernandéz Benedetto…$$$Sapo Dorado Road - Costa Rican/Fusion
Sofia
Here’s your splurge choice, a happy change from typical Costa Rican cooking. The Nuevo Latino cuisine here is based on classic Tico dishes and local ingredients, but with intriguing twists, like tenderloin in chipotle-butter salsa or guava-glazed chicken. Owner and restaurateur Karen…$$$Around Town - Israeli
The Open Kitchen
This Israeli-owned eatery is one of the town’s most popular restaurants. Its menu is quite long and varied, a mix of Middle Eastern staples, and international comfort foods like the all-day breakfast menu featuring shakshuka and açaí bowls, and sandwiches like sabich and…$$Downtown
