Dining in Manzanillo, Costa Rica

On this trip since we are going to be away so long we cannot go out to eat all the time plus it is why we rent houses with kitchens. That being said we did end up going out all but one of the nights, which was one of the highlights of our week’s stay at Villa Cocobolo.

 Instead of going out to a restaurant we had a BBQ by the pool with Trey the owner, his girlfriend Jaclyn, along with Trey’s friend Kyle and his family who were also staying here. It was lot of fun  getting to know new people, listening to their stories, and sharing travel adventures.

The other nights we went out we decided to go to the restaurants closes to Manzanillo instead of venturing too far into the town of Santa Teresa since the roads are challenging enough in day light.

We had a typical meal at Atardecer Dorado bar & restaurant that is located beachfront in Manzanillo.

We had dinner twice at another wonderful restaurant in Manzanillo, Langosta Paraiso.

 The first night I tried their shrimp and George had steak both of which were delicious. The second time we went with another couple who were staying in the villa next to us, Billy & Verity.  They are from London and it was great fun exchanging stories.

Not only did we have a delicious meal but had a wonderful time with new friends. I tried the grilled octopus which was amazing. After dinner the owner came to the table with shots of coffee rum for us all to try.

Day Ka is another local restaurant in Manzanillo which serves up Costa Rican food.

The night we went we were the only people dining, not much English spoken but the food was wonderful. I had the Casado which is a typical meal here in Costa Rica. It is either fish, chicken, or beef served with a small salad, rice, black beans, and French fries. The fish tonight was fresh Mahi Mahi.  A Casado is about $6.00 - $10.00 depending on the place.

There are 2 restaurants just down the hill from the Villa that are in Santa Teresa but close to us Koji’s and Tapa’s.

Koji’s is Japanese. You order off the blackboard. The tempura and vegetable fried rice were so good we went back a second time. I have never tasted fried rice that was so fresh and full of flavor. You could taste every vegetable that was in there. It was also a big potion so we packed it to go and had it with our lunches.

Tapa’s is also right down the hill and is all small plates for sharing. Grandma’s chicken coquets were to die for.

It is just hard to eat at home when there are so many wonderful places to try.

Maybe next week I will cook.