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Monteverde is best known for its magical cloud forest, and its fame is well deserved. Lush, green forest, misty skies, and enthusiastic travelers exploring the hiking trails and forest canopies come to mind immediately. When the clouds lift and the blue skies appear, enjoy the uninterrupted, panoramic views of the Nicoya Gulf, dotted with small islands. It is also where you can find delicious eateries, so the question may be: Which are the best restaurants in Monteverde? Let´s explore this mountaintop for some great food!
Monteverde has a fabulous collection of excellent restaurants, bars, and cafes that are the delicious beginnings, intervals, and ends of a day of adventure in Monteverde. This is a journey of flavors, aromas, and innovative kitchens in the clouds!
Selvatura Adventure Park is where you will work up an appetite. As you explore the nature reserve zip lining through the cloud forest canopy, hiking the nature trails, and walking over hanging bridges inhaling all that fresh air, you get hungry! 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!
Let’s explore the five best restaurants in Monteverde with the best dish recommendation for each!
1. The Fig Restaurant
The Fig Restaurant is found at Ficus Sunset Suites, just steps from the center of the town of Santa Elena. The Fig combines gastronomical innovation with a casually elegant ambiance while delighting in the uninterrupted views of the forest and down onto the coast.
Many of the ingredients come directly from the hotel´s vegetable and herb garden guaranteeing ultimate organic freshness. This farm-to-table concept also represents the traditions and culture of Costa Rica that Fig Restaurant honors in its many delicious dishes that come with an innovative and modern twist.
The Fig serves breakfast and dinner, ensuring a delicious start and finish to your day! This fabulous restaurant also has a Happy Hour offering a range of top-shelf cocktails and drinks that are a perfect way to enjoy stunning sunsets and a delicious dinner experience.
Recommendation: Tomato Salad, Prairie Rib, or Heart of Palm Ravioli.
2. Celajes Restaurant Monteverde
Celajes Restaurant, located in the Hotel Belmar, is a restaurant, cocktail lounge, and craft brewery all in one. With a generous balcony, you can enjoy the sweeping views of the forest and the Gulf of Nicoya while dining or having a drink to celebrate your day of adventure in nature.
The restaurant’s ambiance is elegant and retains a sense of formality. Celajes is an excellent option if you want to dress up a bit and enjoy a sophisticated menu of curry-inspired dishes and its farm-to-table concept. This works well in the Swiss chalet-style building the hotel and the restaurant are within.
Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, Celajes Restaurant´s star of the show is the vegetable and herb garden, which are essential ingredients in the success of the dining experience. This is higher-end dining.
A recommendation: Burrata Salad, Salt Cured Beef Tenderloin, Pejibaye Agnolotti.
3. San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience
San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience is a gastronomical experience at the top of the forest. It is a 7-course tasting dinner and wine experience and offers a private dinner in a glass box.
San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience is an innovative example of how Costa Rica and Monteverde are becoming increasingly sophisticated in dining. Although Monteverde is about close-to-nature experiences, this could be the place if you are looking for an upscale dining experience.
Recommendations: The Pescatarian or the Vegetarian menus.
4. TreeHouse Restaurant
Hugging a strangler fig tree, Treehouse Restaurant truly represents Monteverde’s. This restaurant emulates a treehouse with a casual ambiance right in the middle of town. If you can zipline and walk in the forest, why not eat in one too? This is about delicious dining with some fun.
The menu is a fusion of Latin-American dishes emphasizing the world-famous Peruvian specialties, so be prepared for some fantastic fresh seafood dishes. The Tree House also has pizzas and traditional Costa Rican dishes on its menu.
Treehouse Restaurant is bustling and busy, so it is not a quiet night out, but it is worth visiting!
Our recommendation: Tree House Pizza, Rice with Seafood, Veggie Pie.
5. Morphos Restaurant
A long-time favorite in Monteverde, Morphos Restaurant offers a varied menu of local and international dishes that complements the family atmosphere that has made Morphos so well known and enjoyed. It also boasts one of the best sunsets on the mountaintop too.
As is the case for many of the restaurants in Monteverde, reflecting its focus on well-being and healthy living, Morphos has its own vegetable and herb garden. The harvest of this garden is used in the delicious and generous dishes served in this casual restaurant.
Recommendation: Morphos Chicken, Veggie Burger, Mango, and Tamarind Pork Chop
Selvatura Adventure Park is excited to share some great dining spots you can visit during your stay in Monteverde and at the hotel. Just as you can enjoy true adventure and thrills in nature at the park, Monteverde is also adventurous in the cloud forest’s kitchens. We look forward to showing you the very best of Monteverde in the forests and the kitchen!