The Best Restaurants in La Fortuna: Eating Your Way Through Costa Rica
Leading up to our trip to Costa Rica, I was preparing myself for a daily diet of rice and beans. While our free hotel breakfast did have a serving of this available every morning, alongside plantains and the sweetest samplings of fruit, I didn’t find myself sticking to this staple meal as much as I thought I would have to.
La Fortuna presented us with various cuisines highlighting the region’s natural flavors and talent for curating tasteful dishes served to impress. Your trip to Costa Rica won’t be lacking in diversity, as you’ll come to find a vibrant food culture keen on experimenting with global dishes and locally-sourced ingredients. Continue reading to discover my recommendations for the best restaurants in La Fortuna, Costa Rica!
Best Restaurants in La Fortuna, Costa Rica
El Chante Verde
El Chante Verde is a shrubbery-disguised restaurant curating dishes for vegans, vegetarians, and carnivores. Staying true to its rainforest roots, the entire eatery is garnished with greenery and jungle-inspired furnishings.
The most difficult part of eating here was narrowing down our selections, but I eventually chose to go with the tacos. Packed with flavorful ingredients and a picante sauce, these delicacies were the perfect food to kick off our time in La Fortuna, foreshadowing the savory foods we would come to enjoy all week.
Restaurante Fortuneño
Visited after an exhilarating afternoon of ziplining adjacent to the Arenal Volcano, Restaurante Fortuneño was an ultra-modern space with a tempting menu of drinks and eats. Having had an active day, my mom and I browsed the menu and let our grumbling stomachs do the deciding, settling on sharing the volcano nachos. This heaping pile of tortilla chips with all the fixings was the perfect meal for the two of us.
Restaurante Fortuneño also boasts a tasty drink menu. I felt the margaritas calling my name and was not disappointed by the tequila-heavy cocktail placed in front of me. Visit one of the two locations in downtown La Fortuna during your stay.
Organico Fortuna
We found there to be a brilliant organic food scene in La Fortuna, made all the more clear after dining at Organico Fortuna. This family-owned restaurant is built on the notion that food can be medicine, with all of its dishes derived from organic ingredients. Once again, I found myself faced with the difficult task of narrowing down my choices, as this diverse menu tempted me to throw out our other dining plans for the week and instead sample every dish here.
Eventually, I landed on the cashew pasta, a tasty recipe that laid my previous notions of cashew sauce to rest. Not only were my mom and I blown away by the flavor of our selections, but the presentation of these dishes was also far too impressive not to document. Organico Fortuna gave us the experience of fine dining at affordable prices. The presentation alone inspired us to order dessert simply because we were intrigued by how they would decorate the plates.
This meal was easily my favorite from the entire trip, and I’ll forever think of this family-owned business as one of the best restaurants in La Fortuna! Meanwhile, I’ll be experimenting with ingredients trying to recreate their cashew pasta.
Mercadito Arenal
Mercadito Arenal is a well-loved open-air eatery with various food stands to choose from. From sushi to cocktails to meaty plates, there is a little something for everyone here. Because of the large variety of cuisines available, dining with a large group has never been made easier. After weighing our options, my mom and I decided to finally satisfy our pizza craving, ordering personal pizzas from one of the stands.
Rain Forest Café
Having grown up with a deep love for the jungle-themed restaurant chain known as Rainforest Cafe, I was elated when I discovered that an eatery called Rain Forest Café existed in La Fortuna, an authentic rainforest destination.
This humble restaurant may have made it into our itinerary based on its name alone, but it earned a spot in this blog post thanks to its economically-priced empanadas overflowing with flavor. With their perfectly-fried dough, tender meat, and peppery sauce served on the side, these empanadas easily won me over, earning a first-place tie with the empanadillas I ordered in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico, six and a half years prior. I’ve been waiting for an empanada to properly rival these starters ever since, and I never thought I would see them meet their match at a small eatery in Costa Rica. Rain Forest Café turned out to be one of my favorite restaurants in La Fortuna simply due to the empanadas.
Lava Lounge
Although it was not originally on our itinerary, the live music pouring out of Lava Lounge drew us into this restaurant. While this eatery noticeably caters to tourists, I can never say no to dinner with a bit of a show. We grabbed a table for two in front of the musicians and enjoyed a variety of songs in both English and Spanish, performed by Duo Marcos y Aron! When dining here, you’ll also be supporting charitable efforts, as a portion of each sale goes to help the stray dogs in La Fortuna.
Spectacolar Cantina
My mom and I never made it to this restaurant, but it came highly recommended by our resort’s bartender, Fernando, who we grew to be friends with throughout the week. Given his upbringing in the area, I trust his judgment enough to recommend this restaurant without having visited it myself. Spectacolar Cantina serves a variety of Mexican dishes and regularly has live music for patrons to enjoy. We had planned on eating here, but given that there was no live music that night, we were instead drawn in by Lava Lounge.
Where to Drink and Dance in La Fortuna
At first glance, one might not think La Fortuna has much nightlife. However, after eating in town for dinner each night, it was impossible to miss the large number of locals filling the streets and gathering in the town’s central park. While my mom and I did not partake in any of the nightlife as I would usually do, we did receive some recommendations from Fernando for the best places to go drinking and dancing.
BlackMoon
Selina’s
Sander’s Bar and Restaurante
Volcán Look Disco
I hope to find myself in La Fortuna again someday, as this destination filled me with a sense of internal peace and appreciation for life that not every trip highlights. These restaurant recommendations are a nod to the beautiful culture that lives within this region, and I’m extremely grateful that I was able to experience it for myself.
Want more tips for La Fortuna? Visit my blog posts below:
