2 Best Restaurants in Guanacaste and the Nicoya Peninsula, Costa Rica

Dawn to dusk, this casually chic restaurant overlooking Playa Pelada is the most scenic place to have breakfast, lunch, cocktails, or dinner, with tables spilling out of the interior onto a wide, covered terrace and onto the sand. The menu is mostly Mediterranean, ranging from Moroccan-spiced or limoncello-marinated fish of the day, to beef or fish carpaccio and brick oven–fired pizzas. At sunset, you can cozy up in a settee on the sand with a cocktail, and share a Mediterranean platter of dips, including harissa-hot hummus served with fluffy pita. Breakfast, starting at 7 am, ranges from typical Costa Rican to full English, with eggs, bacon, sausage, baked beans, grilled mushrooms, and tomatoes. Vegetarians can opt for toast topped with avocado and goat cheese. Some outdoor, picnic-style tables make this restaurant family-friendly during the day, while the terrace tables are more romantic at night.

Famous for its wood-oven pizzas, this breezy, all-wood restaurant with tree-trunk pillars is set amidst trees above the hotel of the same name. Lunch is the best deal in town, with pork, chicken, or fish casados elegantly presented with patacones (plantain fritters), a mound of white rice, a ramekin of red beans, and a mixed salad with creamy vinaigrette, all for $6. Dinners focus on grilled, stewed, and sauced meats including buffalo and lamb dishes, a rarity in these parts. Desserts are not to be missed—a passion-fruit crème brûlée is crunchy on top, smooth and tart below, and comes with a spoonful of strawberry coulis. The two-chocolate mousse, and a moist chocolate moelleux (cake) will make chocolate fans happy. The wine list features affordable French wines. Service is friendly and the chefs enjoy describing what's on the menu.