Top Restaurants in Mal Pais
Top Things to do in Mal Pais
Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica Food Guide: 4 Contemporary food Must-Eat Restaurants & Street Food Stalls in Mal Pais
Discover Restaurants offering the best Contemporary food in Mal Pais, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Near the southernmost tip of Peninsula de Nicoya, Mal Pais offers rocky coves, white sand beaches, waterfalls, rainforests, surfing, and relaxation near a remote fishing village and Cabo Blanco National Park. The prime attraction is surfing at beaches like Playa Mar Azul, Playa Santa Teresa, Playa Manzanillo, and Playa Carmen. Plus there is fishing, boating, snorkeling, diving, hiking, horseback riding, biking, and 4-wheel drive touring. A 4-wheel drive vehicle comes in handy for navigating unpaved roads in this still mostly wild area, particularly during the rainy season. Though locals zip around on quad bikes and motorcycles transporting their surfboards. Allow the better part of a day driving from San Jose Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaría International Airport (SJO) to Mal Pais. Budget extra time to board the car ferry from Puntarenas across the Golfo de Nicoya to Paquera on the Peninsula de Nicoya. Or take the short flight from San Jose to Tambor Airport (TMU), and be within an hour of Mal Pais. Some Mal Pais beaches have little sand, and judging point break direction and swell size requires surfing acumen. A Mal Pais surf camp may be perfect for family members wanting to learn to read the surf better. Santa Teresa’s beaches have more white sand, and point breaks like Suck Rock are almost legendary among surfers flocking here when the seas around Playa Carmen get too rough. Playa Carmen has enough variety to accommodate all levels of surfers, but the swells can get too rough and too frequent to get out during the rainy season. A bit to the north, with waters calmed by a rock jetty, Playa Manzanillo is known for its annual sand castle competition.
Things to do in Mal Pais
1. El Jardin at Monteverde Lodge & Gardens
Overall Ratings
4 based on 323 reviews
The service style is personalized, informal, caring. Our food is what a Costa Rican grandmother would cook if she was also a creative and contemporary professional chef. The atmosphere is quiet,laid back and tranquil with an open fireplace. No background
Reviewed By niagara_chris
After careful research I booked this restaurant for our 25th anniversary dinner. My wife and I both liked the decor and found our waiter very polite. Unfortunately our food fell short of our expectations. There were a couple quirky things during our meal as well. I had ceviche and then the tuna main course. My wife had a tenderloin steak. The presentation of my appetizer was excellent and it tasted good. My main course was basically raw and tough, so I was unable to finish it. I actually like raw fish and sushi but the tuna just didn't work for me. Oh well, we were both in good spirits so it wasn't a big deal. I noticed my wife was working a bit to cut through her meat so I gave her my steak knife, which helped. She had to work at it a bit too much for the cut of meat she ordered, so it was a bit disappointing for her as well. Our super polite waiter had an accident and knocked over the wine/champagne bucket on a stand at the table beside us. The water and ice cubes all ended up on our feet and under our table. He was so embarrassed. We weren't upset or bothered, but he apologized about 5 or 6 times and then it got a bit awkward. Then he brought us two strawberry daiquiris after our meal was over, which seemed odd to me. I was drinking water during the dinner, so I just let it sit on the table until we left. We were thinking that offering a free desert of something like that might of been a nice gesture. No worries. I suspect this was just a miss on this night and at that time for this restaurant. If we hadn't already had great breakfasts and lunches and dinners elsewhere during our trip maybe I would have been a bit grumpier with our outing. I did not complain about the tuna, by the way, or ask to have it cooked more. I know that tuna is generally served med rare or rare. It was just raw and tough and I wasn't in the mood to complain. Too much in love, I guess to let a restaurant's off night spoil our anniversary dinner!Dear niagara_chris,We are very sorry to hear that we spoiled your anniversary dinner, please accept our sincere apologies.After we received your review, we were very worried because you were talking about some of the favorite dishes among our guests, so our executive chef, Federico Barrantes, decided to investigate. He usually travels a lot, but he spent the entire last week in Monteverde, using your feedback to re-train our kitchen staff in the different cuts of meat, cooking gradation and the correct use of the meat thermometer. He also explained to Carlos, your waiter that night, that even though to err is human, he only needs to apologize once when he makes a mistake, otherwise as you well put it in your review, it becomes awkward.Chris, we understand that you were celebrating your anniversary on that night, and exactly for that reason,we wish you had told us that you didn't enjoy dinner while you were still in the restaurant; we would have gladly done everything possible to make things right during your special celebration. Our guests feedback is what we appreciate the most because it helps us to improve.Please let us know if you are ever back to El JardÃn, we would love an opportunity to make it up to you.Sincerely,Jenn Dunn Guest Satisfaction Specialist
Top 9 Fusion food in Mal Pais, Province of Puntarenas, Costa Rica
2. The Papaya Lounge Restaurant
Overall Ratings
4 based on 131 reviews
Reviewed By sarahYjan
We stayed at moana lodge for 3 nights, papaya lounge is the hotel restaurant. The first night we had dinner at the restaurant, the ocean views are amazing (high climb to the restaurant but 100% worth it!). The frensh bartender makes delicious cocktails and does a great job! Happy hour is from 4 till 6 perfect for watching the sunset! The food is oké, but little pricy, its a tapas concept so you can taste a lot of everything. Some or better then others, we loved the fresh calamari with home made sauce. The food itself was overall too salty. I self use a lot of salt while cooking at home, but the food in papaya lounge was really toooo much salted. Otherwise the dishes were perfect! The 2nd and 3th night of our stay the restaurant was closed, which was not so pleasant while we had no transportation. I couldn't understand because breakfast was served in the morning! it couldn't be that hard to make something for a few couples, if you can bake eggs in the morning you can improvise a little menu too! We enjoyed the food in town more, and for the same money you get better food! For cocktails tough its 100% recommended !
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3. San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience
Overall Ratings
5 based on 31 reviews
San Lucas dining experience is a 7 course gourmet dinner on top of the trees. There are only 5 tables, each one elevated on a deck platform above the trees with stunning views of Monteverde downtown. Dinner is served daily at 7pm and starting on November
Reviewed By jay987123
Our trip to "San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience" was nothing short of unbelievable. We had stayed at "Chira Glamping Monteverde Hotel" no more than 100 feet away from the restaurant. Our waiter, Dilan, greeted us at our door with umbrellas for both me and my wife. He escorted us to a breathtaking view over Monteverde and we began.Dilan began giving us each dish accompanied with a crash course on the history, meaning, and even the location of each local ingredient found in Costa Rica within each dish. Simply put, it was an unbelievable experience. Words do not do justice as to how delicious the meal was, and pictures do not do the presentation justice. Me and my wife spent a week and traveled over 10 hours driving to various parts of Costa Rica, and if you were to ask me the one location you should dine at to fully experience the area, it is without a doubt "San Lucas Treetop Dining Experience", and second place is not close.
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4. Delucia
Overall Ratings
4 based on 37 reviews
Colonial style building. with great access and parking lotseat about 80 people, very appropriate for groups!nice bar
Reviewed By Luv2TravelFarNWide
Nice ambiance to this restaurant. Came with a group of 10 and we started with freshly made tortillas and various toppings (beans, avocado, salsa). Yummy. Then we ordered from the menu, and between us we tried a wide range of dishes from beef to chicken to fish to vegetarian. All were quite good.Service was good. Full bar. And the best Tres Leche cake I've ever had. I usually skip dessert, but this was worth the calories.
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