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

Vestiges of the original Swiss-French owners linger on at this bakery and alfresco eatery, open for breakfast and lunch. In addition to hearty sandwiches, the café serves burritos, bowls, and salads. It's a good place to cool off, and perk up, with a café frappé (espresso blended with bananas and ice cream). The adjoining bakery is great for take-out beach picnics, with French-style bread and an array of pastries and tarts, including chocolate mousse. There's free Wi-Fi.

It might not be beachfront, but this snazzy restaurant has an upscale vibe with hardwood floors, white brick walls, and a wine bar shaking up divine watermelon martinis. For more ambience, grab a table on the outside deck where dishes like salmon risotto, poached sea bass, and shrimp sautéed in coconut milk are served. For something from the land, try the caramelized pork in a honey-and-lime sauce or the heavily requested Dijon beef tenderloin. Don’t skip dessert—try the Bailey's panna cotta with passion-fruit coulis.

Follow the glow of multicolor lanterns to this dinner-only, open-air eatery within sight and sound of the ocean. The simple wooden tables are on a patio bordered with gardens or, during the drier months, practically on the beach. The Italian owners serve an eclectic menu ranging from shrimp curry to squid in spicy puttanesca sauce to tenderloin with porcini mushrooms. The restaurant usually opens just in time for sunset, at 5 pm.

Paper lanterns suspended over wooden tables and polished concrete floors bring rustic elegance to this A-frame restaurant supported by tree-trunk columns. The place has been a favorite for years and remains trendy with international fusion dishes like Buddha bowls or seared yellowfin tuna with wasabi aioli.

Grab a table at the second-floor lounge overlooking the pool while the kitchen cooks up fresh seafood delivered daily by local fishermen. Dinner reservations are recommended, so call ahead to try the coconut shrimp, sesame-crusted tuna, or Thai curry. There are also delicious salads with shredded papaya and tangy dressings, as well as local casados to remind you that you’re in Costa Rica. Wash it all down with an unparalleled passion fruit mojito. The breakfast specials are a bargain. There's live music on Tuesday night.

This modern glass building seems almost out of place on the road connecting Liberia to the coast. Filling a void in healthy cuisine, the restaurant serves wraps, salads, sushi, and sandwiches such as organic chicken with fresh basil. Vegetarians have plenty of options, including veggie skewers, orzo salad, spring rolls, asparagus soup, or a portobello sandwich. The bruschetta, tacos, and burgers are particularly delicious, while the seafood dishes are hit or miss. The prices are much higher than what you’ll find in central Liberia, but it’s a good stop for a quick bite.