Santa Teresa is such a hip and vibrant little town. Food wise, you can really find any type of cuisine that your heart might desire. During our stay, we tried 10 different restaurants. If you’re looking for some inspo regarding where to eat in Santa Teresa, check out this post for a Santa Teresa restaurant review for 2024 (in no particular order).
Where to eat in Santa Teresa: the criteria
I’ll be reviewing all the 10 restaurants in this post based on 4 different criteria, which in my opinion are the most important ones when choosing a restaurant: Atmosphere, food taste and quality, price and location.
10 places where you should eat in santa teresa: the review
1. Manzú
Atmosphere
Atmosphere wise, it doesn’t get much better than Manzú! The restaurant is right on the beach, with stunning views of the ocean and surrounded by nature. While the restaurant is part of one of the fancier hotels in Santa Teresa, the restaurant is still very casual. We were there for lunch, and the clientele was very diverse. Overall, I’d say the vibe is very relaxed and chill, while maintaining somewhat more of an upscale feel compared to other beachfront restaurants in the area.
Food
We personally tried the Angus Burger and the Hydroponic Salad with Feta Cheese. My boyfriend tried multiple Burgers in Santa Teresa, and according to him this was the best burger out of all of them! My salad was also great, the portion was large enough that I felt really full. I loved the lime dressing!
The staff was also nice enough to give us a free amouse bouche on the house! It was a traditional “mini taco” with potatoes – also very delicious!
On a separate occasion we also had some sunset drinks at Manzu. Hands down these were the BEST mojitos we had in all of Santa Teresa!
If you’re wondering, I believe Manzú doesn’t have a specific cuisine. You can find both European/US classics as well as local favourites 🙂
Price
Since the hotel is part of an upscale hotel, the prices are obviously also more on the higher end compared to other restaurants in the area. We paid 42 CHF for our lunch, no alcohol. For 2 mojitos we paid 20 CHF. However, the atmosphere, the food quality and most of all the service truly match the price!
You can check out the menu (incl. prices) here.
Location
As already mentioned, the restaurant is LITERALLY RIGHT ON THE BEACH. It can be reached either via the beach, or go through the hotel entrance which is right on the main road.
Check out the location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 9/10
2. Uma
Atmosphere
Hands down: This was my personal favorite restaurant and definitely a place where you should eat in Santa Teresa! The restaurant is again fully beach front, super peaceful and just a great vibe. They have bean bags in the front for drinks. Behind that are the actual tables for eating, all covered with cute rattan umbrellas. Once again, you can find a very mixed clientele here, from families, to digital nomads to couples… 10/10 recommend for anyone!!!
Food
The food was so good at Uma! My boyfriend tried the Schnitzel (it was more like chicken fingers honestly), and I had the Greek Salad. Both were very tasty, but if you want a real Wiener Schnitzel maybe don’t order the Schnitzel here haha!
The portions are not huge, but since we were here for lunch that was perfectly fine for us! Because keep in mind, it’s very hot during lunch time 🙂
The cuisine at Uma is Mediterranean, so they also have many more salads and mezze platters. I’d say the food is generally “light” and in my opinion very suitable for a lunch.
We also tried two of their cocktails (the frozen pineapple and old fashioned cocktails), which were both fire!!
Price
For the location, I’d honestly say the price was not too bad! Our lunch (salad and schnitzel), and our two cocktails came out at 53 CHF. Without the cocktails the two meals would have probably been around 35 CHF, which for the location and the view is unbeatable!
If you want to take a look at the menu and their prices, follow this link.
Location
As already mentioned, the restaurant is LITERALLY RIGHT ON THE BEACH. It can be reached either via the beach, or go through the hotel entrance which is right on the main road.
Check out the location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 10/10
3. Kooks Steakhouse
Atmosphere
The Kooks Steakhouse is a place where people come to gather. They have an outdoor bar area, an outdoor garden seating area, as well as an airconditioned bar area with TVs where you can watch different games. It’s very casual. If you come at the right time (I believe it was around 8pm on selected nights) you can even find live music here!
Food
At Kooks Steakhouse we had a cheese burger and a Caesar salad, as well as the fried Oreo dessert. The burger and the salad were ok, nothing really remarkable though. I’d say out of all the restaurants we visited, this one (and the Facon Steakhouse) was one of the least memorable ones.
Price
The prices are honestly really fair here. For a burger, a salad, a dessert and a beer we paid 43 CHF. Without the dessert, you’d have a dinner for 2 for under 40 dollars including alcoholic beverages.
For more details, I’d recommend checking out their menu.
Location
The restaurant is easily accessible since it is right on the main road, in the central part of the town.
Check out the exact location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 6/10
4. El Facon
Atmosphere
The restaurant is located right off the main road, but honestly you hardly notice. All tables are outdoor in kind of a backyard area, which is decorated with string lights. It’s again quite casual but really nice. Sometimes they have live music as well!
Food
El Facon is an Argentinian Steakhouse! So if you are a meat lover, this is the place for you. As you can imagine, they have all sorts of different meats and cuts. Personally, we again tried the burger (I hope you’re picking up on my boyfriend’s favorite food) and the two types of empanadas that they had on the menu. The burger was okay, but you can tell that this is definitely not their specialty area. The empanadas were both (meat and vegetarian) really good!
They also offered us a small appetizer on the house, which was fried yams with a house sauce. Tasted like sweet potato fries, and it was very yummy
Price
In our opinion, this restaurant was on the pricier side. Especially considering it’s not beachfront and rather at the end of town. However, you do get quality meat cuts here that you might not find at other places.
Since we were somewhat on a budget, the things we chose were some of the cheapest on the menu. The empanadas were even from the appetizers. Hence, we still managed to keep our costs at 34 CHF for a dinner of two, no alcohol this time.
Unfortunately, El Facon does not have a website. But I would say if you wanted a real dinner incl. alcohol you’d rather be looking at a cost of 60-70 CHF for two person dinner.
Location
The restaurant is easily accessible since it is right on the main road, in the Northern/Western part of the town.
Check out the exact location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 8/10
5. Soda Pura Vida
Atmosphere
This is definitely the most “basic” restaurant that we visited. The restaurant is very simple, there are just a couple of tables outside and that’s it. Unlike most other restaurants here, I don’t think they are trying to go for a specific “theme” or “vibe”. People come here to eat, not necessarily to get a special experience. If you’re looking for some authenticity, I’d say Soda Pura Vida is definitely a place where you should eat in Santa Teresa!
Food
A “Soda” is a typical traditional Costa Rican restaurant. Hence, the food they serve is all typically Tico. You’ll find lots of rice and chicken dishes. With that being said, the food was VERY YUMMY and the portions WERE HUGE! I’m talking Cheesecake Factory size huge – my boyfriend and I could have easily split one meal if we wanted to. They also have a large selection of fresh juices which seem to be popular.
We tried the Arroz con Pollo and the Arroz con Camarones, as well as the fresh pineapple juice. I’d recommend all of this, it was great 🙂
Price
The price of Soda Pura Vida is unbeatable!! For our two huge portions, fresh juice and a beer we only paid 24 CHF!! That’s basically half the price of all our other meals in Santa Teresa!! If you’re on a budget, this is the place to eat!!
Location
The restaurant is easily accessible since it is right on the main road, in the Northern/Western part of the town.
Check out the exact location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 8/10
6. Ranchos Itauna
Atmosphere
Ranchos Itauna is another beach front restaurant. Compared to Uma and Manzú, I’d say the atmosphere at Ranchos is a bit more rustic and less boho. Instead of Rattan and light woods, the chairs are made from a darker, more solid wood. But once again, vibes are immaculate because nothing can beat a view of the ocean 🙂
Food
Personally, we only came here for sunset drinks. We both had a Caipirinha, and it was top notch!
The restaurant otherwise offers Brazilian cuisine, which would definitely also have been interesting to try!
Unfortunately, however, there is no menu online to show you their offers…
Price
For our two cocktails we paid 25 CHF. This is the most that we paid for 2 cocktails in all of Santa Teresa. I don’t remember what the food prices were like, but since it’s beachfront dining I’d say you can expect similar prices to Manzú (mentioned above).
Location
As already mentioned, the restaurant is LITERALLY RIGHT ON THE BEACH. It can be reached either via the beach, or go through the hotel entrance which is right on the main road.
Check out the location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 8/10
7. Eat Street
Atmosphere
Eat Street quickly became our go to place for a light lunch, smoothie, coffee… anything light and easy! Why, you’re wondering? Because the concept is just super cool. Eat Street is basically like an outdoor food court. You have 4 different “trailers” framing a covered, outdoor seating area. There’s a breakfast area, a bar, and two lunch trailers. They do serve the food to your table, even though it’s food court style. Overall, it’s really a place where you can eat in Santa Teresa at any time of the day for any reason and it’s a fun and relaxed atmosphere.
Food
We had several different things at Eat Street. For lunch one day we had the hummus plate with pita chips, which was very yummy! We also tried the coconut shrimps and the chicken wings, which were okay but nothing special. The fries on the other hand are very good and portion is very generous.
In general, you’ll find a lot of different options at Eat Street. The breakfast trailer is very “health” oriented, with multiple vegan options. The two lunch trailers have anything from classic junk food (fried stuff, burgers, tacos, …) to healthier options like salads and bowls.
Drinks wise we had several iced coffees and iced chai tea lattes, a couple of smoothies and two cocktails. The coffees and smoothies were all great and I’d order them again. The mojitos we had were honestly so-so, nothing compared to the ones at Manzú!
Price
I’d say Eat Street is somewhere in the middle on the price range. The cocktails were 18 CHF, which is on the more affordable side I’d say for Santa Teresa. For lunch we paid approx. 25 CHF for two people, which is ok. Two coffees or two smoothies will be around 8 CHF, which I’d say is again somewhere middle ground.
You can check out the menus of all the different trailers on their website.
Location
The restaurant is easily accessible since it is right on the main road, in the Northern/Western part of the town.
Check out the exact location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 9/10
8. The Bakery
Atmosphere
The Bakery is actually not just a bakery, but quite a popular café. The vibe is very Mediterranean, light and breezy. There is an indoor and outdoor area, which is quite rare I’d say. If you sit outside, however, be aware that the café is located quite at the beginning of Santa Teresa, and traffic can get quite busy. Overall, this wasn’t our favorite place.
Food
We came here for brunch / lunch. I had the avocado toast and my boyfriend had the Spaghetti Carbonara. Both were honestly very tasty. The true star of the show, however, were definitely their desserts / pastries!!!
We also tried the mint lemonade (VERY GOOD) and the iced cardamom chai tea latte (meh).
Lastly, since they messed up part of our original order, we got two desserts on the house. We tried the chocolate chip cookie and the chocolate éclair. The cookie was sprinkled with sea salt which really gave the cookie a special touch, and the éclair was just so decadently chocolatey. Just wow 🙂
Price
The price was very okay. For two meals and two drinks we paid 38 CHF. The desserts were on the house as mentioned, since they messed up part of our order.
For more details you can check out the menu on their website.
Location
The restaurant is easily accessible since it is right on the main road, in the Southern/Eastern part of the town.
Check out the exact location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 7/10
9. Heladeria Gaucha
Atmosphere
Heladeria Gaucha is a teeny tiny breakfast and coffee place. There are maybe 3-4 tables inside, and another 3-4 tables outside. I’d say the atmosphere is very cozy, maybe slightly girly. It’s definitely not a place where you are meant to spend hours inside, but rather breakfast and go.
Food
As the name suggests, Heladeria Gaucha is in fact an ice cream shop. My review however will only be based on the coffee, since that’s the only thing I tried. So to keep it short, it was the best coffee I had in Santa Teresa! If you’re looking for a coffee to go, definitely check out this place!
Unfortunately, there is no menu online. But they have all kinds of coffee, breakfast pastries and of course ice cream.
Price
Very reasonable prices. My shot of Espresso was only 2 CHF!
Location
The café is easily accessible since it is right on the main road, in the Northern/Western part of the town.
Check out the exact location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 8/10
10. Satori
Atmosphere
Out of all the roadside restaurants, Satori wins for the atmosphere! The restaurant is so tastefully decorated and it feels very upscale. I’d say the clientele was mostly couples and families. My boyfriend and I loved it, it was one of our favourite restaurants in Santa Teresa and therefore definitely a MUST where you should eat in Santa Teresa!
Food
Besides the atmosphere being great, THE FOOD WAS ALSO AMAZING! First up, you obviously need to try the sushi. We had the salmon maki, which was divine. As a main I had a classic Peruvian ceviche, and let me tell you it was the best ceviche I’ve ever had. The fish was fresh and the sauce was perfectly citrus-y. Really really good! My boyfriend had the Teriyaki chicken, which was also very tasty.
We also had 2 mojitos, which were also very good.
Price
At 48 CHF, our dinner at Satori was one of our more expensive meals. However, this includes an appetizer, two mains and two cocktails. The appetizer and one of the mains were also seafood, may I add. Given this, I’d still say the restaurant gives a very good value for money. They had happy hour cocktails when we were there, where one cocktail only costs 5 CHF. That’s a VERY good deal!
For more info on the prices, check out their menu here.
Location
Location
The restaurant is easily accessible since it is right on the main road, in the Central to Southeastern part of town.
Check out the exact location on Google Maps.
Overall rating: 10/10
After reviewing 10 different restaurants in Santa Teresa, I still need to add that this is only a fraction of all restaurants in town! So drop your personal recs in the comments below!
If you’re wondering how much money you need for one week in Costa Rica, check out my post here. In this post I’m going over the cost of not only food, but also accommodation, transport, activities, etc…