Ojochal · Where to eat
A village of a few hundred people, and one of the best places to eat in Costa Rica.
French and Québécois families settled here decades ago and started cooking. The result is a concentration of genuinely good restaurants that makes no sense for a place this size, and is the main reason people who come once come back.
Our four
If you only eat out four times.
These are ours, not a directory. We have eaten everywhere within forty minutes and these are the four we send people to.
Exotica
$$$Ojochal · French, Polynesian, Thai and Vietnamese fusion
“Best fine dining in the area.”
Tiny room, red lanterns, long slow meals. Reserve ahead. Usually closed through the rainy season in September and October — call before you plan an evening around it.
Their websiteHeliconia
$$$Ojochal · Local high-end
“Best local high-end food. It makes you feel like you are dining in the jungle.”
Their Facebook pageLa Choza de Alejo
$$Uvita · Mexican
“Best Mexican in the area.”
El Fuego Brew Co
$$Dominical · Brew pub
“Best brew pub — and it is a genuine treehouse. Good fish and chips.”
Also worth knowing
Citrus
$$$Ojochal · French and Costa Rican fusion with Middle Eastern and Asian notes
Twelve minutes from the gate. Garden setting.
Kua Kua
$$$Ojochal · Refined seasonal, sushi
At Hotel Three Sixty, ocean views, adults only.
Los Gatos Locos
$Ojochal · Mexican
Relaxed, frequent live music.
Tilapias El Pavón
$$Ojochal · Catch-your-own tilapia
The Cascada El Pavón waterfall is on the property. Family favourite.
Rancho Terraba
$$Ojochal · Grilled seafood, steaks, Costa Rican
Rustic and open-air, generous portions.
Before you go
Two practical things.
Most restaurants here have no website and hours shift with the season. Call ahead. Bring insect repellent — nearly everything is open-air, and the mosquitoes arrive with the sunset.
We have deliberately not published opening hours. They shift with the season and a stale table is worse than none — call ahead, or ask Jan and Sonia, who will know whether anywhere is closed this week.