A Typical Costa Rican Meal - beans, rice and choice of protein.
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When traveling, eating out in restaurants all the time can quickly become an expensive proposition. As long-term travelers, Bill and I like to prepare meals in our lodging if it has a kitchen. In Costa Rica though, the food in grocery stores was also quite expensive. Our solution? We discovered the magic of Sodas in Costa Rica!

These small traditional restaurants often only have a few tables and the menu features lots of Costa Rican foods, plus a handful of other foods such as hamburgers or steak. Almost all of them have seating areas that are open to the outdoors, but are covered to keep you dry during the frequent rainfall in Costa Rica.

Join us for a photo tour of some of the ones we visited during our extended time in CR, plus learn some valuable tips about how sodas in Costa Rica work, and some tips for saving money!

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The 5 Most Authentic Sodas We Visited in Costa Rica

Soda Sánchez, Quepos, Puntarenas

We liked Soda Sánchez so much, that we went back to it several times. Located in the heart of downtown Quepos, Soda Sánchez is one of the most popular Sodas in Costa Rica, always full of customers.

The gray and white exterior of Soda Sanchez is one of the most popular sodas in Costa Rica.
The Lunch/Dinner Menu for Soda Sanchez
The Breakfast, Beverage and Dessert menu for Soda Sanchez
The cocktail menu for Soda Sanchez, featuring Whisky, Rum, Vodka, Tequila, Gin, Wine and other drinks. It also lists their Happy Hour specials such as 2 for ones.
Covered seating area at Soda Sanchez has room for 30-40 people.
Plenty of seating area


To convert the CR Colones price to US Dollars, we recommend using the Xe app. For a rough calculation, divide the Colones price by 500 to get an approximate USD. In this post, I will show you the approximate USD, rounded to the nearest dollar $. For more info about Costa Rican currency, see my Costa Rica Facts and Travel Tips post.

Steak Fajitas on a white plate with french fries and salad
Steak Fajitas and Fries – $12
White plate with golden Rice & Shrimp, plus a green side salad with a plump tomato.
Rice with Shimp – $13
White plate with grilled Chicken Quesadilla pieces.
Chicken Quesadillas – $10
A Typical Costa Rican Meal - beans, rice and choice of protein.
Typical Costa Rican Meal – $9

El Cerdo Feliz, Quepos, Puntarenas

Tucked away in the neighborhood of our first Airbnb, the El Cerdo Feliz is a little establishment offering an authentic Soda experience. Mostly visited by locals rather than tourists, it offers a pretty good menu of options.

Honestly, the food was just “okay” at this one. But I wanted you to see the prices and the set up. The atmosphere was fun and comfortable. We visited in the middle of the afternoon when it wasn’t too busy, but it was packed every evening.

The front of the open air El Cerdo Feliz Soda Restaurant
The seating area inside the El Cerdo Feliz
The bar of the El Cerdo Feliz
The Specials of the day spelled out in colorful chalk on a chalkboard on the wall
Lunch and Dinner Menu for El Cedro Feliz - Part 1
Lunch and Dinner Menu for El Cedro Feliz - Part 2

Soda La Campesina, Alajuela

Soda La Campesina was the most rural Soda we ate at – found along the side of the side of road near the La Paz Waterfall Gardens. This one features a scenic Mirador (overlook) and the food was really tasty too!

I enjoyed my grilled chicken sandwich up on the Mirador platform, taking photos of the amazing views and all the birds that were visiting the trees and bushes below. I’d say this is one of the best sodas in Costa Rica that we experienced.

The Soda La Campesina has a red roof over the restaurant and a stairwell going up to the overlook on the right.
The Mirador is on a raised platform with stairs off to the left.
The overlook (also known as a mirador) featured benches and tables. I took my food up there to enjoy while taking in the views.
Up on the Mirador – plenty of seating
A beautiful green and lush valley view from the overlook.
Views from the Mirador
Grilled Chicken Sandwich with fresh bread, lettuce and tomatoes.
Grilled Chicken Sandwich – $7
Grilled steak is served with french fries and a salad of lettuce and sliced tomatoes.
Steak and Fries – $14

Sabor Tico, Santa Elena, Puntarenas

We also enjoyed the Sabor Tico Soda in Santa Elena with our friends Stephanie and Ron. They are vegan and strive to eat a plant-based diet – they were delighted to find many options on this menu. The soda came highly recommended to us by several local guides in the Santa Elena area.

Bill and Kari join friends Stephanie and Ron at a table in the restaurant.
The English menu for Sabor Tico, one of the thousands of sodas in Costa Rica.
Rice and shrimp in a white bowl, topped with banana chips. A salad is in a separate bowl.
Rice with Shrimp + Salad – $9
Chifrijo is a Costa Rican dish of rice, beans, fried pork, and pico de gallo, often served with tortilla or banana chips
Chifrijo – beans, rice and pico de gallo – $7
White plate featuring a mound of white rice, pork chops with thin grilled onions on top, plantains, salad.
Casados with Pork Chops – $7.50
A fried large banana, hollowed out some and filled with melted cheese. - it looks like a canoe shape.
Fried Banana (Platano) with Cheese

Interested in learning how to make the most popular Costa Rican Food? Take a cooking class like we did!

Tiquicia Restaurante, La Fortuna, Alajuela

This soda, called the Tiquicia Restaurante, was just a short walk from our Airbnb near La Fortuna. In this area, away from the town center, there weren’t as many sodas to choose from. So we were glad that the portions were good, pretty tasty, and the prices very reasonable.

The lit sign and exterior for the Tiquicia Restaurante in La Fortuna.
The Interior of the soda restaurant shows a tile floor in shades of red and orange, tables and chairs for guests and lights hanging from the ceiling.
Quesadilla with sour cream and pico de gallo in separate bowls.
Bean Quesadillas – $8
BBQ Pork fajitas with rice, guacamole and black beans on the side
BBQ Pork Fajitas – $11


Surprise – The BBQ Pork Fajitas only came with one small tortilla – not nearly enough for the amount of pork provided. Bill asked for more and they brought them right away!

Other Restaurants and Sodas in Costa Rica

We ate at several other restaurants and sodas in Costa Rica during our extended time there, but the five above give you the best examples and flavor of what an authentic Soda offers.

Some of the other ones we ate at included the Kapi Kapi Restaurant in Santa Elena, Stella’s in Monteverde, Finca Ecologica San Luis near Monteverde, the Restaurante Delucía in Monteverde and the Travesía Restaurant in La Fortuna.

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Most Popular Items on the Menu at Sodas in Costa Rica

Costa Rican food is almost always centered around beans and rice, with some type of protein (meat or seafood) offered.

Almost all restaurants and sodas offer a “typical meal” (also known as a Casado) on their menu and we had to ask what that meant. It’s beans and rice with either chicken, fish, shrimp, pork or beef, usually served with a salad, vegetables and fried plantains.

If you want a less complete meal, rice with chicken (arroz con pollo) or rice with shrimp (arroz con camaron) is also almost always available. I love shrimp so I ordered this one a lot!

Tacos, empanadas, fajitas, quesadillas, nachos and sweet fried plantains are also common on many soda and restaurant menus. Most of them are likely to offer some meals that are more common to Americans such as hamburgers, steak or pasta. We saw a few places that specialized in pizza, but this was not too common.

Tips for Eating and Saving Money at Sodas in Costa Rica

  • Tap water in Costa Rica is generally safe to drink. Be sure to specify tap or “still water” or they might bring you expensive bottled water.
  • Refills on beverages are not free – you will pay for each one.
  • You can pay in either colones or US Dollars.
    • If change is due , you will receive it in colones coins.
    • If paying by credit or debit card, always ask to be charged in colones so you aren’t paying a double conversion fee.
    • If paying in US cash, they might inspect your bills carefully and refuse them if there are any tears, rips or marks on them.
  • A 10% service fee, required by law, is automatically added to every bill. If you want to tip on top of that, it is very much appreciated, but it’s not expected the same way it is in the US.
  • At most sodas in Costa Rica, you go up to the Cashier station to pay your bill. Tell them which table you sat at and they will tell you how much you owe.
  • Others have said that if they give you a menu in English with the prices in USD, you will be paying more than the Spanish menu that lists prices in CR Colones for the locals. This sometimes called “Tourist Pricing”.

    We have not found this to be the case at the Sodas we visited. Most of the menus we were given had both English and Spanish on them, with pricing in colones. When there were separate menus, I compared the menus and the prices calculated to be the same.

    But be aware of this and pay attention, especially in super busy and touristy places such as Manuel Antonio or Tamarindo. When in those areas, we often wondered if we were being charged more than the locals. The solution is to ask for the menu in Spanish.
  • We have learned (from others) that it’s pretty easy to be gluten-free, vegetarian and/or vegan in Costa Rica. Given the abundance of meals that are based in rice, beans, vegetables and fruits, there should be plenty of choices.
  • Service is often slow at restaurants and sodas in Costa Rica. This is because the meal is meant to be savored and enjoyed while visiting with other people. The waiter brings you the menu, but doesn’t come back for 15 minutes to take your order. Then it takes quite awhile for the food to come. After you’re done eating, you might wait half an hour for them to bring your bill, only to realize you can go right up to the Cashier to pay for it.

    Use this time to just relax, look around, soak up your surroundings and enjoy some great conversation with the people you are with. 😊

Conclusion: Are Sodas in Costa Rica Worth It?

Definitely yes! Sodas are the most authentic way to experience fresh Costa Rican food in a way that the locals do, AND it’s an affordable solution to eating out while traveling. I hope this post gave you a taste of what you can experience, and some tips to save you money while eating at the many Sodas in Costa Rica.

More Info on Costa Rica

Here are some more posts about Costa Rica, including some that I’m still working on. If you’d like to receive emails when I’ve posted new content to the site, please complete the short form above.

Monteverde / Santa Elena Rainforest Area

Manuel Antonio / Quepos Area

La Fortuna / Arenal Volcano Area

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