Where can I eat at a chef-driven restaurant in Costa Rica?
Featuring the finest and freshest ingredients gathered from the mountains, forests, farms and oceans, chef-driven restaurant experiences can be found across every region of Costa Rica.
Costa Rica's exciting culinary scene is much more than a flash in the pan. Just like the concept of "pura vida," it's a natural way of life. The chefs who choose to call Costa Rica home are inspired by a culture rooted in sustainability, where the best ingredients come straight from the land and sea. Using the freshest seafood, unrivaled coffee and cacao beans, and local produce from cassava to palm fruit, these chefs have made their names by putting contemporary spins on traditional recipes and Indigenous techniques.
Discover the top chef-driven restaurants in Costa Rica, and be sure to request their signature dishes, which promise to be a highlight of your journey.
San José, Costa Rica
Chef Santiago Fernández Benedetto
Chef Santiago Fernández Benedetto is one of the most renowned figures in modern Costa Rican cuisine, earning One Knife recognition from The Best Chef Awards. At Restaurante Silvestre, chandeliers illuminate the dining room of a historic Belle Époque home where a curated menu celebrates the best of seasonal Costa Rican ingredients – sourced from farms, cooked over a wood fire and presented through storytelling. Go à la carte or select the eight-course Óptica Tasting Menu, ending with the signature dessert World Heritage Sphere from Osa – featuring Talamanca cocoa, guava and corn.
Sikwa, San José
Chef Pablo Bonilla
Chef Pablo Bonilla has traveled extensively throughout Costa Rica to understand the spiritual connection between native ingredients from the land and the ancestral recipes of the eight recognized Indigenous peoples of Costa Rica. Sikwa, which means "non-Indigenous person" in the Bribri and Cabécar languages, became the first Costa Rican restaurant to earn a spot on Latin America's 50 Best Restaurants list. Look for classic ingredients like purple corn and pejibaye peach palm fruit, Pacific coast seafood, cacao from the Caribbean side, and signature cocktails made from equally inspired ingredients.
CENSE Restaurant at the Hyatt Centric, San José
Chef Kevin Charpentier Romero
As Costa Rica's first certified Sustainable Executive Chef, Chef Charpentier is known for his innovative interpretations of seasonal ingredients. Dine indoors or on the terrace, and choose between an à la carte menu and a tasting menu that takes you on a culinary journey. Savor dishes like malanga croquettes and grilled shrimp over tiquizque puree, culminating in a sweet finale such as chayote tart or three-milk torrija.
San José, Costa Rica
Chef Richard Neat
As the first British chef to earn a Michelin star in France – working with legends such as Raymond Blanc and Joel Robuchon – Chef Neat is an unlikely celebrity in Costa Rica. At Park Cafe, he brings exquisite preparations to the dining table as well as culinary workshops and private dinner parties.
San José, Costa Rica
Chef Isabel Campabadal
Born and raised in San José, Chef Isabel Campabadal won't be found in a traditional restaurant kitchen, but she does offer private lessons and classes. She is a chef who studied at the most prestigious French culinary schools, an educator, a recipe developer and an author of 19 cookbooks, dedicated to preserving and elevating the country's culinary heritage. She became the first chef to receive Costa Rica's Magón National Prize for Culture in 2019 and has served everything from classic gallo pinto (rice and beans) to "new Costa Rican cuisine" that adapts local ingredients with modern techniques.
Chef Randy Siles
Chef Siles is Costa Rica’s first Chef Ambassador for the National Plan for Sustainable and Healthy Costa Rican Gastronomy and the first Latin American chef inducted into Les Toques Blanches International. As a leading voice in regenerative gastronomy, he brings his passion for hyperlocal ingredients to the beach at Hotel Tropico Latino in Santa Teresa – featuring dishes like fish ceviche in leche de tigre, ancestral soup with yucca croquettes and his version of a classic Costa Rican casado lunch plate.
Chef Isaac Madrigal
Working everywhere from fast-food restaurants to Michelin-starred kitchens, Chef Isaac Madrigal uses regional ingredients and local producers to make his mark on the culinary world. At Nectandra Restaurant, find colorful cuisine and bold flavors with seafood sourced from the Golfo de Nicoya, artisanal goat cheese from Monteverde’s farms and produce grown among the region's pristine landscapes.
Chef Maria Jiménez
Tucked within the mountains of Monteverde, every meal at Origen Restaurant appears like a work of art. Blending contemporary techniques with local agriculture and criollo (creole) traditions, chef Maria Jiménez has worked in premier Costa Rican restaurants and brings her own style to this mist-covered retreat.
Chef Daniel Hernández
While suspended on an elevated platform and across a wooden footbridge, glass-enclosed dining boxes overlook the canopy. There are three spectacular ways to dine among the clouds at this Monteverde restaurant. Choose a six-course curated lunch or dinner that highlights Costa Rica's diverse regions and agriculture; a nine-course tasting menu that begins at sunset; or an 11-course gastronomic journey.
Chef Rodrigo Salazar
As the culinary leader at Parador Nature Resort and Spa, Chef Rodrigo Salazar honors Costa Rica's biodiversity and culinary heritage with modern interpretations. Admire ocean views while dining on artistry on a plate. The signature Bocado de Reyes dinner in the Salón de la Reina (Queen’s Dining Room) transforms classic ingredients with techniques like sous-vide and nitrogen cooking, an experience enhanced by video, sound and color displays.
Chef Gilberto Briceño
Bringing modern Costa Rican cuisine to your table, Chef Gilberto Briceño is a farm-to-table enthusiast who believes that every meal tells a story. Dine on hyperlocal ingredients in the comfort of your own private villa or finca, whether you're enjoying an indoor dinner party or an outdoor gathering in Guanacaste. Tasting menus can include roasted meats prepared with ancestral Guanacaste techniques, tangy ceviche and other seafood dishes built around the catch of the day, and Tico-style tacos loaded onto handmade tortillas.
Chef Marlon Acuña
Costa Rican identity meets the Mediterranean at Scala Restaurant. Inspired by the Brunca region of south Costa Rica, this journey of gastronomy and mixology brings storytelling to the dining table. Expect artisanal cheese boards from the Canaán de Rivas region, pastas mixed with fresh-from-the-water seafood, and sweet endings like corn flan topped delicately with caramel and hibiscus powder. Fruity and creamy drinks hit just the right note in this tropical Pacific destination.
Chef Juan Pablo Álvarez
Private dinners and beach barbecues bring you into this world of culinary creativity led by Chef Juan Pablo. He began cooking at age 12 alongside his father and mastered vegetarian cooking at an early age. Later, with top restaurants on his résumé, he created Cuisine by Chef Juan Pablo on the South Pacific coast to serve everything from ocean-fresh ceviche to multicourse feasts.
Formerly of BRUTØ
Chef Byron Gomez
As you follow the journey of a Costa Rican chef to the mountains of Denver, you'll understand why "pura vida" is an entire way of life. When he was the executive chef of the Michelin-starred BRUTØ, Chef Byron Gomez created a culinary laboratory that earned deep respect across the culinary world. His caviar is paired not with crème fraîche but with natilla, a Costa Rican–style sour cream made in the mountains. His ceviche is inspired by the Guanacaste Pacific coast, starring fresh snapper bathed in citrus. Rondón represents Afro-Caribbean influences where seafood and root vegetables are simmered in coconut milk. Canapes are crafted from chorreada (sweet corn pancake) with beef seared over embers. Even his dessert, maduro ice cream, is inspired by his memories of fried sweet plantains blended into a creamy base, while the coffee and chocolate prominently represent the Central Valley of Costa Rica.
How to book
Contact restaurants directly to reserve a table and inquire about tasting menus, private meals or large groups.
Reserve your next meal with our Restaurants directory. Find more inspiration on our Culinary Adventures page.