Monteverde · Food

Costa Rican home cooking with two branches, one in the Plaza Monteverde centre and one opposite the sports plaza in Santa Elena. Gallo pinto, casados and ceviche at prices the town itself eats at; reservations by WhatsApp on +506 2645 5968 if you are a group.

The coffee shop of a collective of 21 farming families, 400 m south of the Cañitas church, open 8:00–17:00 every day. Free tastings, pastries and espresso, and their own farm-and-roastery tour leaves from the same building if you want the long version.

The one stretch where you can compare menus on foot: sodas, bakeries and small restaurants, plus the supermarket for anything you want to cook. It is also the only part of Monteverde with much open after dark — the reserve road closes down early.

Breakfast here is rice and beans with egg, and the local twist is dairy: the Quaker settlers' dairy is still the reason cheese turns up in the sandwiches, the sauces and the ice cream. Eating the local thing is also the cheap thing, which is not true everywhere.