A platter of tropical fruit on a banana leaf

Costa Rica / Puerto Viejo / Food

Caribbean Coast · Limón

Caribbean foodon this coast.

The dishes that make the South Caribbean taste different from the rest of Costa Rica, and a few ways to try them well.

Coconut,thyme and spiceCooking classavailable
The short answer

Coconut, thyme and a little heat

The food here follows the coast’s Afro-Caribbean history. Coconut milk, herbs and spice set it apart from the rice and beans you find inland.

  1. Start with

    Rice and beans cooked in coconut milk, served with fried fish or chicken and plantain.

  2. Then try

    Rondón, a vegetable and seafood soup, and patí, a spiced meat pastry.

  3. Something sweet

    Pan bon, a spiced fruit bread, and ginger snaps.

  4. To go deeper

    A cooking class with a local host, below.

Our take. Eat at the small local places, order the coastal dishes below, and ask what is fresh that day. Menus and hours change often, so confirm before you go.
What to order

Five things worth trying

Described in the tourism board’s own guide to the Cahuita and Puerto Viejo area.

Rice and beans

Start here

Cooked in coconut milk with thyme, onion and celery, and served with fried fish or chicken and plantain (ICT guide).

Rondón

Signature

A vegetable and seafood soup, and one of the coast’s signature dishes.

Patí

Pastry

A spiced ground-beef pastry.

Pan bon

Bread

A sweet bread made with flour, panela, butter, dried fruit, vanilla and star anise.

Ginger snaps

Biscuit

A traditional local biscuit.

Cook it yourself

There is a private Caribbean cooking experience with a local host.

More into chocolate? Chocolate on this coast →

See the cooking experience

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Where to try it

Four places to start

Named in published local guides; none is a ranking, and menus and hours change.

  1. Selvin’sOn the main road to Punta UvaA small local restaurant whose listed menu includes rondón, rice and beans and Caribbean chicken.
  2. Stashu’s Con FusionAbout 200 m south of townCaribbean fusion cooking by chef Stashu, using local ingredients.
  3. Maxi’sManzanilloDescribed by a local guide as a traditional Caribbean restaurant that has stood at the end of the road for many years.
  4. Cool and Calm CafeManzanilloA menu inspired by the Caribbean and by cuisines around the world; the chef grew up on the Talamanca coast.
Chicken, beans, rice and fried plantain with a jar of lemonade in Puerto Viejo
A plate of chicken, rice and beans, plantain and salad at Cahuita
A casado plate of rice, beans, salad, chicken and plantain in Puerto Viejo
Gallo pinto with a fried egg and plantain in Puerto Viejo
Where it comes from

The coast’s Afro-Caribbean story

Much of this cooking came with Afro-Caribbean families who settled the Caribbean coast.

Rondón is often traced to the Jamaican Patois “run down”, a sign of the Afro-Caribbean communities that shaped the coast. Coconut, thyme, ginger and spice are the through-line. That heritage is part of why a meal here feels different, and why a conversation with a local cook is often the best part.

See also chocolate tours, where cacao and culture meet.

From market to table

Fruit, plantain and a good breakfast

A market stall piled with chillies, tomatoes and bananas
Onions and vegetables hanging at a market stall
A hand of green bananas near Playa Cocles
A bunch of red bananas at Manzanillo
A jar of lemonade with a straw on a table in Puerto Viejo
Scrambled eggs and guacamole in plantain cups, with cucumber
A breakfast table set with toast, jam and coffee
Homemade hot sauce and preserves on a breakfast table
A plated main with herb sauce, lime and fried plantain
A plate of rice, beans, seafood and salad
Eating well

A few habits

Simple ways to eat better and leave a good impression.

  • Ask. What is fresh today, and how it is cooked.
  • Time. Small places can close early or run out of dishes; ask ahead if a particular meal matters.
  • Allergies. Coconut milk and shellfish are common: say so clearly.
  • Hours. Places near Manzanillo keep irregular hours; ask before making the trip for a meal.
Keep exploring

Where to next?

DoThings to doExperiences on the coast CultureChocolate toursCacao from fruit to bar StayWhere to stayAreas and three hotels PlanThree days in Puerto ViejoA plan with slack OverviewThe Puerto Viejo guideTown, beaches and the lay of the land

Sources. Costa Rica Tourism Board, Cahuita and Puerto Viejo guide for the dishes and ingredients; Puerto Viejo Satellite, Manzanillo for the Manzanillo restaurants; published restaurant listings for Selvin and Stashu’s Con Fusion; the cooking experience details come from the operator’s listing and can change.