Edited: April 2021

 

Where to eat in Tamarindo?

Tamarindo is famous for its perfect location to surf and catch the waves, this small town has a lot of opportunities to do yoga and it is also known for its vibrant night life. But what about eating out in Tamarindo?

You can choose from wide arrange of classical restaurants with different cuisines here, from Italian to Argentinian but there are several local restaurants here too, called sodas. Soda serves typical Costa Rican cuisine, but mostly: a huge variety of ‘Casados’. The plate called ‘Casados’ is typical Costa Rican meal, consists rice, beans, vegetables or salad and a meat of your choice.

Sodas are small, open air local restaurants and usually they are cheaper than restaurants and they do not always have an English menu. As for the menu, in general they are shorter and includes fewer dishes than a menu in classical restaurants. Here, in this post we are going to present you 3 sodas with a short review of their menus, and also we provide a little dictionary in case if you are not a Spanish speaker, therefore you can easily get through and find your favourites.

For breakfast locals usually have a dish called “Gallo Pinto”, which is a mixture of rice and beans mixed togheter served with a side of egg. The different between this dish and “Casado” is that in the Casado the rice and beans are served separately, while in Gallo Pinto everything is mixed togheter. Both Casado and Gallo pinto can be served with a side of “Pico de Gallo” or “Salsa Fresca”, which is made of chopped tomatoes, onion, lime juice, salt, and cilantro.

In this post we recommend the best places for you to eat out like a local in Tamarindo!

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Wrap Soda

There is a broad range of breakfast here. You can choose typical Costa Rican breakfast but also you can have continental, american and several kinds of breakfast. They have a variety of seafood and fish, soups, wide range of wraps, pastas and burgers! So if you would like to have a burger, do not hesitate to come here and get one! Of course, you can also find the classical Casado in limited variations.

Wrap Soda
El Buen Comer

This place has similar menu than Wrap Soda (actually as I mentioned before, all of the sodas has pretty similar menus). They also have seafoods, pasta, salads, tortillas and Casado with grilled chicken, beef steak, pork fillet, vegeterian and so on. However, you can choose from several variations. You can have fast food too, includes hamburgers, sandwiches, tacos, burritos, quesadillas and french fries. In addition, you can find a huge selection of coctails and liqueurs. If you have no idea where to eat out before go out, choose El Buen Comer!

El Buen Comer
Soda La Marimba

There is a wide range of plates in Soda la Marimba too. This place is not in the center but right next to the center of Tamarindo, next to AutoMercado. It is my personal favourite, though. There is several kinds of food, like chicken, seafood, fish and pork meals in several ways, pastas, Casados and some fast food. I had the best Casado here, with beetroot salad. You have to try that!

Soda La Marimba
Small and useful dictionary for eating out

bebidas – drinks
desayunos – breakfast
sopas – soups
arroces – rices
pollo – chicken
cerdo – pork
carne de res – beef
pescados – fishes
mariscos – seafood
pinto – rice mixed with beans
huevos – eggs
maduro – plantaine
salchichon – sausage
chuleta – pork chop
queso – cheese
tostadas – toasts
natilla – sour cream
lechuga – lettuce
cebolla – onion
tocineta – bacon
maiz – corn
chile dulce – bell pepper
zanahoria – carrot
pepino – cucumber
ajillo – garlic
camaron – shrimp
calamar – squid
pollo en salsa – chicken in sauce
filet de pollo a la plancha – grilled filet chicken
filet de pollo empanizado – breaded filet of chicken
carne mechada – shredded beef
bistek encebollado – steak with onions
chuleta encebollada – pork chop with onions

2 of my favourite Casados
Casado - El Buen Comer
Casado - Soda La Marimba
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