Costa Rica Soda: Eat Like a Local in a Traditional Restaurant

By 35 Comments

When you visit Costa Rica and you want good local food, you have to eat at a soda. Trust me. You haven’t experienced real Costa Rica if you don’t eat at a soda. Oh and no I don’t mean eat next to a pop can!

Sodas are what Costa Ricans call their local Costa Rican restaurant.

A Costa Rica soda are normally small, mom and pop open air restaurants that serves only traditional Costa Rican food. It’s the best place to experience eating out like a local!

Here is what you need to know about eating at a Costa Rican restaurant, or a soda.

Costa Rica Soda

Every town you visit in Costa Rica has a soda. Most of them hang a Pepsi/Coca Cola or Imperial sign outside and the name is something like “Soda Tipica.”

costa rica soda sign
Soda Brasilito

If you want to eat like a local, then you must eat at a Costa Rican soda.

Also, if you are traveling in Costa Rica on a budget, sodas are cheaper than touristic restaurants so it’s a great way to save money on food.

Central Market in San Jose
Sodas inside the Central Market, San Jose

Eating in a soda in Costa Rica is best and only way to get a taste of true Costa Rican food as that is all they serve.

Normally they are family run and it’s a fun way to practice your Spanish and try different local Costa Rican food.

Sodas are buffet or menu style. We personally like buffet style because they will have a bunch of different choices so you can choose whatever you want.

Additionally, the buffet style is a lot easier if you’re vegetarian/vegan. Read this post for more information on eating vegetarian in Costa Rica.

Costa Rica soda - typical lunch meal
Typical Costa Rican food from a soda.

Menu Style

A typical menu for a soda in Costa Rica goes like this: entradas (appetizers), platos tradicionales (traditional food) which are casados, pasta, arrozes (arroz con pollo/mariscos/camarones/calamares) and platos fuertes.

Platos fuertes are usually a whole fish, steak, the special of the day or something like that.

Small sodas may only offer casados which is the most typical Costa Rican lunch/dinner made of rice, beans, salad and a meat.

soda in costa rica
Typical soda buffet set up

Another thing sodas usually have are chileras which are pickled spicy vegetables. If you like spicy food, you have to try this! Great addition to any traditional Costa Rican dish.

soda in costa rica
Chilera

For drinks, they usually have sodas and natural juices like cas, watermelon, mango or soda. In Costa Rica, it is not normal to drink only water. They like to have a soda or fruit juice with their meal.

soda in costa rica
Fried plantains and fried fish

Eating at a Costa Rican soda is probably one of the best ways to get to know the locals and meet people. It’s easy to spot sodas and you can find them everywhere.

Even if you’re driving on what seems to be a road into the middle of nowhere, you’ll find a soda!

Costa Rica soda sign
Soda El Buen Sabor in Puntarenas

If you’re staying at an Airbnb or if your hotel doesn’t include breakfast, we recommend going to a soda for a hearty cheap breakfast.

All of them will have gallo pinto, the rice and beans traditional breakfast.

Our Favorite Sodas in Costa Rica

Here are some of our favorite sodas in Costa Rica. We always eat at sodas when we travel around the country.

  • Soda Brasilito: In Brasilito. Has good rice with shrimp and seafood.
  • Tipica Las Palmares: In Montezuma. Their patacones and guacamole were amazing and it has an ocean view.
  • Sabor Tico: Our favorite soda in Monteverde. They have a very expansive menu with items you don’t normally see at every soda which is super nice.
  • Almendros: A great soda in Uvita by the entrance of Marino Ballena National Park. Huge portions!
  • Soda Sanchez: Great soda in Quepos near Manuel Antonio. We liked their breakfast.
  • Rustico: The best soda in Jaco, it’s so good it’s been on the local news.
  • Tapia: One of the best sodas in San Jose, Costa Rica.
  • Marea Baja: Nice soda a little outside Jaco for when you need food late at night as it’s 24 hours. Super cheap too.
  • La Tiquicia: Our favorite soda in Santa Teresa.
  • Soda Lidia’s Place: This soda is in Puerto Viejo and they serve typical Costa Rican-Caribbean food so you will find different dishes like rice and beans, rondon and more.
  • Soda Monkey’s Place: In La Fortuna. Good portions, reasonably priced, yummy food.

If you’re in San Jose, I recommend going to the Central Market in downtown. Soda Tapia is a classic.

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35 responses

  1. Mary Phillips

    Since about age 3, all I drink is Dr Pepper. I don’t drink coffee tea juice or even water especially tap water but even bottled water. Dr Pepper is it. So my question is can you find Dr Pepper in Costa Rica? Or will I be having withdrawals worse than any drug addict has ever had?

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      I’ve seen Dr Pepper in some supermarkets like Auto Mercado and I think Pequeno Mundo but it is not readily available in local restaurants (they’ll usually always have Coca Cola or Pepsi, ginger ale)

      Reply
  2. Annette

    I’ve been trying to get info on being able to charge my android and IPad. I’m getting mixed information. Most sites say same voltage as U.S. no need for an adapter others says you need a travel adapter.???????

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      Costa Rica uses 110V so it depends on where your home country is. If you’re from Europe/UK you will need one, if you are from the US or Canada, they use 110 V too.

      Reply
  3. Roderick Rodgers

    Near the Liberia airport (LIR) is a good “German Bakery” on the right side of the road headed from the coast towards the airport. It is not cheap but half the price of airport food, very good baked breads and pastries and serves Tico breakfasts. They accept debit/credit cards. We usually leave early on departure days because one never knows about traffic and detours. We enjoy a casual breakfast before returning the rental car and heading to the airport. You can also order sandwiches & pastries “para llevar” (takeaway/carryout).

    Reply
  4. Sammi

    I would 100% write down a card in Spanish saying she has an extremely severe peanut allergy and present this to every restaurant, cafe, etc. you go to. Also I would recommend to only go to more touristic restaurants with staff that speaks English because they will understand and take more care of it but I would still 100% write down the card, carry it with you and present it to every single waiter regardless if they speak English or not so that they can fully understand. If you go to more like, local places where they don’t speak English, they most likely won’t pay too much attention to it as food allergies are not that common in Costa Rica and it is common for them to cook everything in one pan using the same oil. I would also write it as as ALL nuts – not just peanuts just in case.

    In Costa Rica we have nutrition and ingredients labels for everything just like any other country but it will be in Spanish.

    Reply
    1. Roderick Rodgers

      A couple along with my wife and I travel to Europe together every two years. We have made up a laminated sheet with “No Peanuts – Allergy” in three languages along with images of the allergy item with the understood diagonal red line.

      One is allergic to peanuts and the other to shellfish, squid, octopus. Staff have been good in taking the sheet back into the kitchen and have pointed out items we would have otherwise have missed.

      Reply
  5. Shannon

    Hi! I am traveling to Costa Rica (La Fortuna and Manual Antonio) with my family of 6 next month. My 16 year old daughter has a peanut allergy. I am wondering if the restaurants there are careful about people with allergies, and any kind of guidance or advice you have for us. I wondered if I should make a card that states her allergy in Spanish to show if needed (although I know the majority speak English well). Do the grocery products they sell in stores list the ingredients/ allergy warnings on them? I really appreciate any advice or feedback. Thanks so much!

    Reply
  6. Kris

    Do you have a favorite soda outside of the Liberia airport? We have a long day of travel next Sat and will need something before we hit Tama.

    Reply
    1. Sammi

      We haven’t really eaten at any sodas outside Liberia but I’ve heard Restaurante sr. Patacon is really good!

      Reply
  7. Sammi

    Hi Justin! Costa Rica is a very touristic country, especially the Pacific side so you will find most of the locals speak English (and many of them excellent English) since they work in the tourism industry. You can get by without knowing any Spanish but it is always helpful to know some phrases as a courtesy and for fun since the locals love to joke and teach people some COsta Rican sayings. We wrote a Spanish guide to basic but important words and phrases in Spanish, particularly Costa Rican Spanish that it helpful.

    Reply
    1. Justin L.

      Sammi, thank you so much for the very rapid response and also the educational link! I will definitely check it out and use it! I appreciate your site and again I am very impressed that you keep up with the user questions/comments so quickly! Have a great day!

      Reply
      1. Sammi

        Hi Justin, you are very welcome! We’re glad the blog is useful and we try to do our best to help everyone have an awesome time in Costa Rica. If there is any Spanish phrases to learn before you visit, it’s pura vida! The ultimate saying of Costa Rica, you’ll hear it everywhere and all the locals will say it to you. It directly means pure life but the connotation is like thanks, hi, or anything with good vibes 🙂

        Reply
  8. Justin L.

    Hi Sammi,
    Thanks for the informative article. My family and I are going to Costa Rica, (the pacific side) along with my 70 year old dad. No one in my family speaks Spanish. I spoke enough to get by in restaurants, etc, when I was younger, but haven’t practice it much in 20 years. I’m well travelled and as such I assume that most areas in the country that get a lot of tourists will likely speak at least some English. How important is it that I brush up on my Spanish before getting there? I know better than to just expect the locals to speak English to me just to accommodate my lack of Spanish ability, and I know that in many countries, attempting their language is seen as polite and humble. Is this a big deal?
    Thanks again!
    Justin L.

    Reply
    1. Naya

      Many peeps speak American, though I’m multi lingual. Sodas are fabulous. We frequented medium to upper end eateries-not a bad meal in the bunch. Went fishing, caught Rainbow Runner (similar to Grouper) , El Pelicano (in Jaco-west coast) prepared it-delish!! Visited the rain forest-all kind of wildlife. Went to soak in Volcanic Pools-unbelievable. The culture, people, nature, food—all incredible…island time mentality-very laid back & welcoming, well worth the experience!!
      Pura Vida, indeed

      Reply
      1. Sammi

        I think you mean most people speak English, American is not a language. Glad you had a great time in Costa Rica!

        Reply
  9. Sammi

    Hi Allen, yes! There are plenty of taxis in Coco and you can take tours from Coco that include transportation so they will pick you up at your hotel. Let us know if you’d like recommendations for tour companies, here is a list of our favorite things to do around Coco: day trips from Playas del Coco

    Reply
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