Restaurante La Tortuga Arenal — Restaurant in Arenal

The food here was spectacular and the ones running it are so nice and great with children. He had my kids so happy to see him and running around. They played alongside their daughter too while waiting for the pouring rain to let up. When we were ready to leave yet still pouring rain, the owner let us back our car under the roof and helped us all get in. We did not look at the hours of operation of a popular restaurant on this route so we ended up going here right down the road on the way to Arenal. We are so glad this happened! The bathrooms were clean and they also had a hand washing station near the tables. Regular kids dishes (fried chicken and fries) and strawberry slushie for my youngest, shrimp and rice for my middle with mango slushie, pork chop in strawberry sauce for my oldest with strawberry slushie with milk, tipical costa rican dish for me with mango slushie with milk, coffee for my husband and something else I can't remember but he devoured! We bought a ton of souvenirs here. I have no idea the price comparison to souvenir shops but it was all cheaper than our...

What a find!! This is a can’t miss restaurant experience overlooking Arenal Lake (north side, on the way to La Fortuna from the west/south). We stopped here because the property had good signs and you could see a beautiful open air- wooded interior that had a good number of customers. We’re so glad we stopped! We enjoyed a table with prime lake views and even saw a troupe of howler monkeys pass through the neighboring trees while we ordered and ate. The hosts were as friendly and welcoming as you could hope for. They let us practice our Spanish but also shared lots of good information about the howler monkeys in English. The food was unbelievably good. We had two rice dishes (one with shrimp and one with chicken), two casados platters and a burger. Each of us finished our plate. We only wish we had saved room for desserts! We picked this spot a little on the fly but would try to go back many times in the future. Don’t miss this very special restaurant to add some magic to your time in this...

We saw the signs for this lovely spot overlooking Lake Arenal en route back to the Linda Vista hotel from a day trip to Playa Cabuyal. We came back for my daughter's 21st birthday and enjoyed the amazing view of sunset while dining and celebrating. [The owner had already closed the gate when we arrived at 5:40 pm (they close at 6 pm) but graciously agreed to open back up for our special dinner celebration.] The ambiance, gardens, 500 year old tree, and service were top-tier. We learned a bit about the owner, an 80 year old Costa Rican native who farmed the land (raised cattle and horses) and wanted to create a restaurant to share the view of Lake Arenal with others. We should all be grateful for people who care enough about their land to leave a legacy behind like La Tortuga. Breathtaking view! Delicious meal and dessert! Lovely hostess/waitress and staff (most are family members of the owner). We plan to...