Las Piedras Mexican Food — Restaurant in Cóbano

Las Piedras, located in the town of Santa Teresa is as Argentinian as "Pura Vida" is Costa Rican. Argentina has a long recognized tradition for quality meat cuts and dishes, which Las Piedras delivers on.

The establishment was started more than 20 years ago by an Argentinian that moved to Costa Rica and started selling empanadas in the town of Montezuma; moving to Santa Teresa to serve Argentinian barbecue style food. Las Piedras was then acquired fourteen years ago by a young entrepreneurial Argentinian who turned into the place it is today. Las Piedras moto "it's the *hit" sounds an exaggeration but the food is truly awesome.

Las Piedras serves signature Argentinian dishes such as choripan (a tasty chorizo sandwich), costillas de cerdo (pork ribs), lomo (filet steak) as well as fish and vegetarian dishes. The menu also features fleshly made fruit smoothies, beers, coffees and desserts. At the heart of Las Piedras is an open pit fire that is used to slowly grill the meat that is served daily. The floor space is warm and features about 8 tables, providing a friendly buzzing space. Complementing the warm space is friendly staff who are not only accommodating but immensely knowledgeable of meats and the items in the menu.

Having visited Las Piedras two days in a row for dinner, the costillar de cerdo (pork ribs) where incredibly juicy, thick and tasty - probably the best I have eaten outside of South America or North Carolina. The pork ribs where beautifully complemented with fresh chimichurri - a sauce of parsley, oregano, garlic and chilli. The dessert was equally amazing. The flan with dulce de leche was rich in taste and lightly crisp on the top. The total price for two servings of pork ribs, two desserts, one pineapple smoothy and a beer came to 48 U.S dollars, very reasonable for the area and the quality of the food. Las Piedras is a true gem of a restaurant for those seeking tasty meat dishes and...

Even though on the pricey side, the food was actually very good, so cannot fault them for that. We did however feel cheated with the bill. We ordered a seafood dish that included fish, rice and salad. We asked the waiter if we could substitute the rice for vegetables, to which he responded, "no problem". We 100% understand an extra charge, but think it is just good courtesy to mention that there will be an extra amount if there is, especially since the majority of the restaurants in this area does not charge extra for this substitute and especially if you are overcharging for items, but nothing was mentioned. We each received a small vegetable skewer instead of rice and were charged an additional $8000 colones or $13.25 for this!! This totaled 42% of our entire bill,,,, for A SIDE SUBSTITUTE???? I am pretty sure, he ran up an entire vegetable dish instead of a side and didn't fix it when we brought it to his attention. If not, they charge more for sides than an entire meal at the majority of the places around. Felt robbed! Double...

The first time we visited this restaurant on December of 2022 was very good. The Cuts and the meat quality was spot on. Even the side dishes were delicious.

This 2nd time, May 2024 was just sad. They don't have Argentinians on the grill. The guy they had cooking doesn't know anything about grilling. The meat itself was overcooked in the outside and raw inside. This is the cook's fault alone. See, bbq is an art, if you cook the meats too fast, this is the result. The side dishes were awful and the criolla sauce was too oily with no flavor at all. Oh and the music...horror music...We were thinking that probably the owner was on vacation and left his restaurant with a friend (it was during the rainy/low season). There is no way a restaurant fall this low this fast under the same owner/management. The meat was weirdly tough....We are now thinking that they are freezing/defrost the steaks...all in all, it was a very expensive awful dinner. If you decide to try, look who's cooking your food. You'll know if...