Camaron Dorado — Restaurant in Cabo Velas

My husband and I were regular sunset visitors to this restaurant during our April 2013 stay at the Flamingo Resort (a particularly dry year). It is a wonderful place, a contrast to the typical restaurants most unadventurous Americans expect to find while on vacation. The kitchen is in a humble little building, but the eating is right there on the Brasilito lagoon, with diners sitting on the sand in ordinary plastic chairs, although the chairs were dressed up in fabric coverings. Tables range from intimate to big-enough-for-a-gang. The torches on the beach are necessary after dark, augmented by strings of lights. We never experienced rain, but it's clear that there is rain protection that can be put in place.

We first relied on the menu, but in time just said "bring us something that was caught today" and always enjoyed it. Our guidebook said the restaurant was one of the "treasures" of Guanacaste, a restaurant that others often miss. The restaurant had a shuttle van that served the Flamingo Resort; the resort office had the restaurant on speed dial for its guests and would make the reservation for table and for transport (ride was free!). I assume same is the case for other resorts. The driver became our friend.

Sunset is precipitous and we did our best to time things so we were seated before the sunset was at its prime. Between courses, we walked the dark beach hand in hand, although sometimes my skirt got wet (my fault) when the tide fooled me. A guitar-singer musician group commutes along the beach between various restaurants, and they're just great.

I had read that if you mention wine a man will bring you an assembly of suitable wine bottles riding from his hand all the way up his arm and it was true. The wines were mostly South American and they were affordable and well chosen. We especially chose white wines and with the lobsters and shellfish and everything else, we were delighted. The food was plentiful on good-sized plates, served pretty but not wildly art-style in arrangement, which was a relief. We were there to eat. This was not fast food or beach-stand food, but very very well thought out plates cooked by someone who knows how to cook seafood and choose complimentary tastes, including sauces.

We were there at the end of the season and the restaurant was not very full. We nodded to the other diners, who also attended night after night, but had a lot of privacy. In the busy season, I suspect you're lucky to get a table. Prices aren't cheap but they would have been much higher in a fancier place. We definitely got our money's worth. The reason I'm making this review today is that a friend asked us for a recommendation and this one came to mind immediately.

I wish I could remember the name of our maitré d but I can't. If he's reading this,...

This is a tourist trap. If you’re looking for a local spot go to Soda Brasilito nearby for casados and fruit smoothies (batidos) at a reasonable price ($3,500-$3,800 colones for the meal). My review of “Golden Shrimp” clocks in at two stars only because we received the food we ordered with no hiccups and we were able to eat right on the beach.

My two brothers and I were greeted upon arrival by an overzealous man who would be our server. While friendly service is paramount to a nice meal, our server went over the top to the point it felt like he was trying to con us. This feeling proved true because at the beginning of the meal he tried to sell us the most expensive menu item ($46,000 colones) and at the end of the meal he tried to sell us jet ski and snorkel rides.

Our server did give us an option of two tables, both oceanfront, but when we picked the one with the better view, he commented that we were choosing to sit next to a table of two young women (which was true in the sense that the best table was next to them, but the comment was wholly unprofessional and made us and them uncomfortable). As a side note, my brothers are each 6 feet, 4 inches (1.93 meters) tall and the seats were so low they were eating at chest level. Our server did bring us three tasty rum-based shots on the house, but afterward he pushed the happy hour specials without mentioning the price. We passed.

The three of us ended up ordering the Blackened Cajun Tuna ($12,000 colones each). While the meal was prepared well and had a nice garnishment, it was not a ~$21 US dollar tuna steak. When we balked at the price, our server pointed to the small boats anchored about 50 meters off the shore and said they caught the fish served fresh each day. Tuna isn’t even native to Costa Rica.

We finished our meal and were ready to leave, but our server was nowhere to be found. Eventually, I had to call his name and literally run him down to hand him my credit card to pay. We understand the custom in Costa Rica is not to take the check until the guest asks, but after we turned down his third offer to bring us drinks, he did not come anywhere near our table to make a normal request possible.

We decided to eat here because we had been up since 1:00 A.M. local time to catch our flight into Costa Rica and it was located right next to the first beach we saw....

Worst experience ever in Costa Rica!!! We should have known from when we sat down and had to wait 20 minutes for a menu or even be acknowledged by the waiter. Once the waiter and his rude attitude finally came to us, the experience just became worse. He asked us our drink order with attitude and made us feel so uncomfortable. At that point we should have just left. He brought us our drinks. Hot beer with mugs of ice. Who waters there beer down in ice? Our appetizers were calamari rings that were overly fried and rubber. Our main dishes were over cooked. Dried out whole red snapper, a steak that not even my dog would eat, and rice that probably was cooked the day before. All dishes came with salad, but nothing to dress them with until we were finished and the waiter came to collect our plates that we asked him for some dressing. Not once while we were eating did anyone come to ask us how things were. $155USD wasted and thrown in the garbage for the worst food ever!!!! Avoid this place at all costs. If I could give this place a negative star...