Manglar Bar and Restaurant — Restaurant in Jacó

So many five stars...I hate to be the one. We arrived at 5:40pm with thoughts of catching the happy hour, which ends at 6:00pm. We seated ourselves and were presented with food menus in short order. My wife got up and asked for a drink menu. We decided on drinks and at 5:58 my wife once again got up, found someone, and asked if we could order our drinks. She ordered a Mojito and our waiter said they were out of mint. She still went ahead with her order. I ordered a Margarita. We were told that all four drinks would come at the same time. I'm not fond of this protocol as the ice in the second drink usually melts before I get around to it changing it to a watery nothingness. However, that's the house rule. Despite letting my know her Mojito would not have mint, My Margarita arrived with a mint garnish. Go figure. In the pictures you will see that my wife grabbed the mint garnish from my Margaritas and did her best to integrate them into her drink. From casual observation it appeared the staff was somewhat disorganized as I watched three staff members wiping down tables and chairs for a group of eight who arrived after us. I would have thought this would have been done in the quiet time before the dinner rush. I only mention this as we waited another twenty minutes before someone came to take our order. We ended up with three different waiters during our meal. Our food was served hot and delicious. My wife had shrimp tacos with generous amounts of shrimp. I had a burger, which was cooked to perfection. One of my pet peeves is waiting to pay the bill and I was peeved once again. While we didn't have to get up to ask, we would have preferred to have left sooner. At the bottom of the bill is the comment that a 25% gratuity is appreciated. I am sure it would be. As a final note, the owner responds to Google reviews and that tells me he is engaged with his business and his customers. I am confident your experience will be...

I would like to take this opportunity to thank the wonderful people of Costa Rica for their warm hospitality and genuine kindness. The spirit of Pura Vida truly made our visit unforgettable.

However, in the midst of this beautiful experience, our celebration for our beloved sister and friend was deeply marred by an appalling visit to Manglar Bar and Restaurant. We were a group of 42, ready to celebrate and spend generously, yet the service we received was practically non-existent. More disturbingly, the staff displayed blatant bias and discriminatory behavior toward us as Black clients.

The employees’ attitude was disrespectful, unprofessional, and completely contrary to the welcoming spirit that Costa Rica is known for. No one who believes in social justice, racial equity, and true inclusion should support an establishment that treats guests in such a disgraceful manner.

I strongly urge the owner to invest in meaningful diversity and inclusion training for their staff to ensure no other guests have to endure what we did.

Despite this unacceptable incident, the people and beauty of Costa Rica have left an indelible, positive mark on us — it is truly unfortunate that Manglar Bar and Restaurant was such a...

I rarely leave negative reviews, but my experience at Manglar Bar and Restaurant was unacceptable and deeply disturbing.

From the moment I arrived, the staff was disrespectful, dismissive, and outright rude—not just inattentive, but deliberately ignoring and talking down to me and my group. What made things even worse was the clear difference in how they treated other patrons compared to us. It was painfully obvious: we were not welcome there because of who we are. Their behavior was racist, discriminatory, and completely unprofessional.

It’s one thing to have slow service or a bad meal, but this was deeper—it felt like we were being targeted and devalued as people. No one deserves to be treated like that, especially in a public space where hospitality should be the priority.

I left feeling angry, humiliated, and disappointed. Manglar Bar and Restaurant needs to take a hard look at their staff and management, and start holding people accountable. Until then, I strongly encourage others—especially those who value respect and equality—to...