Restaurante y Soda El Río — Restaurant in La Fortuna

I'm reviewing the restaurant. Typical Costa Rica Soda....casual family restaurant. Excellent homemade food. Extensive menu was helpfully explained. There was an English description in the menu as well. It's not easy to find vegetarian food in Costa Rica but El Rio didn't let me down with their excellent vegetarian burrito with salad and homemade chips made fromrealpotatoes, not frozen fake chips ....fries to our American friends. Himself had a traditional beef in sauce...very tender..with rice, salad and plantains. Free tap water which as people who follow us know, is a big eco deal for us. Be aware that like a typical soda you are right on a busy road and there's no air conditioning. But price, service and food quality trumps all Oh, and you get a little dessert for free Hope you found this...

We enjoyed our overnight stay here. We learned that we were the 3rd group of guests to stay at this new place which just opened. The owner, Cristian, is a passionate biologist who kindly offered us a tour of the property and its wildlife. We saw many different birds, learned a bit about various plants and how you can use them, also plans for future amenities such as a massage house next to the river. I highly recommend this comfortable inn (similar to motel) for nature lovers. The rooms have a nice small kitchen with cookware & dishes. The beds are comfortable, good (digital) shower and TV. Not recommended for loud party people, as nature...

Such kind service and good food in a sweet open-air atmosphere.

For 3500 colones or just over $5 (tip grandly!), the plato del día I had here was perfect – just a little smaller than the usual casados, which are usually too much food for me. The man was also very sweet about substituting a different protein for the chicken for me.

You also get chips with a really delicious salsa to start, the drink of the day, and a wonderful warm arroz con leche for dessert.

Practice your Spanish watching the news headlines on the tv while you wait...