Soda & Restaurante Rodríguez — Restaurant in La Fortuna

We had so much fun here! My husband found it due to online reviews for great prices and lots of wildlife and it definitely did not disappoint on those fronts, but also offered so much more!

The menu was verbal, nothing’s written, so clearly it changes often. We also found that which version of the menu you got, depended on which member of staff you got 😆 The meals were light but of great value and we went for all three courses! Our starter was guac and chips then I had the “bowl” which came with rice, beans (kidney), pico de gallo, guacamole, sweet fried plantain and your choice of protein: chicken, fish (tilapia) or pork. I had the pork and it was delish. The main event though, was the margaritas!! Best I’ve had in CR so far (and by far). We had the passion fruit margs which we could hear being blended, and we went for four rounds because they were soooooo good! The kids had fresh mango and strawberry juices which also went down a storm! At the end we enquired about dessert, to which one waiter replied that they didn’t have any, but then returned with the choice of flambéed pineapple or banana with vanilla ice cream. So lovely of them to make us something and it was a delectable treat!

The highlight was the wildlife! We saw three cats, two dogs, a frog, an interesting spider, a chicken and the pig, who definitely rules the roost! He was quite a character and even nibbled on my shoe/foot! The layout was awesome too. It was like loads of little treehouses with private tables in...

Pros: Gorgeous restaurant. Very cute and very charming.

Cons: Service was incredibly slow, they messed up the order, didn’t bring silverware, took forever to bring drinks. Verbal menu and no real wine or beer selection. No prices given when ordering. We were very excited to try the cuisine after reading the reviews. Number 1 is basically a Chipotle bowl but with less flavor. We ordered 4. 2 came out without the chicken, 1 came out without the cheese and another we had to ask multiple times for spoon or fork. Quesadillas barely had any meat. Fish was a bit runny. Tortillas were cold. Cheese was cold and had a terrible consistency. There were many tables seated, so maybe they were just overloaded and overly busy. The owner (assuming she’s the owner) said they recently moved locations. So manure that’s the reason for the poor experience. Costa Rica is my 50th country and we are extremely well traveled. Our favorite restaurants are small, family owned and operated and we thought that this Soda would be a great place to try local and traditional Costa Rican cuisine. It fell super short. Long story short, the service was 1 star, over was not made properly, the food was 1 star, but the ambiance was 5 stars. Overall, we went to Rainforest Cafe (not the chain but the local restaurant) and Rainforest Cafe was/is 5 stars...

By far, this was one of our favorite meals while staying in La Fortuna. This was an impromptu stop for lunch, and one that we almost skipped because of the first impression from the street view. Don’t be fooled by what you see from the road. After driving down the narrow path you’ll find limited parking, and a wonderful experience waiting for you. The restaurant has the feeling of eating in a tree house. Our entire family loved the atmosphere. Very open air, friendly staff, a few curious animals. You learn quickly this is a family operation and one that is a true labor of love. The menu was shared with us verbally by the owner. While it was simple, it was perfect for the setting and everyone enjoyed what they ordered. Bowls with locally grown produce, tacos with your choice of protein, quesadillas also with your choice of meat. A particularly unique touch are all of the hand written signs. You’ll notice them immediately when walking in. We were excited to see that everyone is offered the opportunity to create a personal sign and share your experience. Truly making this a place you want to revisit and make sure others do as well. We also learned that breakfast is now being...