Restaurante El Guanacaste — Restaurant in Mercedes

When I got here, there was a bunch of Americans, having a meeting, talking very loudly and then getting up and saying their goodbyes as if they were in a private club. It wasn’t very pleasant, and then the staff had to rearrange the tables and clean them and I had to smell the cleaning fluid and hear all the noise so overall, the ambience was not nice when I was there. The server was very nice. However, the menu was strange. All the food comes with vegetables and tomato sauce as a side I was able to get french fries instead so I got shrimp and french fries not what I sought out to get but the only thing I could figure out off the menu. The food was good. I probably would’ve had a better experience if it hadn’t been for that private group being a bit obnoxious for...

So we are complete strangers to this neighborhood and relying on the often unreliable Google to pick a place. In this case - Google steered us right. We loved this restaurant. Mid-afternoon dinner and drinks. Shrimp with spaghetti was excellent, as was the arroz con camarón. The waiter was a very nice man, the drinks were excellent, the place was spotlessly clean - what more could you ask for? I’m sorry we’re leaving tomorrow and can’t come back again, but if you’re in the area - it’s a...

Tasty food. Large portions. Inexpensive. Environment yucky. Ok service.

Revised Jan 2022: Tasty food and varying portion sizes depending on your hunger. Really cheap bocas (appetizers) and large portion sizes. Typical Tico menu. Environment/decor ugly. Good service. Clean. Open late. ...