Coyol Restaurant — Restaurant in Nosara

We had a reservation for 60 people last week, all people who travelled to Costa Rica for our wedding - we were excited to show them Coyol as its a special place that we visit every year when we come. But we were BEYOND disappointed, I am absolutely shocked by the service we received, and they ripped us off - the Bride & Groom - the night before our wedding by overcharging us over $500 USD - and we have not received any refund of any kind.

At the end of the night, they informed us that they COULD NOT SPLIT BILLS AND ALL 60 PEOPLE WOULD BE ON ONE BILL!? I thought surely this was a joke, considering every restaurant I have ever been to in the world is capable of splitting bills, this is not rocket science.

I pleaded with the Manager and agreed that I would help group people together by family & friends into maybe 5 or 6 groups - to help them out. He was annoyed with me and somewhat agreed. The check out process then began, and by no exaggerating - it took us an hour and a half. Our guests were so confused, so frustrated, and yet the restaurant was mad and acted like this was somehow our fault and we were some kind of inconvenience to them - even though we booked out 80% of their entire restaurant and spent THOUSANDS of dollars.

Being the groom, I was hoping to have a good sleep on the night before my wedding, but they forced me to stay until the very end - which was super ungrounding - and after it all, they stuck me with an 850 USD bill - in which my meal and drinks would have only been maybe $100-$150. So we were overcharged at least $500 USD - and my guests were SUPER meticulous as they checked out - a majority of them OVERPAID their bills because they were afraid I would be stuck with a bill at the end. Its because they weren't removing our drinks off of the bills as they checked people out - multiple of my guests who are servers WATCHED it happen before their eyes, but they played dumb and got frustrated with us.

It's so disappointing. This restaurant has such a special view, a special energy, and special place in our hearts - but the rudeness of the manager, the overcharge, and the fact they offered NO solutions of any kind to someone who just brought 60 guests to their restaurant the night before the wedding - is just wild. When I told other local ex-pats about what happened, multiple locals have told me this has happened to them, and that its common practice here. They doubt the owners are aware, and that its likely the Manager - but thats just a theory. It's a shame. All of the guests we brought now have a bad taste in their mouth and won't be visiting Coyol again in their future travels.

Beautiful views, likely beautiful intention by the business owners, but an insane customer service process, and staff...

As a final wrap-up dinner during our recent trip to Nosara, we made reservations for Coyol after reading the reviews. Wanted to share a few insights for those considering this adventure!

Getting there From Nosara it is a 30 minute ride up a mountain side on tight, sometimes winding road. We hired a taxi using Nosara Happy Cab. The going rate for this transportation is $100-$120. The rode is hard on vehicles and the drivers wait at the top for you and then bring you back down - so for them it's a 3-4 hour ordeal which helps make the cost more understandable. We were surprised at first at the cost, so wanted to share it so others were aware. Coyol would do well to have a shuttle that runs up and down that road to make the cost of getting there more reasonable for it's customers.

The food We were a family of 4 with 2 teens. To start I had the ahi tuna (phenomenal)and the catch of the day (sea bass), my husband had the smoked pork and my teens had the pasta. Overall the food was decent. The fish was overcooked and the veggies it was served on where undercooked (hard potatoes). My husband thought the pork was okay - but we have eaten a lot of very good smoked meat and while it was okay, it wasn't the best he has had. The kids didn't like their pasta dishes - noodles were undercooked and the sauce was sparce.

The scenery While the food didn't wow us, the scenery sure did. As mentioned in pretty much every review - get there before sunset to take it all in!

The criticisms Unfortunately, an evening that ended up costing us in total about $450CND, had one small hiccup that I felt could have been handled better by management. There was a large group there who were travelling with about 15 small children. The area where our tables were situated has a larger, open green space. Unfortunately, the families that were there felt like it was an appropriate setting to allow their kids to run and scream the entire time while they sat and had their meals and drinks. I love kids - I'm a teacher. I have no issue with kids enjoying themselves, but this was not the right venue where people where trying to enjoy the quiet and the scenery and the beautiful food/drinks. Kids were running into our chairs, crying, etc. I feel the management could have made expectations clearer for this group and that the group could have had quieter activites to entertain the kids while they ate. When we relayed this to our driver, he said this is very common for tourists. So, please. If you are planning a dinner like this for your small children, have a plan in place with appropriate activities for them. And don't assume you can sit quietly drinking with your group and not parent - it's simply not respectful of the other people...

Treacherous drive (bumpy steep narrow windy) Worth it to arrive to this beautiful wood and glass cottage. They were busy and it took some time for someone to acknowledge our presence and then the host/manager Was rude. Maybe stressed but no excuse. Had a lovely table from which we could watch no less than 14 children play like they were at a playground. I cannot believe how many big and small groups with kids come to such a difficult to get to upscale expensive restaurant. Maybe because they can sit outside and run around? When someone orders a steak it comes out flaming in cast iron. It’s a spectacle but a couple times I was worried about hair and plants and heads and thank god I wasn’t sitting inside because the place filled w smoke multiple times w flames steaks coming through on fire. Not sure why they couldn’t go out the front and around from the kitchen but then it wouldn’t be the show I guess. Drinks were $$$. (20cocktail 13beer) Our bill was outrageous for two so I had to double check. They charged us for two drinks we didn’t get and noticed almost 40 in service charges (not tip just “taxes”) We ordered a pasta (w seafood) special. It looked good on someone else’s table. When we asked about it they isn’t know the price but we ordered it anyway. Pasta was good. All the seafood (shrimp, mussels, too much squid, calamari, mini lobster tails) was overcooked and it showed up on the bill at 62. Not worth it at all. I did like the smoked oysters but if you love oysters don’t get it. They are tiny smoked/cooked and covered in cheese and seasoning so you can’t even taste the oyster really. I loved the complimentary bread and dips. The mezcal cocktail was delicious, short ribs fell off the bone, and fries were yummy. I also appreciated the local wild greens. Our waiter was nice and besides the rude manager,...