Cactus Beer Garden by Dirigo Fermentory — Restaurant in San Antonio

Oh my…I was so excited to visit this place during my brief stay in Alajuela. Unfortunately, the prior reviews didn’t match my experience at all.

Food: The menu that is posted on their website wasn’t the same menu that was offered during my visit. I was anticipating Costa Rican dishes, but the Wednesday-night menu basically only offered tacos, fajitas, burritos and quesadillas. I ordered the pork tacos, my wife and daughter ordered the beef fajitas, and my son ordered quesadillas. My tacos were chewy, very sparsely seasoned and overcooked. My wife and daughter couldn’t even finish their fajitas because they tasted so bad. They were also overcooked, and so tough that they could hardly even swallow the few bites that they took before giving up.

My daughter ordered a strawberry smoothie, and they brought her a watery juice drink that appeared to be a semi-blended handful of strawberries tossed into a glass of water. I ordered two glasses of beer. Typically I’m pretty open-minded to new breweries that I’ve found and was very excited to check this place out, but it was a letdown. The Rosa Brutal IPA was not an IPA at all, but tasted more like a lager or maybe even a pilsner. I also tried the El Viaje La Lemona pilsner. This one wasn’t bad and did have strong notes of citrus that complemented the crisp flavor of the beer well, but was also very par or maybe sub-par. I love that there is a craft brewery in the area, but if they were pouring from a keg of Imperial and swapping it for what I ordered, I wouldn’t be surprised.

Service: Our server was alright but not particularly friendly. She didn’t really smile or try to make us feel comfortable during our visit. I specifically asked her not to put cilantro on one of the dishes, and she nodded her head to indicate she understood but the dish still had cilantro in it.

Atmosphere: As for the restaurant itself, it had a cool vibe and a modern, fresh and authentic brewery feeling. The signage was great, the dining area and bathrooms seemed clean, and the ambiance was generally inviting.

Overall, I wouldn’t come back to this place unless they fix their fake website menu, hire better staff, and make...

Rad. Epic. Awesome... Whatever you call it, that's what this place is. If you're stuck in San Jose, wondering where to find that perfect pre-flight chill spot, look no further than Dirigo Fermentory! This microbrewery is close to the airport, and it's worth it.

We woke up in La Fortuna at the most amazing Airbnb, spent the afternoon at the La Paz Waterfall Gardens, and then had some serious time to kill before our 12:55am flight to LAX. It was hard to find a brewery that was close to the Airport and had good beers. We went to another "craft brewery" before this and they were out of everything. No worries, we just had an Imperial and moved on to Dirigo.

We arrived and were welcomed by the owners and very nice server. It's exactly what we were hunting for. They had local craft beer and Kombucha that is actually made on-site, good eats, and a comfortable place to hang with plenty of power outlets. The kombuchas are like sipping the essence of Costa Rica itself. Fruity, zesty, and unapologetically unique. If beer isn't your thing, the 'booch has got you covered. Non-alcoholic booch, but still sooo good.

The chicken tenders and homemade fries were exactly the tasty and SAFE meal that we needed before a red-eye flight. We like to see, eat, and drink everything, so it'll be hard to go anywhere else now that we've found this spot.

For more travel tips and recommendations, search for our blog, Ultimate Pura Vida, and make the most of your time in beautiful Costa Rica....

Where do I start? The food, beer, the awesome kombucha, live music… all of it was excellent!

We were staying at the on-site Hotel Aeropuerto for an event nearby at Parque Viva. I chose this hotel based on amenities and the fact that this microbrewery and restaurant.

The first evening we arrived there was a group of coeds in town, also just arriving. I was a little concerned about the service based on this. I have to say the staff were absolute pros. Not only did we get our food in a reasonable amount of time, we got it with a smile. Later I would come to learn the young lady serving us, Glenda, was one of the owners! We also ended up meeting her husband and business partner Esteban as well. Both such fantastic people.

We ended eating dinner three times with them during our stay. We even did their Sunday brunch. Try the French toast; it’s amazing.

I also have to admit after having a few business colleagues over our last evening in town, we killed one of their kombucha kegs! Yes, beyond some phenomenally crafted local brews, Glenda also crafts her own kombucha… and it’s incredible. My personal favorite is the Whappen, but all three flavors in-tap were magnificent.

We will definitely be back… for the food, brews, and fantastic ‘Pura Vida’ vibes...