MANTA Restaurante, Bar y Arte — Restaurant in Veintisiete de Abril

Visited La Purruja in early April. Ordered the patacones (vegetarian) and dips and it was the BEST I’ve ever had. 10/10 would order it again. Very filling and the dips were incredibly fresh along with the smashed fried plantains aka patacones. My husband ordered grilled octopus from the bar menu and a tuna tartare dish from the regular menu. The chicken Casado is delicious. The shrimp tacos are great. Can’t go wrong with any of the cocktails.

We had the pleasure of meeting the owner and talking with her. She is such a nice lady. Chef Carlos also came to check how we enjoyed our food. Great dining and hospitality experience from start to finish. You’ll feel like you’re at home and in good company.

Atmosphere: on the beach, laidback beach vibes, surf, chill, relaxing, peaceful. Comfortable chairs and benches for large parties and small groups. Shaded areas on the beach to eat and relax. Beach lounge chairs to use on beach.

Food: Large quantities that are very filling. Fresh ingredients. Flavorful dishes. Beautifully plated. Drink and beverage prices are half that of Lola’s. We enjoyed happy hour prices after the beach, too.

Location: Avellanas Beach. Easy to get to. A hidden gem in Costa Rica and our FAVORITE beach. Quiet beach. Lovely sunsets. Feels very private. There is a parking lot nearby, not owned by any of the restaurants. Parking is $1, Plus, they have an outside shower to rinse off after the beach. Motorbikes can park next to building for free.

Service: Above and beyond. Helpful, fast, kind. We’re able to make recommendations that were spot on 👍

Prices: Good prices, especially for a beach location. Way cheaper than Tamarindo, Fortuna, and San Jose. We visited multiple time during our stay and can’t wait to come back again! Whomever said San Francisco prices has never visited San Francisco, it couldn’t be further from the truth. La Purruja is reasonably priced, on the beach, fresh and delicious, large quantities of food; exceeded our...

Our group of 12 had high hopes for this restaurant, but unfortunately, our experience didn’t live up to expectations. While the initial greeting was warm, things quickly went downhill.

Since the restaurant is located near the beach, a few of us occasionally stepped away to catch the sunset — but there were always people at the table. Despite this, service felt disorganized. We placed multiple appetizer orders, yet some didn’t arrive until after our entrées had been served.

It took nearly 45 minutes just to place our dinner orders, and once we finally did, it took another 45 minutes to an hour for our food to arrive. During that time, we noticed several other tables — some with larger groups than ours — were seated, ordered, and received their meals before we did.

When our food finally arrived, one of our friends’ meals was missing, and despite asking our server several times, it took about 25 minutes for that dish to show up — long after most of us had finished eating.

The food itself was fine — nothing particularly memorable — and the drinks were pretty underwhelming. To top it off, we arrived well before happy hour ended, yet some of our happy hour drinks were charged at full price.

While they did offer our table of 12 three small lava cakes as a gesture after we said something about the very long wait times, by the time we got back to our Airbnb, they were melted. We didn’t want to sit and wait any longer as the entire experience had already stretched to nearly three hours. While we appreciated the gesture, we really wished there had been a bit more accountability on their end

We had heard good things about this spot, but unfortunately, our experience didn’t reflect that. While nothing was terrible, the slow service, timing issues, and overall lackluster experience left us disappointed.

I hope this feedback helps the restaurant improve because the location and atmosphere had a lot...

I was with my best friend and her family when we had a somewhat discriminatory experience at this restaurant. I grew up in Orange County, California, but I don't look white because my mother is from India. My best friend and her family are from Guatemala, and most of the table did not speak English.

That said, despite not being white males, my best friend and I are successful women who are very generous tippers because we used to work in the bar scene ( At one point in our Costa Rica trip, my best friend tipped a tour guide 400 US dollars because he got us out of a difficult situation). I'm only saying this to put things into perspective.

When we came to La Purruja, we waited approximately 2.5 hours for our food and watched servers and staff essentially schmooze the white tourists. We were the first group in the restaurant and watched four or five tables get served before us. When we inquired whether our order had been forgotten, we were rudely told to "wait ."I completely understand that those who appear American are more likely to tip US dollars and that everyone wants/ needs to make money, but the blatant disregard for our table was genuinely atrocious and disrespectful. I noticed similar treatment at other non-white tables.

The food was good, but we were treated so poorly at this restaurant we couldn't bring ourselves to go back.

Words of wisdom to the staff and management at La Purruja- sometimes the most generous patrons are those you wouldn't expect. Therefore it is best to treat everyone with a degree of respect and consideration. I enjoyed my time in Costa Rica, and I'm sure I'll be back, but when I do, I'll go to Lolas just across...