Guari Guari

My favorite place hands down in Bocas del Toro was the awesome little restaurant Guari Guari. It is a small house located across a beach on the outskirts of town where all the tables are on the front verandah. The restaurant probably seats 20-30 people so a reservation is definitely a must if you're only in town for a few days ( the first two nights we wanted were booked up). While making the reservation we were asked if we had allergies and do if we have any major food dislikes. This kind of personalization is the mark of a good evening to come. Guari Guari tailors its always changing menu to its guests, which has a great way of making you feel special and at home. For $25 you get six courses (including dessert) made by the chef/owner and you are served by the very attentive co-owner, Ozzie. The food was outstanding, especially when you consider where you are in the world: a tiny little chain of islands off the Caribbean coast of Panama. Ozzie informed us that sometimes they don't have electricity or food shipments brought in. This is not New York City, folks.  


For our six courses we were served: a smooth gazpacho with cucumber puree swirl, hummus covered in pimento, sesame seeds and olive oil served with warm pita bread, tuna cake with a spicy aioli, thai marinated chicken with a sweet chili sauce and for the main course a perfectly cooked pork tenderloin with a whole grain mustard wine sauce, roasted potatoes and a cold carrot puree. Dessert was a classic flan with a hint of coconut served with a "siren" chocolate sauce. Everything was amazing! I still dream about how perfect the pork tenderloin was. 

If you're a foodie and end up in Bocas del Toro, this tiny restaurant is a must. You will have outstanding service by Ozzie and what feels like your own personal chef busting out great dishes all for $25 a person. I dare anyone to find a better deal than that!

Rock La Casbah!

La Casbah is a great restaurant to check out while in Bocas del Toro. It is located at the far end of the main strip as you are headed out of town. It has a great outdoor seating area on the road to people watch and you can still see what is going on in the open-air kitchen. Best of both worlds for me. The restaurant was pretty full when we arrived and the host/owner/only server seemed to have his hands very full. But this must be a common occurrence because he is on top of his game with a full house. We felt fully attended to the whole meal, which is not common in a lot of places in Central America. Even hunting down a very cool bag of ice to chill off the warm red wine (wine connoisseurs don’t be offended- its hot here, we like chilled red wine). We started off with three appetizers: Gazpacho, dates wrapped in bacon and tuna Carpaccio. All three were great! Anything wrapped in bacon is always a good choice and the crispy bacon with the sweet dates was an easy home run. The gazpacho was creamy and nicely balanced the sherry vinegar and sweet tomato flavor. It came with a side of croutons and diced red onion and red and green peppers. I like the idea of adding crispy elements to the smooth base. The tuna Carpaccio was served with red onion, green peppers, Parmesan, tomatoes, basil and good olive oil. The flavors were all there and strangely did not overwhelm the thinly sliced tuna. If anything the dish needed a bit more citrus and fresh ground pepper. We forged on with main dishes of sole (fish of the day) served with a cucumber coconut sauce and the house special of Greek chicken, which is stuffed with goat cheese and prunes and topped with a sundried tomato sauce. The chicken was nicely cooked (not dried out which restaurants tend to do when stuffing) and the sundried tomato sauce paired well with the prunes but the goat cheese was lost amongst the strong flavors. I enjoyed this entrée over the fish of the day though. Sole is a very delicate fish and it needs a light non-overbearing sauce. Serving the creamy and heavy coconut cucumber sauce with a heartier fish would be divine but the sole was bogged down. But with the great preparations of all the other dishes this just entices me to go back one day and try the next fish of the day. While in Bocas del Toro you must try La Casbah! Even just for appetizers and wine, it’s a great restaurant! 

Welcome to Panama!!

Crossing the border from Puerto Viejo, Costa Rica to the archipelago of Bocas del Toro, Panama was no easy task. Granted we hired a van, crossed a bridge that should have been out of commission years ago (Don’t look down is a good mantra), trekked through a single lane wheat and banana field “road” with sixteen wheelers competing for space (think I-95 traffic in the middle of a farm), got packed into a tiny boat with a slightly over confident captain who charged at giant waves like we were on a navy vessel and all of this in the down pouring rain but we made it! Bocas del Toro, Panama. And to be honest- I love the adventure of traveling in Costa Rica- it always makes for interesting stories.

Our first pit stop was a random local bar and restaurant called The Pirate (easily found on the main strip due to the giant pirate head on top of the restaurant). The food is nothing great but it quieted our hunger pangs. We had arroz con pollo (Caribbean style is made with coconut milk) and fried fish with patacones (fried plantains). The meal was cheap and easy and something to tide us over before we headed to dinner at El Ultimo Refugio.

El Ultimo Refugio, on the other hand, was exactly the type of restaurant I anticipated on this trip. The restaurant sits directly on the water and with its mix of reggae and hippie ambiance (hemp tarps on the ceiling, bamboo laden walls, chill reggae beats) I felt immediately calm sitting down for dinner. The chalkboard written menu changes daily (depending on what’s fresh) and it was difficult to choose just one thing to order. A well-written menu always makes for tough choices. We decided to start with deviled eggs as I have yet to see them on a menu in Central America and was intrigued. There were two deviled eggs for each of us and one was topped with salty caviar and the other with bacon and celery. I’m a huge deviled egg fan and these were done extremely well (although cannot beat my BF’s mother’s recipe). And for $1.50 for an appetizer, you just cannot go wrong. For our main course my BF ordered mahi-mahi with spicy pineapple salsa and I ordered curry chicken. The mahi was cooked well and flanked with coconut rice in the shape of a fish, and perfectly sautéed veggies. One thing I have found in Central America is that restaurants really know how to cook side veggies well. They are never soggy or uncooked, always a lovely al-dente. My curry chicken was to-die-for. Having grown up in a country with a 50% Indian population, I tend to be a harsh curry critic. But this curry chicken was succulent and seasoned well with a hint of coconut in the sauce and the typical rice and veggies were a nice compliment. I was truly happy with this meal. The service wasn’t overly nice but was very fast which is unheard of in these parts. Pair all this with a $15 bottle of red wine and we were all smiles. El Ultimo Refugio is the real Bocas deal. 

La Pecora Nera

Finding decent Italian food in Costa Rica is comparable to my sister’s quest to find an ocelot while visiting here. It can be done but it is fairly difficult  (if craving great ravioli see blog on Dragon Fly Bar and Grill). Our first night in Puerto Viejo our lovely hostess recommended an Italian restaurant called La Pecora Nera (translation: the black sheep).  Many times I have been recommended great Italian places here and none of them have been above par, so with skepticism I set out to find Pecora Nera. Set back from the one main road in Puerto Viejo, it is a fairly large bamboo open air restaurant filled with beautiful wooden tables and giant wooden chairs that make you feel very regal. At the gated entrance we were greeted by extremely large geese and by the chef/owner of the place. Due to our tardy arrival (9:30pm) the chef told us that the kitchen was open but some things were not available to order. He rattled off a bunch of items were and as our attention spans at this hour were short, we let the chef bring us one appetizer and two entrees of his choice. The meal started with an amuse bouche of flatbreads and crostini served with a herb aioli. Our appetizer was a shrimp carpaccio served on thinly sliced star fruit with tomatoes, garlic and oregano and then drizzled in balsamic vinegar, olive oil and a sweet citrus juice. This was by far my favorite part of the meal. The chef brought out a pizza with fresh arugula, tomatoes, parmesan and prosciutto and it tasted great. Its not the best pizza I’ve had in Costa Rica (the search still continues) but I will never turn down this traditional flavor combo. Our second entrée was goat cheese ravioli in a homemade marinara sauce. Usually goat cheese served in any dish is a favorite of mine but unfortunately the marinara sauce was over salted and took away from the delicate homemade raviolis. This was a disappointment but I could see the well meant intentions of the chef (chefs have bad days too). Try La Pecora Nera if in the neighborhood and make sure to order the shrimp carpaccio. 

Best. Steak. Ever.

If you put the word Argentinian in front of steak you are usually guaranteed a pretty damn good piece of meat and El Refugio Grill proves this theory. The intimate 25 top restaurant nestled in the jungle of Puerto Viejo is run by an Argentinian couple. Soledad runs the front of the house while her husband mans the grill. The menu is short but enticing. And the service by Soledad is top notch. We settled on the house malbec and guacamole and chips to start. The guacamole was good, although needed a touch more citrus and the house made fried tortilla chips were crisp and fresh. There was an entrée portion of pulpitos al pimenton which is grilled mini octopus served with garlicky potatoes in a smoked paprika sauce and they happily made it an appetizer portion for us. This dish was a close second best compared to the skirt steak. The octopus was grilled to perfection (a not-so-easy feat in the culinary world). We followed our appetizers with one order of the Argentinian skirt steak and an order of the grilled tuna. The tuna was served with a fresh garlic and parsley mixture (similar to a persillade) and fresh cut steak fries. The tuna was cooked to medium (my choice) and the table salsa with jalapenos was a nice compliment. This tuna dish at any other restaurant would have been a great order but did not come close to the amazing steak. In the future I would order two steaks because the BF and I came close to shedding blood over it. The traditional chimichurri sauce was an amazing salty compliment to the perfect medium skirt steak. If you find yourself in Puerto Viejo and only have time for one dinner, this is the place to go. I left the restaurant floating in foodie heaven. True story. 

Don't waste your moola!!

I am a self admitted travel guide junky. I have read my Costa Rica tour books cover to cover at least twice. I fully admit to reading (and believing) Trip Advisor almost daily. I believe I am a pro at reading through the bullshit reviews and the people, like me, who mean what they say. When I decided to travel to the Carribean coast of Costa Rica you would not believe the tireless hours I spent researching restaurants, places to visit, what hotels to book, etc. My BF thinks I'm borderline crazy when I do this. Just picking a new restaurant to try requires a search for my online foodie recommendations and since my BF's motto in life is "live easy"he doesn't understand my need for strangers approval on the places I go. Two places that came highly recommended for our trip to Puerto Viejo was Maxi's and Soda Tamara. The first being the place to get lobster and the second being a place where the locals like to eat. My guide books hailed them as places to not miss while on the Caribbean. I went to both and I will have to disagree with them. 


Maxi's has a great ambiance and very reggae caribbean feel to it. Its on the beach at the end of the road in Manzanillo and I think its definitely something you should see while in the area but food wise it didn't impress me. From blogs and guidebooks, the lobster here was supposed to be unbelievable. I ordered it at a little over $30 and I wish I hadn't wasted my money. The presentation with the full lobster shell is impressive but the meat was overcooked and tough. The only thing I genuinely liked on it was the light curry with onion sauce it was smothered in. We also ordered the rondon soup (its whatever the chef can "run down" and it usually consists of a meat, fish, vegetable combo) and the flavor was there but there wasn't many edible pieces in it.  I felt like I was scavenging for food amongst bones but the spicy coconut flavor of the broth slightly made up for that. Maxi's was overpriced and not nearly as good as people say. I would have much rather had beers and just enjoyed the beach view and Bob Marley ambiance.


Soda Tamara is supposed to be a local hotspot and not only did I only see tourists in there but the prices weren't really the local prices I expected. I ordered arroz con camarones (rice and shrimp caribbean style is made with coconut milk and differs from the rest of Costa Rica) and my fellow friends ordered fish, beans and rice. The portions were great but the food was just so-so. Nothing that you HAVE to try while in the Caribbean. I'll stick to my local sodas on the Pacific coast where prices are great and the food is comforting. 


My guidebooks, online reviewers and foodies have let me down on these two places. I'd skip them on your next visit to Puerto Viejo. There is much better food to be had. (read future blog posts)

Koorigan Lodge

It says something about your lifestyle if you go on a trip, take a nap and in your dream you are tirelessly looking for a wifi connection. This is exactly what happened during our trip to the more remote area of Puerto Viejo, well Punta Uva to be exact. I have traveled quite a bit, probably a majority, of Costa Rica but I have never ventured to the Caribbean coast and upon my arrival to my B&B at the Koorigan Lodge and during my much needed siesta, I dreamed of what I could not find: WiFi. Coming from the generation that has a need to check Facebook and email every time we go anywhere, staying in a hotel without internet is kind of a struggle (sorry to my boyfriend who could not check to see if his fantasy team made it to the final round of the playoffs).  But Koorigan Lodge relieved this generational issue by the sheer beauty of the area. Who needs Facebook updates when I’ve got a jungle surrounding me?  The Koorigan Lodge is nestled among the giant trees and gorgeous vegetation of Punta Uva and the B&B owners, Ingrid and Erwan are amongst the kindest people we have met in our travels. They genuinely care about their guests. And better yet, they genuinely care to feed their guests. Breakfast always starts with fresh bread or chocolate croissants, yogurt and homemade granola, tea or coffee and a plate of fresh fruit. This is followed up with eggs of your preference and bacon or sausage. By the time lunch rolls around, you aren’t even hungry, even after we did a morning of hiking (in the rain). There are a ton of great places to stay while on the Caribbean coast but the Koorigan Lodge creates a true sense of home and a breakfast your mama would make.