Updated January 2025
What are Costa Rican Sodas?
When you arrive to Costa Rica, one of the first things you’ll notice are that multiple places have the word “soda” prominently displayed. Are Costa Ricans obsessed with Coke, Pepsi, and Sprite? Not so! Costa Rican sodas are family-style small restaurants where you will find some of the country’s best cuisine at the best prices!
Sodas are small eateries of Tico (Costa Rican) cuisine, where you can find all sorts of traditional Costa Rican dishes. These spots are less fancy and much more relaxed than regular restaurants. Sodas are usually ran as family businesses so the ambience is always warm and welcoming. You will commonly spot Costa Rican Sodas on the side of highways and in any town or city in the downtown area. For those who are traveling on a budget, Sodas are one of the best way to get your fill without wiping out your Costa Rica travel budget. How cheap is the food in a Costa Rica Soda? We are talking about a complete meal for 2,500 – 4,700 colones. Don’t know the currency conversion rate? Try $5-$9 USD!
Pay a visit to one of these eateries for breakfast to try the famous Gallo Pinto, a dish made of rice and beans (the FUNDAMENTALS of Costa Rican cuisine!) served with your choice of eggs, cheese, beef in sauce or chicken. Do not expect to find a Continental or American breakfast at these Tico spots, however, if you want to experience the real Costa Rica you have to try the local food. The Gallo Pinto in Costa Rica is a personal favorite. And the fruit, oh how amazingly delicious is the fresh fruit that accompanies your meal!! In the states people pay extra for farm to table produce; the fruit in Costa Rica is always farm to table.
Or lunch or dinner, you’ll find the traditional Costa Rica Casado, a dish made up with 5 or 6 servings of rice, beans (yes, again!), salad, plantain, fried egg and your choice of chicken, fish or carne asada (grilled beef). If you are a vegetarian, you can choose avocado and cheese instead. Casado is by far the most eaten dish in all of Costa Rica, and once you try it you will see why! Don’t forget to order one of the fresh natural juices that accompany the meals and are sometimes even included. You can find the traditional OJ, but we recommend trying some of the more traditional Costa Rican flavors such as Cas, guanabana, or tamarindo.
Costa Rican Sodas are safe to eat in the stomach-sense, but of course you should always trust your own judgment as you do in any foreign country. If the food stand does not look up to normal hygiene standards the definitely choose another. One way to decide which Soda to eat at is by the number of locals you see around it. Big crowd = great food. Do not expect to hear a whole lot of English at these eateries, and you will probably not find it necessary! The menus are very basic and easy to grasp, and we all speak the general language of “feed me, please”!! Here are a few tips on how to order food in Spanish:
Mini Costa Rican Culinary Lexicon
Ordering
Hello: ¡Hola!, Bueno
Thank you (very much): (Muchas) gracias
Please: Por favor
Do you have a table for 2: ¿Tienes una mesa para dos (2) personas?
I’d like a [–], please: Me gustaria una [–], por favor
May I have the menu?: El menu por favor?
I want…: Quiero…
A little more: Un poco mas
One beer please: Una cerveza por favor
Glass of water: Un vaso con agua
The bill please: La cuenta por favor
Breakfast: El desayuno
Lunch: El almuerzo
Dinner: La comida (la cena)
A generous plate of any combination of rice, beans, plantain, salad, noodles and fish or meat: Casado
Typical Food/ Drink:
Drinks: Frescos, refrescos
Fresh juice: Jugos naturales
Blackberries: Mora
Pineapples: Piña
Tiny arrow-shaped black seeds in a thick translucent thick translucent juice: Chan
Tamarind: Tamarindo
Soursop: Guanabana
Mango: Mango, manga
Sour Guava: Cas
Fresh juice with milk: Un fresco con leche
Beverages: Bebidas
Drink made with cornmeal and cinnamon: Horchata
Black coffee: Café negro
Coffee with milk: Café con leche.
Sparkling Water: Agua mineral
Bottled still water: Una botella de agua natural
Specialties:
Minced chayote, potatoes, carrots or other vegetables combined with ground beef: Picadillo
Plantain: Plátanos
Cassava: Yuca
Seafood marinated in acidic juice such as lime and eaten raw: Ceviche
A brown sauce made of vegetables and spices: Salsa Lizano
Rice and beans; literally spotted rooster: Gallo pinto
Thick corn tortillas: Chorreados
Sour Cream: Natilla
Long finger-like doughnuts filled with caramel and sprinkled with sugar: Dulce de leche churros
Fudge: Cajeta
Dessert of grated dried coconut, condensed milk and cookie crumbs, lightly fried in butter: Bolitas de coco
Meat and Seafood:
Beef broth with large chunks of meat, local tubers, and corn: Olla de carne
Chicken: Pollo
Sea bass: Corvina
Shrimp: Camarones
Lobster: Langosta
Beef: Carne
Hours of operation at sodas coincide with the three daily meals, so you can find them open from 7am to 9pm. Sunset in Costa Rica is around 5 or 6pm so dinner time is about 7-9 pm.
We highly recommend stopping at least one time at any Soda during your vacation in Costa Rica. Cozy and hospitable, Costa Rica’s Sodas will welcome you with a 100% Tico experience!
