3 Best Restaurants in Arenal, Monteverde, and the Northern Lowlands, Costa Rica

This lovely Italian-inspired restaurant adds touches of romance with wooden tables draped with red-and-white linens and soft music and candles. The menu is long, with options ranging from local ceviche to tamarind chicken, but the Italian specialties are best: the brick-oven Volcán pizza with ham, mushrooms, bacon, and pepperoni is a local favorite. Gluten-free options are available. You can also order from Tabulle, their sister restaurant next door, for some enjoyable Middle Eastern fare.

It might not look like much from the outside, but this Italian restaurant has homemade dishes like tortellini in sage butter, lasagna with bubbly, browned mozzarella, and crispy thin-crust pizza with folds of prosciutto. Start with a caprese salad and move on to one of the pasta dishes buried beneath a blanket of shaved Parmesan. The back patio is a quaint spot to enjoy a glass of red wine. If you stop by for dinner, make it an early one; the place closes at 7:30.