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San Ramon Resources

FOOD, DRINK and NIGHTLIFE:
Rincon de Poeta
This downtown restaurant/bar has been a big hit since it opened. It is located on the main road into San Ramon a couple of blocks before the church. The owner Alonso and his great staff Sergio, Pablo, Gigi, Jason, Hansel, Chepe and the stars in the kitchen take good care of the crowds nightly. The large restaurant/bar is welcoming to the spectrum from 20-somethings to families and all demographics in between who come for the food and ambiance. The intimate bar makes it easy to socialize and make the scene. Music volume is moderate and not overwhelming as many places in Costa Rica are. The restaurant décor features changing art shows of local artists and locally crafted furnishings.

I suggest sticking to the boca (tapas) menu so you can try lots of the offerings and eat at your own pace. The bocas start at about $1.15 and top out at $2.50. There’s so much to recommend. Fresh shrimp both fried or sautéed in garlic sauce are good choices. Other winners include, seafood soup, cerviche and patacones, plantano fritters served with 3 dipping cups of refried beans, salsa and fresh cheese. Try the local liquor, Guaro, a clear, rough liquor made from sugar cane.

Rincon Poeta gets busy most nights by 7:30-8PM. Great Staff, Great Food. Great Crowd.

Fory Fay

A new entry to the San Ramon eating scene, Fory Fay is a very popular restaurant with two locations in nearby Palmares. They are well known by the locals for excellent cerviche. If you're hungry try the casado, a big plate of food with your choice of protein (fish, chicken, meat) plus rice, beans, plantanos, fries, salad and a fried egg. Our favorite dish is the shrimp with garlic sauce. A half order is about all we can handle. There is nothing like fresh shrimp perfectly cooked and steeped in garlic. The atmosphere is pleasant with colorful fabric draped from the ceiling. There is a non-smoking section which is rare in San Ramon. This is a great choice for a nice lunch or dinner. Fory Fay is located across from the church in San Rafael, a five minute drive from downtown.
Fory Fay is open from 11AM - 11PM daily.

Bocaditos
The recently opened Bocaditos is a new favorite of ours. It is a very inviting spot with open-air seating, soft music and pleasant surroundings. The food is great. The bocas are large, well-prepared and all come with mashed potatoes and salad. Some of our favorites are the Pescado Ajillo and Fajitas de Pollo, but everything on the menu looks good. Luis, the manager, is a friendly host and the service is on a similar level to the food. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner and serves alcohol at moderate prices. Bocaditos is 250 meters west of the hospital on a primary east-west road.

Mi Casita
If you have a hunger for something totally different, visit Mi Casita near the San Ramon Hospital. Owned by Francesco, an Italian ex-pat who moved to San Ramon from Jaco and needed an outlet for his passion...making great homemade pasta. Among the pasta choices are Fettucine Alfredo, Bolonese, and Pomodoro, but for a special treat talk to the owner and let him create a sauce specifically for you. Mi Casita is also open for breakfast. Francesco's omelets are a special treat. Mi Casita is centrally located across from the hospital on the road to Arenal.

Mi Casita is open Monday to Saturday from 6AM to 5PM. Tel. 2447-65-12

Soda Lucy
A soda is roughly translated as a diner and is generally an informal and inexpensive choice for homemade traditional food. Soda Lucy is a small family-run restaurant on the main street leading to the University of Costa Rica's San Ramon campus. This is a popular choice for a nice homemade breakfast or lunch and is a good spot for people watching and settling in to the San Ramon community. Lucy, the owner, is a welcoming and warm person who takes great pride in her bright and airy soda. While the Central Market is loaded with sodas, this spot has been packed since it’s recent opening and is a good choice for a daytime meal.

Soda Role
This is a great place to orient yourself to San Ramon. It is on the ground floor of the Central Market facing the local bus station. It is popular with locals. Try the breakfast special of eggs, coffee con leche, tortillas and Gallo Pinto. (Gallo Pinto is as close to a national dish as Costa Rica has. It is the traditional Costa Rican breakfast staple made from rice, black beans, cilantro, onions and peppers.) For lunch, ask for the "Plato Del Dia" a Casado. The owner, Mario, is a friendly host and speaks some English. The Central Market is full of similar restaurants with similar menus, but this one has been consistently a good choice for us.

Soda Restaurant Bella Vista
On the second floor of the Central Market, Bella Vista is another good choice for breakfast or lunch. It is a peaceful place to get away from the vibrant and hectic street life of downtown San Ramon and is popular with locals. We go there for the Gallo Pinto and eggs, but many go there for their house specialty, Olla de Carne, a soup of vegetables with a large piece of meat on the bone and a side of rice. The owner Lia and her 3 sons took me in as family during my first year in San Ramon which really helped me settle into this welcoming community.

 

Mi Choza (aka Los Negritos)
A small restaurant/bar across from the cemetery. This is a popular spot for lunch or dinner and is best enjoyed as a couple or group. The bocas are large, delicious and many are attractively served on wooden cutting boards. Among our favorites are the shrimp omelette and the cheese taco with salad and papas, yucca and plantanos fritas. The entire menu looks pretty popular with the customers. The fruit smoothies are good here and there’s a full selection of beer and liquor.


La Guaria
A way cool country bar with a loyal and rowdy local clientele who come for the big, inexpensive bocas, beer, and the lively atmosphere. La Guaria is a 5-10 minute drive from the center of San Ramon on the old Palmares Road.

The bar is where the crowd is and it’s rectangular shape makes for lots of good people watching. There’s another small room with tables and an outdoor dining area. If you get here too late, a parking spot is sometimes hard to find.

La Barra
One of the most popular restaurants in town among locals, this restaurant has expanded three times since its opening in 2007. The large bar is a great place to sit and check out the local scene. Most people come for the drinks, loud music and tasty bocas. The kitchen makes a great cerviche. All the fish and seafood are fresh and great. This place captures the gritty, boisterous, friendly spirit of San Ramon.

Las Tinajitas
A popular stop on the Inter-American Highway 7 KM past San Ramon on the way to Puntarenas. This is a cafeteria-style restaurant where you can point and try a variety of local dishes, including fish, chicken, rice, plantanos, and fresh refrescos/juices. From its high elevation on the Inter-American Highway, the open-air restaurant has an ocean view. This is fast food with a Tico twist.

Rinconcito
This warm, family owned and operated open-air restaurant is a locals lunch favorite. It is open only on weekdays and only for lunch casados, or comidas tipicas. A Casado (married) is the classic Costa Rican meal. It generally includes either fish, chicken or meat with some combination of rice, beans, platanos, yucca, picadillo (minced vegetables), and cabbage and tomato salad at the kitchen's discretion. At Rinconcita the meals are huge and include a fruit drink and dessert.

Sol Naciente
A popular friendly downtown bar owned by Chinese ex-pats Kenneth and Karen. The beer is cheap and the music good. It attracts the local college students and has a hippie feel. This is a place mostly for drinking, seeing friends and hanging out. The regulars order the Chinese bocas and stop there. The chicken or pork fried rice and chop suey/Chinese stir-fried noodles are good, filling choices.

Pizza Roy
When you are longing for something familiar, try the pizza at Pizza Roy's. Pizza Roy has three locations in San Ramon. We generally visit the one across from the basketball court just down (East) from the San Ramon Farmers’ Market and the University of Costa Rica. The classic cheese pizza is a mix between New York and Chicago style, with a thin yet soft crust. There are the usual and some unusual toppings available for your choosing. The pizza is prepared fresh, while you wait. Stop in or call 447-77-80 and place your order for delivery.

Comida Joel
Adding good variety to the San Ramon eating options, Comida Joel is a snack counter specializing in Japanese and Korean food. This relatively new, small establishment is on the same block as Secretos and Sound Bar 80 meters West of the Parque Central. When you get a taste for something completely different, try the California roll or miso soup. The proprietor is a smiling, friendly guy and deserves your patronage for attempting a bold new offering.

COFFEE and DESSERT:
Café Delicias
This is the first of the local coffee shops. Delicias is a few blocks East of the University and is hard to miss with its bright orange façade and corner location. The crowds enjoying their caffeine and pastries create a fun scene especially between 3:00 and 5:30PM. In a town whose social life is centered in bars, this is a good alternative.

Take a seat in the lively dining room and the staff will drop off a pencil and paper menu and you mark your selections to order. The local favorite is café con leche, a strong coffee served in a small stainless pitcher with another pitcher of steamed milk. Cappuccino and other custom coffee drinks are available. For non-coffee drinkers you can’t go wrong with the milkshakes. The delicious homemade cakes are displayed well and should be viewed before ordering. Chocolate, Carrot and Cheesecakes are among the choices. Delicias has recently expanded into serving breakfast. The omelettes look good and the breakfasts are less greasy than many of the sodas (diners) nearby.

Aroma's Café
Aromas is another good choice for coffee and dessert. It is centrally located across from the Club Social and next to Bar Sol Naciente. It also draws a large afternoon and early evening crowd for coffee, sweets, sandwiches and socializing. The café space was formerly the site of a Middle-Eastern restaurant and has a nice low, close to the ground seating area in the front window inherited from the former establishment. The main seating area is open with brightly painted walls and nice lighting. The cappuccino is popular here. Our favorite dessert is the tres leches, a local classic. The brownies will satisfy your chocolate cravings and they’ll heat them up if you like.

In April 2008, Aroma's opened a second cafe on the Main Street through San Ramon. This should be a great addition to the San Ramon local scene and for travelers passing through on the way to Volcano Arenal and the Rain Forest.


BAKERIES / PANADERIAS:
San Ramon is filled with numerous bakeries throughout the city. Many homes in Costa Rica do not have ovens so people do not bake. As a result, bakeries are very popular and plentiful. They feature all sorts of breads, pastries as well as savory ones filled with meats, chicken, and vegetables. Below are photos of some of the more popular San Ramon bakeries, but we encourage you to discover your own favorites.

 

CLUBS:
San Ramon Social Club - Club Centro de Cultura Social
Founded in 1926, the club is both a large building with multiple bars and an integral part of San Ramon history. For drinking, dancing and taking in a tradition of San Ramon, explore the club on a busy weekend night. Wander up to the 2nd floor, if you can, where you’ll find a lot of cool photos of San Ramon through the years.

Weekend nights there are 2 Latin dance clubs and I’ve been with crowds of a few hundred people in each room. One club attracts 30-40 somethings and the other a younger scene. There’s also Karaoke midweek. When the Costa Rica National Soccer team is playing, the club draws big crowds to drink and cheer wildly as the game is broadcast on many screens. There is periodic live music and special events so check out the schedule.

Secretos and System Sound Bar
These 2 bars are next door to each other just west of the central park. Things get interesting in both bars after 9PM. On a busy weekend night, the street outside looks like a scene from “Fame” with beautiful local teens and twenty-somethings in serious numbers. The music is loud in both spots.

Both bars have an informal bar downstairs and an upstairs room that hosts themed nights and live music. There’s sometimes a modest cover charge to go upstairs. System also has a limited menu of good bocas if you’re hungry. Experience both Secretos and System Sound Bar and don’t miss the lively street scene outside.

Excalibur
This has historically been the after hours club, open from midnight until morning.