2 Best Restaurants in Central Valley, Costa Rica

The valley's most scenic and famous lunch stop sits on a coffee plantation overlooking the Cachí Reservoir. It's firmly on the beaten path, which means frequent visits from tour groups. The spacious indoor dining area has a high barrel-tile roof, but the most sought-after tables are out on the tiled, lakeside portico, draped with flowering vines framing gorgeous lake views. The menu has both Costa Rican staples and sophisticated dishes such as corvina guarumos (bass stuffed with mushrooms). Expect a wait on weekends, when diners come from miles around for the gargantuan $25 lunch buffet that ends with delicious, coffee-flavored desserts and the Casona's own coffee, made cup by cup in the old-fashioned Costa Rican way. After lunch, take a stroll down the garden path to the lake or check out the souvenir stands in the parking lot.

The menu here at this upscale countryside spot is predominantly Costa Rican, with such traditional specialties as trucha (trout) and rice with chicken, along with some more sophisticated dishes, like corvina (sea bass) fillet with a coconut-liqueur sauce. The Sunday típico buffet is a great introduction to Costa Rican cooking. Decorated with vintage photos of early-20th-century buildings and landscapes, this upscale restaurant teaches a history lesson of the region. The photos also document the disastrous 1910 earthquake that rocked this area and all but destroyed the colonial capital of Cartago.