Taste the fresh and local flavors
of Costa Rica

Food and Drinks

At Casa Roja, our food is fresh, simple, and locally sourced. Produce typically originates from within the Sierpe River Basin or is grown in our own garden, where you can find tomatoes, onions, chili peppers, and cilantro, among other offerings. On the 10 acres surrounding the property you can pick tropical fruits such as coconuts, bananas, plantains, mangoes, star fruit and limes, depending on the season. Start your morning with a cup of rich Costan Rican coffee while taking in the sunrise over the Sierpe River. Enjoy a lunch of fresh fish caught at your doorstep. Sip a Costa Rican cocktail made from regional top-shelf liquors while watching the sunset over the ocean. Our wine cooler is stocked with a variety of wines, and our refrigerator always has plenty of Costa Rican beer.

Our staff can provide food services, or we can supply food for guests to cook themselves. Whether it’s breakfast in the morning, a tropical fruit smoothie mid-day, or a barbeque in the evening, Casa Roja is equipped with all the culinary amenities to make your stay enjoyable. Savor the incredible view while you prepare a meal. We will discuss your dietary preferences when you make your booking to ensure your experience at Casa Roja is both memorable and delicious. Read our About page and see our Available Equipment to learn more about our kitchen amenities.

Tips from Our Kitchen

Try our traditional Costa Rican coffee maker, a chorreador (“dripper”). It may seem a bit cumbersome at first – it takes a few minutes to make a fresh cup, and grounds need to be emptied – but you will probably like it after you get used to it. After all, who knows better about preparing a great cup of coffee than Costa Ricans? Start with about 2-3 tablespoons for the first cup, then add an additional tablespoon for each additional cup. Pour the water in slowly and be patient – it’s worth the wait.

Coconut water can be poured over ice, mixed into cocktails, used for cooking, treating wounds, basically everything in Costa Rica. The only thing wrong with this ultimate drupe (fruit/nut/seed) is how hard they are to open! Please don’t risk injury. Ask Argenis or Marvin to open coconuts for you. They also delight in teaching people how to use a machete to safely get to the coconut’s delicious content – watch, learn, and then give it a try!

Costa Rican Limes are the greatest fruit on the planet, and the best ones grow wild, across the Boca, on Isla Violin. The Costa Rican lime is a well-kept secret, but Argenis will gladly take you across the river to pick some! Add to cocktails, use in ceviche, cucumber salad, as salad dressing, in beer, over avocado, on tacos, with tequila… use your imagination!

Plantains make cooking breakfast worth it! A staple for Costa Ricans, plantains are eaten and cooked in a variety of forms and dishes throughout the year. Plantains are best when ripe and fried on the grill or in a pan until golden and crispy. A ripe plantain looks like a rotten banana, but the worse the plantain looks, the sweeter it is! Graciela would love to introduce you to this local staple, prepare some for you, or show you how to do it yourself!

Whether you just caught a fresh snapper, or you found left-over fish from dinner in the fridge, tacos are a popular, healthy option anytime. Fresh pineapple or mango add a tropical flare to salsas and slaws, and corn and flour tortillas are typically found in the fridge. Serve with Isla Violin lime wedges!

Rum and Guaro are the two most popular spirits in Costa Rica. And although we’d like to boast about great Costa Rican rum, Flor de Caña from Nicaragua is the real rum star in the region. The basis for almost any frozen cocktail is the same. First, locate a ripe fruit that you’d like to turn into a cocktail, add to blender with ice, add some coconut water, some coconut cream, a little rum, and blend…. If you’re looking for inspiration, check out the selection of cocktail recipes located in our kitchen.