For years, the world seemed to think Costa Rican food was the simple gallo pinto and casados. Don’t get me wrong, I love a good traditional breakfast of rice and beans. But after spending five days road-tripping in Costa Rica from San Jose to the cloud forests and volcanoes, I realized that the culinary scene here is exploding. It is not only a fuel for adventure anymore, but a world-class innovation.  

I saw this firsthand with chefs I met who are rewriting the narrative, using Costa Rica’s biodiversity to create something you simply cannot find anywhere else.

It started in Barrio Escalante at Silvestre. Chef Santiago Fernández Benedetto is a Culinary Heritage Ambassador and recently picked up a One Knife distinction at The Best Chef Awards in Milan. His tasting menu is a culinary journey of artistry and storytelling, taking indigenous ingredients like pejibaye and transforming them into something that felt like modern art.

I ran into Chef Humberto Romaguera while exploring the Mercado Borbón. He runs Corazón Contento and told me something unique that they do. He treats tropical fruit with as much reverence as Wagyu by having a tasting menu focused entirely on Costa Rican fruits.

I ended my time in San Jose at Azotea Calle 7 where Chef Yendry Soto is doing amazing things with elevated traditional food in the rooftop setting at Hotel Presidente. The sea bass ceviche sampler (one had a unique passion fruit & avocado cream) was incredible and her yuca tostones topped with shredded beef were pure comfort.  

When we drove out to the Orosi Valley in Cartago, I saw how deep this connection to the land goes. Chef José Álvarez at Casa Jose is doing this incredible fusion cuisine. He takes Indian curry and fuses it with Costa Rican fruits to create his Tropical Shrimp for a next level curry. He brings the rainbow trout that is famous in the region and wraps it in banana leaves with shrimp.

Up in the misty hills of Monteverde, Chef Isaac Madrigal is defining what sustainable luxury tastes like. He runs the kitchen at Nectandra Restaurant inside the Ocotea Boutique Hotel and uses ingredients from an on-site garden. It feels like an extension of the cloud forest itself.

Then there is Chef Saúl Umaña in La Fortuna. As the Culinary Director at Tabacon Thermal Resort, he created a tasting menu at Tucanes that tours all seven provinces of Costa Rica with international flavors, including a cassava croquette as a brilliant nod to his mother’s cooking. This journey was paired with beer, wines and exclusive cocktails made specifically for those dishes.

It was actually at Tabacon where I saw just how collaborative this industry has become. I also ran into Chefs Henry Quesada, Kid Mey Chan, and Aldo Elizondo from Conservatorium in San Jose who were there for a collaboration dinner. Their team was just awarded One Knife at The Best Chef Awards 2025 and ranked number 53 on the extended list for Latin America’s 50 Best Restaurants. Interestingly enough, they also had another collaboration dinner with Chef Isaac Madrigal at Nectadra Restaurant the week after.

These chefs are transforming the Pura Vida lifestyle into a tangible and edible experience, and sharing Costa Rica’s biodiversity and stories to the gastronomic world.

**I don’t know if you do YouTube embeds, but here’s the YouTube video of the road trip in case you want to embed as part of the article:

Author Bio and Credentials:

Raymond Cua is a Canadian travel journalist, industry judge, YouTuber, photographer, and the founder & publisher of Travelling Foodie and Journey Traveler with experience travelling in over 35+ countries and more than half of the United States and Canadian provinces. As one of the best food and travel bloggers in Toronto, Raymond and his works have appeared in Travel + Leisure, BBC Travel, Global News, CTV News, CP24, and Philippine Daily Inquirer, as well as other online and print outlets.

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