La Fiesta del Maiz – Costa Rican style restaurant - La Garita, Alajuela

If you are looking for local Costa Rican food try someplace else.  If your starving after a long ride from the beach drive a few hundred meters more for some real “tico” food.  


Located (a long description for directions but we don’t want you to get lost) between the old highway (same highway where the International Airport is located) and the highway to Turrucares (where the new highway is located).  If your coming from the airport, drive approximately 14 kilometer from the airport towards the beach.  About half way, on the left side of the highway, you will pass a milk and diary factory known as Dos Pinos (green neon sign), when you see this just keep going straight and you will go under a one lane bridge and an exit to the town of El Coyol (the auto inspection facility (RTV) is also located off of this exist).  Don’t turn here.  Continue straight for a few more kilometers.   You will pass over a small bridge.  Continue to the next exit after this little bridge and get off of the highway at this point.  At the stop turn left.  This will be the highway leading to Jaco and further on to Manual Antonio.  About 3km after turning left off of the main highway you will see the sign for La Fiesta del Maiz on the left side of the road.  Be careful because there are a lot of big trucks using this road. 

Just as a side note – if you continue past the restaurant (as if you miss the sign) turning left at the next intersection after passing the restaurant (maybe 1km after passing the La Garita Church, a small school, and a police station) you eventually end up in the small town of Turrucares and a principle access point to the new toll highway that can either take you to the beach in about 1 hour or back to the Santa Ana or on to Central San Jose in about 30 minutes away from this point.  It is a nice new highway and much less congested (assuming you don’t use it on a national holiday).  If you do not turn at the next intersection and keep going straight you will start the process of going to the beach (Puntarenas and San Ramon) on a very windy, narrow, big mountain road.  Some parts of this road are pretty but if your objective is the La Fiesta del Maiz find a place to turn around as soon as possible  (there are not many places to make this u-turn once you pass the first intersection after the restaurant.

Web Site - http://www. Does not exist.  Is it possible a “famous tourist restaurant” does not have a web site.  Apparently in this case. 

GPS Coordinates – 9°59’36.9”N, 84° 18’58.0”W

Telephone - +(506) 2487-5076

Schedule – who knows – unpredictable ??? But definitely on Saturday and Sunday at least for a late breakfast and/or lunch.

Service – Boring attitude, nothing special, no smiling and no friendly attitude.   If this is supposed to be a good example of a “famous” “tico” restaurant then I wonder how it ever got the reputation. 

Operating hours suggest the restaurant is open during the afternoon hours but some days they are closed and I can’t seem to find anyone (including employees) who knows the true operating hours that actually are true.  Everyone will always give some hours but it is as if a robot is speaking because clearly the operating hours are different from what is described.    In all cases don’t go to this restaurant after 5:00pm maybe 6:00pm because they will be closed.  If a restaurant is supposed to be providing a service to its customers then why would they close so early?  One reason why is because these people (the establishment) does not appear to be taking customers seriously and many regulars just accept the typical style.  The owners know they have a steady clientele they apparently don’t need to earn more money or don’t want to and generally seem to be sufficiently comfortable with their position in life.  The tourists may not even know the difference and will never pass by again in their lives having no idea that something better exists. 

Food – The restaurant serves several unique dishes including a “corn” based typical rice and chicken.  It is good the first time but the second time it can get a little old.   Although I have eaten here “many” times (principally because I live nearby and there are very few alternatives in this area) I generally regret it each time. 

The last time I ate here the rice was old and cold and the fried pork was full of tough non-chewable fat.  On other occasions the “chicharron” (fried pork) was actually pretty good with little fat and a lot of tasty, non-fatty, pork meat.  The food is served in plastic throw-away dishes with plastic eating utensils.  In fact, I don’t think I’ve had anything that I can truly say was a good example of a Costa Rican typical dish. 

Often served at breakfast in Costa Rica is a dish referred to as Gallo de Pinto or Rice and Beans with chopped cilantro, onions, and various other tasty items.  The dish can be very good if it is made correctly.  Considering I’ve eaten and also made Gallo de Pinto what seems like a million times I think I can define what is good “Pinto” or not.  This restaurant serves only a “so, so” “pinto” and certainly not a good example.  How did this place become so famous I’ll never know except that there just are not many other alternatives in the area.

Price - For a local type of food this place is expensive!!! 

For example, I recently had breakfast and I paid the equivalent of $17.74 or C8,960 colones (the exchange rate at the time was about 505 = U.S.$1.00).  The breakfast consisted of one chocolate milk, 1 aguadulce (sugar cane water), 1 orange juice (boring processed OJ and not fresh OJ), 2 orders of rice and beans (Gallo de Pinto), and 1 order of toast.  Personally I think the price is ridiculous for a local restaurant.  I have to assume they are trying to capture the foreign tourist who knows no better (either other places to eat or the relative price value).

Ambiance – If you like the sound of traffic and large trucks on the main highway passing by within 20 meters of tables in an open air environment then I guess the ambiance is ok. (If I could use a sarcastic mark or sarc mark at this point I would).  The restaurant looks like it has not been renovated in 20 years.  Cafeteria style to order and pick-up your own food, the dining tables are made of concrete in one part of the restaurant and in the principle entry area the tables are old booths with a formica top.  When open, the place is usually relatively busy, but once inside you will realize it is much bigger than what it may seem and only rarely, usually on Sundays does it even remotely reach capacity.

General – I tried this restaurant many times but I continue to tell myself the same thing after each meal – “I won’t eat here again”.  Maybe I keep trying thinking there has to be something good or I’m so hungry it won’t matter but it doesn’t work. 

Final Note – I won’t eat here again.  Yea, right!