Sweet Treats: Costa Rica’s Best Dessert Places You Must Try
Traveling to Costa Rica on an adventure vacation AND have a sweet tooth? Lucky you! The country’s passion for homemade, wholesome desserts is legendary and you’d be well advised to indulge during your time here at one of the country’s most revered sweet-eries. From fancy city restaurants to street stalls and holes in the wall, Costa Rica’s best dessert places you must try will satisfy your craving in every which way.
POPS Ice Creamerie, country wide chain
If there’s one thing that’s likely to make your eyes POP during your travels through Costa Rica, it would have to be the sight of one of this ice-cream parlor’s franchise banners. POPS makes ice cream the way ice cream was meant to be made, with natural ingredients and flavors and none of that powdery stuff that’s become so common back home nowadays. Whether on a cone or in a cup, or added to a delicious banana split or milkshake, POPS ice-creams are the bomb! Try the fresh coconut and mango ice cream after a sweaty day of hiking and you (and your taste buds) will be in 7th heaven.
Estukuru Chocolate Factory, La Fortuna
Estukuru is the kind of place you need to visit, even if it meant walking there from San Jose. Yep…it’s so good it’s worth the 100-mile long trek! Luckily, this dreamy chocolate factory is nearby Arenal so a visit is super easy to fit into your itinerary.
Offering a great array of flavored home-made chocolates, along with cakes, crepes, drinks and a host of other delights all made using the powder of the gods, Estukuru is the kind of place that makes you rethink your notion that the best Costa Rica chocolate is all sent abroad. Take a fascinating tour of the factory and small plantation, enjoy the air-conditioned dining room and feast till your heart’s ready to burst. We do!
Chez Christophe, San Jose
If you could combine anything in the world and create perfection, it would have to be an authentic French bakery which uses only the freshest, locally-sourced Costa Rican ingredients. Voila, Chez Christophe, where you’ll discover how perfect French croissants can be when made with fresh Costa Rican butter. The amazing dessert fridge is enough to make you weak at the knees yet if you’re the kind of person whose eyes belie their stomach then you’ll be happy to know that Christophe sells a lot of ‘miniature’ desserts so you can try all sorts of different goodies before you burst. And then…you’ll probably want just one more macaroon for the road.
Creperie & Café Entre Nous, Heredia/San Jose/Alajuela
The French have well and truly taken over Costa Rica and, luckily for you, they’re opening all the best dessert bars. With its quirky décor and warm ambience, Entre Nous is one of the country’s most charming little secrets, one that seems to be appearing all over the central region.
Popular with young Ticos and increasingly more prominent, this artisanal creperie serves sweet and savory treats and tempts guests with an impossible-to-resist cake table that’ll tug at your heartstrings. Home-made and super fresh cakes, not to mention waffles, pancakes and more, Entre Nous is a one-=stop-heaven for lovers of wholesome and delicious food enjoyed in a welcoming locale.
Cafeoteca, San Jose
A new wave of totally hip and trendy joints have started to spring up all over the country and whilst some are a bit of a hit-and-miss, Cafeoteca really delivers on the goods. True coffee aficionados will love this place, as you can sample different local varieties, but as far as desserts are concerned that’s really where this place shines. Lovers of sweets as well as coffee, the guys at Cafeoteca take their desserts seriously and you’ll find a wide range of seductive treats such as the delectable passionfruit cheesecake and an array of perfect pastries to complement your top-notch cup of coffee. You’ll find this gem of a place in the beautiful Escalante neighbourhood of the capital and you can read more about its concept, right here.
La Princesa Café, Tamarindo
Should one really travel all the way to Costa Rica to savour Swedish chocolate-coconut balls? If that savouring is to be done at La Princesa then YES, by all means! Tamarindo’s most delicious sweet treats come out of Janet’s revered café and, we might add, healthy savory ones too. From home-made brownies to creamy cheesecakes topped with decadent berries, addictive cinnamon rolls and gluten-free macaroons, La Princesa convinces you, once and for all, that decadent desserts can be heaven for your body. Organic, home-made sweet treats and, hands down, one of Costa Rica’s best dessert places you must try.
Ready for an adventure vacation in Costa Rica? How else are you going to burn all those extra calories?! Come whitewater rafting, kayaking, zip lining, biking and horseriding with us for a week or two and your dessert indulgence can really be totally guilt free. Visit our Costa Rica Adventure Vacations page and do contact us for more info.
