2 Best Restaurants in Playa Pavones, The Osa Peninsula and the South Pacific

Fortunately for food lovers, the "Good Luck Café" serves truly astonishing vegetarian food, along with intriguing exotic juices and thick fruit smoothies. The homemade yogurt is a revelation: light, almost fluffy, and full of flavor, served over a cornucopia of fruits, sprinkled with the café's own granola, and mixed into refreshing fruit-flavored lassis. Healthful sandwiches include excellent hummus, and hot daily specials might include curried hearts of palm or juicy veggie burgers. Their espresso machine makes a mean cup of joe and the cappuccino pairs perfectly with the fudgy brownie or brown-sugar oatmeal square for the road. Bring your laptop and use the Wi-Fi. It's open 8 to 5. Sometimes open for dinner in high season, April to July. Budget travelers might want to stay the night at their simple rooms.

This kitschy Italian spot within earshot of the surf serves savory bruschetta and 16 varieties of the town's most authentic pizza: crispy, with a thin crust, Neapolitan-style. The four-seasons pizza is a triumph, with thin, spicy pepperoni, flavorful ham, olives, eggplant, peppers, onion, and zucchini. The medium size is more than big enough for two. Save room for the knockout gnocchi, pillow-soft dumplings made with potatoes and cheese and bathed in olive oil and rosemary. Other choices include tortelloni in cream sauce and filet mignon. Tiramisu, piled high with whipped cream, and key lime pie do dessert duty. Japanese lanterns add a colorful touch, along with fuchsia and lime tablecloths. To find the place, look for the "La Piña" sign.