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Balu's Beach Bar and Restaurant

Balu's Beach Bar and Restaurant

Destination: Manuel Antonio

Feel the sand between your toes and the breeze on your face while sitting under the shady mangrove trees at Manuel Antonio's only restaurant on the beach. Balu's a sneaky local spot tucked away from the regular tourist path north of downtown Manuel Antonio on Espadilla Beach serving seafood, burgers and Costa Rican favorites.

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Sit down at one of the old cement tables draped in an orange or green table cloth for an ice cold beer, $2.50, or a frozen cocktail, $6, while chowing down on a plate of crisp, golden fresh baked tortilla chips served with plastic cups of pico de gallo and homemade guacamole, $6. Don't forget to try a dash of the homemade Balu hot sauce kept in old rum bottles set out on each of the tables.

For something a little heartier, add a dash of hot sauce to the grilled tuna fish tacos, $9, with flour tortillas, guacamole, salad rice, beans and a squeeze of rangpur (a hybrid between lemon and mandarin), or taste the ceviche $6, served with more of those sturdy tortilla chips perfect for scooping out bites of sea bass.

Ambiance

Orange and green tablecloths drape over cement tables in the sands of Espadilla Beach beside an old building serving as the kitchen and bar.

Service

Everything's a little more laid back in Costa Rica and that goes double for the beach, but really it's just more time to soak in the scene, sip on a beer or a frozen cocktail and enjoy life.

Price

$6-$12

Hours

9 a.m.-7 p.m.

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Balu's Beach Bar and Restaurant in Pictures