Thanksgiving in Costa Rica is pretty much exclusively celebrated by a) US expats living here, b) Americans visiting Costa Rica on vacation, or c) Costa Ricans or other nationalities that happen to be good friends with either of the above and want to celebrate along with them.

Historically turkeys have been obscenely expensive in Costa Rica (we’re talking up to $70-150 or more for a single bird), but this year prices seem to have gone down a bit (to about $40-60 a bird). So if you’re on a budget, you might be better off either a) buying a chicken and pretending it’s a turkey, or b) eating out at one of the many local restaurants offering specials catered towards people feeling nostalgic for a good ole’ American-style Thanksgiving.

Here is a list of restaurants in Tamarindo offering Thanksgiving specials. It’s probably cheaper than doing it yourself at home, and best of all there’s no stress/no mess to clean up. If you want to avoid leaving the house, you can always order delivery with TicoToGo and they’ll bring it to you!

Pangas – Celebrate Thanksgiving with your feet in the sand at Pangas restaurant. They’ll be featuring a special Thanksgiving buffet including salad bar, squash soup, smoked & roasted turkey, maple/cayenne glazed Chilean smoked salmon, cranberry sauce, gravy, scallop stuffing, green beans, tiquiske & potato mash and sweet potato puree. For dessert they have mini pecan bourban chocolate pie and pumpkin roll. Cost is $33 per person and there will also be live music – reservations required. Call 2653-0024 to secure your spot.

Dragonfly – Dragonfly will be offering a traditional Thanksgiving meal in addition to their usual mouthwatering menu. It’s a 3-course meal starting with pumpkin soup, followed by a plate of turkey and yummy fixin’s like stuffing, gravy, cranberry, veggies, etc. Top it off with your choice of apple or pumpkin pie or pumpkin spice cake with buttermilk glaze. Cost is 12,000c (about $23) and you can find them behind Banco Nacional, next to Bolas Locas Mini Golf on the same road as La Baula Pizzeria.

Seasons by Shlomy: Seasons by Shlomy is doing a three-course meal for Thanksgiving for $30 (cash only!). The menu features melt-in-your-mouth options like Gala Apple Salad, Stuffed Turkey Roulade and Grilled Salmon. Choose your appetizer, pick an entree and then finish with a choice of Autumn Apple Dessert, White Chocolate Mousse or Cinnamon and Orange Créme Brule.

Cala Luna Cala Luna’s Thanksgiving feast starts with an appetizer of blue cheese and cashew nut profiterole, followed by an apple cider/ginger granite to cleanse the palate (I had to look up both “profiterole” and “granite” in the dictionary, and both sound delicious). Next comes proscuitto/herb-stuffed turkey followed by a dessert of classic pumpkin pie with fire roasted marshmallows and pistachio ice cream. Cost is $40 per person.

Tamarindo Church Tamarindo Church is having a pot luck, where everyone brings a yummy dish to share. You’ll see them on the left hand side of the road after the car washes as you’re driving out of town (as if you’re driving from Tamarindo to Villa Real).

Doña Lees – Doña Lee’s does a traditional turkey dinner (turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie, etc) each year. They are on the same road as the Tamarindo Gym, past the bank and the Botella de Leche hostel.

Longboards BBQ Longboards is smoking 7 HUGE 25-pound turkeys this year. They are smoked for 14-16 hours, served with homemade turkey gravy, mashed potatoes, cranberry sauce and banana pudding for dessert. Cost is $25 per person.

Tico to Go

And of course, don’t forget you can call for express delivery from Tico To Go. Order from any of the above restaurants and they’ll deliver it to your doorstep for just $5! No muss, no fuss, no hassle. Visit Tico To Go’s website or call Derek at 800-8426-8646 (don’t put a 1 in front of it!) or just 8426-8646.

Credits:

Blog by: Genna Marie
photo credit: marfis75 via photopin cc