bajo el arbol

I have spent 5 nights at the rather simple but also cozy and comfortable b&b which is set within this beautiful Garden, a hidden gem with very heartfelt and nice owners! The restaurant has been my best dinner experience in whole Costa Rica, the food is amazingly fresh and Julio is an amazing Chef! Highly recommended to visit for a romantic and great dinner or just a glass of wine

My husband and I dined here and we’re so impressed with the food and service. The dishes were inventive, original, and delicious. We ordered the marinated tuna, marinated sardines, carpaccio catch of the day (marlin), octopus galacian, eggplant, and candied shrimp. All were dishes unlike I’ve ever had before. The ambiance is like a magical garden and the owner was very attentive and helpful when it came to recommendations.

After dining out in a few other common places in Santa Teresa we stumbled upon Bajo el Arbol and had an outstanding dining experience. Everything from the ambiance to the flavors was perfect. The local fish dishes were delicious. Compliments to the wonderful chef and to the charismatic staff! The best place in Santa Teresa in our opinion❤️ (they also serve prepare vegan dishes upon request)

This review is for the restaurant, not the hotel. There are a lot of better places to eat in Santa Teresa, the food here is average at best, the prices are high, and the service from the manager was rude. The waiter provided 2 thin slices of bread and tiny dishes of aioli and tomato dip with some olives at the beginning of the meal, which although a nice gesture was a very small portion. When we asked if we could have some more bread the waitress also offered us some more dips and olives which we accepted. When the bill came all of the ‘extra’ items were listed out, bread, allioli, olivas, tomate. Over 6,000 colones for some extra dips and bread?! No thank you. When we questioned it with the manager he was immediately defensive, and said the first portion was free but everything else he had to charge extra for (not communicated) and why do we expect the bread to be free, (despite him offering the first portion for free) and that we’re not in Europe! There was no attempt to try and resolve the confusion with us and instead he was defensive. A cheap trick, and if you only get 3 customers in an evening probably don’t try and take advantage of them.

We ate at the restaurant and it is truly a can’t miss dining experience while in Santa teresa! A very romantic ambiance with many plants and candles. The staff was exceptional and you could tell they really cared! I would 10/10 recommend. Get the mushroom risotto for sure to balance nicely with a lot of seafood!

Wow. From the stay to the food, I would highly recommend Bajo el Árbol to anyone visiting Santa Teresa and Malpaís! My girlfriend and I spent 3 nights here and were immensely satisfied with Mauro and Julio's accommodations.||||We planned on having a nice meal out one night on our vacation... We are so glad we saved it for our final night at Bajo el Árbol. We tried three tapas, the octopus & sweet potato plato principal, and the cava sangria. We LOVED the eggplant, honey and goat cheese tapa. It was delicately sliced and sweet -- you might mistake the eggplant for a fruit. The octopus special (pictured) was amazing as well -- the presentation was beautiful. As guests we got 10% off!||||The wonderful cooking from Julio was a feature every morning -- free breakfast, with coffee and wonderful toast, fresh fruit salad, and a breakfast tapa (it changed daily -- e.g. one day was avocado toast). But the cooking was equally matched by Mauro's fantastic hospitality as our go-to contact for our stay.||||We enjoyed the romantic and rustic feel of the B&B, that offered community and privacy at our leisure (only four rooms are for rent). The yard has wonderful hammocks and comfortable seating, and it is just across the street from the beach. We used a mosquito net, but the bugs were never a big issue. We heard some noise late one night, but it didn't affect our experience overall.||||From the food to the accommodations, we would highly recommend Mauro and Julio's Bajo el Árbol. Definitely consider staying or eating here if you can!

This review applies to restaurant only. We had a set of 5 different tapas. Some were very good (aubergine) but most were avarage, really nothing special.

Located in the center, a little hidden place and looks pretty nice. The whole city was crowded and this place was empty. It should have been an indicator. The service was ok, and that was probably the best part. The description on the menu of the entrees gave a high expectation for the food. However here come the “but” the execution/food was much different. The entrees were below average. Especially the risotto and the most chewiest scallops in the world. It was very disappointing and aggravating that the prices were as if this was a 5 star restaurant but the actual food reflected a 1-2 star restaurant. We stayed in Santa Teresa for a little over and this was the by far the worst meal.