Forest to Table: Three Kitchens, One Arenal Rainforest
Across one connected estate, all open to guests of any of the three Costa Rica resorts.
Wine, cooking, coffee, mixology, and rum, each designed to turn a meal into something you can carry home.
The projected culinary tourism market by 2033 in the research cited in the original article.
Forest to Table: Three Kitchens, One Arenal Rainforest
In short: Nayara Gardens, Nayara Springs, and Nayara Tented Camp form one connected culinary world in Arenal. Guests can move from relaxed family dining and sushi to tasting menus, Northern Italian cooking, open-fire Mediterranean, wine, coffee, cocktails, and hands-on culinary classes without leaving the larger rainforest estate.
Imagine the intimacy of your own secluded hotel, with the culinary world of three properties within reach.
That is what awaits at Nayara Gardens, Nayara Springs, and Nayara Tented Camp in Costa Rica's Arenal region. Each property keeps its own character and rhythm, yet guests share a larger world of dining that turns a stay into a journey through one rainforest.
You are not choosing between three isolated hotels. You are choosing one interconnected destination where meals can move from the familiar to the unexpected. For the broader estate story, read Three Hotels, One Rainforest.
Where It All Begins
La Terraza is the open-air family restaurant, serving local and international cuisine with Arenal volcano views from every table, alongside local produce, fresh fish and meat, an extensive wine list, and live music. At adjacent Bar Azul, tropical drinks extend the same easygoing rhythm.
Asia Luna pairs Costa Rica's produce with Asian technique. The signature Nayara Roll incorporates sweet plantain, while grilled yellowfin tuna, sushi, and an intimate terrace create a completely different dining language within the same resort.
Nostalgia Wine Bar shifts the emphasis again, with Latin American and European vintages and guided tastings led by a sommelier. Gardens remains the family flagship of the estate. Read the full Nayara Gardens family guide.
Elevated Dining
Amor Loco is the signature restaurant at Nayara Springs, a Relais & Châteaux retreat. In the source draft, Executive Chef Gianluca Re Fraschini and his team present the restaurant as a tasting journey through Costa Rica, filtered through French and Japanese technique.
Mis Amores moves toward Northern Italy, drawing on family recipes, wood-fired pizza, and tableside preparations. Besame Mucho offers a more private format, with candlelight, a dedicated chef, and a dedicated server.
At Mi Cafecito, coffee becomes part of the culinary program rather than an afterthought, tracing the journey from cherry to cup and the longer history of Costa Rican coffee.
Fire, Earth, and Open Air
At Nayara Tented Camp, Ayla serves modern Mediterranean cuisine with a Middle Eastern influence, and cooking with fire becomes part of the restaurant's identity.
The open-fire grill anchors the experience: meats cooked over hardwood, vegetables charred to sweetness, flatbreads from the oven, grilled octopus, lamb kofta, and mezze designed for sharing.
Next door, Henry's Bar changes the mood with a fireplace, library, and cocktails. Tented Camp is also the adventure base of the estate. Explore adventures around the Arenal Volcano.
Gelato by Day, Cocktails by Dark
Lyla's Gelato at Nayara Gardens is described in the source draft as small-batch gelato made with Italian technique and Costa Rican ingredients, including guanabana, cas, and local Caribbean chocolate.
After dark, the bars shift the emphasis from dessert to spirits. Cielito Lindo, Lapas Bar, and Henry's Bar each occupy a different setting, from poolside cocktails to a more intimate fireplace-and-library atmosphere.
Five Classes That Go Beyond the Meal
Why simply eat when you can learn the techniques, ingredients, and traditions behind what arrives at the table?
The source draft identifies five culinary experiences: Wine Tasting at Nostalgia, a hands-on Cooking Class at Ayla, a two-hour Coffee Class, a Mixology Class, and a Rum Tasting spanning aged expressions. Together they shift food and drink from consumption toward participation.
At Nayara, food is not a service. It is a vocabulary.
Three Resorts. One Culinary World.
Choose the stay that fits you, then explore the larger dining landscape across Nayara's connected Arenal estate.
La Terraza, Asia Luna, Nostalgia, family dining, and a central base for exploring the wider estate.
Check AvailabilityAmor Loco, Mis Amores, intimate dining, natural hot springs, and the estate's most romantic culinary rhythm.
Check AvailabilityAyla's open-fire cooking, Henry's Bar, Arenal volcano views, and an elevated rainforest setting.
Check AvailabilityAlbert Ghitis leads digital marketing at Nayara Resorts, overseeing editorial, email strategy, organic social, paid social, search, and AI discovery. He also hosts Nayara Horizons. Explore the latest episodes below.
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Conversations about the people, places, cultures, and ideas behind Nayara's destinations.
