Seven burger kitchens in Santa Teresa and Montezuma ranked on what to order, price, sides and hours, from Kooks' 250 gram smash burger to Eat Street's 5,800 to 7,900 colon NoMad menu.
Kooks Smokehouse makes the most dependable burger in Santa Teresa, a 250 gram house blend of brisket, chuck and ribeye with a secret sauce. Jacky Buns and Santa Fusion Street Food are the two newer burger specialists that residents and recent visitors rave about, and Eat Street's NoMad stall prints the clearest prices: 5,800 to 7,900 colones a burger, about $11 to $15. Burger Rancho, which older guides still recommend, is permanently closed.
The short version
For a sit down burger with a beer, go to Kooks. For the best reviewed burger specialist, go to Jacky Buns, which opens at 6pm Tuesday to Sunday and closes Mondays, or Santa Fusion Street Food, a gravel lot food truck with a 5.0 rating, open 6pm to 11pm daily. Eat Street is the choice when you want a cheap burger at lunch or a vegan one. El Pulpo does a burger and a pizza on the second floor on the north road. Puggo's in Montezuma makes the best burger outside town.
Burger prices on this coast sit well above a soda casado, so if you are watching your budget read the cheap eats guide too. For a steak or smoked meat dinner, the steak and BBQ guide compares Kooks with the Argentine grills. For the full town ranking, see best restaurants in Santa Teresa.
1. Kooks Smokehouse and Bar
Kooks is the American smokehouse and sports bar in front of Habanero on the main road, and its burger is the one the website brags about: a 250 gram house blend of brisket, chuck and ribeye with a secret sauce, on bread baked locally across the street from The Bakery. A Costa Rican food magazine, CR Hoy, described it in September 2025 as a smash style thin patty and one of the juiciest burgers in Santa Teresa. Other burgers include a falafel burger and a vegan burger, and HappyCow reviewers rate the vegan options and the onion rings, which are vegan.
Order the burger with onion rings. The best restaurants guide puts a burger, salad, dessert and a beer for two at $40 to $43, so a burger is in the $12 to $20 range, and the menu price is not published. The phone is +506 8760 1365. Kooks' own site lists 10am to 10pm daily, so it is not a late night burger. Google has it at 4.7 from 1,962 reviews. Who it suits: groups, games and vegans. The caveat: it is loud and the smoked meats sell out, though the burger does not.
2. Jacky Buns
Jacky Buns is a Quentin Tarantino themed burger counter in front of the BAC bank in Plaza Royal, in the middle of Santa Teresa. It is not in the Onda directory yet. A place data record lists 6pm to 11pm Tuesday to Sunday and closed Mondays, with Google at 4.8 from 31 reviews, a small count but with an unusually consistent story: homemade buns, a huge patty, a house made cheese, fresh cut fries that are fried twice, and milkshakes. Reviewers recommend the Mister Blond burger with garlic mayo and say the chicken tenders are excellent too.
It posts no menu or prices, so check the Instagram, @jacky.buns.st, or call +506 6040 9703. Who it suits: anyone who wants a burger specialist rather than a bar. The caveat: small staff and a small review base, and dinner only.
3. Santa Fusion Street Food
Santa Fusion Street Food is a food truck style counter in a gravel lot in central Santa Teresa, with outdoor chairs, dogs welcome and a menu of burgers, birria tacos, choripán and quesadillas. It is not in the directory yet. A place data record lists 6pm to 11pm every day, Google has it at 5.0 from 28 reviews, and the phone is +506 8626 7386. Reviewers in 2025 and early 2026 call it the best burger in town, food comes out in about 10 minutes, and the woman who runs it gets repeated credit.
Order the burger, and add the choripán or the birria tacos to share. It posts no price list. Who it suits: a casual dinner for two with dogs. The caveat: a handful of reviews that read like a fan club, so treat 5.0 as promising rather than proven.
4. NoMad at Eat Street
Eat Street is the food market on the main road, open 7am to 10pm, and its NoMad Tex-Mex Kitchen is the only burger menu in town with published prices. The Eat Street site lists, in colones:
| Burger | Price from |
|---|---|
| Crispy chicken | 5,800 |
| Grilled chicken | 5,800 |
| Crispy mahi mahi | 6,200 |
| NoMad falafel | 6,500 |
| Grass fed beef | 6,900 |
| Double cheese beef | 7,300 |
| Beyond Meat | 7,900 |
| Double bacon jam (dish of the month) | 7,900 |
Fries add 1,300 colones, fries and a soda add 2,600, and fries with a craft beer add 3,900. That puts a double cheese burger with fries and a beer at about 11,200 colones, around $21. Eat Street delivers 12pm to 9pm by zone, as in the food delivery guide. One reviewer ordered a burger delivered to their Airbnb and found it good. Who it suits: vegans and vegetarians (falafel, Beyond), groups, and lunch. The caveat: eat in the courtyard and the format feels like a food court.
5. El Pulpo
El Pulpo is a second floor restaurant and bar on the north road, 150 metres north of La Hacienda, open 5pm to 10pm daily, with a pizza oven, goat cheese pizzas and a burger. It is not in the directory yet. Google has it at 4.7 from 61 reviews, with a late 2025 reviewer from New York and Chicago calling it the best burger in the area, praising the soft fresh bun and the crispy fries. The reviews are not all happy: one diner paid about $40 for a burger and mozzarella sticks with no drinks, another found the drinks small and expensive, and the stairs are steep with the only bathroom downstairs. The phone is +506 8745 5961. Who it suits: a burger and a pizza on the same table. The caveat: price, stairs and a tip request at the card machine.
6. Puggo's, Montezuma
Puggo's is the Israeli influenced garden restaurant in the hills above Montezuma, and its menu lists homemade burgers on homemade buns with lettuce, roasted tomato, red onion and pickles, served with Puggo's fries, smoked chipotle aioli and a garlic dill dip, a gluten free option, and a vegan patty of beets, lentils, caramelized onions, walnuts and chia. Tripadvisor has it at 4.6 from 848 reviews. It posts no prices. Hours are limited, so check before you drive up, as in the Montezuma restaurants guide. Who it suits: a burger after the waterfalls, vegans. The caveat: not open every day.
Burgers at the beach and the sodas
Restaurante Playa Carmen, known as El Carmen, serves a blue cheese burger on the sand that a 2026 reviewer called cooked just right, and a hamburger was part of a $50 bill for an appetizer, a burger and two beers in another review, so go for sunset rather than value (see the beachfront guide). Banana Beach lists burgers on its menu, with live music nightly. Aroma calls the burger its signature dish and opens from 7am to 9pm. Soda Tipico Mall earns a mention for a June 2025 reviewer who called its burger with homemade fries the best in Costa Rica at reasonable prices, and it closes at 5:30pm. Ranchos Itaúna's mahi burger gets praise on Tripadvisor, but the restaurant serves dinner only from November to April.
Drift sells a veggie burger with yuca fries as part of a world fusion menu, open Monday to Sunday, 4pm to 10pm. El Facon is listed as temporarily closed in our directory, so its fish burger and pork sandwich are not an option until it reopens. Burger Rancho, in front of Selina North, is permanently closed.
How to choose
For a sit down night with a beer and a screen, choose Kooks. For the best burger without a bar, choose Jacky Buns or Santa Fusion, both open from 6pm. For a cheap lunch or a vegan burger, choose NoMad. For a sunset burger, go to El Carmen and plan for a high bill. In Montezuma, Puggo's is the only place with a real burger menu.
Cards work at Kooks, Eat Street and El Carmen. Santa Fusion and Jacky Buns are small kitchens, so carry colones. Bills at sit down restaurants add 13% tax and 10% service, as the tipping guide explains.
Browse every restaurant in the /directory/eat hub.
FAQ
Where is the best burger in Santa Teresa?
Kooks is the most dependable, with a 250 gram house blend patty and a 4.7 Google rating from nearly 2,000 reviews. Jacky Buns and Santa Fusion Street Food are the burger specialists with the strongest recent reviews, and El Pulpo is a third choice.
How much does a burger cost in Santa Teresa?
At Eat Street's NoMad stall burgers run 5,800 to 7,900 colones, about $11 to $15. Sit down restaurants charge $12 to $20, and a fries and beer combo adds 3,900 colones at Eat Street. Add 13% tax and 10% service at restaurants.
Is there a vegan burger in Santa Teresa?
Yes. Kooks has a vegan burger and vegan onion rings, NoMad serves a Beyond Meat burger at 7,900 colones and a falafel burger at 6,500, Drift has a veggie burger, and Puggo's in Montezuma makes a beet and lentil patty.
What time do the burger places open?
Jacky Buns (closed Mondays) and Santa Fusion open at 6pm, El Pulpo at 5pm, Kooks from late morning by its own site, and Eat Street at 7am. Soda Tipico Mall closes at 5:30pm.
Is Burger Rancho still open?
No. Burger Rancho in front of Selina North is listed as permanently closed, and its last reviews are from 2022. Older blog posts still recommend it.
Can I get a burger delivered in Santa Teresa?
Yes. Eat Street delivers 12pm to 9pm by zone with fees from 3,500 colones, and SIPP delivers some restaurants including a Kooks sandwich counter. The delivery guide has fees and numbers.
