Where to cool down in Santa Teresa, Montezuma and Cabuya in 2026: Argentine ice cream at Gaucha, vegan Italian gelato at 2,500 colones a scoop, The Bakery's dessert menu, bean-to-bar chocolate, and afternoon hours.
The best ice cream in Santa Teresa is Gaucha, an Argentine heladería with two shops, open 8am to 11pm, with dulce de leche and four vegan flavours. L'arte del Gelato is the Italian alternative with half its case vegan at about 2,500 colones a scoop, and The Bakery at the cruce has the best pastry and dessert counter on the coast.
The short version
Afternoon heat here runs 30 degrees with the humidity of a wet towel, and ice cream is a survival tool from 2pm to 5pm. Gaucha is the one to know: Argentine-style ice cream, artisanal, with a huge flavour board, pastries and coffee, and the longest hours. L'arte del Gelato is the Italian gelateria with tropical flavours, guanabana, pitahaya, tamarind, and a front row that is all vegan. The Bakery runs a dedicated dessert menu alongside its croissants from 7am to 10pm, and Mafra's is the Tico bakery for a cheaper sweet fix.
Out of town, Ice Dream in Montezuma is the gelato and coffee stop after the waterfall, Cocolores is the tiramisu, and Indigena Cafè and Chocolate in Cabuya makes bean-to-bar chocolate from Ngobe community cacao with a tasting tour that is the best dessert excursion on the peninsula.
Gaucha
Gaucha is an Argentine ice cream parlour and pastry shop at Plaza Royal in central Santa Teresa, with a second shop, Gaucha Norte, on the north end. It opens 8am to 11pm, which makes it the latest sweet stop in town, and the case runs to dozens of flavours, with dulce de leche, oreo and mango named most often by reviewers, plus four vegan flavours made with passion fruit, strawberry, watermelon and chocolate, per happycow.net and tripadvisor.com. The coffee and pastries are good enough that it works as a breakfast stop, and it joined the SIPP delivery app in 2026, so a tub can arrive at the villa.
Google has the Plaza Royal shop at 4.8 across 284 reviews. Our listing showed it marked temporarily closed in September 2026, which may be one of the two shops taking a green season pause, so check Instagram for which is open this month. Expect about 2,500 to 3,500 colones for a cup or cone.
Who it suits: the 4pm walk, families, and anyone who thinks dulce de leche is a food group. The caveat: two shops with different hours means confirming which one is open in green season.
L'arte del Gelato
L'arte del Gelato is not in our directory yet, but it is the Italian gelato in Santa Teresa. It makes artisanal gelato with a tropical accent, and on a typical day five of the ten flavours in the case are vegan: chocolate, pineapple, tamarind, soursop and strawberry on one visit, pitahaya on another, with guanabana as the flavour visitors say they cannot get at home, per happycow.net. The café side does milkshakes, parfaits, muffins, banana bread, tartlets, tiramisu and crêpes, some of them vegan. Hours are noon to 10pm daily.
A scoop runs about 2,500 colones, which one reviewer called pricey and another called not too pricey; for Santa Teresa it is the going rate.
Who it suits: vegans, anyone who wants a fruit sorbet after a spicy dinner, and gelato purists. The caveat: it opens at noon, so it is not the breakfast stop.
The Bakery
The Bakery at the Playa Carmen cruce, near Frank's Place, is the best pastry counter on the coast and it publishes a separate dessert menu alongside its food, drinks and night menus, per thebakerysantateresa.com. Open 7am to 10pm on weekdays and until 9pm on Sundays, it has more than 2,300 Google reviews at 4.6 and a reputation that stretches to Uvita. Croissants, tarts and cakes are the morning order; after dinner it is the place for a slice and a coffee, and it delivers by phone on +506 8683 5353 and through SIPP.
Who it suits: a dessert after dinner without a booking, and a pastry breakfast with real coffee. The caveat: prices are Santa Teresa prices, and the line at 8am is long in high season. The full bakery picture is in the best bakeries guide.
Mafra's Panaderia, Pasteleria y Café
Mafra's Panaderia Pasteleria y Café is the Tico bakery in Santa Teresa, open 7am to 8pm daily with a 4.7 on Google across 129 reviews. It sells breads, cakes and pastries at prices below The Bakery, with coffee, and it is the stop for a birthday cake or a tres leches rather than a French tart. We have not found a published menu, so prices are a lead: expect individual pastries in the 1,500 to 3,000 colones band that Tico bakeries charge.
Who it suits: a cheaper sweet fix and anyone who wants Costa Rican pastry rather than European. The caveat: no online menu, and it closes at 8pm.
Ice Dream Gelato and Coffee Shop, Montezuma
Ice Dream Gelato and Coffee Shop is the gelato in Montezuma village, open 8am to 9pm daily, and it is where you go after the waterfall walk. Google has it at 4.1 across 122 reviews, the lowest on this list, with reviews split between the gelato and the coffee; it is a good stop rather than a destination.
Who it suits: a cone in Montezuma. The caveat: the rating, and the village prices.
Indigena Cafè and Chocolate, Cabuya
Indigena Cafè and Chocolate is 100 metres before the entrance to Cabo Blanco reserve in Cabuya, and it is the best chocolate on the peninsula. The owners have spent six years perfecting a bean-to-bar process with cacao from the Ngobe indigenous community, and the café serves traditional hot chocolates, brownies and pastries made from scratch, with bars at 100%, 82%, 75% and 67% plus dark milk and white, per indigenachocolate.com. The chocolate tour takes you from sprouted seed to tempered bar, you craft your own bar to take home, and it ends in a full tasting. Google has it at 4.9 across 348 reviews, and reviewers describe every table, pot and sign as handmade by the owner.
Hours are 9am to 4pm and it closes Mondays, per our listing. Book the tour through the site.
Who it suits: anyone hiking Cabo Blanco, chocolate people, and families who want an activity that ends in dessert. The caveat: it is an hour from Santa Teresa by car and closes early.
Also worth a spoon
Cocolores in Montezuma serves the tiramisu and chocolate mousse reviewers name most often on the whole peninsula, from 5pm and closed Mondays. Pizza Tomate in Santa Teresa has a lime pie that gets mentioned as often as its pizza. Dulce Arte Pastelería y Café in Montezuma is marked temporarily closed as of September 2026, so we have left it off the main list.
How to choose
| Shop | Where | What | Vegan | Price | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gaucha | Plaza Royal and north end | Argentine ice cream, pastries, coffee | 4 flavours | 2,500 to 3,500 colones | 8am to 11pm |
| L'arte del Gelato | Central Santa Teresa | Italian gelato, tropical flavours, crêpes | About half the case | About 2,500 colones a scoop | Noon to 10pm |
| The Bakery | Playa Carmen cruce | Pastries, tarts, dessert menu | Some | Higher | 7am to 10pm |
| Mafra's | Santa Teresa | Tico bakery, cakes | Few | Lower | 7am to 8pm |
| Ice Dream | Montezuma | Gelato and coffee | Some | Mid | 8am to 9pm |
| Indigena | Cabuya | Bean-to-bar chocolate, tours | Dark bars | Tour priced separately | 9am to 4pm, closed Monday |
Prices are September 2026 estimates from reviews and listings.
Practical notes
The heat sets the schedule. Ice cream shops here are busiest from 3pm to 5pm and again after dinner, and Gaucha's 11pm close makes it the after-bar stop. Cones melt in about four minutes on the main road in September, so take a cup. Cash is safest at Mafra's and in Montezuma; Gaucha, L'arte and The Bakery take cards, and Gaucha and The Bakery deliver through SIPP if the rain is coming down.
Vegan options are better than most beach towns: L'arte del Gelato runs half its case vegan and Gaucha keeps four flavours, with more in the vegetarian and vegan guide. Coffee to go with dessert is covered in the best coffee guide. For the rest of the table, read best restaurants in Santa Teresa, and if you are counting colones, cheap eats in Santa Teresa will point you to a 1,000 colones churchill from a cart instead.
FAQ
Where is the best ice cream in Santa Teresa?
Gaucha, an Argentine heladería with shops at Plaza Royal and on the north end, open 8am to 11pm with dulce de leche, oreo and mango among dozens of flavours and four vegan options. L'arte del Gelato is the Italian alternative with tropical fruit flavours.
Is there vegan ice cream in Santa Teresa?
Yes. L'arte del Gelato keeps about half its case vegan, with chocolate, pineapple, tamarind, soursop, pitahaya and strawberry on rotation. Gaucha has four vegan flavours: passion fruit, strawberry, watermelon and chocolate.
How much does ice cream cost in Santa Teresa?
About 2,500 colones a scoop at L'arte del Gelato and 2,500 to 3,500 for a cup or cone at Gaucha, roughly $4.50 to $6.50. That is high by Costa Rican standards and normal for Santa Teresa.
Where can I get dessert after dinner in Santa Teresa?
The Bakery at the cruce is open until 10pm with a dessert menu, Gaucha until 11pm for ice cream, and L'arte del Gelato until 10pm for gelato and tiramisu. In Montezuma, Cocolores has the tiramisu and Ice Dream is open until 9pm.
Is the Indigena chocolate tour worth it?
Yes, if you are already going to Cabo Blanco or Cabuya. It covers cacao from seed to bar, you temper and make your own bar, and it ends with a tasting of 100% to 67% chocolate. It is 9am to 4pm, closed Mondays, about an hour from Santa Teresa.
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