The Italian restaurants of Santa Teresa and Montezuma ranked in 2026: homemade pasta, gnocchi, wood-fired pizza, wine lists and prices, plus which ones close for green season.
The best Italian restaurant in Santa Teresa is Amici, a wood-oven pizzeria and trattoria on the Mal Pais side of the cruce with homemade pasta, imported flour and a cocktail bar upstairs. Pronto Piccola Italia at Plaza Wave is the fullest menu, and Al Chile Viola is the chef-driven table with mains at $16 to $25.
The short version
Italians run a large share of the kitchens on this coast, so "Italian restaurant" here covers a lot. Amici is the complete package: pizza that would pass in Naples, fresh pasta, burrata and arancini, and La Terrazza cocktail bar above it. Pronto Piccola Italia is the big central room with Neapolitan pizza, pasta, meat and fish, and a real bar, open from noon. Al Chile Viola, near Super La Hacienda, is the small chef's restaurant where the menu wanders into octopus with roasted pumpkin, duck and tuna tartare next to the wood-fired pizza. Muzza on the north end is sourdough pizza first, pasta and paninis second.
Montezuma adds two Italian-owned tables, Cocolores and Chelo, and the region has two notable green season closures: Convivio, the upscale north-end restaurant, and Tierra y Fuego in the hills above Montezuma. Pizza is covered in depth in the best pizza guide; this guide is about the pasta, the wine and the full Italian dinner.
Amici Santa Teresa
Amici Santa Teresa opens 5:30pm to 10pm every day on the main road on the Mal Pais side of the Playa Carmen crossroads. The kitchen makes its own pasta, bakes pizza in a wood oven with flour imported from Italy and a lievito madre starter, and rounds the menu out with burrata, prosciutto, arancini, fish and meat, per amicisantateresa.com and roamandthrive.com. Google has it at 4.6 across nearly 500 reviews and Tripadvisor at 4.4, and it is the Italian place people say they went to twice on one trip. Reviewers mention a Michelin-trained head chef, which we cannot confirm, but the consistency across hundreds of reviews is the point.
Pizzas run 10,000 to 14,000 colones and pastas a little more, so a dinner with wine lands at $30 to $45 a person. The wine list is short and mostly Italian, and La Terrazza upstairs, open 6pm to midnight and closed Mondays, handles the cocktails and the late part of the night. Book by WhatsApp +506 8997 7634, especially in high season.
Who it suits: date night, groups, and anyone who wants pizza and pasta done properly at one table. The caveat: dinner only and busy.
Pronto Piccola Italia
Pronto Piccola Italia is inside Plaza Wave in the centre of Santa Teresa, open noon to 10pm daily, and it has the longest Italian menu in town. Giuseppe, the owner, reached the top ten of the US MasterChef series before the family opened Pronto as a takeout counter on the north side, and the current restaurant opened in Plaza Wave in 2020 with Pizza Napoletana, fresh pastas, meat and fish, and a bar staffed by trained mixologists, per prontocr.com. The lasagne, parmigiana and arancini from the takeout years are still on the menu.
Google has it at 4.3 across more than 600 reviews, with the critical ones about service speed on busy nights rather than the food. It delivers lunch and dinner by WhatsApp +506 8455 8037.
Who it suits: lunch, families, and mixed groups where one person wants pizza, one wants a steak and one wants a negroni. The caveat: the menu is broad, and the specialists beat it dish for dish.
Al Chile Viola
Al Chile Viola is not in our directory yet, but it is the Italian table for people who care about the cooking. Chef Emiliano runs a small room near Supermarket La Hacienda in central Santa Teresa, and the menu is Italian and Mediterranean with a personality: beef carpaccio, grilled octopus with roasted pumpkin, tuna tartare, duck, a ravioli that changes, and a wood-fired pizza, with mains at $16 to $25, per costaricatravellife.com. The restaurant's Instagram lists hours of 1pm to 9pm most days and 4pm to 9pm on some, with reservations on +506 8360 3063. Frommer's has recommended it as the Italian choice in town for years.
Who it suits: a quieter dinner, wine drinkers, and anyone tired of pizza. The caveat: hours shift with the season, so confirm the day you want to go.
Muzza Sourdough Pizza and Resto
Muzza, on the north end 200 metres north of the old Selina site, is a sourdough pizzeria first, but its menu adds pastas, paninis, big salads and tapas such as spinach fritters with leek mayo, and the wine is reasonably priced by local standards, per muzzasantateresa.com. Dinner runs 5pm to 10pm, with a weekday grab-and-go lunch from 11am to 2pm listed on the menu page. Tripadvisor has it at 4.4, and live music nights are common. WhatsApp +506 8797 6257.
Who it suits: north-end residents and a casual dinner with wine. The caveat: come for the pizza and salads; the pasta list is short.
Cocolores, Montezuma
Cocolores is the Italian-owned restaurant in Montezuma, run by Florencia and Massimiliano in a private garden a few steps from the beach, open 5pm to 10pm and closed Mondays. The menu is Italian with a lot of seafood, ceviche included, and the desserts get named in review after review: tiramisu and chocolate mousse, per tripadvisor.co.uk. Google has it at 4.6 across 418 reviews and Tripadvisor at 4.6 across 747. It is the romantic candle-lit dinner in Montezuma and the place honeymooners are pointed to.
Who it suits: couples on a Montezuma night, and anyone who wants Italian cooking with a garden rather than a road. The caveat: closed Mondays and dinner only.
Chelo, Montezuma
Restaurante, Pizzeria y Parrilla Chelo in Montezuma is Italo-Argentine: wood-fired pizza, handmade pasta, Argentine empanadas, a charcoal grill on weekends, and a wine list from Europe and South America, open 4:30pm to 10pm Tuesday to Sunday with a happy hour until 6pm, per pizzeriachelo.com. Google has it at 4.9 across nearly 100 reviews, and there is a weekly live music and theatre calendar.
Who it suits: a Montezuma dinner with pasta for one person and steak for another. The caveat: closed Mondays.
Closed for green season
Two names you will see recommended elsewhere are shut as we write in September 2026. Convivio, the upscale north-end restaurant with pasta, pizza, grilled dishes and a serious cocktail list, posted "closed for holiday" on its Instagram and should reopen for high season; reservations in season are by WhatsApp +506 7142 2697. TIERRA Y FUEGO, an Italian couple's farm restaurant in the hills of Delicias above Montezuma where everything from the sauces up is homemade, is marked temporarily closed on Google. Both are worth checking again from November. Gaucha, which appears in some Italian and Argentine lists, is an ice cream and pastry shop, covered in the ice cream and desserts guide.
How to choose
| Restaurant | Where | Strength | Mains | Hours |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amici | Mal Pais side of the cruce | Pizza and fresh pasta together | 10,000 to 16,000 colones | 5:30pm to 10pm daily |
| Pronto | Plaza Wave, central | Longest menu, lunch, bar | 9,000 to 16,000 colones | Noon to 10pm daily |
| Al Chile Viola | Near Super La Hacienda | Chef's menu, octopus, duck | $16 to $25 | About 1pm to 9pm, confirm |
| Muzza | North end | Sourdough pizza, salads, wine | About 9,000 to 13,000 colones | 5pm to 10pm |
| Cocolores | Montezuma | Garden dinner, seafood, desserts | Mid | 5pm to 10pm, closed Monday |
| Chelo | Montezuma | Pizza, pasta, weekend grill | Mid | 4:30pm to 10pm, closed Monday |
Prices exclude the 13% tax and 10% service most restaurants add.
Practical notes
Book by WhatsApp for Amici, Al Chile Viola and Cocolores on any night from December to April, and on weekends the rest of the year. Cards are accepted at all six, though Montezuma is easier in cash. Wine is expensive in Costa Rica because of import taxes; a decent bottle starts at 20,000 colones on most of these lists, and the by-the-glass options are thin, so a spritz or a negroni is often the better-value drink. Gluten-free pasta and pizza bases are available at Amici, Pronto and Muzza on request.
Late September is when Italian owners take their own holidays, hence Convivio. If you are planning a specific dinner this month, message the restaurant that afternoon. For everything else on the table, read best restaurants in Santa Teresa, and for the budget end, cheap eats in Santa Teresa. Couples planning an evening should pair this with the date night guide.
FAQ
What is the best Italian restaurant in Santa Teresa?
Amici, on the Mal Pais side of the Playa Carmen crossroads. It makes its own pasta, bakes wood-fired pizza with imported Italian flour, and has a cocktail bar upstairs. Al Chile Viola is the pick for a chef's menu, and Pronto for the widest choice at lunch.
Where can I get fresh homemade pasta in Santa Teresa?
Amici and Pronto Piccola Italia both make fresh pasta daily, and Al Chile Viola runs a changing ravioli alongside its mains. In Montezuma, Chelo makes pasta by hand and Cocolores serves an Italian seafood menu.
How much does dinner at an Italian restaurant in Santa Teresa cost?
Mains run about 9,000 to 16,000 colones, or $16 to $30, before 13% tax and 10% service. With a glass of wine, budget $30 to $45 a person at Amici or Al Chile Viola and a little less at Pronto or Muzza.
Is Convivio in Santa Teresa open?
Not in September 2026. Its Instagram bio says closed for holiday, which is normal for green season, and it should be back for high season. Reservations in season go through WhatsApp +506 7142 2697.
Do the Italian restaurants in Santa Teresa have good wine lists?
Short ones. Import taxes make wine expensive here, so most lists are a dozen Italian and South American bottles from about 20,000 colones. Chelo in Montezuma and Al Chile Viola pay the most attention to wine; Amici and Pronto lean on cocktails.
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