Every pizza worth ordering in Santa Teresa, Mal Pais and Montezuma in 2026: wood-fired Neapolitan, sourdough, beachfront slices and cheap delivery, with prices per pizza and who delivers.
The best pizza in Santa Teresa is at Amici, a wood-fired Italian pizzeria on the Mal Pais side of the cruce that imports its flour from Italy and ferments the dough with a sourdough starter. Muzza and Pronto are close behind, and a proper pizza here costs about 9,000 to 14,000 colones, roughly $17 to $27.
The short version
Santa Teresa has a lot of Italian owners for a beach town, and the pizza shows it. Amici is the one to book for a sit-down dinner: wood oven, imported flour, sourdough crust, and a cocktail bar upstairs. Muzza on the north end makes the best sourdough pie and suits a casual night with a big salad. Pronto Piccola Italia at Plaza Wave does Neapolitan pizza plus a full pasta and bar menu, and it is the most central of the three. Below those, Pizza Tomate is the reliable delivery order, El Carmen puts a pizza on the sand at Playa Carmen, Chelo in Montezuma runs a wood oven and an Argentine grill, and Henry's Pizza #2 is the cheap delivery for a rainy night.
Amici Santa Teresa
Amici Santa Teresa is the pizza most residents name first. The restaurant sits on the main road on the Mal Pais side of the Playa Carmen crossroads, open 5:30pm to 10pm every day, with half walls, string lights and a garden feel. The pizza is wood-fired, the flour is imported from Italy, and the dough is fermented with lievito madre, which is why the crust is light and easy to digest, per amicisantateresa.com. Google reviewers in 2026 keep calling it the best pizza they ate in Costa Rica, and the Sole, Capricciosa and Parma pizzas come up again and again, per wanderlog.com.
Budget about 10,000 to 14,000 colones for a pizza and expect a bill of $25 to $40 per person with a drink. Amici runs its own cocktail bar upstairs, La Terrazza, open 6pm to midnight and closed Mondays. Reservations go through the site or WhatsApp +506 8997 7634, and they deliver.
Who it suits: date night and anyone who wants the one pizza in town that would hold up in Naples. The caveat: dinner only, and on a high season weekend you will wait without a booking.
Muzza Sourdough Pizza and Resto
Muzza is not in our directory yet, but it belongs in the top three. It sits on the north end, 200 metres north of the old Selina site next to The Magic Place, and bakes a naturally leavened sourdough pizza in a wood-burning oven. The house classics are a Calabresa with spicy salami, a Prosciutto, Arugula and Parmesan, and a Fugazzetta with onion and olives, plus pepperoni-stuffed dough balls from the same oven, per muzzasantateresa.com. Tripadvisor reviewers in April 2026 rated the dough "ridiculous" in the good sense and flagged gluten-free options.
Dinner runs 5pm to 10pm; the menu page lists dinner Wednesday to Sunday and a weekday grab-and-go lunch from 11am to 2pm, while the home page says every day, so check before a Monday visit. A 2026 review reel priced the Fugazzetta at 9,800 colones, about $18, which is a fair marker for the whole menu. WhatsApp +506 8797 6257 for a table, takeout or delivery.
Who it suits: people staying on the north end who want pizza, a huge salad and a cocktail without driving to the cruce. The caveat: live music nights are loud in a small room.
Pronto Piccola Italia
Pronto Piccola Italia is the most central pizza in town, inside Plaza Wave in the middle of Santa Teresa, open noon to 10pm daily. Owner Giuseppe was a US MasterChef top-ten finalist before the family opened Pronto as a takeout counter on the north side, and the current restaurant opened in 2020 with a Pizza Napoletana oven, fresh pasta, meat and fish, and a full bar, per prontocr.com. It delivers lunch and dinner through WhatsApp +506 8455 8037.
Google has it at 4.3 across more than 600 reviews, lower than Amici, and the critical reviews are about service speed on busy nights rather than the food. Pizzas sit in the same 9,000 to 14,000 colones band.
Who it suits: lunch pizza, families, and a central stop with a proper cocktail. The caveat: it is a big menu, and the pizza is the reason to come.
Pizza Tomate
Pizza Tomate is the delivery workhorse. It is 200 metres north of the football field, open every day from noon to 10pm, and takes orders by phone or WhatsApp +506 8992 4888, per pizzatomate.com. The menu is Italian and Mediterranean with burgers and a lime pie that reviewers mention as often as the pizza. Tripadvisor rates it 4.2 across 321 reviews, with "fast delivery" as a repeated theme.
Who it suits: villa nights and rainy evenings. The caveat: it is a standard oven pie, so save the special trip for Amici.
El Carmen at Playa Carmen
Restaurante Playa Carmen, known locally as El Carmen, has been on the sand at Playa Carmen since 2017 and is open noon to 9pm every day, per elcarmensantateresa.com. Tripadvisor lists it under pizza and seafood with 500 reviews at 4.3, and it is the place to eat a pizza with your feet in the sand while the surf school students wipe out in front of you.
The honest note from the reviews: the food is good rather than great, the ceviche gets more praise than the pizza, and one recurring complaint is being charged for tap water.
Who it suits: sunset with a beer and a slice, and groups with kids who need to run around. The caveat: the location is the main event.
Chelo in Montezuma
Restaurante, Pizzeria y Parrilla Chelo is the best pizza on the Montezuma side, about 45 minutes from Santa Teresa. It bakes in a traditional wood oven, adds Argentine empanadas, handmade pasta, and a charcoal grill on weekends, and opens 4:30pm to 10pm Tuesday to Sunday with a happy hour from 4:30pm to 6pm, per pizzeriachelo.com. Google rates it 4.9 across nearly 100 reviews. There is a weekly calendar of live music and theatre, and a delivery line at +506 8817 2179.
Who it suits: anyone doing a day trip to Montezuma who wants dinner before the drive back. The caveat: closed Mondays.
Banana Beach
Banana Beach Restaurant is a beachfront restaurant and bar 200 metres north of Super La Hacienda, open 9am to 8:30pm daily, with live music or a DJ most evenings. The menu is casual, burgers, tacos, salads and pizza, and reviewers are honest that the sunset and the social scene are the reason to come, per livelikeitstheweekend.com.
Who it suits: pizza with a sunset and a crowd. The caveat: it is a bar with a kitchen more than a pizzeria.
Henry's Pizza #2
Pizzeria Henry II is the local branch of a Tico pizza chain that started in Tambor, with a delivery line on +506 2640 0606, open noon to 10pm daily. This is thin-crust, low-price pizza, the kind you order when you are wet from an afternoon storm. Google has it at 4.0, which is fair: it is fine, it is cheap, and it arrives.
Who it suits: budget nights and big groups of surfers. The caveat: do not compare it with Amici.
How to choose
| Pizza | Oven | Price per pizza | Delivery | Best for |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Amici | Wood, sourdough, Italian flour | 10,000 to 14,000 colones | Yes | Date night, the best pie in town |
| Muzza | Wood, sourdough | About 9,000 to 13,000 colones | Yes | North end, casual dinner |
| Pronto | Neapolitan oven | 9,000 to 14,000 colones | Yes | Central, lunch and dinner |
| Pizza Tomate | Standard oven | Lower band | Yes, fast | Villa nights |
| El Carmen | Standard oven | Mid band | No | Beach and sunset |
| Chelo | Wood | Mid band | Yes, Montezuma | Montezuma evenings |
| Banana Beach | Standard oven | Mid band | No | Sunset and music |
| Henry's #2 | Standard oven | Lowest | Yes | Cheap and quick |
Prices are our September 2026 estimates from menus and reviews and exclude the 13% tax and 10% service that most restaurants add.
Practical notes
Most pizzerias add 10% service and 13% tax on top of the menu price, so a 12,000 colones pizza becomes about 14,800 at the till. Cards work at Amici, Pronto, Muzza and El Carmen; Henry's and some delivery orders are easier in cash. WhatsApp is the ordering channel everywhere, and SIPP, the local delivery app, carries several of these restaurants.
Late September is green season. Some restaurants take a few weeks off in September or October, Convivio being this year's example, and hours shrink on quiet weeknights, so message the restaurant that afternoon. Two more names for the map: TP8 in Playa Hermosa is a small wood-oven pizzeria rated 4.6 on Tripadvisor, and The Bakery at the cruce serves pizza on its night menu after 4pm. For the wider picture of where to eat, read best restaurants in Santa Teresa and, if the budget is tight, cheap eats in Santa Teresa. Pizza and pasta overlap here, so the best Italian restaurants guide covers the pasta side of these same kitchens.
FAQ
Which pizza place in Santa Teresa is the best?
Amici. It bakes in a wood oven with flour imported from Italy and a sourdough starter, and it is the pizza residents send visitors to. Muzza is the closest rival for crust, and Pronto is the best central option with a full Italian menu.
How much does a pizza cost in Santa Teresa?
About 9,000 to 14,000 colones, or $17 to $27, at the Italian-run pizzerias before 13% tax and 10% service. Delivery pizza from Henry's #2 or Pizza Tomate comes in lower. Expect to pay more than you would in San Jose for the same pie.
Which pizza places deliver in Santa Teresa?
Amici, Pronto, Muzza, Pizza Tomate and Henry's Pizza #2 all deliver, usually by WhatsApp. Chelo delivers around Montezuma. The SIPP delivery app also lists several restaurants in town if you would rather order in the app than phone.
Is there wood-fired pizza in Santa Teresa?
Yes. Amici and Muzza both bake in wood-burning ovens, and Chelo in Montezuma does too. Pronto uses a Neapolitan-style pizza oven. El Carmen, Banana Beach and the delivery places use standard ovens.
Can I eat pizza on the beach in Santa Teresa?
El Carmen at Playa Carmen and Banana Beach on the north end both serve pizza at tables on or beside the sand. Neither is the best pizza in town, but both put a pie in front of a sunset, which is a fair trade.
Are the pizza places open in green season?
Most are. Amici, Pronto, Pizza Tomate, El Carmen and Banana Beach run year round. Convivio closed for a holiday in September 2026, and some kitchens shorten hours on quiet weeknights, so message ahead.
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