Address: 1.5 km Manuel Antonio
Phone: 506 2777 3473

http://www.lahaciendacr.com

Traveler Reviews

La Hacienda Muy Rico!
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Sep 1, 2008


My wife and I just returned from Costa Rica and I wanted to let people know this was the finest meal we had. We started in San Jose, then Arenal and our last week in Manuel Antonio. Our first night in MA we happened by La Hacienda. We really thought the atmosphere and the owner and staff were nice and even though it was early and there was only one other table of three, we decided to stay for dinner. We hadn?t picked any good places to eat in San Jose or Arenal and were doubtful we would find any ?Real Good? food. Without a doubt the best restaurant choice we made on our trip. My wife had the Cajun Snook Stew. A cajun, seasoned piece of snook topped with a semi-spicy sauce with tomato, zucchini and squash, on top of jasmine rice. Excellent, is what she said. I am not a big fish eater so I had the La Hacienda Special. A chicken breast stuffed with some cheese, shrimp and vegetables. It had an herb & mushroom sauce and was fantastic. We skipped dessert, but had a cup of the LaHa coffee. You?ve got to try it. The service was excellent; we spoke with the owner and let him know how much we enjoyed ourselves and that we would be back. We ate at some of the other ?Great Restaurants? in MA that week and were disappointed. We returned to La Hacienda on our last night and had another great meal. Try the coconut chicken curry, ask for it hot and for my wife, the cajun snook stew, again. Excellent food, service and price. Don?t miss out on this one. Bill

Our wedding reception...
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Aug 18, 2008


We recently had our wedding in Manuel Antonio with 18 guests. La Hacienda was suggested to us by our wedding coordinator. It was a great choice. The Pros: -For a nominal fee, we rented out the entire restaurant (which is quite small so I'm glad we did this). The ambiance that the staff created was amazing. The lighting was perfect and it just glowed when we arrived. -The appetizers were great and the wedding cake that the owners baked looked absolutely amazing. It was exactly what I wanted. -The staff was VERY attentive and very nice. We never wanted for anything, someone was always right there to get whatever we needed. -The presentation of the food was beautiful and tempting. The food was very fresh. The salad and bread were outstanding. The Cons: -The location was not very desirable for a wedding reception. It is right on the main road and although our wedding coordinator assured us that the road noise would not be an issue, I could not hear my Maid of Honor's speech due to trucks and motorcycles whizzing by, and she was sitting 4 people away from me. After we finished eating, this wasn't really a problem but it did bother me at first. -The main dish food was just ok overall. We had a set menu of pork, chicken or Mahi- all of which were very good BUT drenched in sweet sauces. Looking at everyone's plate we noticed that everyone was trying to scrape off the sauces. It was just overkill. Good meat/fish does not need that much sauce! -We felt a bit rushed, even though we rented our the place until midnight. We weren't supposed to eat until 7pm and we were all done eating, and started to dance at 7:10! We would have liked a little more lag time since it was a reception. I'm trying to give the benefit to them, that they assumed we were starving after the emotional day. -The wedding cake did not taste too good. It looked beautiful but it was mediocre in taste. We had three flavors and the best was the carrot cake. The chocolate was just gross and the frosting was very gritty. All in all, it was a great choice for the prices and the overall feel of the night. The owner was on site and very nice. I was a bit picky in this review because it was our wedding and I want other brides/grooms to know our experience.

Wonderful -Great Special Events Venue!!
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Aug 18, 2008


I own Costa Rica's premier event and Wedding planning company (http://www.tropicaloccasions.com) and we send a lot of clients to La Hacienda to celebrate Rehearsal Dinners, Wedding Receptions etc.. We always have rave reviews from our clients for every event we plan there. The food is fantastic, service is great and ambience is beautiful. I highly recommend this spot as a MUST VISIT location while in Manuel Antonio. The owners Bill and Tracy as well are great and it shows in this gem of a restaurant they own and operate perfectly!

Overrated, pricy and terrible seafood
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Aug 17, 2008


We went to the restaurant based on the high review in Fodors guide book, unfortunately it's the worst restaurant experience we'd in Costa Rica. First, when we went in at around 6:30pm on a Sat. night, the restaurant was totally empty. It gave us a bad vibe about how popular this restaurant is. Then we got seated, the waiter recommended us the special whole snapper and a salmon with some kind of passion fruit sauce. It took 40 mins for them to bring out the food, and we were the only customers there. Once the food arrived, both fishes were over-cooked, and the passion fruit sauce was a horrible combination with the fish. Then finally the owner came around and asked us how was the food, we were honest and told him we weren't very happy about the quality and taste of the fishes. Not only the owner didn't try to do anything, he didn't feel apologetic about their service and the food. Bottomline, don't go there no matter how much the guide books praise about the restaurant!!!!

"Catch and Eat".
Reviewed by A TripAdvisor Member on Aug 15, 2008


"Catch and Eat". I work for Frenzy Sportfishing here in Quepos, Costa Rica. We recently had a few clients in who caught a nice 45lb Yellowfin Tuna and a beautiful 52lb Mahi (They also caught 4 Large Sailfish that were released). They were hungry by the end of the day and wanted to know where they could take their fresh fish to be cooked. I suggested La Hacienda Restaurante on the hill in Manuel Antonio. Luckily I got invited too. They prepared the Mahi to perfection and served it family style along with 3 different sauces, Jasmine rice, yucca hashbrowns and crispy vegetables. Unbelievable! The Tuna, coated with black sesame seeds and seared, add the soy & wasabi...Wow. I must say, I was impressed, and so were my clients. We finished the with a LaHa coffee,a Cuban Cigar and a few stories of the ones that got away. Thanks La Hacienda for a great way to enjoy the freshest "catch of the day". I'll be bringing more clients your way. Willy frenzysprortfishing.com