Cafeography
Costa Rica

Cafés in San José un cafecito chorreado

Café chorreado at the Mercado Central, a café inside the Teatro Nacional, Calle 33 in Barrio Escalante and the old coffee-baron houses of Amón.

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Photo: Luis Alberto Arias, Pexels License

144Cafés listed
0Open by 6am
0Open past 10pm
3Specialty & roasters

San José sits at about 1,030 m and has been Costa Rica's capital since 16 May 1823; the canton held an estimated 352,381 people in 2022.1 Coffee money built Barrio Amón, laid out from 1897 as the first residential barrio of the coffee bourgeoisie; its Victorian, neoclassical and Mudéjar houses now hold offices, small hotels, bars and cafés.2

The street plan helps when you hunt for a café. Avenidas run east to west and calles north to south, numbered outward from Avenida Central and Calle Central, with odd-numbered avenidas north of the center.3 Many addresses are still given in meters from a landmark, such as "25 m sur del Starbucks" or "75 m oeste del Estadio Nacional", and taxi drivers find a place more easily from a landmark than from a street number.4

East of the center, Cafeoteca in Barrio Escalante came 76th in The World's 100 Best Coffee Shops, as El Financiero reported in February 2025.5 Plan for rain from mid-April through December, heaviest from June to September; daytime highs typically run 21–27 °C.4

Start with a barrio

San José by area

Barrio Amón is one of seven barrios in El Carmen, the district northeast of the center, and La Sabana park lies in Mata Redonda to the west; San Pedro and Los Yoses belong to Montes de Oca, a separate canton to the east.21314

Barrio Amón & Otoya

Coffee-baron houses on Avenidas 7 and 9, Le Café at the Alianza Francesa and cafés by the Casa Amarilla.

18 cafés

Barrio Escalante & La California

Calle 33's Paseo Gastronómico La Luz, Cafeoteca on Avenida 5, Franco on Avenida 7 and the edge of La California.

21 cafés

Centro

Avenida Central's pedestrian blocks, the Teatro Nacional's café, the Mercado Central and Calle 9.

29 cafés

Los Yoses & San Pedro

Student cafés around the UCR, Boulevard Los Yoses donuts, Buenagente and Paseo Rubén Darío.

21 cafés

La Sabana & Rohrmoser

Paseo Colón's side streets, the old airport terminal, Sabana Sur and Rohrmoser west of the park.

11 cafés
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Browse by mood and hour

Cafés con wifi

Wi-Fi

La Mancha, Café del Barista Morazán and Sphaera downtown; Sugar Charm in Los Yoses; Sook Market in Freses.

7 cafés
Panaderías y pastelerías

Bakery cafés

Kam and Vallecito on Avenida 9, Sphaera on Calle 7, Sweet Treats' sugar-free queques in Curridabat.

7 cafés

Barrio Amón & Otoya 18 cafés

More about cafés in Barrio Amón & Otoya

Barrio Aranjuez 7 cafés

Barrio Escalante & La California 21 cafés

More about cafés in Barrio Escalante & La California

Centro 29 cafés

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Incluyeme

  • Avenida Monseñor Castro Jiménez
  • Mon–Sat 09:00–18:00
  • Card payment
  • Wheelchair access
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Los Yoses & San Pedro 21 cafés

More about cafés in Los Yoses & San Pedro

La Sabana & Rohrmoser 11 cafés

More about cafés in La Sabana & Rohrmoser

Curridabat & Zapote 12 cafés

Doña dona

  • Mon–Sat 10:00–21:00 · Sun 10:00–20:00
  • 22031540 - 88435196
  • Card payment
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Guadalupe, Tibás & Moravia 16 cafés

Hatillo & the south 9 cafés

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Coffee chains in San José

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Before you sit down

How to order coffee in San José

Ask for café negro if you want it black and café con leche if you want milk. Costa Ricans drink one or the other every day, usually at breakfast, again in the afternoon and now and then after dinner.6 Brewing at home is traditionally done with a chorreador, while espresso machines are spreading outside the home.6

The older way to order is café chorreado, coffee made by pouring hot water into a cloth sock of ground coffee set over a pot. Cafetería y Café Central, in the Mercado Central, makes it with peaberry beans.7 Where there is no café, there is usually a soda: a small, mostly family-run restaurant serving gallo pinto (rice and black beans) and the casado, a plate of rice, beans, plantains, salad, a tortilla and a protein, open for lunch and sometimes breakfast, rarely for dinner.8

Table-service restaurants add a 10% service charge, and the consumer-protection law requires the price on the menu to include it along with all taxes.9 Not all comply: in a September 2026 inspection of 70 restaurants, the economy ministry (MEIC) found 36 that did not show the final price on the menu, so read the bill before adding anything.9 Agua dulce, hot water with tapa de dulce (raw cane sugar) dissolved in it, is the other common hot drink, especially in the cooler highlands.6

What coffee costs in San José

DrinkTypical price
Capuchino
Regular cappuccino		₡910–2,500
San José cafés, October 2026
Espresso / capuchino
Espresso or cappuccino at one café		₡1,800–2,300
Costa Rican café, June 2025
Café molido, 500 g
Ground coffee, 500 g bag		₡3,642 average
Retail average (CNP), January 2025
Comida en restaurante económico
Meal at an inexpensive restaurant		₡4,000–9,000
San José, October 2026

Prices as of 2025–2026. The cappuccino and meal ranges are Numbeo's San José figures, updated in October 2026, when a regular cappuccino averaged ₡2,026.10 The ₡1,800–2,300 range is what one Costa Rican café charged for its espressos and cappuccinos in June 2025, as reported by Teletica.11 The bag of ground coffee is the Consejo Nacional de Producción's January 2025 average, double the ₡1,800 of 2018.12

Sources

  1. San José, Costa Rica, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  2. Barrio Amón, Wikipedia (Spanish), accessed October 2026
  3. How to find an address in Costa Rica, Costa Rica Guide, accessed October 2026
  4. San José (Costa Rica), Wikivoyage, accessed October 2026
  5. Costa Rica tiene una de las 100 mejores cafeterías del mundo, El Financiero (Brandon Flores, February 23, 2025), accessed October 2026
  6. Costa Rican cuisine, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  7. Costa Rica: San Jose's Mercado Central, Saveur (Jane Sigal, May 17, 2012), accessed October 2026
  8. The Sodas of Costa Rica, New Worlder (Nicholas Gill, July 1, 2024), accessed October 2026
  9. MEIC: 7 de cada 10 restaurantes inspeccionados no muestran el precio final, CR Hoy (Mauricio León, October 20, 2026), accessed October 2026
  10. Cost of Living in San Jose, Costa Rica (updated October 2026), Numbeo, accessed October 2026
  11. Precio del capuchino en Costa Rica es de los más caros de Latinoamérica, Teletica (Berny Jiménez, June 17, 2025), accessed October 2026
  12. ¿Por qué el café sigue caro? Productores explican dificultades de cosecha 2025, Teletica (January 31, 2025), accessed October 2026
  13. La Sabana Metropolitan Park, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
  14. San Pedro District, Montes de Oca, Wikipedia, accessed October 2026
FAQ

Cafés in San José: common questions

How much does a coffee cost in San José, Costa Rica?

A regular cappuccino in San José averaged ₡2,026 in October 2026, in a range of roughly ₡910 to ₡2,500. One Costa Rican café surveyed in June 2025 charged ₡1,800–2,300 for its espressos and cappuccinos, and a 500 g bag of ground coffee to brew at home cost ₡3,642 on average in January 2025.

Which neighborhood of San José, Costa Rica, has the most cafés?

Centro and Barrio Escalante & La California have the most cafés, followed by Los Yoses & San Pedro. Centro has the widest choice, from Avenida Central to the Paseo de los Estudiantes; in Barrio Escalante the cafés sit closest together, along Calle 33 and Avenida 5.

What is café chorreado in San José, Costa Rica?

Café chorreado is coffee made by pouring hot water into a cloth sock of ground coffee set over a pot, the traditional method brewed at home with a chorreador. Cafetería y Café Central in San José's Mercado Central makes it with peaberry beans. Costa Ricans drink black coffee or café con leche daily, usually at breakfast and again in the afternoon.

Is a service charge included in restaurant bills in San José, Costa Rica?

Table-service restaurants in Costa Rica add a 10% service charge, and the law requires the menu price to include it along with all taxes. In a September 2026 inspection of 70 restaurants, the economy ministry (MEIC) found 36 that did not show the final price on the menu, so check the bill before adding a tip.

What is a soda in San José, Costa Rica?

A soda is a small, mostly family-run Costa Rican restaurant. It serves dishes such as gallo pinto, rice and black beans, and the casado, a plate of rice, beans, plantains, salad, a tortilla and a protein. Sodas usually open for lunch and sometimes breakfast, but rarely for dinner.

How do street addresses work in San José, Costa Rica?

San José's avenidas run east to west and its calles north to south, numbered outward from Avenida Central and Calle Central, with odd-numbered avenidas north of the center. Many addresses are given in meters from a landmark, such as 75 m west of the Estadio Nacional, and taxi drivers find a place more easily from a landmark.

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