No menu items!

COSTA RICA'S LEADING ENGLISH LANGUAGE NEWSPAPER

HomeTopicsArts and CultureFast Food in Costa Rica: Global Chains Embrace Local Traditions

Fast Food in Costa Rica: Global Chains Embrace Local Traditions

When you have more than 14,000 restaurants in 116 countries, you must accept a difficult truth: Not everybody eats the same thing. Some abhor beef, others abstain from bacon, and some would even forfeit the bun. McDonald’s may sling Big Macs everywhere, but they also have to appeal to local taste buds and traditions.

There’s nothing more ’Merican than fast food, but tourists often find U.S. chains in Costa Rica a little odd. Many familiar joints like Pizza Hut and Burger King are gigantic and immaculately clean; the décor can be downright Space Age. The service is frequently fast and professional (read: less eye rolling from high school dropouts). Meanwhile, the menus may include some local flavor – or, you know, a global corporation’s idea of local flavor.

Fast Food in Costa Rica

Thanks to the controversial Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (DR-CAFTA), fast food exploded in Costa Rica in recent years. (McDonald’s alone has over 50 restaurants in the country, from San José to Liberia). How do you translate U.S. junk food for local palates? Here are some attempts:

Costa Rica Fast Food- KFC

It seems that someone at Yum! Brands discovered the casado – Costa Rica’s signature mix of greens, rice, beans, and a meaty entrée. Over at KFC (née Kentucky Fried Chicken), you can find a hospital-tray version of casado, complete with plantains. You would think a Southern Colonel would conjure bad memories in Central America, but that doesn’t stop his statue from relaxing on Paseo Colón.

The sad truth is that most norteamericanos can’t tell the difference between Mexico and the rest of Latin America, and even culturally sensitive visitors may assume Tico cuisine means tacos and fajitas. Tex-Mex giant Taco Bell makes a halfhearted effort with its gallo pinto breakfast.

Typical Costa Rica Food called Gallo Pinto

The McDonald’s breakfast is remarkably thought-out: you can find two fried eggs, gallo pinto and a pair of tortillas in almost any soda in Costa Rica, roughly like the one pictured. Making such a breakfast isn’t rocket science, but it’s about as authentic as a fast-food colossus can get. Not surprisingly, the Burger King version is practically identical. Missing: fruit picked from a neighbor’s mango tree.

You will have to decide how you feel about the “Tico.” On the one hand, Quiznos has included two Costa Rican staples, beans and Salsa Lizano. Carnivores will love the shredded beef and outlandishly low price. On the other hand, if a foreign company showed up in Oklahoma, threw some BBQ sauce on some meat and called it “The Okie,” would locals love it? Discuss.

Then again, imitation can go both ways

Trending Now

Costa Rica Surf Film Festival Honors ‘Pura Vida Bodysurfing’ with Top Audience Award

Pura Vida Bodysurfing is an award-winning short film that strips surfing back to its essence—riding waves without a surfboard. Filmed across Costa Rica’s legendary...

Honduras Seizes $2 Million, Gold-Plated Pistols in Drug Raid

Honduran authorities struck a blow against drug cartels, seizing over $2 million in cash, war rifles, and flashy gold-plated pistols in Copán, a northwest...

Costa Rica’s Eyelash Viper Snake Is One of the Most Beautiful

There are at least 141 different species of snakes in Costa Rica. With that large number of species packed into such a tiny nation,...

Former Costa Rican Minister Arrested for Drug Trafficking, Faces U.S. Extradition

Costa Rica’s judicial police arrested Celso Gamboa, a former security minister and Supreme Court judge, on Monday, following a U.S. request for his extradition...

Costa Rica’s Piangua Mollusk Threatened by Pineapple Farm Runoff

Costa Rica’s Térraba-Sierpe National Wetland, a 33,000-hectare haven of mangroves and rivers, is under siege from an unlikely source: pineapple farms. A study by...

Costa Rica’s Top Court Bans President Chaves from 2026 Election Campaign

Costa Rica’s Supreme Electoral Tribunal on Thursday barred President Rodrigo Chaves from participating in the 2026 election campaign, ruling that he "illegitimately used" his...
spot_img
Costa Rica Tours
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Coffee Maker Chorreador
Costa Rica Travel Insurance
Costa Rica Rocking Chait
Costa Rica Travel

Latest News from Costa Rica