On the corner of the two main streets in Puerto Viejo, you will find Hot Rocks. The restaurant is quiet during the day and very active at night. The menu is not very big, but the items they do have are great. Choose from nachos, pizza, ceviche, Thai sticks, or several other local dishes. Ceviche is a Caribbean dish consisting of a piece of raw fish cooked only in the acidity in lime. The dish comes with chips, so you can scoop out the square pieces of fish and get a little lime juice too.
The pizza is also great. They have five different types to choose from including my favorite, the Caribbeana, which is basically ham and pineapple, but not your normal Pizza Hut type. A large pizza, $5, easily fills up three people, with pieces left over. They also have a small personal size pizza for $2.
The Thai sticks come with a hot rock that YOU cook the meat on yourself. The two types of sticks to choose from are chicken or fish. I recommend the chicken. And of course they serve the two Costa Rican beers, Pilsen and Imperial.
During the day they play music, and at night they show movies for FREE! You don't even have to order any food to sit down and watch a movie. Each night they show four films, most of which are new, and some haven’t even been released on DVD in the States. The quality is never bad, and they are not bootlegs, where someone filmed a theater screen. The service is fast and the cook is very friendly. The bar has a local talking parrot that might land on your shoulder should he get the urge. The tip is not included in the bill, but a typical tip is only 100 colones, which equals $.25.
During my stay in Puerto Viejo, I ate here at least every other day. It also happened to be Halloween when I was in town. The restaurant had a costume contest and gave out free beer and rum. Hot Rocks is a great place to spend an evening watching movies and having a couple beers with friends, or even to make new friends.