Pura Vida CostaRican Restaurant

Simply put, exquisite! Wonderful family run restaurant that has excellence as it's bench mark. Cannot fault anything. Jeff catered so well to myself and family and made our time absolutely enjoyable. The menu is top notch, ambience is brilliant, and the service is the best. Definitely recommend!!!

Really delicious food! Some of the juiciest and most tender chicken I've ever had. My husband had the chifrijo which was also delicious. The chicharron was the best! The atmosphere is extremely friendly and cosy. It's so nice to have such a wonderful little family run restaurant like this in Bounds Green. We'll definitely go back. I hope their restaurant is successful and sticks around ☺️

Hidden gem in Bounds Green. This family owned Costa Rican restaurant was amazing. The food was so tasty and priced fairly. The service was attentive, friendly and fast. Highly recommend it! And I will definitely return. Update 17/11/2025: I have been three times now to Pura Vida and all equally amazing. Had there the best Chicharrón and Patacón that I tried in London. Perfectly made.

Finally a restaurant with the BEST Costa Rican food! 🤩 The food was amazing 10/10 tasted just like home 🇨🇷 Service was even better had the best server ever and dad came out with the food we order and he was such a sweetheart 🥹 heard mom and dad are the ones in the kitchen which made me so happy because our food tasted like a warm hug, especially for us who are far from home. ❤️ My partner and I drove an hour to get there and it was so worth it! It’s so unfortunate that I can’t answer a comment I saw but this is for Anna 🙄, I read your comment and I always respect other opinions but I don’t get why you are upset by them bringing the food out at different times? Like there are only 2 lovely people in the kitchen. If it was that big of a deal why didn’t you and your friends wait until everyone else had their food so you can all start at the same time? And the Ceviche comes with fried tortillas not nachos. And then also complaining about the decoration? Hahaha seriously 🤭 you seem like one of those annoying people who complain about everything instead of just enjoying things in life. I recommend you to go to Costa Rica and go directly to our Fuente de la Hispanidad 🥰 Ok so other than that, if I would live in London they would probably see me there at least once a week hahaha you guys are the best! Thank you for everything. De una tica a otro les agradezco un montón por haberme hecho sentir en casa ✨❤️

We found this place whilst looking to eat some south american food and we are glad we did. A very friendly and welcoming place to eat, the food was amazing and very good portion sizes, not that expensive aswell. Small run business by a family who you can tell are very passionate about their business, country and food. Customer service was exceptional and made sure we had everything we needed. Will definately be visiting again, we hope this place gets the success it deserves.

A lovely gem of a place - it’s a family-run restaurant with excellent Costa Rican dishes. When you get to the address - you need to go up a set of stairs to reach the restaurant itself. If you’re off to a gig at the Ally Pally - this restaurant is within walking distance to the venue and you’ll eat a delicious feast at a fraction of a price of food stalls at the AP, before dancing the night away 🎉

First of all, if you're looking for a place with amazing food and wonderful people, stop hesitation, just come. Today is Saturday, I was doomed when I left home since I am going to office to finish the never-ending last piece of my PhD thesis. I am almost desperate for the tight time schedule and fully demotivated due to the huge pressure. I wasn't trying to have a decent weekend meal, instead I was trying to take the bus and buy a meal deal at the transfer bus station. However it is gonna take me 44min to wait for the next bus since it's weekend. I chose to walk 15min to the tube station after one second thought. When I came to the tube station, IT WAS ALSO CLOSED! MAN！ It's already 2pm, and I didn't have nothing yet! I opened google map and found this restaurant with high feedbacks and low average spending. I came directly. I feel very cozy when I came into the restaurant, the huge wall paintings makes feel like in the jungle and tv playing rhythmic Costa Rica music. The owner is handsome, talkative with a sense of humor, and surprisingly, he wouldn't make you feel any social pressure if you are introvert. The food, oh man, that makes me feel like the food is really advertising the country by its flavor: the beef is finely stewed and flavored, super tender and tasty, salad is refreshing, smashed potatoes is just delicious. Every element on the plate plays a role! That makes me want to open up a restaurant myself! ( sorry for the potential confusion made from last comments about coriander, I was trying to say that I was not a coriander person but the food is too good that even me will be willing to eat the salad with coriander! ) The drink is a bit sweet for me but that's mainly because I do have a sweet tooth. It's gonna be perfect for the locals. Many thanks again! Super tasty food!