Guiones has amazing restaurants but let’s agree they come at a price. Yet hope is not lost. There is still a place in Nosara town that gives you the same great food as Guiones proper but a little more affordable: La Fonda. The owner, Alejandro Fernández, used to walk around Guiones during the day selling argentinian “empanadas”, working hard for years under the hot sun with a basket on his shoulder. Lucky for us, he and his wife Claudia Auza now have their own restaurant.
Full disclosure, I am married to an Argentine and we can be very critical of pure Argentine food.
La Fonda is very good and hits the nail on the head. Typical to a proper Parrilla, the experience of eating at La Fonda is not just in the food, it’s in the asador (the grill master) slaving over the fire just a few feet from you. You don’t just order off the menu and wait for your food to come out of some closed door. At an Argentine parrilla you are part of the restaurant. The noise level is like a family party, the beer is ice cold, the wine is flowing, and the chef is giving samples straight from the grill.
We started our meal with a classic Argentina street side snack, the “choripan”. It’s a small sandwich of sausage (chorizo) between fresh baked bread, with lettuce and tomato smothered in chimichurri sauce for ¢1.500.
You also have the choice to go for the full “parrilla”, which is a mix of various meats to share for two people, but it’s a little pricey, (¢17.000 colones), so we found it better to order off the menu.
The Milanesa is a pounded cutlet of beef, breaded and fried, delicious with just squeezed lemon, or smothered in sauce and cheese. The pork ribs were succulent. The grilled chicken was very good. All dishes are served with nicely done potatoes and fresh salads.
If you are feeling a little more adventurous you can order the Mollejas (sweet bread) or Chinchulines (intestines). These dishes have a flavor different than what you may be used to, but if you were ever to try it, La Fonda cooks them perfectly.
We also had the pizza which was very good sized. For dessert we ordered the Flan and of course it comes topped with Dulce de Leche. And if you enjoy your meal and really want to thank the chef like they do in Argentina, don’t be shy: stand up and shout “aplauso para el asador” (applause to the chef). You will probably get a big smile and a bow.
The good: Authentic experience from start to finish, fresh baked bread, as much chimichurri as you want. They deliver.
The bad: The seating outside next to the asador is limited to two tables. But there is more inside.
Location: 100 m. after supermarket in Los Arenales neighborhood, Nosara.
Express: 2201-9322.
Open for dinner, closed Sundays.
Cash and Credit Cards welcome.
FB: https://www.facebook.com/search/top/?q=la%20fonda%20nosara
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