Soda Pura Vida

When my spouse and I came back from Costa Rica last year, the thing we missed the most was the food. We got so excited when months later we saw the big sign «Pura VIda» driving down Main St. on our way to work! We finally got to try it today. As soon as we walked in, we were immediately reminded of what it was like walking into small «soda» eatery in Costa Rica… it was like coming home or visiting «grandma» (even though Rebecca the owner is so young!)…she prepared us home cooked meals and kept bringing out small samples of dishes that she was working on! We didn’t think the portions were small at all, and for the price, it was just about right. We left feeling beyond full! We didn’t expect it to be as good as it was like eating in Costa Rica, but, it was pretty darn close. Maybe it was the food or maybe it was the friendliness of the owner/​cook and our server, or maybe it was both that made our experience great!

I think that the previous reviews are phony, b/​c this place is run by deceiptfulness «bait and switch», and I have heard of others say the same. The owners had coupon printed, but then refuses to honor them, unless you order two smoothies with your lunch. The sign at the entrance tells customers that there will be an extra charge if you use a credit card. Really??? The food is bland/​unappetizing. Not worth a trip. There’s a great restaurant (Pete’s) just a few doors down; you will do much better eating there. Great food; great prices; lively staff. Not like the morgue that this Pura Vida seems to be. Pure life? Give us a break!

DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME! We just moved to Clearwater and are trying out new places, we love ethnic food and saw a coupon to try this restaurant. We walked in at 1:00 on a Saturday afternoon, the place was empty. Only three tables, Really?
We presented the coupon at that time the «owner» came out and informed us the coupon was incorrect we needed to purchase smoothies with our orders. She then went on about how she won’t make any money otherwise, I found the whole conversation quite tacky and we left. Very un-​polished, I feel sorry for the lady. I hope she does well in her new business venture, but I seriously doubt it. Do not make the customer pay for yours and others mistakes. The whole idea of printing coupons is to «introduce» your restaurant and hope you will tell your friends, that may have been the case if we had not been treated so unprofessionally… too bad it may have been a nice experience.

I saw their sign a couple weeks ago and came in and spoke to the owner a bit. She’s very nice and very helpful. Today, my girlfriend and I came in and sat down for lunch. We ordered an empanada arreglada ($ 6.50), ticos tacos ($ 6), a mango smoothie ($ 4), and a watermelon smoothie ($ 4).
[Pros]
The smoothies came out first and were the epitome of naturally-​made: if you’re not a fan of pulp/​fruit bits, watch out because you may not be a fan. But I am a fan and they were wonderful. Beyond that, the owner kept bringing us out little samples of other flavors, which was very nice. Then the food: the empanada was just great, that’s all I can say. And the ticos tacos were crunchy and fresh and great. However, the servings were a bit small.
[Cons]
The service was pretty slow and there were some other hiccups with the place. There aren’t many tables, they’re not the best with American accents, there’s no music/​anything to break the silence, and the place just generally needs some tweaks.
[Final thoughts]
The food was great, the place is quaint, and the staff is very friendly and helpful. I think once they get fully on their feet, this place will be a really great little place to grab a well-​made, fresh lunch.

We went to Pura Vida Restaurant the first week they were open, with a little polish and some time to get fully up to speed I think it’s going to be a great little spot.
Long review:
On a grocery trip last week we spotted a banner for a new restaurant — a Costa Rican one to boot! It was called «Pura Vida» which means «Pure Life» — and is sort of a mantra in Costa Rica. From Wikipedia:
«„„Pura vida, a characteristic Costa Rican phrase, literally means pure life, with connotations that suggest translations such as „full of life“, „this is living!“, „going great“, or „real living“. The phrase can be used both as a greeting or a farewell, as an answer expressing that things are going well, or as a way of giving thanks.““»
While the proprietors put in for a license for «Soda Pura Vida», lack of relevance to the locals sort of required they change the name to «Pura Vida Restaurant». Why is this important — well, because you have to know what a «soda» in Costa Rica is all about, or you kind of won’t «get» what this place is all about.
Soda’s are small, quaint business — some only seat a handful of people, others are larger and more accommodating. Their charm is in their friendly atmosphere and their simple but delicious food. This is not the place to show up in black tie, or expect an extensive wine list — in fact, don’t even show up expecting to get a Coke…
As a new small business owner trying to get started I’m sure there’s a time when they are trying to get 5,000 things to come together for the «perfect opening» — and at some point they just have to say «Well, this is what we have, so let’s open the doors and hope the rest falls into place». That’s a bit of the feel at Pura Vida right now.
The menu at present is limited, but there’s enough to satisfy most folks.
We were assured that in a few weeks everything would be as they wanted it.
Hours at present are 11:00am to 7:00pm Tuesday through Saturday — you can start your day with arepas (the sweet kind, not the savory kind). Lunch and early dinner fare ranges from simple sandwiches and salads up to tacos, chalupas, and Gallo de Carne.
If you are looking for a «soda» experience this place has it. There’s only a couple tables so it’s likely this place may be a better destination for «to go» orders during peak lunchtimes. The owner is a petite little lady with a «classic Costa Rican» attitude and demeanor that should be in a woman 4 times her size. She was warm and engaging, and we had lots of laughs and spoke extensively of our visit to Costa Rica, and of course our time in the «sodas».
We were there on the last day of her business week, and her larders were running low on some of the items on the menu. We frankly didn’t care — walking in our wishes were simple — just to see what it was all about. We ended up (both) ordering chicken chalupas. For less than a loaded McDonald’s combo meal we had a glass of fresh «watermelon water» and 2 tasty chicken chalupas. Were they good? Well — we ordered a 3^rd so that we could each have one more.
The watermelon water was UNBELIEVABLY good. She offers a variety of smoothies (included with the combo entrees like our chalupas) and water and Gatorade. That’s it. There’s no «sodas» in this soda. Why would you want a bottle of fizzy sugar water when you can get a FRESH smoothie? Our hostess made a point of the fact that ALL of her ingredients are FRESH, never frozen fruits. The available flavors should please anyone.
There’s no deep-​fryer here — don’t be looking for fries or mozzarella sticks — this isn’t the place for that…
Empanadas are on the menu — but she’s waiting on the «proper» appliance to keep them ready for serving, so she may or may not have them on your visit. I’m looking forward to trying them on a subsequent visit…
As mentioned — the prices here are CRAZY cheap on some of the menu items — I actually hope she raises them a bit to keep herself in business. The combos are reasonable in price, but may be a bit smaller for some «hungry diners» like myself. The addition of rice & beans to my chalupa combo would have been perfect.
I can only assume that the more critical diners of Dunedin are going to have issues with this place. I really hope not, but people suck.
If you are looking for a place where you can walk in and tell the cook — «I’m in the mood for chicken (or pork, or beef, or fish) today — give me what’s good!» — then this will absolutely be a place for you. If you need to point to a picture on a menu to order you should not dine at a soda.
I am delighted to be adding this place to Unilocal — I hope folks will stop by and give it a try — and shout «PURA VIDA!!» when you do…