8:00 AM opening at Montezuma Restaurant makes it your pre-check-in option
Montezuma Restaurant sits landside in Terminal 1 at Cóbano Airport, so you eat here before security. That matters at ACO, where there are few food choices once you clear the checkpoint. Doors open at 8:00 AM and stay open until 10:00 PM, which covers the morning domestic hops and the last evening departures.
Pricing runs in the mid-range ($$), not street-food cheap, but fair by airport standards in Costa Rica. Most mains land in the moderate bracket, and the check rarely shocks anyone coming from San José or Liberia. With a 4.5 rating across recent reviews, the place holds up well for repeat flyers passing through Cóbano a few times a month.
The menu leans local Costa Rican instead of generic burgers and fries. Order the house ceviche, listed as the signature dish, if you want one thing that actually feels coastal. Pair it with a cold drink and you’ve got a solid meal that still lets you move through check-in and security without rushing.
Hours from 8:00 AM to 10:00 PM mean you can treat this as both breakfast and late-dinner backup. In the morning, people report standard Costa Rican plates—eggs, rice and beans, plus coffee that beats the vending machines near the counters. Later in the day, you’ll see more seafood and rice dishes; the ceviche stays the safer bet than anything that needs a fryer slammed during a rush.
There are no major red-flag complaints in recent write-ups: no constant “cold food” notes, no “took 45 minutes” horror stories, and no regular billing issues. Still, this is a small regional airport, so pace can dip when two flights out of Terminal 1 stack up at once.
Pro tip: eat here first, then head to security; build in 30–40 minutes before boarding in case the line into Terminal 1 backs up suddenly.
Ceviche