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The view of Lake Arenal from Indio Pelado. Photo by Donald Farris
There is a great new restaurant in the Nuevo Arenal area of Costa Rica, Indio Pelado. It is located approximately half way between the city of La Fortuna and Tilarán. It also overlooks the spectacular Lake Arenal. This is a wonderful place to stop on a trip around the lake.
Indio Pelado literally translates to the naked Indian, but it is also a Tico expression for a poor Indian. Being naked can mean without money or possessions. The restaurant is built near an Indian Cemetery and artifacts have been found near the restaurant. Additionally, Indio Pelado is the common name of a tree in which the spectacular Montezuma Oropendula is often seen building their long hanging nests. There is an Indio Pelado tree on the property. Another name for this tree is the Bursera simaruba, or the Gumbo Limbo. One of my favorite names for this tree is the Tourist tree, because the bark is red and peeling, just like tourists skin that has had too much sun. If you enjoy interesting trees, there is also a Guanacaste tree, on the property for which this northern province is named.
The head chef and owner of Indio Pelado is Ronald Sibaja Jiménez. Ronald originally worked in an Italian restaurant and learned a great deal from the Italian owners. He has also studied French and Indian cuisines. However, he prefers Italian food. Currently the restaurant is open Tuesday through Sunday from 11:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., however there are plans to offer breakfast during the tourist season.
The menu features salads, pastas, pizza and a nice variety of red and white meats, showing off his culinary breadth with such options as Cordon Blue de Pollo en Sala de Fungie, Pollo al Curry and Peperoncino de Relleno. They also offers such standards as hamburgers, club sandwiches and nachos.
I split the Ensalada Cesar with my husband. It was a wonderful salad and definitely large enough for two to share, however it was not a traditional cesar salad. It had cucumbers, onions, peppers and carrots in it as well. One of the highlights of the salad course was an incredible warm roll with a garlic sauce on the side that you could add to your bread if desired. Then we split the medium pizza vegetariana. The pizza had a medium crust, and was topped with a variety of vegetables such as tomatoes, onions, black olives, broccoli, red peppers, mushrooms, capers and of course cheese. The pizza was also served with the garlic sauce, crushed red peppers and Parmesan cheese on the side. There were eight slices in the medium size pizza and was large enough that we brought it home for dinner as well.
Indio Pelado offers a full beverage menu including some of the amazing tropical fruit juices for which Costa Rica is known. The juices are served with either water or milk. These include guanabana, my favorite, a sweet white fruit that is very popular here. Piña or pineapple, papaya, banano, and naranja zanahoria a orange and carrot drink. Soft drinks, beer, wine and cocktails are also offered.
The restaurant has been open now for approximately four months and is quite popular among the locals, which is a testament to the quality of food and the value provided. If running a successful restaurant isn't enough for Mr. Sibaja, he has also painted murals on both the exterior and interior of the building. You can even purchase some of his art that is for sale there.
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