Soda La Unión

This local mom and pop shop is right in the middle of Jaco and serves up the best “comida tipica tradicional” or traditional Costa Rican food in the area. Located right off of the Main Street in Jaco, it is only about 4 shops down. Soda la Union has 4 just tables, with 1 of those being outside. For our first meal here my husband and I had the ‘filet de pollo a la plancha’ (grilled chicken casado).The large plate that came out surprised us! The chicken was flattened and grilled well done, which was a nice change from other chicken in the area. Sides of pasta salad, cubed potatoes and corn, beans, white rice, and plantain were plentiful and delicious. J’s favorite side (other than the rice and beans) was the pasta salad, while I loved the potatoes which tasted like they were cooked in chicken broth or some other savory way. It seems that the sides change with the day, so your plate may be slightly different. For example, side salad instead of a pasta salad. Our bill came out to $12.50 USD in total, all taxes and service included. For our next lunch J had the ‘pollo en salsa’ (chicken in sauce) and I had the ‘arroz con pollo’ (Rice with chicken). We ranked the arroz con pollo as the #1 meal, with the pollo en salsa a close second. J’s meal consisted of a chicken leg cooked in the same sauce as the arroz con pollo is fried in. Served with sides of white rice, beans, mashed potatoes, and a side salad, J was happy with the flavor and size of his meal. However, the arroz con pollo stole the show! Fried but not overly oily, this Costa Rican version of fried rice is perfection. Of all the sodas we have tried, we both agreed this arroz con pollo was the best! Fresh ingredients, tender and plentiful pieces of chicken, large serving size, tasty sauce, and hearing the abuela cook it 10 feet away from scratch ensured this was the best dish we had so far. The dish was served with sides of fresh salad and French fries. The French fries were the only side I haven’t loved since they were overly oily for me, but I was so full I didn’t have room for them anyways. Soda de union is only open for breakfast and lunch, and accepts major credit and debit cards. They also offer free delivery via WhatsApp messaging. Bottled beverages are not available, so bring it with you if you’re unable to drink the tap water here.

Me and my fiance went here for lunch and it did not disappoint. This is the reason why I go to small holes in the wall. The food is often better than the touristy restaurants and at much lower prices. The food was delicious and we got a couple fruit juices with our meals. The portions were also large. I was very happy with this place and I will definitely come back next time I am in Jaco.

We went here because of all the great reviews. I walked in and asked for a table for four. The woman (older woman) was uncomfortably rude, like visibly disgusted we were there and annoyed that we wanted to eat there. We were about to leave since she didn't seem to want to have us there, but then a younger man came over and welcomed us in. The rest of the staff were great. The prices were very good at about $6/person. The food was pretty good. They didn't have water which we thought was weird, so we ordered tamarindo juice. I think the bizarre not-welcome-here greeting just made us want to get out of there.