Mopri
From local fish vendor to restaurateur, Mopri's Owner Ricardo Corrales can attribute his success to the sea and the fishermen who bring in the day's catch. A casual dining spot with plastic chairs and gravel floors, Morpri has become one of the most popular seafood restaurants in town with locals and visitors alike.
read more closeCarpaccio is the local tradition right up there with Costa Rican classics like ceviche. Mopri has both. Fresh tuna Carpaccio, $13, delicately-sliced tuna on a bed of lettuce seasoned with fresh squeezed lemandarin fruit (a hybrid between lemon and mandarin), thin slices of red onion, capers and coarse-ground black pepper served in the typical fashion with toasted white bread. Mopri's ceviche; $6, features Marlin, a more full-bodied fish than the sea bass most often found ceviche, but served in the traditional style, marinated in lemandarin fruit with cilantro, diced onion and red bell pepper.
A visit to Mopri is not complete without at least one person ordering the mixed seafood plate, $13, made with the local catch including clams, mussels, calamari, octopus, shrimp and fish sautéed in a creamy Cahuita rum reduction served with rice (that you'll want to use to soak up all the extra sauce).
On the other hand, the red snapper filet, $13, grilled in a creamy garlic sauce served over grilled vegetables with rice, left us completely underwhelmed due to the tough, chewy texture of the perhaps too-long-frozen filet we were served.
Mopri, Costa Rican slang for cousin, is a fitting title for a restaurant that started at the request of Corrales' friends and family, no doubt stemming from their desire for extended afternoon meals accompanied by hot seafood and cold beer.
Ambiance
Mopri has gravel floors and plastic chairs underneath a shaded patio across the street from the beach along the main coastal road that runs through Puerto Viejo.
Service
Friendly, but slow.
Price
Appetizers $6-$13; Entrees $7-$34;
Hours
12 p.m. – 10 p.m.; closed on Wednesdays
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