Coquelicot
Tourism Service in Las Catalinas, Guanacaste, Costa Rica.
Coquelicot is a dessert shop in Plaza Mercado in Las Catalinas, a car-free beach town on Costa Rica's Guanacaste coast. Homemade ice cream made with natural, fresh ingredients and seasonal flavors sits alongside Belgian waffles that are light, airy, and crispy, with Costa Rican coffee rounding out the same stop. The plaza is already on the walking path between rentals, shops, and the Pacific, so a waffle or scoop is a pause in town rather than a separate trip.
The shop serves lunch, offers outdoor seating, and accepts credit cards. Hours are 12:00 to 20:00 every day, Sunday through Saturday, which puts the visit in midday and early evening rather than at breakfast.
Ice cream, Belgian waffles, and coffee
Homemade ice cream leads the menu. Flavors follow the seasons and use natural, fresh ingredients, including caramelized banana and salted ice cream with caramel sauce. See what is in the case that day, then decide whether you want a cup or a waffle underneath.
Belgian waffles are the other signature: light, airy, and crispy, with a honey and banana waffle among the plates. At noon a waffle can be a light lunch; later it is a shared afternoon plate after time on the sand. Costa Rican coffee sits beside both if you want something hot with ice cream or a waffle.
Stay for outdoor seating when a table is open. In Guanacaste heat, eating in the plaza is simpler than carrying a melting scoop across cobblestones.
Hours, seating, and paying in the plaza
The schedule does not change with the weekday: 12:00 to 20:00, seven days. That window covers lunch and runs through early evening, which matches swimming first and eating something sweet after. Outdoor tables keep you in Plaza Mercado instead of walking food back to a condo.
Credit cards are accepted, useful when you are moving on foot between the beach, shops, and dinner. Today's flavors and waffle pairings are a conversation at the counter when you arrive.
Come after 12:00. Early coffee belongs at an all-day bakery such as Cuatro Calle La Ronda; save Coquelicot for after the beach.
Walking Las Catalinas without a car
Las Catalinas began in 2009 as a planned seaside village of cobblestone streets, fountains, and plazas overlooking the Pacific. Cars stay out of the town core. Vacation rentals, boutique hotels, restaurants, shops, pools, and the beach sit a short walk from one another, which is why ice cream in Plaza Mercado fits an ordinary day.
Most visitors fly into Liberia Airport, also called Guanacaste Airport, then travel about an hour to the coast. Some arrange a driver; a rental car is possible, though roads can be winding. Inside town, you walk. Shoes that handle cobblestones matter more than a parking plan.
Spanish is the national language, and English is widely spoken here. You can order in either language. Town staff can arrange excursions and restaurant reservations over WhatsApp if you are adding sailing, surfing, horseback riding, or a trail day to the same trip.
Tropical dry forest around the village holds hiking and biking trails. Those paths, the beach, and Plaza Mercado form a compact loop: morning movement, midday sweets, evening meal at another table.
When a waffle or scoop fits the day
Guanacaste stays warm year-round. Dry season runs November through May, with temperatures often in the 70s to 90s Fahrenheit. Rainy season is late May through November, when afternoon showers are typical. Outdoor seating is easiest before those showers or after they pass. Ice cream still cools a hot walk in either season.
Because the shop opens at noon, pair it with a morning on the sand or on a trail. The Beach Club has an infinity pool with ocean views, a deeper lap pool, and an adult-only pool, and the beach itself is close to rentals. After swimming, the walk to Plaza Mercado is short. A waffle can be lunch; ice cream can be the pause before a condo kitchen or a later dinner.
Closing time is 20:00, so this is not a late-night dessert bar. If you have a table at a hilltop restaurant, come in the afternoon. If the waffle is the meal, come closer to 12:00.
Vacation homes with kitchens still leave room for homemade ice cream and waffles you will not find in a grocery freezer. Copper and Stone Market sells groceries, coffee, sunblock, and wine for cooking at home; Coquelicot covers the scoop and the Belgian waffle.
Choosing among restaurants in Las Catalinas
The village keeps a small cluster of tables. Sentido Norte, at Casa Chameleon on the hill, is fine dining with seafood and international plates and a golf-cart ride up for sunset. Ponciana at Santarena Hotel is a sit-down room for Costa Rican and South American cooking. Limonada and Pots and Bowls cover casual plates, juices, and all-day meals. Cuatro Calle La Ronda is the bakery and coffee shop for pastries, juices, tea, and baked goods earlier in the day. The Deli at Copper and Stone packs salads, sandwiches, and smoothies for the beach.
Coquelicot's place in that mix is coffee, Belgian waffles, and ice cream. Choose it when you want a dedicated sweet stop or a light midday waffle, not when you need a casado, tacos, or a multi-course dinner. Other kitchens highlight gluten-free and vegetarian menus more clearly; ice cream ingredients and waffle toppings are the details that matter if someone in your group has a restriction.
Match the hour to the format. Bakeries cover early coffee. Casual restaurants cover breakfast through dinner. Fine dining owns the evening view. Ice cream and waffles from 12:00 to 20:00 fill the hot afternoon and the gap before dinner. Eat a savory meal first if you want, then walk to Plaza Mercado for scoops to share.
Start with today's ice cream flavors, whether a honey and banana waffle can be paired with a scoop, and whether an outdoor table is open. Keep the visit simple.
A full day from the beach to Plaza Mercado
Start with the Pacific. Bring towels and chairs if you are using the open beach rather than club loungers. Trails in the dry forest add a walk for older children and adults. Paddleboards, kayaks, boogie boards, and snorkel gear can be rented in town; those hours still return you to the plaza inside the afternoon window.
After the water, walk the cobblestones to Plaza Mercado. Order homemade ice cream, a Belgian waffle, Costa Rican coffee, or all three. Sit outside, then continue to shops or back to a rental. Evening can shift to Ponciana, poolside tacos, or Sentido Norte on the hill. Leave time so this dessert happens before 20:00.
Yoga, spa time, and an outdoor gym sit in the same walking radius. Movie nights or cooking demonstrations sometimes appear on the local calendar. You are never far from Plaza Mercado, and the daily 12:00 to 20:00 hours are easy to remember.
Pack sun protection, water, and walking shoes. Fly into Liberia, transfer about an hour, and leave the car at the edge of the village. From there Las Catalinas is a walking town, and Coquelicot is the homemade ice cream and waffle stop in the market plaza, open every day, with cards accepted and outdoor tables when you want to stay put in the heat.