Imagine eating delicious Caribbean cuisine while floating in a boat, surrounded by the breathtaking beauty and natural wonders of Tortuguero National Park. This unique experience is made possible by “La Katonga,” a restaurant by the Mawamba Group. Unlike other floating restaurants in the country, it is built on two boats that sail the Tortuguero River, allowing visitors to enjoy their meal while being enchanted by the park’s magic.
“Costa Rica has a unique gastronomy, full of ingredients, flavors, and stories of entrepreneurs that, combined with the natural beauty of our country, allow people to live a unique and unforgettable experience, even more so on a floating restaurant on the mighty Tortuguero River,” said Ireth Rodriguez, head of promotion at the ICT.
Eugenia Jurado, sales manager of Grupo Mawamba, a company founded in the eighties by husband and wife Mauricio Dada and Norma Arrea, explained how this peculiar restaurant works.
“La Katonga was constructed on the base of a boat, which evolved into the unique floating restaurant it is today. It is a unique experience,” said Jurado. The restaurant is composed of two 50-passenger boats, each powered by a 70-horsepower outboard motor. It has space for 20 people, with five tables for four customers each.
The menu offered on board La Katonga aims to be innovative, rescuing part of the Costa Rican and Caribbean roots, and therefore, the first starter offered to diners is a chayote ceviche with coconut milk, which is widely used in the preparation of Caribbean dishes.
For salads, they use avocado, thyme, and a homemade blackberry dressing, while for main courses, they offer options such as fish with coconut milk and saffron; the bread served on board is homemade.
Katonga emerged from the creativity of Mauricio Dada. It’s the result of a business turnaround in Tortuguero—he found an available boat and decided to create La Katonga approximately 10 years ago.
“The experience in Tortuguero began with Mauricio and Norma in the ’80s with a boat called La Mawamba. It took them seven hours to get to Tortuguero from Moín. Later, they started with the construction of the Lodge, and little by little, La Mawamba stopped working. From this, they managed to rescue the rudder, which is the one that runs La Katonga today,” he concluded.
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