Santa Elena has a decent range of restaurants for a small town, from simple sodas serving casados to more upmarket places catering to the tourist crowd. Vegetarian options are easier to find here than in most of Costa Rica — long-running spots like Cafe Flor de Vida made the area a vegetarian-friendly stop early on.
Sabor Tico is the reliable, cheap soda for full Costa Rican plates; Morpho's is a slightly more polished mid-range option. Tramonti, on the road down towards Cerro Plano, serves the best wood-fired pizza in town. Most kitchens close by 9 pm, so eat earlier than you might expect.