The quintessential Costa Rican soda: a small, no-frills dining room where a set lunch of casado — rice, black beans, a protein, a small salad — arrives quickly and costs almost nothing. Soda Central is the kind of place that keeps the town fed: workers at the counter, families at the tables, a television in the corner. Gallo pinto (rice and beans fried together) comes with everything at breakfast.
Don't expect a menu in English or any concession to tourist expectations. Point at what looks good, ask for the plato del día, and you'll eat well. It's an honest meal in an honest place, and after a morning at the Wilson Gardens it hits exactly right.