Two calendars run through Ojochal this month, and both point at the same few weeks. Restaurante Exótica is in its annual closure and has posted a reopening date of Tuesday, November 3, 2026. Down the road at Playa Tortuga, Reserva Playa Tortuga says olive ridley nesting peaks in September and October. Its hatchery nests take about 60 days to hatch. Add 60 days to the nesting peak and the hatchlings should start arriving in November, the same month the thatched roof on Avenida Principal reopens.
October in Ojochal, then, is mostly a month of waiting. Here is how to eat well and spend your mornings until November arrives.
Thirty days until November 3
Exótica's own visit page is specific. The restaurant is "closed September 1 – October 31, 2026," and it reopens on Tuesday, November 3. November 1 is a Sunday and Exótica normally closes on Sundays and Mondays, so the Tuesday date falls on its regular first night of the week. Once open, it serves Tuesday through Saturday, 4:00 to 8:00 PM.
Exótica's reservation policy is the other reason November matters. It lists reservations as "preferred" from May through November and "essential" from December through April. Parties of seven or more need a reservation all year. That leaves November as the one month when the duck breast is back on the menu and reservations are still only preferred. An anniversary or a visit from family in early November is easier to book now than it will be four weeks later.
Where the kitchens stand, night by night
With Exótica dark, what decides dinner in October is which kitchen is open on which night. The grid below uses each venue's own posted hours where they exist and a third-party listing where they don't. None of these venues has posted anything specific to October 2026, so treat every cell as the standing schedule and call ahead before you drive.
| Night | Citrus | Stan's Café | Momento | Heliconia | Potz |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Monday | 4–9 PM | Closed | 12–9 PM | 11 AM–10 PM | 7 AM–9 PM |
| Tuesday | 4–9 PM | Closed | 12–9 PM | 11 AM–10 PM | 7 AM–9 PM |
| Wednesday–Saturday | 4–9 PM | 3–9 PM | 12–9 PM | 11 AM–10 PM | 7 AM–9 PM |
| Sunday | Closed | 12–6 PM | No hours posted | Closed | 7 AM–9 PM |
Sunday is the hard night. On paper, only Stan's and Potz are serving, and Stan's closes at 6:00 PM. Potz's daily 7:00 AM to 9:00 PM schedule comes from a delivery-app listing, not the restaurant itself, which makes it the night most worth a confirming call. Monday and Tuesday are easier, with four kitchens posting hours. Stan's stays closed both nights.
A few notes on each, for nights when you want a particular room rather than whatever is open:
Citrus is in Plaza Tangara. Its menu puts escargots and French onion soup next to pad thai, and its own description of the cooking is Mediterranean and Asian. It is the closest thing in town to Exótica's level of occasion while Exótica is closed.
Stan's Café is the casual option, and the dish people keep naming is the poutine. Its Sunday 12:00 to 6:00 PM window makes it the only posted Sunday lunch in town apart from Potz.
Momento Wine and Sushi Bar is newer. A regional directory says it opened in early 2025. It serves sushi, a rotating tapas menu and craft cocktails, and it has an air-conditioned wine room. In a humid October, that wine room is reason enough to go.
Heliconia sits in the trees above a river and is run by Nancy and Edgar with their family. It serves fish and seafood alongside Costa Rican dishes. Its hours come from a third-party listing last updated in June 2025, not from the restaurant itself.
Potz Restaurant and Coffee House covers the hours no one else does, from breakfast and coffee through gourmet sandwiches, vegan plates and local craft beer.
La Pala is not in the grid because no source posts its hours. One local food guide says it "occasionally closes for seasonal breaks" but gives no dates for 2026. If it's your usual spot, ask before you go.
The festival that already passed through
The best food event of this green season has already happened. From September 16 to 19, the Vamos al Sur Festival Gastronómico brought more than 50 chefs and mixologists to the South Pacific. On Friday, September 18, Potz Bistro in Ojochal hosted a free Brunch Colaborativo from 10:00 AM to 3:00 PM, with an exclusive menu and no reservations required. La República covered the lineup on September 9.
The festival was started by chef Marlon Acuña, who comes from Pérez Zeledón and owns Contramarea in Uvita. He told La República the idea began with a question:
"Why not bring all of this together here, in our town, in the South of Costa Rica?"
The festival's charity link ties back to Playa Tortuga's stretch of coast. Part of the proceeds from the opening Noche de Bocas in Uvita went to conserving and restoring South Pacific corals, and Acuña said he hoped to raise money for Costa Rica Coral Restoration. Organizers want Vamos al Sur to become an annual festival, with smaller editions elsewhere in the Brunca region. If they follow through, a mid-September brunch in Ojochal becomes a fixed date for 2027.
October at Playa Tortuga is nesting, not hatching
Reserva Playa Tortuga is a non-profit research and education center founded in 2009. It protects the olive ridley nesting beach at Playa Tortuga by moving threatened nests into a guarded hatchery. Its staff page lists Oscar Brenes as Science Director and tropical biologist, responsible for the sea turtle conservation program.
The reserve's season runs July through December, with the peak in September and October. That peak is for nesting. With incubation at roughly 60 days, a nest laid this weekend would hatch around early December, and nests from mid-September would hatch in mid-November. Reading that arithmetic forward, the peak release weeks of this season should fall in the same stretch as Exótica's reopening and the run-up to December.
You won't get much advance notice. The reserve says it usually announces releases to the community on social media at short notice and releases hatchlings at their original beach. Following the reserve's own channels from now on is the only dependable way to be on the sand when a nest comes up.
The reserve publishes guidance for anyone near the turtles:
- Keep your distance and stay quiet around nesting turtles.
- Avoid white light, use only red light near a turtle, and never use flash photography.
- At a release, stay behind the line and watch where you step.
- Don't touch the hatchlings, and give them space.
- Don't swim in the release area right after a release.
A weekend morning in the meantime
There are two ways to get involved before the first hatch. The reserve has run a public guided ecology walk on its forest trails on Saturdays and Sundays at 7:00 AM. It lasted about 90 minutes, cost $10 per person and needed at least five participants. Bookings were taken at least a day ahead by calling 2786-5200 or emailing [email protected]. Those details come from a 2018 announcement, so confirm the schedule and price when you call. If you're gathering friends to reach the five-person minimum, a 7:00 AM walk finishes in time for breakfast at Potz.
The second way is hands-on. Residents who would rather help on the beach can ask about the weekly morning and evening walks on Playa Tortuga, organized through the reserve's volunteer WhatsApp group or at the reserve itself. Joining in October puts you on patrol during the nesting peak and on the reserve's list before the November releases begin.
Ojochal's restaurants and walking trails often shape where someone wants to live, whether they're settling in for good or keeping a second home for the green season. If you're weighing a property within walking distance of town or near Playa Tortuga, Bluezone Realty International can walk you through what owning one involves. Schedule a private consultation.
