Constructed around a 1954 Fairchild C-123 plane (allegedly purchased by the US government in the ’80s for the Nicaraguan Contras but never used), this striking bar-restaurant is a great spot for a beer, cocktail or wine and stellar sunset-watching. The Tico and international menu is overpriced, and the service could be improved, but you can't beat the setting.
In 2000 the enterprising owners of El Avión purchased the plane for the surprisingly reasonable sum of US$3000 (it never made it out of its hangar in San José because of the Iran–Contra scandal that embroiled Oliver North and his cohorts), and proceeded to cart it piece by piece to Manuel Antonio. It now sits on the side of the main road, where it looks as if it crash-landed into the side of the hill.