Pura Vida Ville

Pura Vida Ville is a family-owned Mexican and Costa Rican restaurant operated by Tatiana and Reginald Warren. The couple started by preparing homemade Mexican cuisine out of a gas station in Gates before opening their first brick-and-mortar location at Westmar Plaza on Buffalo Road in 2019. Their second location opened on April 3, 2026, at I-Square in Irondequoit, NY, bringing their blend of Mexican staples and Costa Rican specialties to the east side of Rochester.

Tatiana Warren, a Costa Rica native, developed her recipes after being encouraged by a homesick friend to make tamales. She draws on experience working at Mexican restaurants around Rochester and personally oversees food preparation at both locations to maintain consistency.

The menu at Pura Vida Ville spans both Mexican and Costa Rican traditions. Core offerings include tacos, burritos, bowls, and empanadas with fillings like beef, plantain, chorizo, and chicken. Their birria tacos are a top seller at the original location. On the Costa Rican side, the restaurant serves:

• Tamales steamed in banana leaves with seasoned pork, rice, and cornmeal, paired with a dipping sauce made from Salsa Lizano
• Gallo pinto, the classic Costa Rican dish of black beans and rice cooked with aromatics
• Shredded beef with caramelized onions and peppers
• Fruit-filled pastries, including guava varieties

Pura Vida Ville also sells Costa Rican specialty products such as coffee beans. The Irondequoit location is open Tuesday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m., and closed Sunday and Monday.

Pura Vida Ville is one of the few restaurants in the Rochester area that pairs a Mexican menu with authentic Costa Rican dishes. The Costa Rican tamales — wrapped in banana leaves rather than corn husks and sized as full meals — set the restaurant apart from other local taquerias. The tamales are made in limited batches and often sell out, so calling ahead is recommended. The business's trajectory from a gas-station kitchen in Gates to two storefronts reflects steady local demand for their cooking.

The Irondequoit location sits inside I-Square, a mixed-use development at 400 Bakers Park that combines restaurants, retail, an outdoor amphitheater, and The Imaginarium education center. I-Square is home to several other independent eateries and shops, making it a walkable dining destination in the town of Irondequoit. The development is located near the intersection of Titus Avenue and Cooper Road, a few minutes north of Route 104. Phone for the I-Square location is (585) 319-5655.