Restaurants in Northern Baja
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Villa Saverios
Villa Saverios takes the concept of 'Baja Med' to absurd heights. The results? Try beef cheeks stuffed with ancho chilies; mesquite-grilled quail; tuna sashimi; gourmet burritos; sliced raw lobster with a chile vinaigrette; filet mignon carpaccio; or abalone served in its shell and smothered with chipotle cream sauce (gulp). Classical music tinkles over a fairly formal dining room, so dress appropriately.
reviewed
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Birriería La Guadalajara
Birriería La Guadalajara Birria (stewed goat, beef or lamb) is the specialty here, and you can order it made de borrego (lamb), de res (beef) or de chivo (goat). Big steaming bowls (or tacos, if you wish) will land on your table and keep you energized for hours.
reviewed
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Vittorio’s
For years this cozy Italian restaurant has been serving generous portions of reasonably priced pizza and pasta. Head to the back and you’ll feel like the Godfather in the plush leather booths with dim lighting. Daily specials cost only M$80.
reviewed
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Cenaduría Selecta
This family-run diner is a Mexicali institution specializing in antojitos like beef tacos and burritos. Some swear this is the best Mexican food in town. The set meals are a bargain.
reviewed
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El Taco de Huitzilopochtli
It's worth planning your visit to Ensenada around this restaurant's opening hours. For 32 years it has been serving its mouthwatering mixiote, a unique Texcoco-style dish of lamb wrapped in maguey leaves and cooked for 16 hours in mesquite-fired ovens. Other dishes include tlacoyos (thick, stuffed tortillas in green chili sauce), romeritos (nopal cactus, potatoes and shrimp in a bowl of chocolaty, spicy mole) and huauzontles (a stuffed and battered broccoli-like vegetable in red sauce).
reviewed
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La Querencia
Considering the astoundingly imaginative menu, fair prices and great atmosphere, La Querencia deserves every bit of its trendiness. You can pop in for a light meal of tuna-fin stew, marinated duck tacos or a salmon sandwich and keep to your daily travel budget; or go for broke devouring divinely seasoned octopus, sashimi or a Mongolian-style New York steak. Deer heads and antlers adorn the walls and a colorful fish tank livens up the back bar.
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Manzanilla
With a wonderful staff, outstanding regional and Italian-influenced cuisine and an atmosphere you'll melt into, Manzanilla is simply tops. The server will start you off with Baja-grown manzanilla olives and house-baked bread and explain each of the dishes, from fresh local oysters to lamb shank and exquisitely prepared fish. The rib-eye steaks, which come from a select ranch in Sonora (the state famous for its beef) are no less than orgasmic.
reviewed
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Cien Años
One of Tijuana's temples of alta cocina, Cien Años is well worth a splurge. The chefs have dug deep into a box of ancient Mexican recipes, some going back to the Aztecs and Mayans, and have come up with some rather unusual - but by all accounts, delicious - concoctions. It's a formal place, so dress well for dinner. Breakfast & lunch are more casual.
reviewed
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Cenaduría El Parrian
If you want to eat well for cheap, blow off the gringo traps along López Mateos and join the locals at El Parrian. The small menu of enchiladas, tacos, tamales and tostadas is outstanding. Try the pozole (a hearty pork and hominy soup) and polish it off with a hot mug of champurrado (a chocolate corn drink).
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Baja Frut
At this locally loved diner, 'los hotcakes'come with real syrup, juices are fresh, tea means two teabags, the coffee is bottomless, and portions are huge. The chilaquiles (a breakfast dish made with fried tortillas and red or green sauce) are outstanding, and the service is tops.
reviewed
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Gypsy's
This lively tapas bar has an eclectic décor inspired by Spanish artists Miró, Gaudí and Dalí. Make a meal out of the tapas or dig into more substantial main courses like paella or Spanish-style octopus. Live flamenco music after 22:00 on Fridays really gets things going.
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Einstein
The owner didn't intend his restaurant to become downtown's most popular burger pit, but that's what people kept ordering. So the menu grew to include over a dozen types of burgers. Salads and pastas and a couple of seafood plates (his original idea was natural food) are still on the menu.
reviewed
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El Rincón de Xochimilco
In a residential area just north of Blvd Agua Caliente, this family eatery serves a range of delicious antojitos, including flautas, sopes, huaraches and gorditas (all variations on the meat- and cheese-loaded tortilla) prepared Mexico City-style.
reviewed
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La Diferencia
Behind a tuxedo shop, La Diferencia specializes in alta cocina (haute cuisine), serving exotic Mexican dishes like crocodile fajitas, crepes de huitlacoche (corn fungus crepes) and ensalada de nopal y chicharron (cactus paddle and pork crackling salad).
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El Parián
Great enchiladas, quesadillas, burritos, agua de jamaica (hibiscus water) and friendly service make this perfect for anyone watching their pesos. Flat-screen televisions at every corner mean you (or the wait staff) never have to miss a moment of that cheesy Mexican soap.
reviewed
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La Esquina de Bodegas
La Esquina de Bodegas is worth a look for its décor alone. It metamorphosed from a former brandy distillery, integrating the ancient drums, vats and pipes into a hip industrial environment. The menu is Mediterranean with Mexican inflections and there is a relaxed air to it.
reviewed
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El Rey Sol
Supposedly Mexico's oldest French restaurant (opened 1947), the award-winning El Rey Sol is elegant but relaxed, despite a guest list that includes several Mexican presidents. Full dinners start around US$35, and the drinks are excellent (the Cadillac margarita is sublime).
reviewed
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La Cantina de los Remedios
This massive hacienda-style place takes classic mexicanismo way over the top. It has an energetic vibe and good Mexican favorites and does set menus that will send you home with an over-stuffed belly and a dreamy head. It's also a good place for just a drink.
reviewed
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Restaurant Ricardo’s
One of Tijuana’s best-value places is this bright and cheerful diner-style joint, with two hours of free parking. Excellent breakfasts and tortas (sandwiches), among the best in town, are served around the clock. The waterfall adds to the ambience.
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Mariscos Bahía
Since its opening in 1970 Mariscos Bahía has become a venerated classic. The halibut came out overcooked during our last visit, but the camarones al mojo de ajo (garlic shrimp), the sidewalk terrace and the delicious margaritas made up for it.
reviewed
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Bronco's Steak House
Bronco's Steak House Vaquero (cowboy) culture is as alive in the décor here as it is in the hearty and humongous mesquite-grilled steaks that many claim are the best in town. Prices are high, but so is the quality. Great breakfasts.
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Restaurant Rome's
For some good ol' family-style cooking, slip into this old-school diner, complete with jukebox and big booths. The set lunch (including dessert and drink) is a bargain. Otherwise choose from modest, but well prepared Mexican plates. Great soups.
reviewed
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Las Ventanas del Ché
Red tablecloths and a steak knife on each napkin make this Argentine steakhouse feel just like they do in the mother country. Along with numerous cuts of beef, there are salads and sandwiches. Chase it all down with a bottle of Mexican wine.
reviewed
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Tacos Don Zefe
Not only does Don Zefe serve what are arguably the best seafood tacos in town, it's also the perfect combination of taco stand and restaurant: outdoor tables, a stainless steel bar mounted between two palm trees and friendly counter service.
reviewed
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China Town
Plenty of folks in Mexicali say this spotless, modest restaurant serves the best Chinese food in town. A friendly old Chinese-Mexican woman presides over the cash register while attentive waiters whisk out enormous plates of darn good food.
reviewed