Mexican restaurants in Central Pacific Coast
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A
La Tramoya
Hearty Mexican meat dishes are set out on spacious sidewalk tables. Ravenous? Try the carne azteca – a steak stuffed with huitlacoche (corn fungus) and served on a bed of nopal es (prickly pear cactus).
reviewed
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B
Café de Olla
This well-loved traditional Mexican restaurant nurtures a lively atmosphere with its sidewalk grill and open kitchen.
reviewed
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C
Wala Wala
This cheerfully decorated restaurant serves inexpensive, tasty home-style meals. It’s mostly basic Mexican and pasta with a few specialties such as lobster (M$225) and pollo con naranja (chicken with orange, M$80). There’s live music three nights a week.
reviewed
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D
Casa de Pancho
It couldn't be more simple: a few plastic tables set up in a mostly-bare room. But the economical pozole, enchiladas and other basic dishes are simply splendid. Carlos, the genial waiter/cook/owner, loves to spread the gospel of salsa.
reviewed
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E
El Arrayán Cocina Tradicional
Owner Carmen Porras takes special pleasure in rescuing old family recipes from obscurity and finding new converts for real traditional Mexican cuisine. Her restaurant, with its open kitchen and romantic courtyard, emphasizes local ingredients: the delicious panela cheese comes straight from the small dairy south of Puerto Vallarta, and the corn used for the tortillas is locally produced and comes directly from the mill. House specialties include crispy duck carnitas with orange sauce – scrumptious! – and rib-eye steak marinated in Mexican spices and tequila. Raise a toast to a truly memorable meal with a shot of fiery raicilla, a rare agave distillate produced in Jali…
reviewed
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Bistro del Mar
This beautiful, beachside bistro – part of the Hotel Brisas del Mar complex – exemplifies contemporary Mexican cuisine by fusing Latin, European and Asian flavors. Rotating specialties include jumbo shrimp marinated in a sweet-and-sour sauce, flambéed in tequila, on a bed of sweet-corn cake. With its landmark sail roof over candlelit beachside tables, Bistro del Mar is a romantic treat for the heart, soul and stomach.
reviewed
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G
El Cabrito
A local tradition since 1963, this reader-recommended restaurant has some of the city’s finest traditional Mexican food, such as Oaxaca-style black mole made of 32 ingredients. For those who like a dare, the house specialty is cabecita de cabrito – broiled head of baby goat. The outdoor tables offer prime people-watching.
reviewed
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Doña Licha
Licha is well known for its down-home Mexican cooking, casual atmosphere and excellent prices. There are always several comidas corridas from which to choose, including one delicious specialty, pollo en cacahuete (chicken in a peanut sauce); all come with rice, beans and handmade tortillas. Breakfasts are huge.
reviewed
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Planeta Vegetariano
This gem of a place with only 10 tables eschews cheese for fresh, dairy-free dishes like soy enchiladas, banana lasagna (yes, that’s right) and a wide range of creatively conceived salads. The economical buffet and homey atmosphere cause many Vallarta visitors to forget about all that culinary din and return again and again.
reviewed
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Domitila
This romantic new restaurant is doing its part to raise the ante for gourmet fare on Plazuela Machado. The waiters are quick to replenish your fresh tamarindo (tamarind) margarita and the plates are delicious and well presented. Feeling decadent? Try the small squid stuffed with crab meat and salsa with cheese sauce.
reviewed
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Puerta del Sol
This romantic restaurant perched on the cliffs between Playas Madera and La Ropa has spectacular bay and sunset views. And the international menu is on fire, literally. Start with a flambé steak, followed by flaming bananas in Kahlua and finish off with a fiery Irish or Spanish coffee. Reservations are a must in high season.
reviewed
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L
La Copa de Leche
Harkening back to a bygone Mazatlán, this old-timer is prized by the local gentry for its authentic menu. The economical comida corrida is served all day long, but for something really delicious you'd do well to try the hearty sopa de mariscos, a soup with squid, shrimp, fish and a wedge of lime.
reviewed
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Fersato's
Opposite the Centro Cultural, this long-standing family establishment features good Mexican food served amid mock-hacienda decor. Taco varieties include dorados (lightly fried) and de albañil (literally 'bricklayer's tacos,' containing crispy fried pork skin, avocado, onion, tomato and chili).
reviewed
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Los Xitomates
This innovative restaurants targets younger diners with its hybrid alta cocina Mexicana (gourmet Mexican) cuisine, which takes pre-Hispanic and Mexican recipes and rounds them out with Mediterranean, Asian or Caribbean influences. It can be noisy when busy, but the service is always top notch.
reviewed
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O
La Hormiga Feliz
Madero has several open-late taco stands, and every one of them brags about their freshly-made salsa. The salsa here is so good that Miguel - who's been chopping it up and mashing it down since 1998 - just lets it speak for itself. Slather it on an adobado (marinated pork) taco and then do it again.
reviewed
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Coconuts
For a romantic dinner downtown, this upscale place is hard to beat. Fairy lights fill the outdoor courtyard, service is attentive and dishes include seared tuna with green papaya salad, shrimp-stuffed chiles rellenos and filet mignon with mashed potatoes and grilled vegetables.
reviewed
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Q
Cenaduría Antelia
Antelia’s popular and friendly eatery has been dishing out tasty antojitos mexicanos and desserts since 1975. Tuck into a tamal de chile verde or a bursting bowl of daily pozole, and top it off with calabaza con leche (squash in milk) for dessert.
reviewed
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R
La Casa Vieja
A hidden gem located in a residential neighborhood near Playa Madera, Casa Vieja is popular with locals and in-the-know tourists for great, traditional Mexican food and hospitality. There’s live music most nights, and pozole figures prominently on the menu every Thursday.
reviewed
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S
Kookaburra
One of Acapulco’s finest and most exclusive restaurants, the thatched Kookaburra has great views and even better food, including such specialties as spaghetti with caviar, or filet mignon with chipotle. It’s a perfect place for a romantic dinner. Reservations required.
reviewed
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Época
A civilized option overlooking Playa Olas Altas, Época has quickly taken its place among Vallarta’s top tier of beach restaurants. Dine on chipotle crab cakes, mixed citrus salad or mahi mahi in tequila-lime sauce with roasted nopales (cactus), rice and vegetables.
reviewed
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Restaurant Charly
Just steps east of the zócalo, on the pedestrian alley of Carranza, economical Charly has shady sidewalk tables and offers up barbacoa de chivo (spiced, slow-cooked goat meat surrounded by roasted maguey plants) as both a main dish and in taco form.
reviewed
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Esquina de los Caprichos
This tiny little place has only six tables and a lot of class. Most of the dishes you would expect to find at a tapas bar in Barcelona – delicious gazpacho, fried calamari, garlic shrimp and paella (Saturday only) – are served here on charming handmade plates.
reviewed
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El Amigo Miguel
This chain features cheery, busy open-air restaurants with cheap and delicious seafood. In Old Acapulco, Miguel also has two restaurants opposite one another, on the same corner, Juárez 16 and Juárez 31 (both open 10am to 9pm), with other branches around town.
reviewed
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Casa Loma
Escape the tourist scene and enjoy a sophisticated meal at this genteel dining destination. Enjoy roast duck à l’orange or the Mazatlán favorite poached fish blanca rosa in a swanky dining room or outdoors by the burbling patio fountain.
reviewed
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Y
Restaurant San Carlos
An open-air patio, good traditional Mexican fare and an inexpensive comida corrida make this a popular place near the zócalo. The menu has an endless list of Mexican standards, including green and white pozole.
reviewed
