Cabo San Lucas Good Eats

Who's been to Cabo? I'm interested in hearing about your favorite restaurants.

I was there in the summer - not a lot of great food to be had in Cabo, unfortunately. We did have a GREAT dinner at Trotter's "C" restaurant, though.

Cabo is one of my favorite places to go on vacation. While there may not be world class food, the atmosphere and surroundings can more than make up for any shortcomings. My short-list for favorite restaurants are: Ventanas for fine dining (C's was great the first time we were there, just ok the second), Edith's, and Morgan's. For more detail, here's a post from another site that I wrote after we got back from our trip in December...

La Dolce (San Jose) - Perfect meal for our first night in town with everyone tired from traveling. We had been to the Cabo location on a previous trip and the San Jose location was just as good. Very good pizzas (I had the San Danielle, which is topped with prosciutto di parma). Great casual eating.

Morgan's (San Jose) - The restaurant probably has my favorite decor in Los Cabos. We were seated in the open air courtyard on the lower level. The menu is a little bit of everything, French, Mediterranean, Italian, but all locally influenced. I had the whole red snapper which was basically prepared Veracruz style but with a couple of modifications. The fish was extremely fresh and perfectly cooked. The only downside to our dinner at Morgan's was that everyone's clothes and hair absorbed the smell from the open air grill in the courtyard.

Pancho's (Cabo) - Tourist trap? You bet. However, dinner was still great. I ordered the globo margarita and wound up with a cocktail the size of my head. Not necessarily a bad thing since I was on vacation. Many in our party started with the tortilla soup, which is advertised as the best soup in the world. I'm not sure about that, but I did enjoy it. The chilis gave it a great smokey and complex flavor. In the interests of full disclosure, most others at the table did not enjoy it, so order at your own risk. For my main course I had the John's special which contained grilled chicken (just ok), pork ribs (very good) and carne asada (outstanding). The carne asada had been marinated in beer and tequila, which made the meat both tender and sweet. One of my favorite dishes of the trip.

Edith's (Cabo) - The previous night, Pancho's claimed to have the best tortilla soup in the world. Most people in our party weren't nuts about it and some claimed that the soup at Edith's was better. So, in service of my fellow eGulleters, I ordered the soup at Edith's as well. I did not think it was better than Pancho's. In fact, I thought it was a little bland. The verdict: Pancho's has the best tortilla soup in the world (if by "world" you mean "Pancho's and Edith's"). For my main course I had the Wally 2 combination (that's right, 2 nights of tortilla soup, 2 nights of combo platters...I'm on vacation damnit, don't make me think). The Wally's 2 had grilled lobster tail, shrimp and a petit filet. Everything was great, but the petit filet had the added bonus of being wrapped in bacon. Score.

C's (Las Palmillas Hotel) - On our last trip to Cabo, my girlfriend and I had one of our most memorable meals at C's, Charlie Trotter's restaurant at Las Palmillas Hotel. Our return trip was good, but nearly as memorable as the first. C's got a new chef a few months ago and the menu now seems to be more heavily asian influenced than the last time we were there. We opted for the tasting menu (which is not actually on the menu, we had to ask our waiter). The dinner started with roasted abalone (which my girlfriend heard as "roasted baloney", good times), and continued with a tower of sushi, seared tuna (which was cooked a bit past seared), a pasta dish with buffalo mozzarela and arugula (way to heavy to be in the middle of a tasting menu), grilled yellow tail, short ribs in a mole sauce with coconut foam and banana (my favorite of the night), and a dessert of a chocolate terrine. I should emphasize, this was a very good meal. I just felt like I could have gotten it at any fine restaurant in any other city. There was nothing uniquely "Cabo" about it. Next time, we'll be going to Ventanas.

Nick-San (Las Palmillas) - I like to think of myself as a sushi purist. I prefer to eat straight-up sashimi, maybe a couple of rolls, just don't mess with my fish too much. When we went to Nick-san, our hosts and the chef did all of the ordering for us, which got me excited. However, just about everything that came out was swimming in some kind of sauce, dressing or whatever. All of the fish seemed to be of very high quality, there was just no way to appreciate it given how busy each plate was. I will say that we went to the Nick-san in Cabo the last time we were there and had a great dinner. I think that's what we'll probably do on the next trip. That and order for ourselves.

French Riviera (Cabo) - The last night. A great dinner, but this restaurant has serious issues with the menu. It was quite possibly the hardest menu to read that I've ever encountered. It looked like the menu was orignially written in French, translated into Spanish, and then translated into English. The result were menu items like "roast breast potato". If anyone can tell me what a breast potato is, feel free to PM me. Anyway, the menu aside, the food was very very good. The meal started with two amuses. The first was comprised of three items, salmon tartare on a mini potato pancake, olive tapanade on a little piece of toast, and a mussel with s sauce I forget served in a little spoon. The second amuse was a very pleasant brandade. For my appetizer I had seared foie gras, served with some sort of fruit (again I forget) and a little salad. My main course was herb crusted rack of lamb and for dessert I had an assortment of mini creme brules. Everything we ate was great. The pace of the meal was quite leisurely and made for a very relaxing last night in paradise.

Thanks for the reply Josh. I've actually been there 7 times. We ate at Edith's the first time we were there. Good food but I'll tell you, their prices are crazy now...just like everything in Cabo these days.
La Golodrina is very good. People also call this place the Trailer Park but the real one is just outside of town.
Of the 5 or 6 restaurants inside the marina, I like Alexander's the best. We go there every time were there.
When you were there, was Senor Sweets open? Geat place to go every night for their 50-some homemade gelatos.
Tom

Anyone else?

This was a fun little find on a side street in Cabo San Lucas when I was there last December. (Don't remember the address, it was about two blocks off the main drag toward the water, not far from the post office.)



The camarones en molcajete was excellent.

There are 2 places in Cabo that are, IMO, must-try. One is Esteban's - a relative hole in the wall that, although it's right along the main drag, still caters mainly to locals. The specialty here is fish that's right-off-the-boat fresh, with simple preparations (e.g., the perfect al mojo de ajo). Service is unbelievably friendly, and the tuna pate served free with bread at the start of the meal is worth the trip itself. NB - starting at about midnight, Esteban's turns from restaurant to an absolute blast of a karaoke joint, again with nary a tourist in sight. Tourists are absolutely welcomed, however, as evidenced by the several very attractive local women that tried to teach me salsa. What a vacation. (sigh)

Place 2 is Nick San Japanese restaurant, which has sushi that rivals and, IMO beats some of the best places in the U.S. It's more upscale than most of the places in Cabo, and the prices reflect that. You won't find fresher fish anywhere. Beautiful presentations, too.

Thaniks for the tips. I love the local hangouts. I just forget the names of the places. I will definitely go there when I go back in March '07.

Just got back from Cabo.

Only had two authentic meals worth commenting on as the group I was with was more intent on going to lame places like Ruth's Chris.

First, a carnitas place called El Michoacano. They have recently moved to a larger space far away from downtown. Carnitas were OK, but you can do better at Carnitas Uruapan in Pilsen. Not worth the trip that far from downtown Cabo IMHO.

The other was Mariscos Mazatlan, right off the main drag a little towards the airport from the marina - on the corner of 16 de Septiembre and Narciso Mendoza . Slammin'. We had a group of 5 and ordered a wide array of ceivches & fish dishes, basically stuffing ourselves to the gills on excellent preparations of the freshest fish you can get. The tab for 5 people, including drinks, came to $66.00 US.

Did you happen to get to Señor Sweets in the Marina outside from the Mall? or Alexander Restaurant?

Neither, sorry.

I'm wondering if anyone's been to Cabo lately? I'm going down there in less than a month and am wondering what's new there.
Thanks all

We went to a place this past December called El Grill (terrible name, but still). I think it was in San Jose. Great fresh fish prepared simply on an outdoor grill, and some of the best carne asada I've ever had. It's probably not new, but it was our first time there.

Posting from my balcony (only have the laptop because of MrsF's business), had several excellent meals so far. More details later.

1) La Galandrina: Pricey (not for Cabo, but for me), astoundingly large menu that's only printed on a wall, excellent food. I recommend their "Wow" sauce -- asian sweet/spicy over fried fish.

2) Mariscos Mazatlan: Less than half the price of La Galandrina, outstanding food and excellent service. I'll agree with the poster above that their tuna dip is a unique and very pleasant starter. Camarones con mojo de ajo were terrific. Very strange "key lime pie" was sort of a vanilla wafers soaked in a lime frostingy thing, but tasty. NOTE: They've moved a block further off the main drag into a much larger, brand new building. The old Mariscos Mazatlan is now Casa Mazatlan, still the same owners but more of a trad Mex menu.

3) After a snorkelling trip, Restaurant-Bar La Palapa in the Cabo Pulmo reserve was fantastic. I have no idea what the price is because it was included in our tour fee, but a buffet was put out of fried fish, chicken in a creamy sauce with rajas and corn, beans, rice, and tortillas, plus 3 salsas (red, pico de gallo and the baja ubiquitous seafood sauce). I've got to come back here again for food like that.

4) Nick-San - It's no Katsu, but it's very good. I had a sushi combo, not feeling adventurous enough to have the chef go wild. At $22 for 12 pieces, not a bad price, but the bill adds up when water isn't free ($4 a bottle for basic name-brand water!), $12 glass of wine, etc. Highlights: Goyta Age is a crab-stuffed pepper, very very tasty. Low point: the salmon on the sushi combo was not top quality, but hey, it's a long way to salmon country. I also think the crab may have been krab but I'm not certain.

And my week isn't even half over! We've got reservations for Mi Casa, Edith's and Panchos, there goes my rainy day fund.

I got back 5 days ago. You should try Mocambo Mariscos. Off the main drag about 2 blocks. Very local establishment. I didn't go this year but I did go last year. I had the crabs, I believe they were blue crabs. Excellent!A tequila cart comes around with probably 50 different brands of tequila. Our dinner for me, my wife and 2 kids was around $60.00.

Another place that we did eat at this year for the first time was The Shrimp House...not the Shrimp Factory or the Shrimp Bucket. It's right across the street from The Caliente Casino and Subway. Get the LobsteShrimp combo. About 6 Jumbo (probably in the 13-15 class) shrimp and 4 small halved lobster tails...sweeter that the typical lobster down there. Make sure you have at least one Bulldog. It's something like a margarita with a bottle of beer in it. I was hesitant but ended up having 3 of them at our sitting. Our bill was around $45.00 ( My wife ran across the street for Subway for the kids).

Now, if you've never been down to Cabo. go to Edith's. If you have...skip it. Edith's is good but WAY overpriced!!!

Most of all, enjoy! What is it, about 90 right now? It's been rainy and snowy here with temps about 35-40.

Actually the weather has picked up here: the start of the week was cooler and very windy, with 12' surf outside our hotel! It's calmed down but the evenings are still pretty cool -- nothing like the 3"+ of snow at home, but not what I expected for the tropics.

Beyond my last note: Mi Casa was quite good, with an excellent tortilla soup (more on that subject below), but nothing stellar, that I can't match at dozens of Chicago joints. The kitch factor at Mi Casa was amazing, though, with folk art and lots of crosses and saints and stuff. I'd had a late lunch so had just a fruit salad (with a great chile lime dressing) and some sopes of conchicta pibil.

The following night, Pancho's, had a tortilla soup that at first taste I thought was better, but really was one note: black pepper. Disappointed. My mahi-mahi Veracruzana was outstanding, and MrsF's combo (carne asada, enchilada, quesadilla and chile relleno) was very good. The chile relleno in particular, had a very creamy cheese which stayed soft even after sitting on the plate for a while. They've got a great drink called a "John's Special" which is tequila, orange juice, brown sugar and lime which is now my favorite. Have to see if I can duplicate it at home. Pancho's has a different style of kitch, more Mexican Revolution (the painting of Pancho Villa as a cockroach was pretty surreal)

Tonight we were going to go to Ediths, but with a 7-year-old in our party, and a bit of a tiredness of paying a lot for the kind of Mexican food which is always cheap at home, we went downscale to Casa Mazatlan, where Mariscos Mazatlan used to be. We talked to Nacho, who owns both, and Casa has only been open 17 days. It's got about half of Mariscos' menu, plus a lot of standard Mex fare -- not surprising as Nacho worked for 14 years at Pancho's. I had the same combo MrsF had the night before, and it was not quite as good, but for 80 pesos less, a definitely good value. MrsF had Costillas de Puerco (pork ribs), which were grilled individually, and served with a fruity sauce which overall gave me the impression of cantonese spareribs. Excellent. I also had the best limonada of the week -- a huge glass of very tart, and very cold limeade. And now for the punchline: the best tortilla soup in Cabo: a rich broth which reminded me of french onion soup for its body and long-cooked onions, and lots of crisp tortilla bits, crema, toasted chile bits and avocado.

Oh, I skipped a great breakfast at Mama's (one door up the street from Pancho's, it's Felix's at night). Great omelet with chorizo and rajas, several salsas to choose from and a mixed fruit jam that I could eat every day. MrsF had a sausage-stuffed French Toast that filled her craving for an American breakfast.

One more full day, I probably won't post until I return.

OK one last good eats:
O Mole Mio, on Marina Blvd near Plaza Del Sol. More modern interpretations of Mexican ingredients. MrsF had Medallones de Res, not filet but tasty steak, with mushrooms and a mild chipotle cream sauce, I had Camarones Fridas, which were wrapped in shredded potatoes (bigger than usual for this sort of dish, almost sandwiched in french fries) over a pasilla sauce. Appetizers included empanaditas with a creamy cucumber sauce spooned into split-open empanadas -- very tasty; and a Sol y Luna salad with blue cheese, slices of plum tomato and orange, and an orange vinaigrette.

In summary, I was surprised at how ordinary the mexican food was -- very few restaurants seemed to be doing what Bahena or Bayless are trying for. Seafood was outstanding. Prices are high -- it's a resort town, and you've got to live with that.

Coming out of Saturday's dinner, stuffed to the gills, I almost had a taco al pastor off a spit. I wish I'd had my camera with me, because Sunday afternoon the spit wasn't there. MrsF's a little shy about the more street-level food, I'd have been happy to grab a taco here or there. Most of the casual dining around the marina and beaches don't want to server *a* taco, they want to serve you a meal of $6-8 and up.

JoelF wrote:The following night, Pancho's, had a tortilla soup that at first taste I thought was better, but really was one note: black pepper.

Funny.

I've been to Pancho's twice. The first time I thought their tortilla soup was spot on. 1000% better than Edith's which I found to be very, very bland. I was looking forward to having the soup on my second visit but, unfortunately, it was so over-salted that it was barely edible. Then you go and it's full of black pepper. The Pancho's tortilla soup roulette continues...

Hi,

We just got back from Los Cabos about 10 days ago. Incredible weather!
Had lots of good food there, but I had three favorites this trip. First one is The Tropicana Bar and Grill in San Jose. This was our second time there and it was good as always plus the atmosphere with all the religious relics, frescos and high ceilings is very cool.

We also dined at Lamanzillo's which is in Cabo right by the marina. I think the menu is almost all seafood. For appetizers, we all shared shrimp and crab legs prepared several ways. They do a very good Caesar prepared tableside that was a nice treat. I think most of us had grilled lobster for our entrees, but one person had grilled scallops and another had halibut. Very good all the way around.

I'm probably going to have to duck after I mention this one, but I really like the Trailer Park which is in Cabo. Our service was good and the food was wonderful. Nothing outstanding, just a good meal. I know some people don't like it, but I enjoyed it.

http://www.tropicanacabo.com/bar/

Where did you stay? You were in Cabo the same time as me.

Evil...We stayed at the Hilton Los Cabos. Our second time there. Really a wonderful property all the way around and I do believe it's made Conde Nast's Gold List a couple of times. We've also stayed at the Westin that's just down the road. Another nice property, but we prefer the Hilton. Where do you stay?

We stay at the Pueblo Bonito, either Rose on the Sea of Cortez side or Sunset Beach on the Pacific side. We stayed in the corridor once and although amazing properties, found it a little inconvenient. really anywhere in Cabo is better than a week anywhere in Chicago!

Just to put my .2 pesos in on CSL locations...

My sis-in-law has three time shares on Playa Solmar, the "Land's End" where the Pacific and Sea of Cortez come together. We stayed in Finisterra, which is the most westerly of the stretch (currently, there's a new one being built called Capella). It's a little laid back, lots of pools, and completely sold out so there's less Come See Our Timeshare pressure (although they did have folks from Playa Grande pitching in their lobby). Their restaurant, the Blue Marlin, is pretty nice (only had breakfast there) and the views from the Whale Watcher bar are very, very nice.

Solmar is on the easterly end (there's a steep trail across the rocks to Playa Amor just east of them), and seems on a similar level, but not as many pools, and not in the cliffs so the views may suffer, especially of the harbor side. I didn't actually go inside Solmar, so it could be spiffier than I can tell. The stuff closest to the beach is kind of older looking.

Playa Grande is in the middle, and is very Disney-fied: multiple levels, fountains, bright colors... a little too intense for me, although my sis-in-law's room was very, very nice. This place is big, and packed to the property lines with everything from pools and parking to restaurants and a spa to mini-golf and tennis courts.

Evil...Someone was just telling me about Sunset Beach and it sounded fabulous! However since we travel there with a business group, we stay where they tell us to. As long as it's a suite at the Hilton, I'm certainly not going to complain

Joel...Love the Cake song in your signature!

big thanks jesteinf for clarifying San Jose del Cabo vrs Cabo San Lucas.

We are staying this time in San Jose del Cabo, any other suggestions for this town ?

Also, questions for those who traveled to Cabo in general, did you rent a car and did anyone make it up to the arts community of Todos Santos ?

--

Willie,
My sister-in-law rented a car which we shared while we were down there. I don't remember the cost.

We made it up to Todos Santos which consists of two kinds of shops: places which have the same ceramic and glass as everybody else (80%) and places which have unique stuff (20%). The "everybody else" places have stuff you can find in CSL, the "unique" places run to very, very pricey stuff -- art from actual artists and artisans who know what kind of people come down to Baja to buy art.

Joel

We spent a week in San Jose in November, and rented a car to drive up to Todos Santos for the day. We had a wonderful lunch at Los Adobes, around the corner from Hotel California. The Chef's Special appetizer platter has tasty versions of taquitos, nopales and artichoke hearts topped with frijoles, queso blanco and a chile salsa. For the entree, we had Camarones con Mango Salsa. Huge, fresh butterflied shrimp sauteed to perfection, served with an incendiary mango-habanero salsa.

Sweet Willie wrote:big thanks jesteinf for clarifying San Jose del Cabo vrs Cabo San Lucas.

We are staying this time in San Jose del Cabo, any other suggestions for this town ?

Also, questions for those who traveled to Cabo in general, did you rent a car and did anyone make it up to the arts community of Todos Santos ?

--

We're actually in Cabo right now. We went to Local 8 in San Jose last night and had a very nice meal. Tonight is El Matador (also in San Jose). I'll report back.

We never rent a car, but really the only time we leave where we're staying (Grand Regina) is at night for dinner. The rest of the time is spent horizontal, pool-side.

We got back on Saturday from a wonderful week in Cabo. Most of the places we went to have already been mentioned. Two places not mentioned that we went to were El Matador and Buon Appetito.

El Matador is a small Mexican place in San Jose. We started our meal with guacamole, yellowfin tuna carpaccio and tortilla soup. All were very good (the guacamole and the soup were some of the best that I've had of either dish). Chile Relleno for my main course was also very good, nicely stuffed with cheese and shrimp. A key lime pie dessert was a nice way to finish off the meal.

Buon Appetito is an Italian restaurant in the Hotel Marisol (a small boutique hotel outside of San Jose). The standout of this meal was exceptionally fresh mahi mahi prepared with tomatoes, olives, and capers in a white wine sauce. Service was also extremely friendly.

Other than that, we hit some old standbys (El Grill, C, Nick-San, Local . Great weather, great trip.

Heading down to Cabo next week. Any new ideas/updates?

Thanks, Will

My wife and I stayed at the One and Only Palmilla last fall. We mainly ate at our resort, which had incredible food. Charlie Trotter's restaurant has closed and is replaced by a Jean-George V. restaurant (which wasn't open when we were there). Their spa and Agua restaurants also have great food. We went to a local restaurant once (don't remember the name) that was good, but didn't blow us away.

Baja California is not particularly well known for its food. My impression is that many restaurants cater to tourists and you have to look hard for places that rival the very best Mexican food in Chicago. If you want good, local food, I'd focus on seafood -- especially places that serve locally caught fish.

You might want to check out two threads over at egullet:
http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=115569

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=110253