Best restaurant in PV and Cabo?

Hello, We're not a big excursion family but we do want to get off the boat for some fantastic food? Any recommendations? We'll be in PV and Cabo for a Christmas cruise. :D

Hello, We're not a big excursion family but we do want to get off the boat for some fantastic food? Any recommendations? We'll be in PV and Cabo for a Christmas cruise. :D

We can certainly make some suggestions (for PV) since we dine in over 40 different PV restaurants every year. But please understand that PV is a foodie heaven with well over 200 decent eating venues ranging from excellent street food to expensive French/Continental restaurants. You can help by posting some ideas of the type of food you desire and whether you are talking about lunch or dinner. And it would also be helpful to know whether you car planning to go downtown ((Centro and the Southside (Old Town, Romantic Zone)) or prefer to stay closer to the Marina (Port).

Hank

PV has many fantastic restaurants. We always try to stop at the Casa Isabel for the sunset view and ambiance (ya just can't cook that up). Perhaps stop in for an hour at sunset (port time is 1 hour forward of ship time, so Ships usually leave a few hours after dark)

Below is a short video we did at Casa Isabella in PV ($8 taxi ride to cruise pier each way)

Hank...I am looking for a knockout lunch..over looking the bay with only the sweetest smells ie no industry nor marina

John

Hank...I am looking for a knockout lunch..over looking the bay with only the sweetest smells ie no industry nor marina

John

http://www.lapalapapv.com/site/

Hank...I am looking for a knockout lunch..over looking the bay with only the sweetest smells ie no industry nor marina

John

The previous post suggests La Palapa which is a decent choice among the restaurants located along Los Muertos Beach in the southside (Old Town) part of PV (where we live when in PV). This restaurant is right along a busy beach (so not sure this meats your "over look" criteria), but it does have decent (and somewhat pricy) food. Another good choice along this same beach is Daiquiri Dicks. The other suggestion of Casa Isabel does offer a fantastic high view of the bay (you need a taxi to get to the place) but we have found their cuisine to be hit or miss. There are some other high-end restaurants such as La Kliff (located about 20 min south of PV (opposite side of town from the Marina) that have amazing views/settings, but not sure they are open for lunch.

Hank

Not on the beach but on a hill, overlooking old town and the bay with the best view.

Casa Isabel: http://www.casaisabelpv.com/bar-and-grill

Their Mexican coffee is one of the best, a show itself.

On Playa los muertes, BLue Shrimp http://theblueshrimp.com/english/about-us.html

In Cabo, I would recommend Solomon's Landing. Short walk from the tender pier. The owner, Bryan Solomon, is a New Orleans Cordon Bleu trained chef, very good food. His restaurant was featured on Diner Drive In's and Dives.

On the marina with a great view.

Hlitner, Ine . . . This is often an impossible topic. Best this, killer that and my favorite, "authentic Mexican". The twentieth annual gourmet festival just started. Vallarta is a foodie's paradise.

A fantastic food experience can be had for every meal and every type food you can imagine. Experienced Vallarta visitors can put you in the right establishment for any given meal if we only know what you like to eat.

At this moment, the best eats out there are Tacos el Pastor from the El Carboncito food cart on Honduras between Ave. Mexico & Paraguay. Finished off with Churros at the corner of Uruguay & Peru (Julio's Churros).

A meal with a view can be had at Barcelona Tapas or Casa Isabel (where we are headed for anniversary dinner tonight). Trip advisor is a good source and will give you a thumbnail look at all these places. Find a restaurant or two then ask what we think about your choices and why.

There are two companies that offer food tour in Vallarta and either would be a great way to explore great food without going to the typical tourist establishments.

Enjoy!

I so agree with the many choices in food, especialy now with the food festival. Even during our long stay we donot need to visit the same restaurant twice. It is just that I mention a few restaurants which are easy to find, with nice food (not always mexican), nice view and nice service.

One of our favorite for burritos is the small stand near the stadium, more or less oppostie the Sheraton - la burita Marinera -, one in the middle of a row with eateries. Just mexicans, no tourists.

Also in the Marina (I think it is ocho tostados???) a great place for tacos.

Another nice source for special offers in meals is Cupocity.

Thanks to my daughter living there we often eat in places just with locals and always great food.

A first time visitor might not always like the plastic chairs and tables etc., so different from what they are used to.

Enjoy your stay, just a few more weeks and we will be there.

Oh My! Do not get me started with Tripadvisor, where for nearly 1 year the #1 rated PV restaurant was the "Twisted Palm" ....an excellent bar that does not even offer food! When we e-mailed the TA editors their response was that they make no distinction between "bars" and "restaurants" even thought they call the category "restaurants." We certainly have no issue with MSN-Travelers Centro recommendations although not sure that the street food (which we like) meets the criteria of the OP. As to Barcelona Tapas, although we have long been a fan of Bill's creative menus (we really enjoyed his now defunct Agave Grill) we do have some mixed emotions. What is wonderful about PV is the huge assortment of eating venues with many different types of cuisine in all price ranges. In fact, my mouth is already watering when I think of returning to places like Polo's or Bravos (neither of which is open for lunch).

Hank

Well Hank, I have to admit that Tripadvisor is a weak tool in the travel tool box but it is still somewhat helpful.

The OP hasn't bothered to check back so . . .

Today was a Los Muertos day. Started at Blue Chairs and worked our way to Sea Monkey with stops at C y C & Blue Shrimp. Back to the Sheraton for siesta & the food carts for dinner.

La Palpa, Si Senor, Dac Dick's & Blue Shrimp are still good bets for eats on the beach. Brain cells can be killed at many watering holes along the way.

Enjoys!

Thank you all for the information. .I think I am going to with the blue shrimp because it fits certain basic criteria plus it's right in town so we can walk off lunch and window shop

This is a tough post to answer! In my experience, it would be much easier to answer if you were to ask where not to eat in Cabo or PV. Frankly, few of those come to mind in either.

One person's favorite is another person's "meh"....Our method is to wander about, find one that looks and smells good, and is occupied by both Gringos and locals....the occupied by "locals" is frankly the more important part of the equation. It really is hard to go wrong that way.

What is the beach like at the blue shrimp?

La Choza de Tono, or Tony's Restaurant across the road from Mismaloya Beach, on the road to the zoo is one of our favorites in PV.

What is the beach like at the blue shrimp?

The beach in front of the Blue Shrimp is a bit "rocky" but if you were to wander just a few hundred feet south, the beach improves. Personally, I find the Blue Shrimp to be over priced, with mediocre food, and an underwhelming waitstaff. If it were me, I would walk a bit further south. Lots of better (again IMHO) places. One of our favorites is Cuates Y Cuetes. Great food, reasonably priced, friendly waitstaff, and their beach is most certainly "swimmable".

Great suggest

John

Oh My! Do not get me started with Tripadvisor, where for nearly 1 year the #1 rated PV restaurant was the "Twisted Palm" ....an excellent bar that does not even offer food! When we e-mailed the TA editors their response was that they make no distinction between "bars" and "restaurants" even thought they call the category "restaurants." We certainly have no issue with MSN-Travelers Centro recommendations although not sure that the street food (which we like) meets the criteria of the OP. As to Barcelona Tapas, although we have long been a fan of Bill's creative menus (we really enjoyed his now defunct Agave Grill) we do have some mixed emotions. What is wonderful about PV is the huge assortment of eating venues with many different types of cuisine in all price ranges. In fact, my mouth is already watering when I think of returning to places like Polo's or Bravos (neither of which is open for lunch).

 

Hank

We just got back 14 days ago ( I am still covered in about 50 open bug bites but had the best two weeks ever).

We LOVED Bravos OMG it was incredible!!! We did go to Twisted Palms for their 50 pesos Martini Mondays....we ordered food from Derby Burgers as well as the Italian restaurant downstairs, apperently El Facos Taco stand OMG YUM is included in their delivery as well.

I agree that Twisted Palms should not be classified as a restuarant but that said we had a great night there and the slight hangover the next day was worth it.

The carrot cake at Bravos is worth the price of a flight down. Our meals were incredible there.

I would say for a cruise ship day I would skip Blue Shrimp and go to Dac Dicks or CYC. We have also had great cruise days in Mismaloya and Playa Los Acros hotel. I belive the day pass there is 150 pesos which is applied to food and drink. Pools, towels, showers, pool and beach waiter service and the food is good too :)

Trying to convince Mr.QT to do a quick cruise late Dec or early Jan.....sigh I am missing my home away from home :)

We just got back 14 days ago ( I am still covered in about 50 open bug bites but had the best two weeks ever).

We LOVED Bravos OMG it was incredible!!! We did go to Twisted Palms for their 50 pesos Martini Mondays....we ordered food from Derby Burgers as well as the Italian restaurant downstairs, apperently El Facos Taco stand OMG YUM is included in their delivery as well.

I agree that Twisted Palms should not be classified as a restuarant but that said we had a great night there and the slight hangover the next day was worth it.

The carrot cake at Bravos is worth the price of a flight down. Our meals were incredible there.

I would say for a cruise ship day I would skip Blue Shrimp and go to Dac Dicks or CYC. We have also had great cruise days in Mismaloya and Playa Los Acros hotel. I belive the day pass there is 150 pesos which is applied to food and drink. Pools, towels, showers, pool and beach waiter service and the food is good too :)

Trying to convince Mr.QT to do a quick cruise late Dec or early Jan.....sigh I am missing my home away from home :)

Glad to hear that Bravos was a good experience. We have been big fans of that restaurant from soon after Michael opened the place. And we know he has taken some precautions to ensure that he can stay at that location for the future (too many places on that street have to close due to landlord issues).

Hank

We can certainly make some suggestions (for PV) since we dine in over 40 different PV restaurants every year. But please understand that PV is a foodie heaven with well over 200 decent eating venues ranging from excellent street food to expensive French/Continental restaurants. You can help by posting some ideas of the type of food you desire and whether you are talking about lunch or dinner. And it would also be helpful to know whether you car planning to go downtown ((Centro and the Southside (Old Town, Romantic Zone)) or prefer to stay closer to the Marina (Port).

 

Hank

Hi Hank,

I know this is an old thread but I see you around the forum so I figured I would ask. We are going to PV in May, would love to find areas with lots of street food/food carts. Any suggestions? Would love to hear your thoughts?

Thanks,

Karen

Hi Hank,

 

 

 

I know this is an old thread but I see you around the forum so I figured I would ask. We are going to PV in May, would love to find areas with lots of street food/food carts. Any suggestions? Would love to hear your thoughts?

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

Karen

Just back from PV. We ate in the Mercado located up the street behind Sam's Club. It's at the first corner with the stop light.

We like to eat ate the Huaraches place (it's a type of tostada) then get tortillas and salsa from the tortilleria next door. Inside is an Agua Fresca stand. I had 'Red Fruit', a mixture of red fruit. Sis had a guanabana/passion fruit one. He also had plum, horchata, mint/spearmint and others. The variety changes depending on what's available. We paid in pesos. Walmart was giving an outstanding exchange rate last weekend.

For the not so adventurous, try VIP's. It's a Mexican restaurant kind of like Denny's. Two different crew members, two different lines and different generations and different genders have recommended it to us. It's located in the Walmart shopping center.

Hi Hank,

 

I know this is an old thread but I see you around the forum so I figured I would ask. We are going to PV in May, would love to find areas with lots of street food/food carts. Any suggestions? Would love to hear your thoughts?

 

Thanks,

Karen

You have brought up a touchy issue :). While I have had more then my share of street food here in PV (over the past 11 years), DW will not eat food from street vendors. Her philosophy is not to eat in places without running water...and where they don't have comfy seats. In the daytime many of the street food vendors are found in a few places of our Old Town (southside) near where we live. There are a few popular street vendors (mostly tacos) located along Lazarao Cardenas Street at the corner of Insurgentes (next to the popular Guadalajara Pharmacy). You will also find other street vendors scattered around the old town area and they all seem to do a decent business with Mexicans..and some gringos. If you are here in the evening, there are lots of vendors (especially on Sunday nights) right on the Malecon near Libertad Street. There are also street vendors in other areas, but most cruisers tend to spend their time mainly exploring Centro (downtown) and the adjacent old town area.

But personally, we suggest eating at any of our wonderful restaurants/cafes. When it comes to restaurants we feel as qualified as anyone to recommend many places. But with the street vendors, we would leave specific recommendations to others that more commonly eat at those places. While street vendors can certainly make decent tacos. the restaurants/cafes have much more extensive menus.

Sorry I could not be more help with the street vendors, but its just not our area of expertise.

Hank

There is a great website: Vallarta info with lots of maps, information etc. http://vallartainfo.com/ All done by JR. One section is about streetfood, that might interest you. http://vallartainfo.com/street-food/

Also check the section about Chef's pass.

We loved the food at Tinos Mariscos near el Malecon.

They have wonderful tostadas de ceviche and micheladas. The pulpy preparado was excellent. Reasonably priced so we had extra money to shop.