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First-time travelers come for the sun and sea, but it's PV's wonderful restaurants that create legions of long-term fans. You can pay L.A. prices for perfectly decorated plates but also get fresh-caught fish and hot-off-the-griddle tortillas for scandalously little dough. Enjoy a 300-degree bay view from a cliff-top aerie or bury your toes in the sand. Dress up or go completely casual. It's the destination’s great variety of venues and cuisine that keeps returning foodies blissfully content.
During the past 30 years, immigrant chefs have expanded the culinary horizons beyond seafood and Mexican fare. You'll find everything from haute cuisine to fish kebabs. Some of the most rewarding culinary experiences are found outside of fancy restaurants and familiar chain eateries at the street-side tacos stalls and neighborhood fondas, humble spots serving bowls of chili-laced pozole and seafood-heavy Mexican comfort food.
The trend of the day is restaurant-lounges. Ten years ago, DeSantos (co-owned by the drummer of the Mexican rock band Maná) was the first to combine dining and dancing in a hip new way, with its noisy ground-floor bar-restaurant and pulsing dance club above. Today DeSantos, Mandala, and other lounges provide places to party with the locals beyond the cool and chill dining rooms.
For those who prefer dining alfresco (and wearing flip-flops) over the glamour scene, almost every popular beach has a palapa shanty or two selling fish fillets and snacks, sodas, and beer. Some offer the Pacific Coast specialty pescado sarandeado (butterflied red snapper rubbed with salt and spices and grilled over a wood fire) or the devilishly simple (and fiery hot) dish aguachile, which is a ceviche salad. The catch of the day may vary, but the white plastic tables and chairs in the sand are permanent fixtures.
Wikari Beach Club is a cozy restaurant located on Quimixto Beach with great service and delicious food. You can spend the whole day at their beach club, enjoying access to all the services and cold cocktails served by very friendly staff. Their dishes are typical of Jalisco and Nayarit. Animals are welcome and Wi-Fi is available.
An excellent traditional Mexican seafood restaurant, Boca del Mar is just steps from the sea. The food is extraordinary (you can also take it to go) but the service is even better.
El Patio de Mario serves traditional Mexican food in a clean, calm environment with a gorgeous open patio and friendly staff. Forget what you know about Mexican food; come here and try their birria or menudo, exquisite soups of pre-Hispanic origins. Open for breakfast or lunch, it also sells raicilla to go.
La Cascada y Bosque, simply known in town as “Cascada,” is a wonderful place for breakfast or lunch even when the waterfalls are just a water drop. The jungle setting here is spectacular and begs for a stroll before or after your meal. For breakfast you can choose typical Mexican dishes or the American-style breakfast with bacon and eggs. For lunch, you should try their fish and empanadas.
You'll find the best views at a series of open-air patios under a huge palapa roof at Le Kliff, south of PV.
Perched on a hill overlooking the Boca de Tomatlán little cove, Le Kliff has an extraordinary setting; couples choose to get married here because of the views. Though a bit stuffy, this is a great place to impress a date. The menu includes exotic delicacies such as oysters zarandeado style and satay shrimp with coconut and cream cheese.
You can spend the whole day here on loungers enjoying the beach, the ocean, delicious food, and refreshing micheladas. They specialize in seafood, pescado zarandeado, ceviche, and obviously coconuts, but you can order absolutely anything and won’t be disappointed. You can also rent a kayak or play beach volleyball. The owner, Oscar, is always ready to help. No stress, no pressure.
Los Conos Restaurant and Bar serves Latin and Mexican dishes and drinks and specializes in seafood. Their tasty lemonade or cold beer will save your life if you decided to hike to Las Ánimas from Boca de Tomatlán. Their fresh sierra ceviche is highly recommended, and shrimp come in very decent sizes (try the coconut ones). The waiters are attentive but not imposing, and the place is really neat and clean.
For a fancy lunch with panoramic views of the bay and beach, visit Mismaloya Grill inside the La Jolla de Mismaloya condo complex. Formerly known as María Bonita Restaurant, this place has a long history in the area and arguably is the best restaurant in town. As a starter, calamari fritti is one of the best options, and among the main dishes try the orange-glazed salmon, which is simply delicious.
This quaint restaurant is small but cozy, and serves traditional homemade dishes and wood-oven pizzas. Sit at the outside tables and get a good view of the quiet life in the main square.
This oceanfront restaurant has seen better times, but it still has a reputation as one of the best spots to eat in South of PV. Part of the Girasoles Condominium Complex, it's right on the beach, offering customers extraordinary views of the Pacific Ocean and the legendary sunsets of the region. The seafood is good but lacks originality.
The Yacht Club is a restaurant and bar on the town beach—it's not a yacht club at all. Their breaded fish fillet is famous among the villagers and tourists, as are their chicken dishes. The place is always full. At 10 pm the disco starts and it lasts until 2 am.
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