8 Best Restaurants in Los Cabos, Mexico

Argentinean chef Guillermo Gomez delivers an elevated culinary experience at Cocina del Mar, the elegant restaurant in the exquisite Esperanza Resort. Using daily market ingredients and focusing on simple seafood, Gomez presents inventive dishes such as lobster macaroni, grilled Kumiai oysters, or the impressive seared totuaba. Grilled Angus is accompanied with a charred chili meat sauce. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, the waiter delivers a banana soufflé in a cast-iron skillet, topped with homemade ice cream. Opt for a table on the cliffs where waves crash so close, you can feel the spray.

It's quite soothing to sit in this restaurant at Cabo Surf Hotel, at the ocean's edge under the shade of a palapa while watching the surfers. For breakfast munch on their machaca con huevos (eggs scrambled with shredded beef) washed down with a fresh-fruit smoothie. Later in the day, grab some fish tacos or a Mediterranean tuna wrap with a blueberry mojito. Burgers are piled high with jalapeños and caramelized onions. For something light, try the crab cakes on a bed of tomato chutney with arugula. Drop in to watch the sunset and dine on fresh fish with a flavorful mango sauce. With a focus on healthy cuisine, the kitchen uses all local organic ingredients, cooks with olive oil (instead of butter), uses soybean oil for deep-frying, and will not serve marlin, mahimahi, or parrotfish due to commercial overfishing. Your entertainment is simple: a wonderful view that never stops changing.

It's well known that Las Ventanas is one of the best hotels in Mexico, and the on-site dining likewise does not disappoint. A diverse Mexican menu pays homage to the country's culinary traditions, with a focus on family recipes. Highlights include seared octopus with mole chichilo, poblano chili stuffed with seafood, and kurobuta pork with puréed corn. For a social appetizer, start with the "Taco Experience," a customized taco bar for two served on a rotating turntable. If you haven't already blown through your dinner budget, order the tiramisu, eclair, or mango crumble. There's live music nightly, and private cooking demonstrations in the Rosewood herb garden (by reservation).

For fresh, inventive sushi, there's no question that the Nick-San franchise corners the market, and this outpost in the Tiendas de Palmilla shopping mall wins the prize. Pair wine or sake with each of your selections, perhaps the lobster roll (with cilantro, mango, mustard, and curry oil), lobster sambal (marinated in sake with soy, ginger, and garlic), or tuna tostadas served on rice crackers with avocado.

Set under a soaring palapa overlooking the rollicking surf, this restaurant above the beach in the Hacienda del Mar Los Cabos blends Asian and Polynesian ingredients with local products for a menu that showcases well-executed Pacific Rim fusion. Seafood-heavy dishes are the specialty. Try the blackened catch of the day accompanied with mango-papaya relish, or the famous coconut shrimp with lilikoi horseradish sauce and chipotle cilantro cream. For an impressive presentation and fresh flavor, the yellowfin tuna comes with cajun spice, guajillo, seaweed salad, and mango relish. Also on offer is one of the largest wine selections in all of Mexico with nearly 3,000 bottles, as well as private dining in the wine cellar for 10 people.

Puerta Vieja translates into "Old Door," and the beautiful door you enter through, imported from India, is indeed over 160 years old. Though Puerta Vieja serves lunch, we suggest dinner at sunset, when the view of El Arco is the most impressive. The cuisine pulls from Continental, Latin, and Mexican traditions, with a touch of Asian flavorings. Entrées feature lobster, shrimp, and Sonoran cuts of meat. There's live piano music nightly from 7 to 10 pm.

Stunning views of El Arco from cocktail tables along the cliffs make this restaurant just outside Cabo San Lucas the best place to toast the sunset. If the breeze is still, stay outside and enjoy dining alfresco; if not, move into the candlelit dining room under a palapa. Chef Jacob Ramos' menu offers seafood lime risotto or shrimp wrapped in a phyllo dough stuffed with mozzarella and sun-dried tomatoes. The beef tenderloin is delivered on a hot stone and grilled table-side. Portions are on the smaller side, so it's worth splurging for the Mona Lisa tasting menu, which includes five or seven courses, respectively. If you arrive without a reservation, you can always head upstairs to the more casual Sunset Point, a wine and pizza lounge with daily tapas specials from 5 to 6 pm.

Popular with the surfing crowd, this palapa-covered joint is right on Cabo Azul beach, just south of San José del Cabo. Though their burger is the reason to come, the aroma of grilling lobster and tacos, and a sound track of surf tunes are why many return. The crowd can get downright rowdy. There's no question that owner "Big Tony" feeds you well for your pesos. With half-pound burgers, slabs of prime rib, or steak and lobster for two at under $30, you'll leave the beach a glutton, albeit a jolly one. Bring the kids in the daytime; they'll enjoy running from the dining table to the sand between every couple of bites. Sporting events sometimes blare on the TV, and live music is offered nightly.