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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.
Serving Lebanese food right on the Nuevo Vallarta marina, this casual restaurant has been voted the best restaurant in Nuevo Vallarta several years in a row. Staple Lebanese dishes are great, but there's also pasta and pizza any little one will enjoy.
Combine prime cuts from Sonora (Mexico's finest meat-producing state), a chef that has found the secret to grilling the perfect barbecue, and affordable rates, and you'll get this local favorite. The restaurant now has an indoor area with a/c, making it a comfortable place where to eat year round.
This trendy but casual café also offers lunch and dinner, but it's the breakfast people come here for. Patrons love the enchiladas, huevos al gusto, pastries, and good coffee, though the pizzas and salads served later in the day and into the night are also tasty. It's one of the few places that has a/c during the summer months. Did we mention they also have Italian-style ice cream?
Fine Italian food can be found at any of the three locations of this well-known local business. Casual attire is expected, with the location in Nuevo Vallarta being somewhat fancier and ideal for either romantic dinners or family reunions.
This restaurant is an institution among locals and visitors who know that there's more than just all-inclusive hotels in Nuevo Vallarta. Eddie’s Place is one of the few expat meeting points in the area. Go for the company, stay for the food.
Chilaquiles, pancakes, waffles, baked goods, omelets … whatever you want for breakfast, they have it. This Nuevo Vallarta newcomer has been a total success and a great excuse to leave your nearby hotel to eat good food any given morning. It tends to be full on Sunday, so reservations are a good idea.
The setting, an L-shaped covered patio with kids' play equipment in the center, is Mexican, but the food here is pure Argentine flavor. Every cut of meat is grilled over mesquite, from the steaks to Angus prime rib. The adventurous yet tasty chinchulines (tender tripe appetizers) and chorizo turnovers certainly are authentic. Rice, veggies, and other sides must be ordered separately. Italian dishes and a few non-Argentine things like salmon and chicken dishes are also available. Come for a late lunch (it opens only after 2 pm) or dinner.
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