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$$ | Centro |
Poll locals on their favorite restaurant in La Paz, and Las Tres Vírgenes is likely to be the runaway winner. Chef and Tijuana native Jesús Chávez has endeared himself to Paceños over the past dozen years with consistently excellent mesquite-grilled fare, from seafood and enormous burgers (try the Baja 1000 with “double beef, double cheese, double everything”) to slow-braised Angus short ribs, Tomahawk bone-in rib eye, and Brazilian-style picaña. The foliage-framed courtyard dining area is perfect for romantic moonlit dinners, and the resident mixologist serves cocktails and postprandial liqueurs and espresso drinks from an old-fashioned wooden bar.
Calle Francisco I. Madero 1130, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23000, Mexico
Known For
- #1 favorite among locals
- Romantic courtyard dining
- Great cocktails
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What began as an underground supper club in the home of Dennis and Bo Bendana is now the leading restaurant in Rosarito. Inspired by the founders' international travels, the decor reflects their love for Morocco and Bali while the menu from chef Guillermo Trexo celebrates the Mediterranean and Mexico. The menu changes regularly, but you might find dishes incorporating local fish, such as yellowfin tuna with almond mojo. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the coastline, making it a popular brunch spot on weekends. Grab a table in the formal dining room or on the rooftop terrace where dishes like slow-cooked lamb with Oaxacan mole coloradito are served. Locals often drop by for live music and fresh-baked pastries served with a cup of sweet Moroccan tea.
Estero 54, Rosarito, Baja California Norte, 22560, Mexico
Known For
- Red velvet churros with dark chocolate
- Sunday brunch and live music
- Seven-course tasting menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Mon.–Wed. No breakfast or lunch Thurs.–Fri, Reservations essential
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This elegant restaurant, with its white linens, open trusses, and soft candlelight is the best steak house in Baja California. Prepared on mesquite wood, the steak is divine and tender, almost as if it's been marinated in butter (though the chef swears salt and a little love are the secret). Aged for 21 days, the rib eye is the star of the show—juicy, flavorful, and served with a side of asparagus and baked potato. Preempt the experience with local oysters, a Baja beer tasting, and the romaine wedge doused in blue cheese. They also serve homemade pastas, grilled lamb, and a lovely chicken in plum sauce. Service is impeccable and the wine list extensive. The chocolate truffle cake will leave you asking, “Did I really just eat that whole thing?”
Carretera Tijuana–Ensenada, Km 108, Ensenada, Baja California Norte, 22880, Mexico
Known For
- Aged rib eye
- Dishes cooked to perfection
- Excellent service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted, Closed Mon.–Wed
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$$ | Centro |
Baja's popular brewery is right in the middle of San José del Cabo's Art District. Fun and upbeat, this brewpub has great music and serves filling pub meals. Craft burgers, mixed greens, and mesquite-fired pizzas—and more elegant entrées such as tuna tartare and ceviche tostadas—should be accompanied with a pint of any of eight special San José cervezas, along with seasonal offerings, all brewed within sight of the bar and restaurant. Another branch of the brewery is located on the rooftop of the Cabovillas Resort in Cabo San Lucas.
Morelos 1277, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, 23401, Mexico
Known For
- Wood-fired pizza
- Customers watching behind-the-scenes brewing while enjoying beers at the bar
- Baja beer on tap
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Marina San Lucas |
This large, casual, sportfishing-oriented cantina, just around the corner from the Tesoro Los Cabos Resort, draws crowds with its all-day drink specials. Boasting a top marina location near L-M-N Dock, an excellent view of the sportfishing and mega yachts, $2 cervezas all day, affordable eats, and American sports on multiple TVs, it's a favorite of the sportfishing deckhands and boat captains. You can enjoy a Captain's breakfast special for under $8, a budget-friendly afternoon appetizer menu, or splurge a bit more for daily seafood and steak specials. Most meals can be had for under $20. Saturday night is Ladies' Night—ladies drink free from 8 to 10 pm—and if you stay late, you'll catch the live DJ and dancing. Free Wi-Fi is accessible throughout the restaurant.
Dock L-M-N, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, 23450, Mexico
Known For
- Late-night DJs and dancing
- All-day drink specials
- Budget-friendly eats
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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Recommended Fodor’s Video
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Omelets, bagels, granola, and whole-grain breads delight the breakfast crowd at this casual small eatery; deli sandwiches, fresh salads, and an array of burritos, tamales, and flautas (fried tortillas rolled around savory fillings) are lunch and dinner highlights. Check for fresh seafood on the daily specials board. Gourmet pizzas, pasta, and steak are also available.
Calle Centenario 33, Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, 23305, Mexico
Known For
- Delicious deli sandwiches
- Gourmet pizzas and pastas
- Daily seafood specials
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No credit cards, No dinner Mon. Closed last two weeks of Sept.
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$$ | Centro |
Lobster's the thing here, but daily specials like surf-and-turf combos round out the list. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this typical Mexican sit-down locale has a happy hour that runs from 8 am to 6 pm—and prices are super cheap. You can get a lobster tail with rice and beans for 14 bucks; El Charro tequila shots are a mere 20¢; and Don Julio tequila shots are less than $3. As you sit under the open-air palapa enjoying this feast fit for a king, strolling mariachis will pass by, providing your dining soundtrack.
Hidalgo at Zapata, Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur, 23450, Mexico
Known For
- Excellent people-watching
- Open-air dining
- Incredibly cheap and generous food
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted, Closed Sept
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Dining at Deckman’s is like stepping into the quintessential Pinterest photo, replete with an open-air kitchen, straw floor, and wooden tables adorned with wildflowers. As if the chirping birds, adobe structure, soft jazz, and vineyard views weren’t enough, you’ll find a revolving menu built around seasonable products from the neighboring Mogor Ranch. Exclusively for Deckman’s are fresh eggs, lamb, olive oil, and all things green that travel 0 kilometers from the farm to your plate. The seven-course tasting menu ($70) may highlight foie gras, oyster tacos, grilled quail, beet gazpacho, and enough veggies to justify that berry pie. Complementing the cuisine are wines from Mogor Badan or artisanal beers from Agua Mala. Don’t expect to see a freezer, plastic bottles, or soft drinks for that matter, since every item is local, organic, unprocessed, and as natural as they come. The best part of the restaurant is Drew Deckman himself, an unpretentious chef and true ambassador for the Slow Food movement. Late diners should arrive early since this romantic spot closes at 8 pm.
Carretera Ensenada–Tecate, Km 85.5, Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California Norte, Mexico
Known For
- One of best restaurants in Mexico
- Farm-to-table experience
- Artisanal-ranch menu
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No breakfast. Closed Tues. and Wed
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$$ | Centro |
The original Bismark is a bit out of the way, but it attracts families who settle down for hours at long wooden tables, while telenovelas (Latin American soap operas) play on the TV above the bar. Tuck into seafood cocktails, enormous grilled lobsters, or carne asada served with beans, guacamole, and homemade tortillas. Seafood tacos and micheladas are specialties at the malecón location, called Bismark-cito.
Av. Degollado at Calle Altamirano, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23000, Mexico
Known For
- Seafood cocktails
- Long dining experience
- Good for families
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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This restaurant is the malecón location of its affiliate restaurant El Bismark, also in La Paz.
Alvaro Obregón, La Paz, Baja California Sur, 23000, Mexico
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$$ | La Poza |
For those fortunate enough to stay at the sumptuous Posada La Poza just outside town, lunch at its equally lovely restaurant will be one of the highlights of your Los Cabos vacation. Owners Juerg and Libusche Wiesendanger call their offerings "Swiss-Mex"—Mexican food with European touches and careful attention to detail. Start with the vegetarian-based tortilla soup with three different types of dried chilies to give it just enough kick. Then sample the smoked-tuna flautas, quesadillas with chicken or shrimp, or marinated arrachera (flank steak) strips. You'll find dishes such as lamb shoulder in winter. Believe it or not, there is enough of an evening chill in the air that time of year that dining next to the fireplace feels cozy. Top your meal off with a sorbet, flan, or mousse, and possibly the best selection of wines in the region (all Mexican from northern Baja's Guadalupe Valley).The restaurant is open to hotel guests for breakfast (included in the room rate) and lunch; with dinner available by request from Sunday to Thursday. The restaurant is no longer open to the public, save for groups of six or more who reserve at least 48 hours in advance.
Camino a La Poza 282, Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, 23305, Mexico
Known For
- Swiss-Mex cuisine
- For hotel guests only, except to parties of six or more with 48 hours notice
- Dinner on request five nights per week
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Centro |
From its chateaubriand bouquetière to the savory chicken chipotle cooked with brandy, port wine, and cream, this classy French restaurant has been family-owned since 1947. Louis XIV–style furnishings and an attentive staff make it both comfortable and elegant. In addition, the restaurant pays tribute to its heritage with family photographs that line the hallways, starting with a portrait of founder Doña Pepita. As the oldest French restaurant in Mexico, it's also considered one of the top of the pack with more than 10 Five Diamond Awards. Impressive preparations of Caesar salad, crêpes Suzette, and café flambé create a show at your table. For larger parties, request one of the three private rooms modeled after Paris and the Palace of Versailles. The sidewalk tables are a perfect place to dine and people-watch. The small café in the front sells pastries that are made on the premises.
Av. López Mateos 1000, Ensenada, Baja California Norte, 22800, Mexico
Known For
- French pastries
- Table-side Caesar salad
- First-rate service
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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From the moment you see guests clinking glasses atop wine-barrel towers, you know you’re in for a memorable dining experience. On the edge of sprawling vineyards, this rustic setting under tin roofs has a seasonal menu to match. Chef Javier Plascencia is famous for his mesquite wood–fired favorites like quail with chard and polenta or beef-cheek tacos. The homemade sausages and slow-cooked lamb come with sizzling sides on cast-iron skillets. If you’re just looking for a starter with a view, try the oysters, chocolate clams, or ahi tostadas with jicama kimchi. By day this alfresco spot is a family favorite, and by night romance kicks in with fire bowls illuminating grapevines creeping toward the sky. Finca Altozano is just one branch of the family tree made up of several businesses—including four eateries, a café, shop, hotel, and farm—all within the property.
Carretera Tecate–Ensenada, Km 83, Valle de Guadalupe, Baja California Norte, 22750, Mexico
Known For
- Regional ingredients
- Oak-grilled quail
- Famous wine-barrel towers
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: No breakfast
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$$ | Centro |
Celebrity chef Tadd Chapman and partner Miguel Guerrero joined forces to re-launch this traditional Mexican restaurant in its new location and with fresh new culinary techniques. Opt for lunch specialties of octopus tacos and black scallop ceviche, and for dinner, try the seafood risotto, or the grilled NY strip with habanero chimichurri. Exceptional breakfasts—ranging from stuffed French toast to eggs Benedict prepared five ways—are served from 8 to noon for about $10.
Jose Maria Morelos 134, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, Mexico
Known For
- Home-baked banana zucchini bread
- Guacamole with chapulines (grasshoppers)
- Octopus tacos
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Seafood soup and grilled fish are options at the "House of Lobster," but clearly the lobster, fried Puerto-Nuevo style, is the star. This is one of the best spots in town to try the deep-fried recipe created by Susana Diaz Plascencia in 1956; otherwise, try their fresh lobster steamed or stewed with seafood and salsa inside a traditional molcajete stone. Most wooden tables in the large dining room are covered with platters of fried or grilled lobster and all the standard accompaniments like rice, beans and paper-thin flour tortillas. Start with the clam chowder or jumbo shrimp wrapped in bacon. The medium-sized lobsters tend to be a bit more flavorful than the larger ones. There's an actual wine list here, and it has several Baja wines. On a hot day opt for the tart margaritas.
Av. Renteria 3, Km 44, Puerto Nuevo, Baja California Norte, 22716, Mexico
Known For
- Fresh marlin soup
- Large portions
- Lobster prepared five different ways
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Centro |
This popular Italian restaurant right in the center of San José on the town's zócalo (square) is known for authentic and affordable Italian fare. Locals and visitors alike flock to this reasonably priced perennial favorite for antipasti and wood-fired-oven pizzas, a never-ending selection of pastas, and steaks and seafood dishes. The homemade beef ravioli with four-cheese sauce is to die for. Reservations are necessary on Thursdays after the Art Walk. Another outpost can be found in Cabo San Lucas.
Av. Zaragoza at Av. Hidalgo, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, 23401, Mexico
Known For
- Authentic Northern Italian cuisine
- Handmade pizza baked with mesquite wood
- Great Caesar salad
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted, Closed Mon
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Locals swear by the mole poblano and chiles en nogada at this pleasant outdoor restaurant. The menu is ambitious and includes several organic, vegetarian options—rare in these parts. At night the place sparkles with star-shaped lights. Take a stroll through the adjoining landscaped desert garden while you wait for your food.
Calle Hidalgo, Todos Santos, Baja California Sur, 23305, Mexico
Known For
- Mole poblano and chiles en nogada
- Vegetarian options available
- Adjacent desert garden
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted
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$$ | Las Animas Bajas |
A former sugarcane mill dating back to 1888, this quaint restaurant is surrounded by farmland that provides organic fruits and vegetables to many of Cabo’s top eateries. Wildflowers in Mason jars and hand-painted clay dishes set the scene at this rustic spot where the menu is based on the season’s harvest. Start with heirloom-tomato soup and a microgreen salad with tamarind vinaigrette. For something fresh and innovative, try the shrimp tacos on thinly sliced jicama (instead of tortillas) topped with a pineapple salsa. A selection of pizzas, and slow-roasted meats like the pork shank with green mole and baked eggplant, are cooked in a wood-fired oven. One of the secrets to the fine flavors is the homemade herbal oil that is dribbled on breads and meats. A cooking class takes place at 10 and 5, by reservation only.
Calle Animas Baja, San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur, 23400, Mexico
Known For
- Four-hour cooking classes ($95)
- True farm-to-table dining experience
- Homemade herbal oil on breads and meats
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With sprawling views of vineyards, this restaurant and open-air kitchen is shaded by a thatched palapa and surrounded by acres of farmland where chef Roberto Alcocer gathers ingredients. Beer, wine, vegetables, fruit, cheese, bread, meat, eggs, honey—nearly everything served is from the on-site farm, making this a true farm-to-table experience. Each plate is a work of art, including the fish tostada with salsa macha and the grilled oyster mushrooms. Fresh fish is adorned with edible flowers, like the catch of the day with black jícama dyed in squid ink. Ten-course tastings are available for $75, which is reasonable considering the quality of the food. The date tart with grappa ice cream is not overly sweet, allowing you to taste the flavors rather than just the sugar.
Carretera Ensenada–Tecate, Km 96, San Antonio de las Minas, Baja California Norte, Mexico
Known For
- Locally sourced food
- Tasting menu featuring Mexican flavors
- Baja seafood and ranch-grown foods
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Closed Tues
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$$ | Centro |
Two of the most exciting chef-owners in Baja Norte, Benito Molina and Solange Muris, have taken a truly modern approach to Mexican cuisine at Manzanilla, integrating the freshest catches from the local waters—oysters, mussels, abalone, and clams, for instance—and using ingredients like ginger, saffron, smoked tomato marmalade, and huitlacoche (corn truffle). The ahi with ginger strawberry vinaigrette melts in your mouth, and the white clam with Gorgonzola is delicious. A local ranch sources their beef, grilled and served on a cutting board with warm tortillas. Next to the port, this hip joint is popular for its pleasant atmosphere and eclectic style of concrete floors, pink chandeliers, and an intricately carved wooden bar from the 1930s brought over from Los Angeles.
Teniente Azueta 139, Ensenada, Baja California Norte, 22800, Mexico
Known For
- Fresh Baja seafood
- Homemade tagliatelli
- Grilled quail with wild mushrooms
Restaurant Details
Rate Includes: Credit cards accepted, Closed Mon. and Tues
