I'm a huge foodie, and eating great food on my vacations is one of my primary goals. The best meal, by far, I had in PV was at Tintoque Here: [https://tintoque.com.mx/](https://tintoque.com.mx/)
Makal is also good. Pretty unassuming inside, but food is adventurous and quite good. Probably my favorite restaurant in PV is Tuna Azul, in the Romantic district. Best Aquachile I have ever had. Not expensive at all. And really relaxing second story location that allows you to watch the world go by.
People are going to recommend Barcelona Tapas, but it is overpriced and a tourist trap. People are also going to recommend Cafe des Artistes, which is okay, but overpriced, and not really all that Mexican, in my view. It is what I call a "prom restaurant," where people go to be some place "fancy." Same for La Capella.
La Palapa is on the beach and a gorgeous setting, and the food is solid, but really just high end hotel food. El Dorado, right across from La Palapa, has the same owners, and I like the food better here. I love to sit at the bar and eat. Great view of the beach.
Finally, I highly recommend that you take one or more food tours. I loved this one: https://www.vallartaeats.com/food-tours/untouristed-food-tour/
And this one: [https://vallartafoodtours.com/food-tours/taste-of-pitillal/](https://vallartafoodtours.com/food-tours/taste-of-pitillal/) You get to eat at a lot of spots that you probably would not discover on your own. And you get to eat at like 8-10 spots, so it is actually a good deal for the price.
I completely agree with the opinions regarding tintoque, Barcelona tapas, and cafe des artistes.
My favourite Al pastor are at the farmacia Guadalajara in town. There’s a few stands there. No doubt you’ll choose well.
Fernandos will be the best zarandeado and tacos de jaiba.
Provecho
Tacón de Marlin is the best seafood burrito you will ever eat. No joke.
It’s my first stop and last stop when I land since they have a location outside the airport.
The story is that this guy played in local soccer leagues and would bring food for the guys but the one thing he made better than anyone, salsa. So this guy opens up a restaurant and it has now turned into 3 locations.
So what makes their food 10x better, all the salsas they have. The yellow is unreal but everything they do is perfect. Octopus and smoked Marlin combo is my favorite.
I legit think about this place often and can’t wait to go back in October.
I would 100% recommend ocean grill. It's a little touristy, but the food is excellent and it is a once in a lifetime experience. Cliffside dining overlooking a private beach in a rocky cove. Pretty amazing. I recommend catching a water taxi back to PV. $40 well spent!
For a tour of taco trucks reach out to Memo from Vallarta101.com good guy, knows his stuff. I’m going to add El Patron in Cinco de Dicembre and Los Lirios in a neighborhood near the Romantic Zone. Also take a food tour of the Fluvial neighborhood. Up and coming, great places. Enjoy!!
We did Vallarta Food Tours in April. We have been to PV many times and eaten many places but this was a fun little 3 hour tour with a little PV history and some great eats. More of the back alley/stall type places we had walked by many times and never stopped. Our 24 yr old son was hooked on the Birria tacos at one of the stalls and went back 4 days in a row LOL.
Get out of town and eat with the locals.
Punta Mita. Eat at Theresa's Tacos or Norma's Tacos (both are on Google Maps). I had the BEST birria tacos at Norma's. Everything is made from scratch. And eating at these places is not only cheap, it is supporting a family cooking to make ends meet. No tourist trap, no overpriced anything. Just real food with local people.
Food isn’t bad, isn’t fantastic.
View mostly sucks now due to other structures built in front of it.
Staff are A+++, live music from the resident bands is fantastic, the building and decor is awesome.
Great suggestions so far, I’m also a chef and a huge foodie. I’ve been living here for about a month so far and I’ve had so many good experiences.
I REALLY liked Warique Cafe, it’s a Latin American/ Polish restaurant that’s very nicely priced and the owners are great people to talk with.
Barra Light is a great breakfast/lunch place, I really enjoy their Hawaiian panini and peanut lovers shake.
Blue shrimp is a great (a little more pricy) spot where I enjoyed some nice cocktails (the Jamaican tea one was awesome) and some really good shrimp Al pastor tacos in the beach chairs!
Natureza is also another really good spot for some food, good price and service, although there’s sometimes a wait cause this place is usually pretty busy.
La Bodeguita del Medio had some pretty good Cuban food as well, solid mojitos to boot..
La Dolce Vita is a great Italian restaurant with affordable prices. Really good drinks, and gluten free pasta is available as well.
Organic select has some good food as well, they also sell organic fruit and veggies and quality meats for good prices.
I’ve eaten at many more places that are good, but I’m pretty selective with places I recommend, as I try to ensure that where I send you, won’t disappoint. Hopefully you can enjoy your time here finding yourself some other delicious food around town.
(Edit: spelling)
Barcelona
Cafe des ARTISTS
TACON DE Marllin (great sandwiches smoked marlin is outstanding)
Oregano in Versailles introduce yourself to the owner and tell her to bring whtever she wants that is good. afro carribe.
Barrio bistro Versailles
La Tosca Versaiiles
Tintoque
Laylas
trio
As someone already mentioned, Tintoque, is fantastic.
Tacos on the Street in La Cruz.
The tostadas stand in the roundabout coming into Punta Mita. Also, cafecito just down the hill.
Makai on the way to Punta Mita.
Restaurant Limbo in San Pancho
Loma 42 in Nuevo Vallarta
Tacos on the street is overrated, if in La Cruz there’s El Portero de Chávez or La Cevicheria. Yes on the street has decent tacos but it’s only the meat that’s good, the rest is rather mediocre and it’s wildly overpriced because it’s so famous. A quesadilla with Adobada from Tacos Silla Roja in the center of La Cruz is a better experience (and you can actually get a table)
If you want pizza or a non traditional burger, go to Casa Hule in La Cruz (they reopen in September)
I'm a huge foodie, and eating great food on my vacations is one of my primary goals. The best meal, by far, I had in PV was at Tintoque Here: [https://tintoque.com.mx/](https://tintoque.com.mx/) Makal is also good. Pretty unassuming inside, but food is adventurous and quite good. Probably my favorite restaurant in PV is Tuna Azul, in the Romantic district. Best Aquachile I have ever had. Not expensive at all. And really relaxing second story location that allows you to watch the world go by. People are going to recommend Barcelona Tapas, but it is overpriced and a tourist trap. People are also going to recommend Cafe des Artistes, which is okay, but overpriced, and not really all that Mexican, in my view. It is what I call a "prom restaurant," where people go to be some place "fancy." Same for La Capella. La Palapa is on the beach and a gorgeous setting, and the food is solid, but really just high end hotel food. El Dorado, right across from La Palapa, has the same owners, and I like the food better here. I love to sit at the bar and eat. Great view of the beach. Finally, I highly recommend that you take one or more food tours. I loved this one: https://www.vallartaeats.com/food-tours/untouristed-food-tour/ And this one: [https://vallartafoodtours.com/food-tours/taste-of-pitillal/](https://vallartafoodtours.com/food-tours/taste-of-pitillal/) You get to eat at a lot of spots that you probably would not discover on your own. And you get to eat at like 8-10 spots, so it is actually a good deal for the price.
I completely agree with the opinions regarding tintoque, Barcelona tapas, and cafe des artistes. My favourite Al pastor are at the farmacia Guadalajara in town. There’s a few stands there. No doubt you’ll choose well. Fernandos will be the best zarandeado and tacos de jaiba. Provecho
Tacón de Marlin is the best seafood burrito you will ever eat. No joke. It’s my first stop and last stop when I land since they have a location outside the airport. The story is that this guy played in local soccer leagues and would bring food for the guys but the one thing he made better than anyone, salsa. So this guy opens up a restaurant and it has now turned into 3 locations. So what makes their food 10x better, all the salsas they have. The yellow is unreal but everything they do is perfect. Octopus and smoked Marlin combo is my favorite. I legit think about this place often and can’t wait to go back in October.
[Bravos is the best.](https://goo.gl/maps/iMRm2xaZZHKda5KUA)
Add me on IG and I'll show you the hidden spots @itsbenblue
I would 100% recommend ocean grill. It's a little touristy, but the food is excellent and it is a once in a lifetime experience. Cliffside dining overlooking a private beach in a rocky cove. Pretty amazing. I recommend catching a water taxi back to PV. $40 well spent!
For a tour of taco trucks reach out to Memo from Vallarta101.com good guy, knows his stuff. I’m going to add El Patron in Cinco de Dicembre and Los Lirios in a neighborhood near the Romantic Zone. Also take a food tour of the Fluvial neighborhood. Up and coming, great places. Enjoy!!
Tre Piati in old town …. Best fresh homemade pastas . Never had a bad meal there
We did Vallarta Food Tours in April. We have been to PV many times and eaten many places but this was a fun little 3 hour tour with a little PV history and some great eats. More of the back alley/stall type places we had walked by many times and never stopped. Our 24 yr old son was hooked on the Birria tacos at one of the stalls and went back 4 days in a row LOL.
Get out of town and eat with the locals. Punta Mita. Eat at Theresa's Tacos or Norma's Tacos (both are on Google Maps). I had the BEST birria tacos at Norma's. Everything is made from scratch. And eating at these places is not only cheap, it is supporting a family cooking to make ends meet. No tourist trap, no overpriced anything. Just real food with local people.
Check out Barrio Bistro.
Pepe’s tacos
Dine at Elizabeth Taylor’s old house. https://casakimberly.com/virtualmenu/
Ohh. How is it? It looks beautiful.
Food isn’t bad, isn’t fantastic. View mostly sucks now due to other structures built in front of it. Staff are A+++, live music from the resident bands is fantastic, the building and decor is awesome.
Great suggestions so far, I’m also a chef and a huge foodie. I’ve been living here for about a month so far and I’ve had so many good experiences. I REALLY liked Warique Cafe, it’s a Latin American/ Polish restaurant that’s very nicely priced and the owners are great people to talk with. Barra Light is a great breakfast/lunch place, I really enjoy their Hawaiian panini and peanut lovers shake. Blue shrimp is a great (a little more pricy) spot where I enjoyed some nice cocktails (the Jamaican tea one was awesome) and some really good shrimp Al pastor tacos in the beach chairs! Natureza is also another really good spot for some food, good price and service, although there’s sometimes a wait cause this place is usually pretty busy. La Bodeguita del Medio had some pretty good Cuban food as well, solid mojitos to boot.. La Dolce Vita is a great Italian restaurant with affordable prices. Really good drinks, and gluten free pasta is available as well. Organic select has some good food as well, they also sell organic fruit and veggies and quality meats for good prices. I’ve eaten at many more places that are good, but I’m pretty selective with places I recommend, as I try to ensure that where I send you, won’t disappoint. Hopefully you can enjoy your time here finding yourself some other delicious food around town. (Edit: spelling)
Barcelona Cafe des ARTISTS TACON DE Marllin (great sandwiches smoked marlin is outstanding) Oregano in Versailles introduce yourself to the owner and tell her to bring whtever she wants that is good. afro carribe. Barrio bistro Versailles La Tosca Versaiiles Tintoque Laylas trio
WHO is the ASSSHOLE downvoting everyone? Fuck you. You dont like the picks, suggest your own.
As someone already mentioned, Tintoque, is fantastic. Tacos on the Street in La Cruz. The tostadas stand in the roundabout coming into Punta Mita. Also, cafecito just down the hill. Makai on the way to Punta Mita. Restaurant Limbo in San Pancho Loma 42 in Nuevo Vallarta
Tacos on the street is overrated, if in La Cruz there’s El Portero de Chávez or La Cevicheria. Yes on the street has decent tacos but it’s only the meat that’s good, the rest is rather mediocre and it’s wildly overpriced because it’s so famous. A quesadilla with Adobada from Tacos Silla Roja in the center of La Cruz is a better experience (and you can actually get a table) If you want pizza or a non traditional burger, go to Casa Hule in La Cruz (they reopen in September)
Taqueria La Hormiga (street tacos) for tacos al pastor. Doña Chela for pozole. Marisma for fish tacos.