11 Best Restaurants in Los Cabos, Mexico

Alcaravea Gourmet has come a long way from its humble beginnings as a tiny, off-the-beaten-path bistro, and is now considered one of Cabo's top stops for Italian and Mediterranean style cuisine. Enter through a flower-and-vine-garlanded opening into an intimate dining area. Chef Enrique Diaz's menu features salads, fresh pastas, chicken, seafood, and meat dishes. Try the pescado con champiñones (fresh catch of the day with mushrooms, garlic, herbs, lemon, and a touch of Parmesan), the rib-eye steak, or the scalloped beef with prosciutto. The wine list is modest but includes nice selections from México, Italy, Argentina, and the United States. Alcaravea also boasts the best lunch deal in town: soup or salad, entrée with veggies or pasta, plus dessert and drink, all for only $12.

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.

Atop a bluff at the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, El Farallon provides one of the most breathtaking vantage points in Cabo San Lucas. Chef Gustavo Pinet presents a seafood-heavy menu with a "fresh fish market" displaying the catch of the day. Customize your dish from an array of fish and meats—from yellowtail, parrotfish, spiny lobster, rib-eye steak, and sea bass to the irresistible local chocolate clams. All dishes come with a tasting of the day's three appetizers, which can include anything from tuna ceviche to crab-and-chipotle soup, as well as two sides that range from asparagus to grilled corn to cilantro-infused rice. Fish and meats are simply prepared on a flat grill with fine herbs and a drop of butter, and are so well executed that you may forego the accompanying sauces. It's challenging, but save room for desserts like apple and banana cobbler, then digest over an after-dinner drink at The Champagne Terrace while you ogle the view.

This alfresco dining experience is built right in the center of the self-sustaining Flora Farms. It's a charming oasis featuring a farm-to-table restaurant, spa, gift shop, cooking school, organic market, and culinary cottages (private homes), all under the Flora Farms brand. Meals are homemade including produce and meat (chicken and pork) grown on the property and bread baked on-site. Wholly organic meals include favorites like fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, massive pork chops fired in the wood-burning oven, butternut squash ravioli, and a selection of pizzas and seasonal salads. Even the sausages served with sweet potato chips are homemade. The adjacent Farm Bar serves unique takes on classic cocktails delivered in Mason jars, like the ginger and beet margarita or the Farm Julep (watermelon juice with basil, mint, and rum). Flora's is a wonderful learning experience for families by day and a romantic spot for couples by night. There's live music nightly at 7:30 and cooking classes Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday from 10:30 to 2 pm (cost $115 includes lunch).

In a relaxing garden filled with retro decor, waiters in mesh trucker hats and black T-shirts deliver remarkable urban Mexican cuisine with a dash of Grandma’s secret recipes. Under the shade of a mango tree, start with the trio of salsas infused with orange and chipotle, served with a basket of freshly fried tortilla chips. Local breakfast favorites are the French toast and Costa Azul (baked eggs with a Dijon cream sauce). Or go straight to the lunch menu, featuring the pork shoulder sandwich, jicama mango salad with citrus cream dressing, and a cheese-and-vegetable stuffed poblano sandwich. All pastries are crafted in-house, including the sinfully divine churros, served with sweet milk.

A romantic courtyard shaded by fruit trees, classic rancheras (Mexican folk music), and traditional preparations of regional Mexican specialty dishes are the hallmarks at Los Tres Gallos. Discover their delicious heritage dishes such as cochinita pibil (slow-roasted pork) and molcajetes (stone bowls) filled with flank steak, shrimp, chorizo, nopal, and panela cheese. The downtown eatery's name pays tribute to three of the greatest stars of Mexico's golden age of cinema. Photographs of Jorge Negrete, Pedro Infante, and Javier Solís—collectively referred to as "the three roosters"— adorn the walls of one of the dining areas, and their music often plays softly in the background, adding to the restaurant's old-fashioned charm. A second location has recently opened in San José del Cabo.