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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.
This midsize enclave is sure to satisfy anyone with a sweet tooth, particularly those fond of well-crafted French crepes. Try the orange-flavored Suzette or, if you're a chocolate fan, the full-on Tahitian with ice cream, chocolate, and whipped cream. They also have savory crepes and occasionally hold a moules et frites (mussels and french fries) night for seafood lovers.
Originally a coffee-and-dessert stop and fashionable hangout for Mascotans, this snug little eatery serves big breakfasts and now main dishes at lunch and dinner, too. Sit on the small street-facing patio, in the small dining room, or facing the glass case featuring fantastic-looking cakes, pies, and tarts. You can get wine and beer as well as pizza, barbecue, spaghetti, and other Italian food.
Early risers and those heading off on fishing charters will appreciate the daily 5 am opening time. The café, which is filled with wonderful art for sale, has fruit smoothies, coffee in many manifestations, and tasty frappés with Oreo cookie bits or frosting-topped carrot cake.
Even in low season, Fredy's, next door to the Hotel Posada de Roger, is packed full of Mexican families, gringo friends, and local businesspeople. Your mug of coffee will be refilled without having to beg; service is brisk, professional, and friendly. Breakfast is the meal of choice, with pancakes and waffles, Mexican specialties, omelets, and eggs Benedict with thick slices of ham. The lunch menu is abbreviated but offers soups, salads, burgers, nachos, and quesadillas. Eat on the pretty covered patio, or inside, where big plate-glass windows let you keep an eye on busy Calle Basilio Badillo.
Come for the excellent coffee as well as the most scrumptious pies, cookies, and cakes.
If you need a break from seafood, this small, sophisticated café serves outstanding coffee, Mexican breakfasts, and classic burgers for lunch. They have live music during the week.
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