Taste of Los Cabos

Taste of Los Cabos

For many years, it was impossible to get authentic Mexican fare in Los Cabos. Simple street stands and cafés served basic tacos, burritos, and grilled fish, along with burgers, stringy steaks, and basic pasta dishes. But the increase in tourism brought an increased demand for high-quality cuisine. Restaurants now serve authentic Mexican dishes, along with French, Spanish, Italian, Californian, Japanese, and Thai cuisine. A Baja cuisine based on fresh seafood and produce from local farms is emerging, and chefs are creating exciting combinations of Mexican and international recipes and seasonings.

Following the lead of other regions of Mexico, Los Cabos is developing individual specialties, using locally grown and raised ingredients and recipes handed down through generations. Originally, southern Baja had very few crops, but early settlers soon found pockets of fertile areas along rivers and underground springs. Many medicinal and culinary herbs are found in the mountains, and small towns such as Miraflores and Santiago cultivate some of the herbs and vegetables for Los Cabos restaurants. The road along the Pacific coast between Cabo San Lucas and Todos Santos is lined with commercial farms raising vegetables for export and for local markets and restaurants.

What Los Cabos has always had in abundance is seafood. From sea bass to tuna, mussels to squid, the fruits of the sea offer Los Cabos chefs a rich selection of ingredients for their culinary works of art. Some of the tastiest dishes are seafood soups, made with octopus, shrimp, fish, or crab. Fresh Pacific lobster is typically served simply with a butter sauce or in a salad with fresh greens. Homegrown terra fare includes local beef and pork that's been marinated and often grilled or barbecued. Most of the meat served in better restaurants is imported from Sonora on the mainland or from the United States.

As the area's popularity grows, the dining-out experience is expanding to beyond just the food, with the restaurants themselves often part of the attraction. Many of San José de Cabo's eateries are in restored 19th-century adobe houses, where you can dine indoors surrounded by original art or outside amid fountains and tropical gardens in a lovely courtyard -- as at Damiana and Tequila Restaurante. Adding to the international scene downtown is Baan Thai, whose chef, a native of Thailand, prepares authentic dishes from his homeland.

The more lively town of Cabo San Lucas has some traditional restaurants, but eating out is more often an eclectic experience. For authentic Mexican home cooking, Mi Casa, alongside Plaza San Lucas, is highly regarded for its regional dishes, including the chile en nogada, a meat-stuffed pepper topped with walnut sauce and pomegranate seeds. Pancho's is known for its huevos rancheros (fried eggs on a tortilla and topped with salsa), and Nick San is noted for its outstanding sushi. The Office on Playa Médano is the place for barefoot dining and beachside action.

Surprisingly, some of the best restaurants are in hotels. In 2004, Chicago celebrity-chef Charlie Trotter opened C, a chic contemporary dining room at the One&Only Palmilla resort. In downtown San José, the European-style boutique hotel Casa Natalia houses Mi Cocina, where French owner Loïc Tenoux and his wife Nathalie (from Luxembourg) bring their European training to traditional Mexican dishes.