112 Best Restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

It's very pleasant to dine at night on the back patio of this local favorite amid dozens of candles and tiny lights. The menu includes pizza, salads, pasta dishes, and Mediterranean fare like chicken souvlaki and Greek chicken. Order a liqueur-laced coffee or dessert from the bakery counter. The café at the front has great espresso but is open in high season only, usually December through Easter.

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.

A more casual iteration of its Puerto Vallarta location, Tuna Blanca faces the water at the north end of Playa El Anclote. Portions are petite, but the five-course tasting menu is still quite filling. Representative courses include a delicious beet-and-goat-cheese appetizer; spinach salad with poached pear and Gorgonzola cheese; salmon carpaccio with lemony scallops tartare; a deliciously tender short rib with pineapple chutney; and, for dessert, vanilla ice cream with mango foam. The soundtrack is sexy Brazilian and jazz, the waitstaff is attentive, and the views are divine. From the deck you'll have the best views of the ocean, Marietas Islands, and the left arm of Banderas Bay.  

When chefs Bernhard Güth and Ulf Henriksson, of Trio, needed a challenge, they cooked up this delightful (and quite intimate) seaside bistro. The decor of the open, casual venue is as fresh as the food. It's a nice place for breakfast overlooking the malecón.

The Yacht Club is a restaurant and bar on the town beach—it's not a yacht club at all. Their breaded fish fillet is famous among the villagers and tourists, as are their chicken dishes. The place is always full. At 10 pm the disco starts and it lasts until 2 am.

North of Banderas Bay, in little San Pancho (aka San Francisco), the multitudes rave about the fish and shrimp tacos at Baja Takeria.

This is the best place in town for seafood; the ocean view from under the tall, peaked palapa roof isn't bad either. In addition to the garlic-and-oil fish fillets and breaded shrimp, there's grilled chicken with baked potato, beef tips with rice and beans, soups, quesadillas, steak, great guacamole, and fries. It's open all day (8 am until 10 pm) and serves everyone from white-collar business types to families and friends meeting for lunch to tourists cleaned up for an evening out. Popular with local families, business people, and travelers, it's a simple and unadorned but large restaurant facing Christmas Bay. After your meal, kick your shoes off and take a walk on the beach.

If chef Alfonso Cadena weren't so cool (he looks like a refined, former rock star because he is one!), then La Leche's main dining room, an all-white rotunda lined with shelves of milk cans, could come off as gimmicky. But each night as Cadena personally presents a different menu on a chalkboard, his "blank canvas" dining space becomes the perfect backdrop for a unique meal. For instance, a delicate seafood bisque, unveiled in whimsical ceramic tureens, might precede an exquisite mahimahi in a citrus reduction that provides the perfect balance of sweet and sour, rich and refreshing. Servers are attentive and friendly, but there is ample time between courses, so be prepared for an enjoyable but lengthy evening. Reservations aren't required but are a good idea.

You'll find the best views at a series of open-air patios under a huge palapa roof at Le Kliff, south of PV.

The locally owned bakery Los Chatos sells cakes, tarts, and house-made gelato. They have expanded to new areas, too, in Bucerías, the Marina, and more.

Two Canadian women have teamed up to bring sophistication to San Patricio–Melaque's dining scene. East meets West in contemporary dishes such as tequila-lime prawns and corn, and Gouda-cheese fritters with a smoked jalapeño aioli. Favorite entrées include Szechuan prawns and prosciutto-wrapped chicken. The hours of operation are complex and subject to change; it's best to check the Web site or confirm by phone. There's often live music including jazz or blues.

In Sayulita, Panino's produces good brownies, croissants, and other baked goods just a few steps from the beach.

In El Centro at Paris Café, a gruff and eccentric Frenchman who bakes bare-chested is PV's version of Seinfeld's "soup Nazi."

Grab a mini-cheesecake, crunchy chocolate cookie, or an infamous mango pie at Pie in the Sky. The store has expanded to Puerto Vallarta and its marina as well.

Healthy and nutritious food with lots of flavor is what has crowds coming here every morning for breakast. There is no guarantee that there will be space for you to sit at any time in particular, but there's always takeaway to be eaten at the boardwalk. Don't miss the smoothies!

On Bucerías's South Side, a dedicated following snaps up the cinnamon rolls at Sweet Things Bake Shop.

Bucerías's Tacos Linda occupies a small patio surrounded by hurricane fencing. Watch a telenovela on the overhead TV as you wait for savory meat tacos and other snacks served on huge, just-made tortillas.

In downtown Vallarta, locals love the quesadillas, shredded beef burritos, and tacos at Tutifruti, where you can also get a sandwich, burger, or fruit smoothie.

Portions are large, and the cooking seems to have improved with time, although the main reason to visit is the lovely views of a solitary beach, uninhabited Coral Island, and the beaches of Rincón de Guayabitos. The hawk's-eye ocean view is especially wonderful around sunset. Order a full Mexican meal or just a shrimp or fish taco and a beer or cocktail. Changing daily specials like ribs, mashed potatoes, and corn on the cob, with a glass of wine or beer, are filling if unimaginative. Shrimp is prepared in a handful of ways; for kids there are hamburgers (or shrimp burgers) and fries or quesadillas. Food service begins at noon, although the stated opening time is 11:30 am.

For European-style chocolates, succumb to Xocodiva, in Zona Romántica.