16 Best Restaurants in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

Style and sophistication is what you get when eating at Café des Artistes. Owned and managed by famous French chef Thierry Blouet, this restaurant is top-shelf for gourmet cuisine in Puerto Vallarta.

Locals come frequently for breakfast; visitors come for the great service and consistent Mexican and international cuisine. The lunch-dinner menu has fabulous appetizers, including superb Mexican shrimp al pastor with lemon-zest beurre blanc, delicious blackened salmon fillet, and perfect, spicy tuna tacos. The tortilla soup is popular, too. Start with a signature daiquiri and move on to the extensive wine list. The open patio dining room frames a view of Playa Los Muertos, creating a beautiful, simple scene to enjoy while you sip that drink.

This large, welcoming, thatched-roof eatery is open to the breezes of Playa Los Muertos and filled with wicker-covered chandeliers, art-glass fixtures, and lazily rotating ceiling fans. The menu meanders among international dishes with modern presentation: roasted stuffed chicken breast, pork loin, seared yellowfin tuna drizzled in cacao sauce. It's pricey, but the beachfront location and, in the evening, the low lights and romantic atmosphere, keep people coming back. Breakfast is popular with locals as well as visitors.

Trio is simply Puerto Vallarta's best restaurant. Waiters are professional yet unpretentious—either the sommelier or the maître d' can help you with the wine—but the main reason to dine here is the consistently fabulous food, which is also a great value. The grilled oyster from Cabo Corrientes is a great appetizer and then you can treat yourself with the rabbit roasted with aromatic herbs and red wine. The kitchen often stays open until midnight, and during high season the restaurant opens the back patio, second floor, and rooftop terrace.

Sensational views of the sunset and sparkling city-light panoramas after dark make this one of the best restaurants in PV for a celebratory toast—of life, love, or the perfect vacation. Dedicated observers can spot whales spouting offshore almost any day during the winter months. An army of attentive waiters brings baskets of delicious, buttery rolls and whisks away plates. Try the stellar crab-and-sea-bass cakes, lobster tacos, or sashimi with truffle-and-soy vinaigrette and avocado coulis. The chef adds new dishes every few weeks; the barman stocks top-of-the-line spirits; and there is a large wine cellar representing several continents.

Sayulita institution Don Pedro's has wonderful pizzas baked in a wood-fire oven, prepared by European-trained chef and co-owner Nicholas Parrillo. Also on the menu are consistently reliable seafood dishes, yummy salade niçoise, and tapenade. The mesquite-grilled filet mignon is just about the best around; it comes with baby vegetables, mashed potatoes, and pita bread. The pretty second-floor dining room, with the better view, is open when the bottom floor fills up, usually during the high season (November to May). During high season they also have dance classes and dancing to Latin tunes, currently on Monday, and live flamenco guitar on Thursday. This is a good spot for breakfast, too.

For an informal bite on any given evening, there's nothing like Food Park PV. Here you'll find a variety of snacks, beer, live music, and good vibes, all in a refreshing outdoor atmosphere.

Ivy climbs blond, hacienda-style columns, and chandeliers bathe in a romantic light in the second-floor dining room of this stunningly restored boutique hotel and restaurant. The chef has a restrained hand when it comes to salt and spices; recipes are straightforward yet neither bland nor boring.

This restaurant, part of a small inn, might look like just another Mexican restaurant from the outside, but there is more than what meets the eye. The cuisine is mostly international, with Greek dishes like gyros.

Chilaquiles, pancakes, waffles, baked goods, omelets … whatever you want for breakfast, they have it. This Nuevo Vallarta newcomer has been a total success and a great excuse to leave your nearby hotel to eat good food any given morning. It tends to be full on Sunday, so reservations are a good idea.

From exclusive chef's tables to traditional à la carte dinners, Pueblo 25 offers organic, personalized dining experiences. Pueblo means "village," and the whole idea behind Pueblo 25 is to support local farmers and fishermen while offering guests unique and environmentally friendly culinary creations.

Open to the ocean air, the wood-and-palm exterior of this restaurant looks right at home on Conchas Chinas Beach. The menu is a mixed bag of Mexican specialties such as chile relleno, international cuisine add-ons like chicken masala, and seafood dishes like the delicious crab enchiladas with chipotle sauce. There are wonderful views of waves crashing on or lapping at the shore at its bar El Set. If you're driving, look for the sign for Hotel Lindo Mar on the coast highway.

At night, candles flicker at white-skirted tables with comfortable cushioned chairs, and tiny white lights sparkle in palm trees surrounding the multilevel terrace. This riverside restaurant is recommended for breakfast and for the evening ambience. If you're not into a romantic dinner, belly up to the intimate bar for a drink and—on Friday and Saturday evening—live jazz.

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.  

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.

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.