Fish & Shrimp
A great addition to The Golden Zone is the Fish & Shrimp Restaurant & Bar, formerly The Shrimp Bucket. Newly renovated with a revamped menu, this is the place for exceptional seafood, and an ideal place to bring the family. A wonderful way to start your meal is with the Aguachile Shrimp, which arrives in a molcajete (volcanic rock bowl). If a milder appetizer is more to your liking, select the Colima Fish Ceviche, ground mackerel marinated in lime and orange juices, with a touch of olive oil. The ample shrimp and goat cheese salad might be just the ticket for lunch, a light dinner, or to share with your loved one before dinner. The many shrimp entrees make the decision difficult: beer battered, rolled in coconut, breaded, fajitas, or in pasta. Be sure to try the chef’s specials. We enjoyed a whole red snapper that was quick-fried and then grilled. This delightful dish is crisp on the outside, while moist and tender on the inside. When fresh tuna is on the menu, don’t hesitate. If you try the fried ice cream, you’ll know you’ve dined well. Lunch starts at 10 a.m. and the restaurant closes at 11 p.m. Children have their own fun menu. Seating for 40 inside and 40 outside, with group capacity for 100. Entrees from $12 to $50 U.S. for the Seafood Festival for two. Located at the end of the marina in front of Dock A, near the Marina Fiesta Resort. Reservations welcome. Call (624) 145-6020 Ext. 8013.––S.B.
La Casa del Dorado
This local gem has been serving seafood Baja-style for over 26 years. Dine under colorful fabric banners on the patio or indoors. Enjoy Latin music on most nights. Seafood is the restaurant’s forte. Here, you’ll find freshly caught fish, Sea of Cortes prawns, scallops from Magdalena Bay, and local lobster. The El Dorado Special is the catch of the day covered with shrimp sauce, cheese and strips of poblano pepper with breaded shrimp, while the Lobster Guaycura––a house specialty––is breaded, spiced and grilled Baja-style. Complimentary appetizers vary daily from large homemade raviolis to fresh fish ceviche. Other entrees include traditional Mexican fare, such as tender Mexican arrachera steak, chicken and cheese enchiladas, as well as a chicken mole dish. The delicious Chicken Green Heart––chicken breast stuffed with spinach––is not no be missed. Special dishes for vegetarians can be ordered. The ample portions are served on large platters––not dinner plates, so bring your appetite. Entrees come with rice, steamed veggies, soup, appetizers, chips and salsa. Desserts include flan, choco-flan, chocolate cake and vanilla ice cream. Open for breakfast and lunch from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.; Monday to Saturday. Prices range from $10 to $24 U.S. Cash only. Seating for up to 200. Located on Narciso Mendoza at Alvaro Obregon, six blocks northwest of Plaza Puerto Paraiso. For reservations call (624) 143-2017.––D.M.
La Casa del Pozo
La Casa del Pozo is an intimate restaurant rich in traditions with a wonderful kitchen consistently dishing up delicious authentic Mexican flavor. The relatively small dining area provides a comfortable ambience, with colorful, festive decorations that inspire the extensive celebrations of tequila that permeate from the adjacent tequila bar. Dining at La Casa del Pozo is like eating a wonderful home cooked family meal in mainland Mexico, with secret recipes and ingredients that separate this Mexican eatery from all other restaurants in Los Cabos. The service is attentive and the menu is extensive. Try the house specialty of Damiana Shrimp or go for the Damiana, Drunken, or Mango Fish served up in a rich sweet and sour sauce. The Tequila Viejo Shrimp (Old Tequila Shrimp) is deliciously flambeed in tequila and sauteed in garlic, served amid a warm bed of orange squash and vegetables. La Casa del Pozo specializes in steaks and seafood, and Damiana is the house signature sauce. Entrees range from $12 to $28 U.S. La Casa del Pozo is situated around a 150-year old water well, which explains the restaurant’s name, “The Well House.” The famous margaritas at La Casa del Pozo are always served with Blue Agave Tequila matured in the state of Jalisco using a traditional aging process. La Casa del Pozo has a seating capacity for 40, and is located on the corner of Paseo Del Pescador and Niños Heroes, across from Marina Sol Condominiums in Cabo San Lucas. Open from 3:30 p.m. to 10 p.m. For reservations call (624) 143-6569.––M.D.
La Golondrina
As befits any coastal city, seafood is the supreme ingredient in Los Cabos, and La Golondrina fits the bill for outstanding seafood. The restaurant is a golden opportunity for big appetites, but also offers a fine selection of lighter fare. You will dine in the romantic open-air patio under huge trees with twinkling lights. Watch the large platters of lobster pass by while you try to make your difficult dinner decision. The walk-up menu board boasts over 100 entrees, as well as combinations of a wide variety of meticulously prepared seafood, steaks, and international cuisine. Seafood entrees of shrimp, lobster, scallops and fish come with a choice of delectable sauces from the restaurant’s family recipes, such as “Wow”, “Dynamite”, or “Diablo.” Sample any, or all, before making your decision. Dinner entrees come with a small tostada salad, cup of soup, rice, coleslaw and Texas-size grilled garlic bread. A favorite is the whole red snapper prepared Guadalajara-style, deep-fried and crispy on the outside, while tender and moist inside. Frog legs, when in season, are prepared breaded or in a lemon and wine sauce. The seafood combo for two is popular with over five pounds of steamed lobster with grilled garlic shrimp, blue crabs, grilled fish, breaded calamari and scallops. Entrees from $14 to $35 U.S. Seating for 350 primarily outdoors and groups up to 400. La Golondrina is located on Paseo del Pescador, next to City Club. Open nightly from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. For reservations, call (624) 143-0542.––S.B.
La Panga Antigua
What says “summer” better than long days, warm nights and al fresco dinners? And what says “sophisticated seafood dishes in a romantic setting of San Jose del Cabo historic charm” better than La Panga Antigua? Set inside a colonial-style building with a three-level garden dining room, and the namesake old panga holding sway by the open kitchen, this charming spot attracts a constant crowd and Chef/Managing Partner Jacobo Turquie keeps them coming back. Banking on Los Cabos’ insatiable appetite for fresh seafood, La Panga’s contemporary menu is loaded with local shrimp, tuna, snapper and scallops. Starters include a toothsome tuna tartar with avocado, hints of soy sauce and jalapeño, but the Torre (tower) is the ultimate treat, sporting tidbits of nearly all the appetizers available. The meal may unfold in a series of nicely elaborated entrees. The Pacific glazed salmon comes abundant and crispy, sprinkled with tamarind sauce and heaped onto a mound of tender rice noodles and veggies, while the succulent yellowfin tuna arrives accompanied by a winter legumes ragout and perked up with a delicious merlot reduction and morels. Landlubbers will find a modest selection of meats and chicken touched up with traditional Mexican ingredients. Lunch is served from 12 noon to 5 p.m. featuring a prix fixe menu at $20 U.S. per person. Dinner entrees range from $22 to $43 U.S. Located on Zaragoza 20 in downtown San Jose del Cabo, La Panga serves lunch from 12 noon until 5 p.m. and dinner from 5 p.m. to 10:30 p.m. with group capacity for 120. Reservations are suggested, call (624) 142-4041.––A.U.
The Lobster Garden
The Lobster Garden dishes out large portions of exotic seafood and Mexican cuisine at very reasonable prices. This casual and colorful garden restaurant is open on two sides and usually provides a nice breeze. Homemade piñatas hang from the ceilings and the Banda music projects from the television screen, providing an authentic Mexican experience. I chose the fish and shrimp combo, cooked a la Veracruzana and decorated with fresh vegetables, beans and rice, which for only ten U.S. dollars is an unbeatable bargain. The lobster and steak combo is a very popular selection, but all of the lobster combinations are extensive and delicious, including the house specialty––lobster with steak fajitas. Lobster tail makes a great addition to virtually every dish. The modestly unpretentious decorations provide a comfortable dining ambience. Lunch and dinner entrees range from $4 U.S. for cheeseburgers to $48 U.S. for the seafood combo for two. Seniors receive a 15-percent discount after 7 p.m. and a 15-percent early bird special discount is offered between 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. Groups of 12 or more people receive an automatic 10-percent discount. The Lobster Garden has a seating capacity for 90 people and is open from 7 a.m. to 12 p.m. Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, they will also cook your catch. Located across the street from Plaza Puerto Paraiso. On Lazaro Cardenas between Narciso Mendoza and Marquez de Leon. Call (624) 144-4300.––M.D.
Lorenzillo’s
Lorenzillo’s is famous for fresh seafood, especially lobster. They’ve been pleasing their Cabo customers since 2003, with award-winning dishes prepared expertly to the delight of seafood lovers while catering to landlubbers with meats and poultry. Sit on the deck overlooking the marina, and you’ll know you’re in Cabo San Lucas. Dine inside and you could be anywhere in the world; with the authentic nautical surroundings furnished in beautiful woods and brass. Specialties might include crab cakes with cranberry sauce as a starter, and for entrees the Chilean sea bass will melt in your mouth. Fresh king crab legs or jumbo shrimp are always available for starters or entrees. Don’t stop there. Choose your own live lobster from the dinghy tank and decide how you want it prepared: grilled, roasted, in coconut sauce, poblano sauce, pepper sauce, thermidor, steamed, or numerous other ways. The julienne-chopped spinach salad, which is bountiful enough to share, is not only healthy, but also worthy of a photograph, with peeled and seeded tomato petals and goat cheese rounds. Combos are offered with seafood and meats. It would be a sin not to save room for the decadent “Isla de Sacrificios” (Island of Sacrifices), a dessert of dark chocolate brownie over Chantilly crème, with caramel sauce, topped with vanilla ice cream and chocolate bits. Attentive service without being obtrusive is appreciated. Entrees from $17 to $40 U.S. Located above UltraFemme, near Plaza Bonita. Open daily from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. Reservations suggested. (624) 105-0212 or 105-0214.––S.B.
