To leave Los Cabos without having dined at Bar Esquina is to have not really experienced Los Cabos at all. The on-site restaurant and bar at the Bahia Hotel boutique resort in the Médano Beach district represents the essence of Cabo: It’s sleek, chic, sexy, and playful. The space’s Moroccan style and mystique embolden, while the evocative menu beckons. Dinner highlights include tuna tartar (a mound of marinated and seasoned raw fish delicately served on a plate surrounded with ginger, chile, and avocado), braised short ribs with beet risotto, and short rib pizza. Walk by the corner spot any given evening, and you’ll see ceiling fans lazily oscillating, sheer draperies billowing out of open arches, and Turkish lanterns providing a romantic glow. Return come morning for one of Cabo’s most underrated breakfast experiences. Order a cappuccino from the adjacent Bar Esquina Coffee Bar & Take Out, which expertly crafts drinks with organic coffee beans imported directly from Oaxaca and Chiapas, México. Pair your drink with eggs Benedict or green chilaquiles with chicken. The combined effect of the cappuccino and the breeze that dances its way up from nearby Médano Beach is invigorating. Organic, locally sourced ingredients drive the inventive Bar Esquina menu, and that’s evident in lunch items like the ceviche, spicy pork pizza, and curry lentil soup. For more coffee options and an express breakfast, pop right into Bar Esquina Coffee Bar & Take Out, which has a robust menu with coffee and espresso drinks, freshly baked pastries, and ModuVated Energy smoothies. Valet parking. Live music Tues–Sat. 8 p.m.–11 p.m. Bahia Hotel, Avenida El Pescador S/N, Cabo San Lucas, (624) 143-1890, www.baresquina.com. Daily 8 a.m.–midnight. All major credit cards and vouchers accepted. $$–$$$$ A.A.
Sammy Hagar knows there’s “Only One Way to Rock,” and he’s been bringing his signature rocking style and impressive attention to detail to Cabo San Lucas—via the the venerable Cabo Wabo Cantina for more than a decade. The nightclub proved instrumental in the transformation of Cabo San Lucas and is now the flagship of an internationally recognized franchise. This place is good, better in fact than it has any right to be. Here you get an excellent lineup of dishes that include a hearty lobster burrito, Sammy’s Tequila Shrimp (which are sautéed in garlic and serrano chile, then deglazed with lime juice and Cabo Wabo Tequila), and excellent sea scallops pan-seared, then served with red cabbage slaw and Tequila Cabo Wabo Reposado butter. Fuel up on food before heading downstairs for a night of rocking out. At either spots, you can order any of the masterful concoctions that use the restaurant’s eponymous tequila line. Vicente Guerrero and Lázaro Cárdenas, Cabo San Lucas, (624) 143-1188, www.cabowabo cantina.com. Restaurant: Daily 11 a.m.–11 p.m. Club: Nightly 8 p.m.–3 a.m. Patio bar: Daily 9 a.m.–3 a.m. All major credit cards accepted. $$–$$$$ A.A.
The group that owns Captain Tony’s is also the same team behind the award-winning Pisces Sportfishing, one of the largest charter fleets in all of México. It should come as no surprise, then, that its Cabo San Lucas Marina restaurant is a favorite of Los Cabos fishing enthusiasts. Captain Tony’s opens early—6 a.m.!—and doesn’t close its doors till 10 p.m., so you can pop in before or after your fishing adventure. The kitchen specializes in preparing anglers’ catches any way they like ‘em (try the tacos) for just $7 U.S. per person. It is also home to exceptional pizzas that are cooked to perfection in a wood-fired brick oven. Pair the signature Captain Tony’s bacon-and-pizza pie with a sparkling limonada. Looking for just a little snack? The guacamole is made fresh at your table—and just to your liking. Well, everything here is made to our liking. Cabo San Lucas Marina, between Wyndham Los Cabos Resort and the Cabo Dolphins swim center, Cabo San Lucas, (624) 143-6797, www.pisces groupcabo.com/food-fun. Daily 6 a.m.–10 p.m. MasterCard, Visa, and vouchers accepted. $–$$$ A.A.
The Beach Boys had Kokomo to get away from it all. But you can leave your stresses and inhibitions behind when making the much-shorter trip to Los Cabos and, more specifically, Casianos. The intimate on-site restaurant at Mar Adentro Spa & Wellness Clinic is one of a trio of eponymous restaurants by renowned Oaxacan-born chef Casiano Reyes. Each location features his signature concept: no-menu, no-rules spontaneous cuisine. When you arrive, select a three- or five-course tasting menu and decide whether you’d like wine pairings. You will also want to note any allergies or dietary restrictions. From there, the chef will prepare a meal just for you and your dinner party according to the freshest, highest-quality local ingredients available and, well, his whim. The dinner will be one of a kind…and one you won’t soon forget. Three-course menu is $60 U.S. plus 11 percent tax ($120 U.S. with wine paring), five-course menu is $75 U.S. plus tax ($150 with wine pairing). Camino del Colegio No. 225, Fracc. El Pedregal, Cabo San Lucas, (624) 142-5929, ventas@casianos.com, www.casianos .com. Mon.–Sat. 6 p.m.–10 p.m. AmEx, MasterCard, Visa, and vouchers accepted. $$$–$$$$ A.A.
Looking for a romantic dinner destination? Look no farther than Cata Wine Restaurant in San José del Cabo. The space combines Italian and Mexican cuisine with soft lighting, eclectic decor, and intimate seating to set the perfect mood. Set the mood with tantalizing appetizers such as casino clams, carpaccio de pesce, or spinach rotolis, true works of art: homemade dough is rolled with spinach, ham, and three cheeses then brushed with garlic butter and baked to perfection. The entrées are just as impressive. On our night there, the penne de salmon was expertly prepared: The salmon was tender and sweet in a smoked tomato whiskey sauce. Some other Italian favorites include lasagna nazionale made with house-made pasta or eggplant parmigiana. If it’s authentic Mexican food you’re after, try the seafood-stuffed peppers “Don Cata” or the griddle shrimp, which is tender and coated with a rich spicy chipotle sauce and served with a tower of marinated nopales, or cactus, and panela cheese. To complement your blissful evening of fine dining and intimate romance, the staff at Cata Wine is not only attentive, and friendly, but entertaining and quite talented as well. Just ask for their famous “Mexican flaming coffee.” You will be delighted by the veritable tableside dinner show, and the best thing of all; for the encore you get to enjoy your delicious “coffee.” Beware, this is not to be mistaken for coffee in the traditional sense, this liquid confection is, in part, tantalizing liquors and other spirits. Blvd. Mijares & Paseo Finisterra Plaza Mision, San Jose del Cabo, (624) 142-0868. Mon.-Sat. 11 a.m.–10:30 p.m. through September. MasterCard, Visa and vouchers accepted. $–$$ W.A.
