Fat Tuna

The word is out: Ángel Carbajal has opened a new restaurant. If you’re a resident or a regular visitor to Los Cabos in the past 20 plus years, that news means something. Carbajal’s chance meeting with Japanese chef Masayuki Niikura in Los Angeles in 1986 had far-reaching consequences for the first California. The two collaborated to open Nick-San in 1994, pioneering the fusion of traditional Japanese cuisine with Mexican accents and ingredients, forever changing the face of the Cabo San Lucas dining scene. Prior to Nick-San, fine dining in Cabo San Lucas was virtually nonexistent; with local restaurants focusing on fresh local seafood and Mexican comfort food fare, served up in casual surroundings. Since Nick-San, Los Cabos has emerged as one of the most creative culinary destinations in México, drawing a host of celebrity chefs and spawning myriad pan-Pacific fusion cuisines. The success of the Nick-San brand subsequently led to additional restaurants in the Shoppes at Palmilla, just outside San José del Cabo, and in Nuevo Vallarta and México City. But after 23 years at the helm of Nick-San, Carbajal was looking for a new challenge. Hence: Fat Tuna Copas y Cocina. The sleek three-level restaurant is set in the heart of the Land’s End city’s nightclub district—it sits on the same block as late-night meccas Mandala and El Squid Roe—and showcases all the seafood mastery one would expect from Carbajal (think spicy octopus with three chiles, lime, garlic, Himalayan salt, and quinoa), as well as a generous selection of steaks (including a Wagyu rib eye with ponzu and sesame oil pearls, and flank steak with garlic fries). The real eye-openers, however, are found on the pasta menu; it features delicious options that, in their finished form, often seem as much Mexican dishes as Italian. Gnocchi with chorizo? Black risotto with huitlacoche? Pizza with arrachera? Welcome to the wonderful world of Ángel Carbajal. Local press and fine dining connoisseurs gathered April 28 for a private cocktail party to celebrate Carbajal’s latest project. A state-of-the-art elevator whisked VIPs from ground level to the rooftop, where they were fêted in grand style with top-shelf tequila cocktails and what seemed an endless succession of delicious hors d’oeuvres, before settling in for a more thorough examination of the bill of fare. Boulevard Lázaro Cárdenas S/N (between Morelos and Zaragoza), Cabo San Lucas, (624) 143-4740, www.facebook.com/fattunacabo. Daily noon–midnight. $$ C.S.

Contact Page in Los Cabos Guide: https://www.loscabosguide.com/fat-tuna-restaurant/