Puerto Vallarta Restaurants

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Puerto Vallarta Restaurants

Dining Overview

Puerto Vallarta has the most exceptional dining scene of any resort town in Mexico. Over 250 restaurants serve cuisines from around the world, in addition to fresh seafood and regional dishes. Chefs from France, Switzerland, Germany, Italy, and Argentina have come for visits and stayed to open restaurants.

Naturally, Puerto Vallarta is a great place to discover the amazing variety of Mexican dishes, as well as succulent seafood, fusions of popular cuisines like Mediterranean and Oriental, gourmet French; the list is endless. And whatever your mood and pocketbook, there’s an ambiance and location to suit, stellar views often accompanying memorable meals.

Restaurant Events

Every year Puerto Vallarta hosts two wonderful restaurant events; the Festival Gourmet in November and the Vallarta Lifestyles Restaurant Week in May. Both of these gourmet celebrations bring together top chefs, wine experts and food enthusiasts eager to experience the quality and diversity of Puerto Vallarta’s restaurant scene. The Festival Gourmet attracts around 35,000 people every year, while Restaurant Week features more than thirty restaurants known for their delicious and creative menus bringing locals and visitors together to sample dishes from Puerto Vallarta’s diverse restaurants. These unforgettable dining experiences are just two more great reasons to visit Puerto Vallarta.

During the Festival Gourmet local restaurants invite national or international chefs to take over the kitchens of their restaurant for ten days (November 10-20, 2006). The concept is to create an exchange of ideas with other cultures and traditions and enhance the culinary background of all chefs participating. Each visiting chef prepares a menu for their host restaurant and each restaurant also plans events with live music creating an amazing atmosphere to accompany the delicious cuisine. Locals and tourists have come to expect great things from this festival and enjoy the many activities and food preparation classes that are offered. Wine and cheese classes as well as tequila tasting, chef’s tables, breakfast, lunches and dinners are just a sampling of what can be found at the Festival Gourmet.

Vallarta Lifestyles Restaurant Week is a real treat for locals and visitors as restaurants substantially discount their menus for a two week period from May 15-31, 2006. For seventeen days Puerto Vallarta’s best restaurants offer amazing three-course menus discounted by up to 50 percent. Food lovers will enjoy this tasty experience and visitors will be able to sample a variety of the area’s restaurants at a fraction of the usual cost. This year’s event will feature Café des Artistes, considered one of the best restaurants in Puerto Vallarta. Other participants of the 2006 Vallarta Lifestyles Restaurant Week include La Palapa, and Tequila’s Café.

The Festival Gourmet and Lifestyles Restaurant Week are two of Puerto Vallarta’s most anticipated annual events. Sample a taste of Puerto Vallarta as these culinary celebrations showcase the talents and diversity of local and international chefs and the participating restaurants.

Restaurant Recommendations

Agave Grill — Mexican
Morelos 589 — Tel: (322) 222-2000 — $$$
This beautiful hacienda-style bar and restaurant is an oasis for connoisseurs of Mexico's finest artistic expressions: "La Gran Comida," Mexican wines and 100% agave tequilas. This upscale restaurant includes a tasting bar and store with Vallarta's most extensive collection of Mexican wines and tequilas.

Alfredo di Roma — Italian
Carr. 200 Sur Km 8.5 — Tel: (322) 228-0191 — $$$$
Enjoy the unique experience of the authentic flavors at Ristorante Da Antonio, where chef Christian Testa from Genova, Italy, invites you to indulge in his gastronomic art. His dishes range from the south of the peninsula to the mountainous north with its spicy dishes.

Andrea — Italian
Velas Vallarta — Tel: (322) 221-0091 — $$$
With seating available both inside and outside, you can dine in stylish comfort, enjoying world-class service and food. With chef Govanni Denigris of Chicago, chefs Jorge Castellanos and Demberto Aguayo and their team bring you classic Italian cuisine with a New World touch.

Angelo's — Italian
Paradise Plaza L-J2-4 — Tel: (322) 297-6130 — $$
Providing good food at fair prices at this happening South Side spot, Italian-American co-owner and chef Paul Velser skimps on nothing – neither quality nor serving sizes. Enticing platters are presented along with menus for your perusal and eight wines are available by the glass.

Bai Sri — Asian
Púlpito 242 — Tel: (322) 223-8480 — $$$
A wonderful new Thai-Vietnamese restaurant, offering incredible dishes in a serenely beautiful ambiance. Shrimp and chicken saté with peanut and cashew-cucumber dipping sauces, deep-fried crab wonton and hot and sour soup among appetizers, the Pad Thai is especially popular, as are the curries.

Barcelona — Spanish
Matamoros y 31 de Octubre — Tel: (322) 222-0510 — $$$
Ideal for sharing as a couple or with friends, appetizer-sized servings of Spanish flavors prepared with the highest quality ingredients and a bird's eye view of the town and bay. Sea breezes refresh the charmingly casual terrace, while the dining room is air conditioned.

Café des Artistes — Avant-Garde
Guadalupe Sánchez 740 — Tel: (322) 222-3228 — $$$$
Thierry Blouet, Maitre Cuisinier de France and a member of the Culinary Academy of France, has what is considered by many to be the best restaurant in town, Café des Artistes. Now, with recent, dramatic changes, it's one of the best in the world.

Daiquiri Deck's — International
Olas Altas 314 — Tel: (322) 222-0566 — $$$
For almost 20 years, Peter and Tari Bowman have nourished Vallarta at their serene, if somewhat incongruously named, restaurant. What started as a beach-side eatery has been transformed into a sophisticated, world-class establishment, where service is attentive, yet non-intrusive, in a contemporary atmosphere.

Don Pedro's — Mediterranean
Marlin 2 — Tel: (329) 291-3090 — $$$
In the quaint village of Sayulita, chef Nicholas Parrillo expertly prepares a wide range of Mediterranean specialties using only the finest ingredients. Chef Parrillo´s culinary style reflects a genuine understanding of classical methods and influences from Mexico and California.

Hacienda Alemana — German
Basilio Badillo 378 — Tel: (322) 222-2071 — $$
There's an authentic Bavarian kitchen in the heart of Vallarta's South Side where really good German food is served in a beautiful garden sequestered from the street. Its typical Bavarian atmosphere, with all the elements of Munich's Hofbräuhaus, makes it an exceedingly comfortable place.

Hacienda San Ángel — International
Miramar 336 — Tel: (322) 22 22692 — $$$$
Hacienda San Angel is the newest "find" for the discriminating traveler in this authentic town. It's a masterpiece restoration of three classic Vallarta-style houses set on the hillside overlooking Banderas Bay , almost in touching distance of the spire of the historic center's landmark Guadalupe church.

Kaiser Maximilian — International
Olas Altas 380-B — Tel: (322) 223-0760 — $$$$
Since 1995, it has been a tradition for European and Austrian dining. The decor and portrait of Kaiser Maximilian transport you to the atmosphere of a Viennese café at the end of the 19th century. Dine in the dining room or at sidewalk tables.

La Palapa — International
Púlpito 103 — Tel: (322) 222-5225 — $$$$
Haute cuisine and friendly service combine in this tropical setting at Los Muertos Beach for the perfect balance of fine dining and the charm of Puerto Vallarta. This is one of Vallarta's favorite places to enjoy excellent food in a casually elegant atmosphere.

La Petite — French
Fco. M. Ascencio Km 2.5 — Tel: (322) 293-0900 — $$$$
The menu is constantly changing for the better, and the service is always impeccable. The food is superb, from the terrine de pâté to the coq-au-vin to the sensual pleasures of soufflés. The choice of desserts is enough to put any gourmet in a quandary.

Le Kliff — International
Carr. 200 Sur Km 17.5 — Tel: (322) 224-0975 — $$$$
Paradise does exist. And this giant palapa is in the midst of it. Providing stupendous views, it's surprising that the food is so exquisite, too. Featuring fabulously fresh seafood as well as Black Angus steaks – you're invited to mix and match, as you like.

Los Xitomates — Mexican
Morelos 570 — Tel: (322) 222-1695 — $$$$
Everything about this intimate spot is superior, yet the prices are considerate. Elegant and tranquil, its artistic earth-tone décor is a sophisticated backdrop for the presentation of "High Mexican Cuisine," with today's Mediterranean, Caribbean, Asian and Continental influences on its pre-Columbian and Colonial roots.

Mark's Bar and Grill — Italian
Lázaro Cárdenas 56 — Tel: (329) 298-0303 — $$$
Established in 1991, it is renowned for providing a consistently excellent dining experience. Inspired by flavors from the Mediterranean and Asia, Jan and her team create food that is innovative yet refined, simply cooked and exquisitely presented in a lush, tropical indoor/outdoor setting.

Nikki Beach — International
Westin Regina — Tel: (322) 226-1150 — $$$$
Everything about this restaurant is so hip – with a chic European atmosphere and million-dollar views – that Alejandro Fernández recently celebrated his birthday here. Pareo-clad waiters keep the food and libations flowing, the exotic Oriental-Mediterranean menu a pleasure to ponder at tables indoors or out.

Porto Bello — Italian
Marina Sol L-7 — Tel: (322) 221-0003 — $$$
Torontonians Mario Nunes and Maurizio Pellegrini have been the owners of this elegant Italian restaurant privileged with a spectacular view of Marina Vallarta since 1989. Enjoy fine dining in a romantic air-conditioned salon decorated in Art Nouveau with soft pastels.

Rincón de Buenos Aires — Argentinean
Royal Pacific L-126, 127 — Tel: (322) 221-2260 — $$$
When it comes to a fine cut, seafood or pasta, your best bet is Rincón de Buenos Aires. The wood-fire grill gives a unique flavor to the fine cuts and fish. The filled pastas, such as the ravioli and lasagna, are a delight.

The River Café — International
Isla Río Cuale L-4 — Tel: (322) 223-0788 — $$$$
On the Isla Río Cuale, The River Café has it all: great location, ambience, food and service. From its opening it has grown steadily in popularity to become a thriving new spot in Puerto Vallarta's restaurant scene. Visit for casual but elegant dining.

Trio — Mediterranean
Guerrero 264 — Tel: (322) 222-2196 — $$$$
European chefs Bernhard Güth and Ulf Henriksson have become the favorites of locals and food critics with their hearty honest food. This cosmopolitan, multi-level eatery with an open courtyard, Tiffany-style windows and hand painted doors is top notch, the atmosphere always comfortable and welcoming.

Vista Grill — International
Púlpito 377 — Tel: (322) 222-3570 — $$$$
What vistas this sophisticated venue is privy to, jutting terraces making you feel the views are yours alone. Despite the setting, the exquisitely prepared and presented food is really what this refined place is all about. Beef carpaccio and coconut shrimp two appetizing possibilities.

Vitea — Mediterranean
Libertad y Malecón — Tel: (322) 222-8703 — $$
Everyone is raving about this oceanfront bistro offering something completely different in Vallarta, classic and contemporary bistro fare in a casual European Riviera ambiance. This swanky but definitely unstuffy art deco space is sister restaurant to the popular Trio.