Exchange Rate $17.72MXP = US$1
NOTE: we always share our meals, typically ordering one starter, one main, and one dessert for the two of us. That makes a big difference in the cost of our meals and the expansion of our waistlines. We don’t have the kitchen split the meals because Audre doesn’t eat as much as Dimitri. We just ask for an extra plate and Audre takes what she thinks she should eat. On our new regime, we rarely have wine or beer with our meals. Frankly, we feel better the next day.
ALE and DM discussed adding ratings to our restaurant reviews and compromised on the following ratings:
HR: Highly recommended
R: Recommended and R++: Recommended almost as much as HR
NR: Not recommended
A: Awful
1. Upscale
1.1 HR: Tintoque, Blvd. Fco. Medina Ascencio 3945, Plaza Neptuno Local E1 Marina Vallarta, 48328 Puerto Vallarta, +52 322 221 0240, https://tintoque.mx/
We were very pleasantly surprised with our dinner at Tintoque. We did not expect a restaurant of such high quality in PV. The food was superb in presentation and in taste. The service was very pleasant and very knowledgeable by Miguel who speaks fluent English. We highly recommend Tintoque restaurant in Marina Vallarta.
And now for the details. The kitchen agreed that we could share one 9-course menu degustation ($1250MXP) without splitting any dish in the kitchen—just served as intended. We were the only customers having dinner and Chef Joel Ornelas doesn’t work Sunday night (particularly in the rainy month of September) but the chef worked magic for us. Miguel asked if we wanted any substitutions of the dishes and we asked for several. The kitchen accommodated our selections. The room has white brick walls and a very high ceiling. We sat on the banquette in a corner and it was comfortable. There was “modern” music but not offensive and not overly loud. We were brought small glasses of “tuba,” a coconut palm water from the palm tree trunk with added sugar and allowed to ferment. It was served with chopped nuts and apple in it and it was very good. We ordered a Zorzal Malbec ($690MXP), one of the least expensive on the menu, and enjoyed every drop. The “amuse bouche” was a pork belly croquette sitting on avocado cream with an escabèche. Yummy and it was beautifully served. The first course of our menu degustation was Aguachile, octopus with oilfish and pork rind in a roasted pepper vinaigrette. It was served with blue corn tostadas and the dish was delicious—the aguachile was made with basil and was really good. Our second course was the Baked Tomato 30 hours, snow of foie gras, smoked herbal jelly and goat cheese served with a rosemary crumble. This dish was one of the ones we asked for and it was unusual and extraordinary. The taste of the tomato was intense and exciting. The smoked herbal jelly really tasted smoked and was really good. Our third dish was the Strained tamal, octopus carnitas in peppers adobo, with avocado and fresh cheese. There was a delicious tomato sauce on the bottom and crisp seaweed on top.
| The third course of our menu |
We loved the creativity as well as the taste of this dish. Our fourth dish was another one we specifically asked for: the oil fish with smoked pineapple puree, celery salad with smoked guajillo pepper. It was served under a dome and when it was removed smoke wafted into the air smelling delectable. The fish was perfectly cooked and sweet. Our fifth dish was a piglet terrine that was also delicious. Then followed a palette cleansing lime sorbet with sundried chocolate crumble. Yum! Our two desserts were both very good but we were getting stuffed! One was a cheesecake mousse with passionfruit and the other was a cuala raicilla jelly with coconut sorbet yogurt. Lastly, we were brought petit fours and vanilla lollipops. This was a memorable, delicious, and enjoyable evening! We spent $1985MXP plus tip and were very happy.
1.2 NR: Cafe des Artistes, Calle Guadalupe Sanchez 740 | Centro, Puerto Vallarta 48300, Mexico +52 322 226 7200, https://www.cafedesartistes.com/. This restaurant is pretentious, expensive and the dishes varied from not good at all to only okay. We don’t recommend this restaurant at all. The staff was nice and for the first time in our dining experiences, we had 2 servers devoted to our table—one for food and one for wine. We decided to order the Tasting Menu ($1450 MXP) and the kitchen agreed that we could share only one—without any splitting of dishes in the kitchen. We also ordered a bottle of Norton Malbec ($660 MXP) that was good. The first course was an amuse of fish tartare. They also gave us another little bit which they called a tempura tuna—the tempura batter was thick, dry and hard. Our first appetizer was a tomato and burrata salad with a piece of dry brioche bread. The tomatoes were not sweet and did not taste of tomato. The third dish was a butter tamale with ratatouille. It was good. The fourth dish was an adobado of broiled octopus. It was also good. The main that we chose was the fish of the day—a sea bass with spices that was truly awful. The fish was like mush—not overcooked just bad fish. We complained, asked for the manager who did not apologize and did not have anything nice to say. We changed our main to lamb chops which were just okay. The sixth dish was a seared foie gras in a tamarind marinade. The liver had a gamey taste; not refined like we expected. For dessert, there was a Grand Marnier soufflé and macaroons. It was not light but was okay. It came in an overly ornate tray that made us laugh. We also had one espresso decaf ($55 MXP). We spent $2165 MXP plus tip and were extremely unhappy.
2. Local
2.1 HR: El Coleguita Marina Marisco El Coleguita,Calle Popa s/n Local 17, Marina Vallarta, www.mariscoselcoleguita.com, info@mariscoselcoleguita.com. We had a blast in the pouring rain and the food was very good. First we were automatically brought free tequila shots, salsa and tostadas, as well as free cup of caldo de cammaron (shrimp soup) with a dumpling in it. All good. We ordered one stew with shellfish in it which we really liked, one grilled tilapia (that came with salad, rice and garlic shrimp) that was excellent. For dessert we were automatically brought caramelized bananas with tres leche and cup of cold Kahlua. The dinner cost about M$500 pesos.
2.2 R: Barrio Bistro, España 305 Col. Versalles CP 48310, Puerto Vallarta, Jal. México. Cel. (044) 322 306 0530 Email: info@barriobistro.com, Chef Memo Wulff was a delight and we recommend this restaurant. We went to Barrio Bistro because it was recommended by our server at Tintoque. We had great fun with Chef, with his wife Gina and with our server Diana. We had also read about Chef in Puerto Vallarta Lifestyle Magazine. He sources from local farms and also has his own garden. Chef came to our table with a board and explained each dish that he was cooking that day. We chose 5 starters and it was too much food—the portions are very large. The food was very good and well-presented but the food was not great. We were brought toasted bread (delicious) with a hummus dip and a tomatillo dip—both very good. We ordered a bottle of Malbec ($380 MXP) and we enjoyed (and finished it). Our first dish was a ensalada fresca ($150 MXP) and it was huge and filled with delicious cut up vegetables and served with a hibiscus dressing. Our next dish was an unusual and delicious rolluto fresco—like a Vietnamese roll ($180 MXP) served with one small whole crab. The crab was cut in half and was sweet; too bad it was overcooked. We had wanted to eat a crab and this was satisfying. When the dish was served there was a delicious smell of guava wafting from the plate. We really liked this dish! Our next appetizer was raviolis nogado with langostine and a cream sauce ($190 MXP). There was a langostine on top to share too but it was dry. We liked this dish but we were getting stuffed. Our next dish was mollejas perra ($180 MXP). These sweetbreads were very good and the sauce was very good too but we couldn’t finish them and we had one more dish coming. Our final dish was nopales rellenos ($150 MXP) and it too was very good but we couldn’t finish it. It was an enjoyable evening. We spent $1230 MXP plus tip. Remember it is a cash-only place.
2.3 R: La Hacienda de Carlota, Lazaro Cardenas 388, Emiliano Zapata | Corner of Lazaro Cardenas and Aguacate in Zona Romantico, Puerto Vallarta 48380, Mexico
3226885547. We found this restaurant when we went to the central market Emiliano Zapata. They cut up the mango we bought at the market ($10 XMP) and we got to know 2 of the meseros, Nick and Ignacio (Nacho). When we could not find a restaurant that we wanted to go to for a late lunch/early dinner, we remembered La Hacienda de Carlota and went there. Nick and Nacho were ending their shift but greeted us by name and introduced to their colleagues. We wanted to have a whole fish cooked on wood “a la leña” but couldn’t find it and La Hacienda de Carlota didn’t have it either. So we ordered a marinated roasted red snapper filet ($165 MXP) called huanchinago al pastor (al pastor is the spice mixture used). It came with rice and vegetables with a tropical salad underneath and grilled pineapple on the side. It was a good dish and the fish was not overcooked. It was a huge dish and enough for the two of us. We had one beer, one lemonade and one side dish of guacamole. Edouardo was our mesero and Antonio, the chef, came over to make sure we were happy. We were happy. We spent $327 MXP plus tip.
2.4 NR: Cuetos Seafood, Calle Brasilia NO 469 | Col. 5 de Diciembre, Puerto Vallarta 48330, Mexico, 52 322 223 0363. We were very disappointed in the preparation of the food. The place is cute and the service was good enough. We were brought tostadas and a very spicy salsa as well as a sauce that tasted like ketchup. We ordered guacamole to go with the chips and it wasn’t spicy enough. Go figure. We had 3 glasses of wine and one beer. We ordered local oysters (6 for $145 MXP) and they were tasteless and tough. Next we had a Grand Seafood soup ($170 MXP) that had a small local crab in it. The soup was full of shellfish and the broth was excellent. The crab, however, was overcooked. We chose a whole red snapper ($175 MXP) and asked for it to be grilled and served rare—juicy. When it came it was obvious that it was overcooked on the plancha and dry. It was served with rice and mixed vegetables and was disappointing. We had the bananas for dessert that we didn’t like. We spent $750 MXP plus tip. We don’t recommend this restaurant.
2.5 A: El Arrayan, Allende #344, El Centro, 48304 Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, México. +52 (322) 222 71 95 / 178 17 23 - info@elarrayan.com.mx. This is a restaurant for gringo tourists that do not know food, let alone good Mexican food. We do not recommend it. The people were unctuous and overly attentive. We ordered the dishes we had heard were their specialties—the menu was actually limited. We were brought chips and (non-spicy) salsas. We had the plantain empanada ($95 MXP) that were okay, rajas con crema ($90 MXP) that weren’t interesting and chile en nogada ($230 MXP) that we didn’t finish eating. We spent $510 MXP plus tip and left without feeling satisfied. We went and had another meal at another restaurant
3. Other
3.1 HR: Barcelona Tapas, Matamoros 906, Altos, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico 48300, el. 322-222-0510 After a disappointing “meal” at El Arrayan we went around the corner and had a very nice meal on the top level of the building where Barcelona Tapas is located. We highly recommend this restaurant. It was not raining and the view was very good. We had two very good dishes: one mushroom ($185 MXP) and one queso cabra horno ($150 MXP) with 2 glasses of Malbec ($220 MXP). The servers were delightful and we rescued an evening that would otherwise have been disappointing. We spent $555 MXP plus tip.
4. Breakfasts
4.1 R: El Palamar Restaurant Westin Resort & Spa, Paseo de la Marina Sur #205, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco 48354 Mexico, Phone: (52)(322) 226 1100. We had several breakfasts and one lunch and all were good. They were about the same price as going to one of the restaurants nearby the Westin.
4.2 R: Azul Marino Restaurant and Yacht Club at the Marina Opequimar, Av La Marina Sur 214, Col. Marina Vallarta across from the Westin. Manuel and Porfirio took good care of us and the view is lovely. We had one Mexican eggs, one fruit and yogurt, one pineapple juice and one orange juice as well as water and 2 coffees. We spent $310 MX P plus tip.
4.3 R: The Raintree Restaurant Inizio, Paseo de la Marina Sur No 205, Marina Vallarta CP48335, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico. It’s in the adjoining property to the Westin and one can walk across the pool area to get there. We had one oatmeal, one plate of fruit, one papaya juice, one bottle of water and 2 coffees. We spent $402MXP plus tip.
4.4 NR: El Callejon de La Marina, down the street from the Westin. There is no ambiance and we expected it to be less expensive. We had one omelet, one fruit bowl, one juice, 2 coffees and one water. We spent $303 MXP plus tip.
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