74 Best Restaurants in Los Cabos, Mexico

What began as an underground supper club in the home of Dennis and Bo Bendana is now the leading restaurant in Rosarito. Inspired by the founders' international travels, the decor reflects their love for Morocco and Bali while the menu from chef Guillermo Trexo celebrates the Mediterranean and Mexico. The menu changes regularly, but you might find dishes incorporating local fish, such as yellowfin tuna with almond mojo. Floor-to-ceiling windows frame the coastline, making it a popular brunch spot on weekends. Grab a table in the formal dining room or on the rooftop terrace where dishes like slow-cooked lamb with Oaxacan mole coloradito are served. Locals often drop by for live music and fresh-baked pastries served with a cup of sweet Moroccan tea.

Nick-San may very well be Cabo San Lucas's top restaurant. Owner Angel Carbajal is an artist behind the sushi counter (he also has his own fishing boats that collect fish each day), and his creative fusion menu of Japanese and Mexican cuisines truly sets his masterpieces apart. The sauce on the cilantro sashimi is so divine that some say diners sneak in bread to sop up the sauce (rice isn't the same), while all of the tuna specialties—from seared sashimi with sesame seeds to tuna tostadas—are exquisite. Beware; you can run up a stiff tab ordering sushi here, though it's worth the splurge. The mahogany bar and minimalist dining room are packed most nights, but the vibe is upbeat. If you're staying in the Corridor, you're in luck; there's also a second Nick-San in Las Tiendas de Palmilla shopping center. Reservations are recommended, especially on weekend nights and during high season. Otherwise, be prepared for a wait.

This elegant restaurant, with its white linens, open trusses, and soft candlelight is the best steak house in Baja California. Prepared on mesquite wood, the steak is divine and tender, almost as if it's been marinated in butter (though the chef swears salt and a little love are the secret). Aged for 21 days, the rib eye is the star of the show—juicy, flavorful, and served with a side of asparagus and baked potato. Preempt the experience with local oysters, a Baja beer tasting, and the romaine wedge doused in blue cheese. They also serve homemade pastas, grilled lamb, and a lovely chicken in plum sauce. Service is impeccable and the wine list extensive. The chocolate truffle cake will leave you asking, “Did I really just eat that whole thing?”

Many of the area's best restaurants source their coffee blends from Cabo Coffee Company. The café, just off the Plaza Amelia Wilkes town square, serves a wide array of espresso drinks made from organic beans grown in Oaxaca's cloud forest. The café is a popular meeting place for locals, who appreciate the comfortable couches and complimentary Wi-Fi, as well as the fresh pastries.

It's quite soothing to sit in this restaurant at Cabo Surf Hotel, at the ocean's edge under the shade of a palapa while watching the surfers. For breakfast munch on their machaca con huevos (eggs scrambled with shredded beef) washed down with a fresh-fruit smoothie. Later in the day, grab some fish tacos or a Mediterranean tuna wrap with a blueberry mojito. Burgers are piled high with jalapeños and caramelized onions. For something light, try the crab cakes on a bed of tomato chutney with arugula. Drop in to watch the sunset and dine on fresh fish with a flavorful mango sauce. With a focus on healthy cuisine, the kitchen uses all local organic ingredients, cooks with olive oil (instead of butter), uses soybean oil for deep-frying, and will not serve marlin, mahimahi, or parrotfish due to commercial overfishing. Your entertainment is simple: a wonderful view that never stops changing.

Ideally located along Cabo San Lucas's busy marina walkway, Alexander's is where Switzerland meets México. Pull up a chair at one of the sidewalk tables and start with a meat-and-cheese fondue, a treat for which Swiss chef and owner Alex Brulhart is known. You could finish with the chateaubriand for two in a rosemary demi-glace, or the filet mignon and lobster surf and turf combo—but it's the flambéed tequila shrimp and sake lobster that draw wonder and awe.

Although Los Cabos and Baja are not coffee-growing regions, the folks in the town of El Pescadero roast the finest beans from the Sierra Norte mountains in the Mexican state of Puebla. They turn them into the area's best gourmet coffee drinks, which may be enjoyed at tables in the adjoining garden. Baked goods and light fare headline the daily menu offerings, with more filling options—such as vegetarian frittatas—available for Sunday brunch. Other Sunday specials include live music and a farmers' market.

Baja's popular brewery is right in the middle of San José del Cabo's Art District. Fun and upbeat, this brewpub has great music and serves filling pub meals. Craft burgers, mixed greens, and mesquite-fired pizzas—and more elegant entrées such as tuna tartare and ceviche tostadas—should be accompanied with a pint of any of eight special San José cervezas, along with seasonal offerings, all brewed within sight of the bar and restaurant. Another branch of the brewery is located on the rooftop of the Cabovillas Resort in Cabo San Lucas.

A branch of the established San José del Cabo microbrewery, the beers are brewed in San José, meaning what you get here is "20 minutes fresh." No quibbles with the system; the eight house brews and seasonal additions are a flavorful change from the ubiquitous Tecate. The location of this outpost on the rooftop of the Cabos Villas resort on Médano Beach, however, ups the ante with a semi-open-air venue and view of the ocean.

This large, casual, sportfishing-oriented cantina, just around the corner from the Tesoro Los Cabos Resort, draws crowds with its all-day drink specials. Boasting a top marina location near L-M-N Dock, an excellent view of the sportfishing and mega yachts, $2 cervezas all day, affordable eats, and American sports on multiple TVs, it's a favorite of the sportfishing deckhands and boat captains. You can enjoy a Captain's breakfast special for under $8, a budget-friendly afternoon appetizer menu, or splurge a bit more for daily seafood and steak specials. Most meals can be had for under $20. Saturday night is Ladies' Night—ladies drink free from 8 to 10 pm—and if you stay late, you'll catch the live DJ and dancing. Free Wi-Fi is accessible throughout the restaurant.

Bandido's has come a long way since opening nearly a decade ago with three plastic tables and a grill fixed under the hood of an old pickup truck. The unique truck-grill is still around, but the restaurant's latest alfresco setting suggests it may be transitioning from working-class pit stop into romantic burger joint. Red-and-white checkered tablecloths are scattered amid dozens of palm trees festooned with lanterns, and tropical breezes blow in past the nearby marina. Bandido's is very popular with locals, who crowd the place nightly for enormous half-pound burgers and barbecue ribs, ice-cold cervezas, and old-time rock and roll.

Set in Cabo San Lucas's boutique Bahia Hotel, Bar Esquina is making a name for itself as one of Médano Beach's best restaurants. Whether you're craving eggs Benedict in the morning to help you absorb last night's party, a wood-fired pizza, or a burger on a pretzel bun, Bar Esquina is the neighborhood's top option for expertly prepared American-style comfort food. For dinner try the highly recommended tuna tartare, short rib, or beef fillet. With tall cocktail tables in the bar, an open-air dining room, chalkboard menus written on columns that front an open kitchen, and frequent live music, this place offers a cool atmosphere and great dining just off the beach. For a quick refuel, there's Esquina Coffee Shop right next door. Open at 7 am, it sells juices, coffee, and smoothies for takeaway.

Fronted by miles of secluded East Cape beach, this casual seaside cantina (with cheap cervezas) gets rave reviews from locals who make the 10-minute drive out of San José del Cabo. The palapa restaurant serves reasonably priced seafood entrées, such as coconut shrimp; breakfast burritos; hefty build-your-own burgers; and house flan. Indeed, this custardlike dessert could easily be enough for two or three—try it with a shot of Kahlúa poured over the top. Also, Sunday breakfast is a big hit.

Not far from hotels, restaurants, and important downtown sights, this small café is a great place to recharge with a morning espresso, chai, or smoothie, along with great pastries. Wi-Fi is available here, so you can catch up on your email. Credit cards are accepted.

Omelets, bagels, granola, and whole-grain breads delight the breakfast crowd at this casual small eatery; deli sandwiches, fresh salads, and an array of burritos, tamales, and flautas (fried tortillas rolled around savory fillings) are lunch and dinner highlights. Check for fresh seafood on the daily specials board. Gourmet pizzas, pasta, and steak are also available.

In addition to its great selection of beer and wines, as well as organic and frozen foods, healthy and low-calorie offerings, and cheese, this corner shop carries familiar products and brands from the United States. A second location has been added at The Shoppes at Palmilla.

Lobster's the thing here, but daily specials like surf-and-turf combos round out the list. Open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, this typical Mexican sit-down locale has a happy hour that runs from 8 am to 6 pm—and prices are super cheap. You can get a lobster tail with rice and beans for 14 bucks; El Charro tequila shots are a mere 20¢; and Don Julio tequila shots are less than $3. As you sit under the open-air palapa enjoying this feast fit for a king, strolling mariachis will pass by, providing your dining soundtrack.

One of the more upscale choices near hectic Médano Beach, Edith's is the sister restaurant to popular The Office on the Beach. The Caesar salad and flambéed banana crepes are prepared table-side at this colorful and popular restaurant. Wally's Special, which includes lobster, shrimp, and fish, is also a popular menu item. The focus here is on Mexican ingredients—quesadillas feature Oaxacan cheese and are filled with seasonal zucchini flowers; meat and fish dishes are doused in local chili or tropical fruit sauces. Edith's air-conditioned wine room offers a large selection of domestic and imported wines and is ideal for hosting small intimate dinner parties of up to 10 people. Families dine in early evening, so come in later if you're looking for a less crowded experience.

The original Bismark is a bit out of the way, but it attracts families who settle down for hours at long wooden tables, while telenovelas (Latin American soap operas) play on the TV above the bar. Tuck into seafood cocktails, enormous grilled lobsters, or carne asada served with beans, guacamole, and homemade tortillas. Seafood tacos and micheladas are specialties at the malecón location, called Bismark-cito.

For those fortunate enough to stay at the sumptuous Posada La Poza just outside town, lunch at its equally lovely restaurant will be one of the highlights of your Los Cabos vacation. Owners Juerg and Libusche Wiesendanger call their offerings "Swiss-Mex"—Mexican food with European touches and careful attention to detail. Start with the vegetarian-based tortilla soup with three different types of dried chilies to give it just enough kick. Then sample the smoked-tuna flautas, quesadillas with chicken or shrimp, or marinated arrachera (flank steak) strips. You'll find dishes such as lamb shoulder in winter. Believe it or not, there is enough of an evening chill in the air that time of year that dining next to the fireplace feels cozy. Top your meal off with a sorbet, flan, or mousse, and possibly the best selection of wines in the region (all Mexican from northern Baja's Guadalupe Valley).The restaurant is open to hotel guests for breakfast (included in the room rate) and lunch; with dinner available by request from Sunday to Thursday. The restaurant is no longer open to the public, save for groups of six or more who reserve at least 48 hours in advance.

This two-story palapa restaurant, named “The Drunken Sailor,” is always packed with locals and tourists alike. It’s no wonder: the location across from the marina is the perfect spot to watch the sunset while enjoying a ginger mint mojito or tamarind margarita. Several dishes feature unexpected Vietnamese and Costa Rican influences, such as the panko-crusted fish taco with ginger cream and the shrimp enchilada with coconut pineapple sauce and fried plantains. The shrimp burger on homemade bread comes with chili lime fries and pairs well with an ice cold michelada (salt-rimmed Mexican beer with lime, spices, and hot sauce). Timid palates must overcome any hesitation and try the best dessert in Los Cabos: the avocado-lime chocolate cream pie on graham cracker crust.