Reviewed January 2006
See also Restaurant Ratings and Mexican Street Food
A list of great BBQ rib joints in Mazatlan
- Anna's Cocina - Golden Zone
- Beach Burger - Plaza Machado
- Fat Fish - Golden Zone
- Munchkins - Golden Zone
- No Name Cafe - Golden Zone
- Purple Onion - Golden Zone
- Thorny's Butcher Shop - Fisherman's Mnt
- Victor's - Stone Island
Current dining options at the Plaza Machado
Pedro & Lolas rather up scale, fine dinning, great music in the evenings. Dinner only. El Tunnel - see below. Beach Burger great ribs, salads, and burgers all at very reasonable prices. Machado Fish Taco Company fish tacos and other food. Open early for breakfast. El Cielo. good daily seafood specials. Ambrosia Vegetarian Restaurant (1/2 block west of the plaza). Maybe the only place in Mazatlan to get TOFU. Banditos (1/2 block north of the plaza). typical local food. Cafe Pacifico. upscale menu and prices. Good breakfast place. La Tramoya similar to Pedro & Lolas, but less expensive Altazor Cafe Bohemian style, arts craftsy place. Internet cafe too. Il Mostro ** very good italian food. Pricey, but good wine selection. **Memorial Cafe pastry and espresso place and good breakfast(in front of Teatro). Open at 7am.
Four new restaurants have opened on or near the Plaza. Las Brasas is a mid-priced restaurant with many local specialties and lots of meat options. La Domitila is very upscale and specializes in unusual Mexican food - like Pozole Marisco. Gente Bien is a very reasonably priced helth food type place with health drinks, salads, and sandwiches. A block from the plaza, east on Constitution, is a mid-priced restaurant called Topolo that specializes in regional cusine and has an incredible atmosphere.
David Shafer Janaury, 2006
Aguamarina Hotel on Avenida del Mar
I swear the most talented Chef in Mazatlan resides in this kitchen. This is a well kept secret from tourists and foreigners, however it is very popular with locals especially on Sundays (probably a good day to avoid as it is packed). The food is fantastic, as is the service and you can sit and gaze out at the ocean while eating. Prices are very reasonable and the selection is huge. They also have a policy that you can bring your own bottle of wine, and they will charge only a small corkage fee! I recommend trying this restaurant during your visit to Mazatlan. The Eggs Benedict on the breakfast menu is the best I have tasted in Mazatlan, and for lunch or dinner they have a fabulous chicken dish that keeps us coming back. Do try it, and enjoy!
Marlene Santana - 01 Dec 2003
El Tunel
A while back someone was asking about good restaurants, and someone else had asked about in-expensive restaurants. He wanted to go to a place I introduced him to a few months ago, that many may not be aware of. If you want a real Mexican meal, great food, great value, they are family run and an excellent choice and VERY reasonable. Under $5.00 for a very good meal. And no, I have no financial interest in the place.
Marlene Santana - 01 Dec 2003
Golden Zone
There is a place called La Muralla China, in the Golden Zone, on Camaron Sabalo, across from Banamex bank. Serves Cantonese Chinese food. They have the best shrimp chow Mein I have ever tasted, and I eat a lot of Chinese food. Also a little place called Cocena de Anna (Anna's Kitchen), whic is in a side street in the Golden Zone–very inexpensive. They sell by the weight of the food. The have a Chinese food special day–I think it is on Friday. Bon apetite.
I'll let others address the rest of your questions, but I'll cover Shrimp, because I love it and know where the best is prepared: breakfast: Costa De Ora hotel restaurant: Best shrimp omelet–try it with salsa. lunch: Inn at Mazatlan, Breaded Shrimp in a basket (french fries) Try the vanilla shake, too. Dinner: Tony's on the beach, Shrimp Special, that is shrimp wrapped in bacon and cheese. They have the best red salsa in town. Also have great fish. Snack (or can be lunch or dinner): Villa Italia (Across from Inn at Mazatlan) Shrimp Pizza. I like it with Itaian sausage. They make it in a wood burning oven that adds that something special taste. There are many more places. If you want Mexican atmosphere, try Sombrero Bay, across from Playa Mazatlan hotel. go about 7:00 PM and catch the mariachi band. Ask them to play The lost Child. Have a good time and bon appetit.
The Inn at Mazatlan has a nice brunch.
Next to La Jungla (good sports bar) and across the street from So Ho Sushi is a place called Aki Sushi. The chef has spent time in California perfecting his trade. The only authentic sushi in Mazatlan.
You've probably already heard of it because you've been here several times, but I would recommend Casa Loma as an excellent dining experience for the family. Very tasteful decor and fine food. Indoor and outdoor seating. For the best buy in seafood, try Los Arcos on Camaron Sabalo–just north of El Cid El Moro tower. Sr. Frog's is still the place to go for the younger set and I'm sure your daughter and friend will love it. I get the feeling that your question about Italian food is retorical–after all, would someone from San Francisco want to go to Mexico for Chinese food? But if you like Pizza and if you like shrimp, go to Villa Italia, just south of El Cid (part of the El Cid complex) and order a shrimp and Peperonni pizza. It is baked in a wood burning oven and really adds a great flavor. Have a good time and enjoy!
We had dinner at El Patio restaurant on Saturday. It is located on Cameron Sabalo, across the street from Oceana Palace hotel and The place restaurant. Yes, you do have to walk upstairs to get there. I had BBQ meat and loved it. My friends had pasta and found it very ordinary.
Dick Carroll - 24 May 2003
La Puntilla, down by the Ferry dock. Great shrimp and seafood, octopus too. Had the garlic shrimp the other day and it was great.
— Ed T - 01 Sep 2003
Enthusiastically second Pedro y Lola's in Old Town for a romantic evening.
A couple of less tourist-oriented recommendations:
Restaurant El Camachin (Playa Norte area - 97 Paseo Claussen @ 5 de Mayo) - casual, seafood. Outstanding Pescado Zarandeado, which is a whole fish, split in half, basted with butter, Maggi sauce, and dog nose what else, and then grilled over charcoal with onion, bell pepper, and tomatoes. Not the prettiest fish dish to look at, but damn is it good. The 1 kg fish for $110 MXP will serve 2-3; if there's just two of you, go easy on the appetizers. In addition to the tons of roving mariachis and conjuntos, during the mid-afternoon comida there's frequently a 12-15 piece Sinaloan brass band, which can get LOUD.
Mariscos Puerto Azul (Playa Norte area, across the street maybe 10 meters north of Hotel Plaza Marina which is Avenida Del Mar No. 73) - very casual, seafood. One of the many beachfront palapa restaurants which dot Playa Norte (it's in the center of a group of three), we found this one several years ago when wandering down the beach, very hungry, we applied the pick the restaurant that's most crowded with locals test. It was good enough that we've returned at least once with each subsequent visit to Mazatlan. the menu is interchangeable with all of the other palapa marisco restaurants - camarones a la diabla, empanizado, or al mojo de ajo, pescado frito, etc., but their ingredients are always very fresh, there's no off or questionable odors, and they're one of the few that always seem to have clams (very unhappy live ones) which like the more commonplace oysters are served on the half-shell. If they've got their charcoal grill going their pescado zarandeado is also excellent. Note - if you're extremely squeamish about food sanitation, none of the palapa restaurants are for you. When it comes to Mariscos Puerto Azul your loss is my gain....
Tacos El Mexicano (Zona Dorado, Camaron Sabalo just south of De las Garzas) - very casual, Mexican. Tacos, tacos, and more tacos. Carne asada, carne al pastor, cabeza (excellent), smoked marlin, tripas, and a couple of others that I didn't catch, all for $6 MXP each. With the tacos there's a mind boggling collection of condiments served up - several salsas, vinegared onions, sliced radishes, two types of guacamole (watch out for the chile habanero laced version, it'll clean your clock), etc.Again, if you're squeamish about food sanitation, go elsewhere.
And an old standby:
Pasteleria Panama (several locations including one in the Zona Dorado on Camaron Sabalo, just north of De las Garzas, and another in the centro, a short block or two from the big municipal market, at Benito Juarez and Canizales). It's probably the Denny's of Mazatlan (whoops, no that's Vips or Sanborns elsewhere in Mexico), but it's very clean (here's one for you sanitation freaks), reasonably priced, and at least the breakfasts (the only meal I've eaten there) are large, tasty, and diverse (you could eat the breakfasts for two weeks and not repeat a menu choice). The cakes and pan dulce are also excellent.
A couple of mediocre overpriced ones:
Jungle Juice (De las Garzas between Camaron Sabalo and Rodolfo Loiza). Good music both canned and live. Food is mediocre and overpriced, however, with their famous barbeque ribs tough and not particularly flavorful.
La Costa Marinero (very north end of Zona Dorado, past the El Cid complex). Nice beachfront location, but their seafood mixed grill for two is very overpriced (somewhere around $390 MXP) for what you get and indifferently prepared.
Lin Robinson - 11 Dec 2003
Puerto Viejo Seafood/Bar/Bistro Olas Altas Malecon
This open-air seafood spot is a favorite of locals and expatriates, especially at the ritual sunset green flash watch. The sea view and breeze make it a great place for lunch or dinner–check out the ceviche playera–as well as cocktail hour. The PV is like a tropical beach palapa moved up onto the street. Live music from 8pm on the weekends tends towards soft rock in English and Spanish. Corner of Sixto Osuna and Olas Altas (same block as Freeman Hotel). Noon to 11pm Sunday-Thursday, until 1am on weekends. 982-1886
Lin Robinson - 11 Dec 2003
Altazor Restaurant and Art Coffee House Plazuela Machado
The first of the Machado cafes, the bohemian, artsy Altazor is still a magnet for art students, musicians, ballerinas, journalists, and academics. There is live music almost every night, ranging from alternative rock to blues to acoustic trova (Mexican protest/folk), and the Altazor has birthed some local stars. Generally a young and lively crowd: there are cheap eats and cappuccino along with the beer–sandwiches start at 18 pesos. Or get steak or chicken cordon bleu for under 60 pesos. Breakfast and lunch under the sidewalk umbrellas is a tradition for many, and in the winter lots of foreigners lunch while playing chess or mooching magazines and papers–in English and Spanish–off the newsstand. On weekends, especially Saturday when the Artizans Bazaar is across the street and fire dancers perform in front of the tables, this is a good place to see a lot of good-looking young women and some interesting guys into dance and music. Listen inside, or out at the sidewalk tables. Wednesday nights they show movies on a projection screen inside.
Open 9am-1am Sunday-Thursday, 9am-2am on weekends. Movie club Wednesdays at 8pm. For schedule and menu check the Internet at this site. Lin Robinson - 11 Dec 2003
Taco Highway - Guittierez Najera
The most famous landmark in Mazatlan is technically called the 'Monument to the Fisherman' but the locals call it the monos bichis (naked statues) because it's these two huge naked people seemingly less concerned with fishing than flashing their pudenda to the public. So just tell your pulmonia driver to go to the monos bichis.
Turn away from the beach and you will immediately start passing taco stands. La Luna, La Carreta, San Martin...this is THE place to eat. They open about 4 PM and run until 4 AM. And they're cheap–you can pork out for $3-4 per person. And they're pretty damn yummy. Just pick one; most have inside tables and sidewalk seating as well. Most have the menu painted right on the wall. Tacos are easy to order (remember that in Mexico ALL tacos are 'rolled tacos'). You probably don't want to start out with the brains, intestine, head parts, or tongue ones, so stick to carne asada which is thin beef charcoal broiled and chopped up, or al pastor which is the stuff you see being cooked on a 'giro'–pork with a pineapple and onion to drip down over it, roasted by flames, sliced off, chopped and wrapped in a tortilla. A Mazatlan specialty is the 'gringa' (originally called the 'gringa loca') but it's not a crazy yanqui girl, it's a tortilla of al pastor meat with melted white cheese. Whoa! If you prefer meat to pork, get the mixta. Same deal, different dead animal parts. Order a few and try them out, keep eating until your full, then ask for the check. If you're at the San Martin, leave room for flan, the caramelly custard made Mexican style. If not, mosy on over by the Municipal Market. It'll be closed, but out front are several stalls that sell NOTHING but deserts, fruit smoothies, and fresh squeezed juices. Other than beer and soft drinks, these taco places serve aqua fresca which is like koolaid in fruit flavor, or horchata a rice flower drink that is better than it sounds, sort of a thin milkshake. Another goody you only find in Mazatlan is Toni-Col, a soft drink originally marketed as a patent medicine tonic (as were Coke and Dr. Pepper) but now an odd, fruity non-cola. Try one, you'll either really like it or really hate it; nobody's neutral on Toni-Col.
After eating, walk a block or two towards the bichis and you're at the beach for a stroll. The bus to downtown or the Golden Zone hotels goes right by until about 10 PM. After that, don't worry, the Eco Taxi 's and pulmonias will cruise for you like sharks scenting blood.
Lin Robinson - 11 Dec 2003
Canucks Restaurant and Night Club Paseo Claussen
The old Fregata, a gigantic palm-thatch watering hole right across from the water on Olas Altas, went from the embodiment of Mexico to the local capital of Canada when pianist Phil Nevile moved in and turned it into a showcase for the best rock and blues band in the city. It's the spot to be on Canada Day, but all nationalities find the food good, the music fantastic, and the view splendid.
The seafood tradition continues even under the Maple Leaf, but the new chef also does a great job with Mexican food and North American chow. (Is there such a thing as Canadian cuisine?) Sunday is a good time for barbecued-rib specials and romantic Mexican music by top local groups. But Thursday, Friday and Saturday are when the place really rocks, with Phil's great quintet pouring out rock, R&B, blues and Santana stuff. One of the more professional sound systems in town, and the top musicians.
Also, there is now a sunset music set, with jazz, instrumentals and soft rock for dancing. Try out the beautiful patio up top, for a natural, jungle setting that is unique in Mazatlan.
In addition to the music, we really recommend the chicken cordon bleu, seafood platter, or even just the quesadillas. In addition to the main dining room, a huge tropical seaside space, there are smaller, more intimate spaces out back with a view of the cliffs and jungle trees. If you want a nice place to dine by the breakers and watch the locals parade by...or want to dance your butt off on the weekend, just say, Canucks, eh? 10-10 on Sundays and Tuesday-Thursday. Until 1am on weekends, closed Mondays.
Check out the web site for specials
Lin Robinson - Dec 12 2003
