Puerta Vieja is located at Km. 6.3 Transpeninsular Highway (4 Lane), about half a mile towards San Jose from Costco, but on the opposite (water) side of the highway. The restaurant is quite visible from the road, but I think the easiest way to get there heading NE from Cabo San Lucas, is to get onto the frontage road at the Pemex station (Costco exit) and stay there on the same heading until you arrive at the restaurant. Now, on with the show…
This will be a difficult restaurant to write about because, this restaurant is absolutely one of my favorites. As a matter of fact, when in Cabo, which is quite often, we eat here three to four times a month. The service is consistently good, and the food…well, what is that expression?? “Come for the service, but stay for the food!” That is what we do!!
I hope you know by now that we will only write about restaurants that we feel deserve the added attention and effort it takes to tell you about them. Puerta Vieja is no exception. We have gotten to know Manuel, the owner, personally, along with the head chef Roberto, and many of the servers. They make an extraordinary team. As a matter of fact, most of the time we are at this fine dining facility, Manuel is here…Ask for him and tell him that CaboRicardo sent you. See what he does!
Manuel is not new as a restaurateur, and his years of experience in this business are clearly the single most important ingredient for the success of Puerta Vieja.
Roberto, the head chef, has also been around in the industry for many years. When you sample some of his creative work, you’ll agree with me. We have brought fish to him to be cooked and when we do, we always leave it up to him as to how it should be prepared. We have never been disappointed. On top of that, his presentation is quite eye appealing. This is the sign of an extraordinarily talented chef!
Four of us came here a couple of nights ago and we had them bring us a tray of food with a little taste of everything. It was nothing short of delicious. First off, their salads are fabulous. The lettuce is always cold and crisp. Ellen had the Pear salad, with fresh greens, wrapped with prosciuto ham, and topped with gorgonzola cheese (This is a ‘must try’)! I usually get the uniquely prepared caesar salad, and what can I say…other than Delicious! Ron had their clam chowder, Kathy, their lobster bisque, both served in a bread bowl, but let me warn you, these soups are nothing short of fantastic, but you could almost make a meal out of them on their own. They also do a coconut shrimp, that may just be my favorite, with a Mango sauce, that is to die for. Stuffed fish fillet, New York or rib eye steak, very good, and lobster, I guess I should mention that their lobster tails are excellent. I didn’t mention some of their more traditional Mexican plates, which are also equally as good.
What I haven’t told you is that their staff, all of them, are wonderful people, and all speak English, certainly well enough to handle all tableside matters. Also, I haven’t touched on, that if atmosphere is of any value, this place will knock your socks off. We tried to take some videos and still shots, but nothing, I mean nothing, can show the emotional impact of this place’s beauty without actually being here. The videos were taken early enough to show the sun still up above the horizon, so the downstairs room is still empty. On this night, they were to fill the upstairs first. You can, however, get an idea on just how well the restaurant is laid out, and perhaps get a feel as to how beautiful it really is. The restaurant is set up such that the the walls toward the Sea of Cortez and the Pacific Ocean are open, and you can choose to either dine outside, or under the roof, your choice. When ships are in port, the view of them is astonishing, like little toy boats in the bathtub (Do you remember that)! Watching the sun go down, with a margarita in hand, is nothing short of amazingly easing on the soul.
What else you need to know is that oddly enough, even with a location right off the 4-Lane and a view to die for, Puerta Vieja won’t make you run to the ATM machine before dining. Their regular pricing is actually somewhat lower than most of the upscale restaurants in Cabo, and on top of that, they offer a lobster tail sunset special that is under twenty bucks, and it is excellent and you still won’t go away hungry…How do they do that??
To conclude, this place is the epitome of fine dining. Come on up, sit down, and just relax and let Puerta Vieja handle everything!
