The 24 Best Restaurants in Puerto Vallarta
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Loading... - Robert Armstrong
- 21 Jan 2022
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Being a resort town on Mexico’s Pacific coast, I knew about Puerto Vallarta’s beaches but I had no idea it was such a beloved foodie paradise. I was under the impression it was a Club Med type of destination with all-inclusive resorts and little to nothing in the way of interesting food.
Sure, Puerto Vallarta has its share of tourist traps, but it also has a wealth of terrific Mexican restaurants that run the gamut from fine dining gourmet restaurants to family-owned eateries to mobile street food vendors. After my first couple of days sampling the local cuisine, it was clear that the food in Puerto Vallarta was anything but boring.
If you travel for food like we do and are looking for the best Puerto Vallarta restaurants to have seriously delicious Mexican food, then you’ve come to the right place.
THE BEST PUERTO VALLARTA RESTAURANTS
To help organize this list of Puerto Vallarta restaurants, I’ve organized them by location. First-time visitors will probably be spending most of their time in the Zona Romántica area so you can start there.
If you’re a serious food lover and want to go where the locals eat, then you’ll definitely want to check out Versalles, an up-and-coming residential neighborhood with some of the best restaurants in Puerto Vallarta.
1. Zona Romántica
2. Centro
3. 5 de Diciembre
4. Lázaro Cardenas
5. Versalles
6. Food Tours
ZONA ROMÁNTICA
Zona Romántica (Romantic Zone) is one of the most popular neighborhoods in Puerto Vallarta. Also known as Emiliano Zapata or the Old Town, it’s an LGBTQ-friendly area with plenty of hotels, restaurants, bars, and cafes.
1. Sonorita Olas Altas
Sonorita Olas Altas is a casual restaurant that serves traditional Mexican dishes like tacos, volcanes, alambres, and huaraches. I knew they specialized in tacos al pastor but I asked my server anyway for her recommendations. As expected, she suggested I get the al pastor tacos which she described as being one of the best in Puerto Vallarta. She may have been right.
If you’ve never had them, tacos al pastor is a popular type of taco made from pork grilled on a vertical spit. It’s a cousin of the Lebanese shawarma and Greek gyros, all of which are descendants of the Turkish doner kebab. Pastor tacos arrived in Mexico by way of Lebanese immigrants who moved to the country in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
I ate at Sonorita Olas Altas twice and on my first visit, they served their tacos on black corn tortillas with chopped onion, cilantro, and pineapple. I had pastor tacos many times in Puerto Vallarta and these were definitely one of my favorites.
I ordered a side of guacamole to go with my pastor tacos. ¡Delicioso!
Sonorita Olas Altas is a Travelers’ Choice awardee with a 4.5-star rating on TripAdvisor.
Sonorita Olas Altas
Address: Pino Suárez 232, Zona Romántica, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta, Jal.
Operating Hours: 3-11PM, daily
What to Order: Tacos al pastor
Expect to Spend: MXN 75 for three pastor tacos
2. Marisma Fish Taco
Being a seaside town, there’s no shortage of delicious seafood dishes in Puerto Vallarta. If you want traditional Mexican food, then some of the best seafood dishes you can order are shrimp and fish tacos.
According to my research, the Marisma Fish Taco stand serves some of the very best seafood tacos in Puerto Vallarta. Not only are they delicious, but they’re also huge. The tortillas used for Mexican tacos are typically palm-sized but the tacos at Marisma were as long as my whole hand. Sold for about the same price, these were definitely some of the best-valued tacos I ate in Puerto Vallarta.
Aside from the fish and shrimp tacos, I also had the spicy squid tostada. Tostadas are pretty much the same thing as tacos except they’re served on crunchy, deep-fried tortillas.
Marisma Fish Taco is also a Travelers’ Choice awardee with a stellar 4.5-star rating on Tripadvisor. It receives high praise from locals and it looks like many food tours stop here.
Marisma Fish Taco
Address: Naranjo 320, Zona Romántica, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta, Jal.
Operating Hours: 10AM-6PM, daily
What to Order: Fish and shrimp tacos/tostadas
Expect to Spend: About MXN 39 per taco or tostada
3. Pancho’s Takos
Spend enough time in the city and one thing becomes clear, Pancho’s Takos is one the most popular restaurants in Puerto Vallarta. They open at 4PM and if you aren’t in line by around 3:30PM, then be prepared for a long wait. I got in line a little past 3:30 and by the time they opened, the line went down the block. It’s crazy how popular this place is.
Pancho’s Takos serves traditional Mexican cuisine but their standout dish is clearly their tacos al pastor. According to many online reviewers, their pastor tacos are the best in Puerto Vallarta.
Their tacos are delicious and on par with some of the best I had in the city, but the one thing that stood out most for me was how much meat they put on their tacos. These tacos were absolutely overflowing with smokey grilled meat.
Like the previous two places on this list, Pancho’s Takos is a Travelers’ Choice awardee with a near-perfect 4.5-star rating on Tripadvisor.
Pancho’s Takos
Address: Basilio Badillo 162, Zona Romántica, Emiliano Zapata, 48380 Puerto Vallarta, Jal.
Operating Hours: 4PM-12MN, Mon-Sat (closed Sundays)
What to Order: Al pastor tacos
Expect to Spend: MXN 22 per pastor taco
