9 Best Restaurants in Los Cabos, Mexico

Argentinean chef Guillermo Gomez delivers an elevated culinary experience at Cocina del Mar, the elegant restaurant in the exquisite Esperanza Resort. Using daily market ingredients and focusing on simple seafood, Gomez presents inventive dishes such as lobster macaroni, grilled Kumiai oysters, or the impressive seared totuaba. Grilled Angus is accompanied with a charred chili meat sauce. Just when you thought it couldn't get any better, the waiter delivers a banana soufflé in a cast-iron skillet, topped with homemade ice cream. Opt for a table on the cliffs where waves crash so close, you can feel the spray.

Atop a bluff at the Waldorf Astoria Los Cabos Pedregal, El Farallon provides one of the most breathtaking vantage points in Cabo San Lucas. Chef Gustavo Pinet presents a seafood-heavy menu with a "fresh fish market" displaying the catch of the day. Customize your dish from an array of fish and meats—from yellowtail, parrotfish, spiny lobster, rib-eye steak, and sea bass to the irresistible local chocolate clams. All dishes come with a tasting of the day's three appetizers, which can include anything from tuna ceviche to crab-and-chipotle soup, as well as two sides that range from asparagus to grilled corn to cilantro-infused rice. Fish and meats are simply prepared on a flat grill with fine herbs and a drop of butter, and are so well executed that you may forego the accompanying sauces. It's challenging, but save room for desserts like apple and banana cobbler, then digest over an after-dinner drink at The Champagne Terrace while you ogle the view.

Seafood soup and grilled fish are options at the "House of Lobster," but clearly the lobster, fried Puerto-Nuevo style, is the star. This is one of the best spots in town to try the deep-fried recipe created by Susana Diaz Plascencia in 1956; otherwise, try their fresh lobster steamed or stewed with seafood and salsa inside a traditional molcajete stone. Most wooden tables in the large dining room are covered with platters of fried or grilled lobster and all the standard accompaniments like rice, beans and paper-thin flour tortillas. Start with the clam chowder or jumbo shrimp wrapped in bacon. The medium-sized lobsters tend to be a bit more flavorful than the larger ones. There's an actual wine list here, and it has several Baja wines. On a hot day opt for the tart margaritas.

This food-cart stall off Ensenada's bustling Calle Primera is the place where locals get a solid helping of the region's seafood. Established in 1960, La Guerrerense has been featured on international shows like Anthony Bourdain's No Reservations. Popularity has led to the opening of a neighboring restaurant by the same name, but it's the original cart that keeps crowds ogling a small army of cooks cracking clams, shucking oysters, and piling the freshest fish onto tostadas. After you choose from the day's catch—shrimp, uni, clams, lobster, octopus—stand back and wait while your dish is prepared. Once it's ready, make your way through the throng of hungry patrons, and dress your plate from the selection of bottled salsas and condiments on display, which are also for sale. Most-loved is the salsa made with toasted peanuts, oil, garlic, and fresh chilies. Owned by Sabina and Luis Eduardo Oviedo, the spot is a mainstay on the Ensenada food scene, and not to be missed.

Gleaming hardwood floors and polished brass give a nautical flair to this second-floor dining room, where fresh lobster is king. Lorenzillo's has long been a fixture in Cancún, where lobster is raised on the company's farm. That Caribbean lobster is shipped to Los Cabos and served in nearly a dozen styles (the simpler preparations—steamed or grilled with lots of melted butter—are best). Menu items are named after pirates and Caribbean marine history: Jean Lafitte is grilled filet mignon; Henry Morgan is broiled yellowfin tuna served with cognac and pink pepper sauce; and El Comodoro is a fillet of Angus beef and lobster tail. The dessert list is lengthy and mouthwatering, and if you're in the mood for a less formal meal, an oyster bar with a limited selection of the same menu sits on the pier near the entrance. Flaming coffee cocktails are another specialty of the house. Try the Xtabentun, which showcases a Mayan liqueur made from rum, anise, and fermented honey.

The freshest, tastiest seafood cocktails, ceviches, and clam tacos imaginable are served in this nautical restaurant crowded with locals. If you come with friends, go for the mariscada, a huge platter of shellfish and fish for four. The shrimp albondigas (meatballs) soup has a hearty fish stock seasoned with cilantro, and the crab ranchero is a savory mix of crabmeat, onions, tomatoes, and capers. Portions are huge.

A small stand that looks as if it might have been rolled along the street by a vendor is just the entryway decoration for this well-established restaurant. Whether you eat at a bench at the stand outside or dine within in the air-conditioning, if you like seafood, you will enjoy Los Laureles. It offers all sorts of fruits de mer served in many different ways, but the seafood cocktails are notable for their freshness (you can even try the shrimp raw) and variety (abalone is an option). A second location can be found at Altamirano and Reforma.

Ask a local where they go for dinner, and they inevitably mention Mariscos Mazatlán. The crowds of Mexicans lunching at this simple seafood restaurant lend credibility to the claim, as do the huge stuffed fish mounted on the colorfully painted walls. You can dine inexpensively and quickly on wonderful seafood soup, or spend a bit more for tender pulpo ajillo (marinated octopus with garlic, chilies, onion, and celery) and enjoy some great people-watching as you eat.

Chef and owner Brian Solomon runs one of the most popular restaurants on the Cabo San Lucas Marina, supplementing great seaside views with first-class service and an enormous range of quality food and beverage. Fresh local seafood is the specialty of the house, but pastas, steaks, and traditional Mexican favorites are also staples of the lunch and dinner menus. For dinner, start with a traditional tortilla soup, enjoy a Caesar salad prepared table-side, then try the fresh catch of the day prepared in your choice of the restaurant's seven signature styles. Live music is featured on Saturday night, and visiting oenophiles should ask about monthly food and wine–pairing events.