The main reason we booked a trip to Mexico was for the food. Though Maui does have a few good Mexican restaurants, it often doesn't hit the mark for us southern Californian natives. So, we booked a trip to the sleepy little surf town of Sayulita Mexico, just north of Puerto Vallarta.
For those looking to eat their way through Sayulita, here are some of my impressions:
La Rustica - delicious pizza! The best we found in Mexico, so far. The Mexicana was superb, and our kids loved their pizzas too. Simple, modern, clean building with a great ambiance and excellent service.
Orangy - we stopped here at least 5 times during our week in Sayulita. Fresh hand-squeezed juices and smoothies with organic fruit and veg. The people working here are really helpful too. The owner Paul went out of his way to share about Sayulita and give us tips and recommendations.
Tierra Viva - great chilaquilas, iguanas on the roof, impeccable service, and tasty smoothies. They serve epic, simple crane asada tacos if you ask. They're not on the main menu.
Yeikame - Truly authentic Mexican food! The photos are pretty accurate. The food doesn't look amazing, but it was delicious. The chicken mole blew my mind. Order the chorizo nachos (shown below.) That's a 1/2 portion. Seriously, huge portion! Their fresh blue corn tortillas were unreal.
El Itakate - Right next door to Yeikame is a great little taco place. You order homemade tortillas stacked with delicious meat, and they bring sides (beware the habanero onions. Spicier than you'd expect. My wife nearly passed out. HAHA!)
Amor - best location for a romantic dinner, but you pay for it. The food is very good. Great bread. We loved watching the sunset from their waterfront patio, fire flies and lightening storms over the distant ocean. It's a bit of a walk from the main downtown area, but we had golf carts. You can drive too.
Don Pedro's - don Pedro's has a great location on the water, but the food wasn't that great. We order a very salty pizza among other things, and no one said much about their meals. A forgettable experience with indifferent servers. Our presence felt more like an imposition than value to them.
The Break? - burritos made out of magic. We're not really sure why these are so good. They're filled with pretty simple ingredients, but they're delicious. It could be that gooey flour tortilla. This is a great option for those wanting beach front but something more casual and better than Don Pedro's. No photo cause the burritos disappeared in a flash.
Emiliano's - Empanadas that will melt minds. Stick with shrimp caught locally. Crab is brought in and not local. They also have a street front bar, so you can literally walk by, order a few shots of tequila and be on your way without wasting time (which we did once.)
Don Juans - Orangy recommendation. This is a little outside of the down town area, and we never made it. I'm mentioning it because too many people recommended it to us for me to omit it. I wish we had more time.
Las Gaviotas at the Sheraton - You can tell much thought and time was spent putting this beautiful restaurant together. Unfortunately, we didn't get to eat inside due to having 2 young children. Adult only dining after 6pm, I believe. It didn't really bother us because we understand what a disruption our kids can be at such a quiet, romantic spot. We were still able to order from their menu on the outside patio of the adjacent restaurant. Great service, delicious meals! I had the duck confit, which was prepared in a way I'd never had. Very tasty.