Updated December 2025
It is often difficult to find the best places to eat when traveling. Google Reviews are often inaccurate and point you to restaurants that you weren’t really looking for. We have been in Bucerias for over a month, for the past 5 years, and have tried many of the restaurants. Bucerias has a lot of tourist restaurants and bars aimed at Gringos, but it is still Mexico and you can find some great tacos and local food. Things change over time so I can’t really honestly review the restaurants but I can give you an idea of what the popular places are in Bucerias. I will list the categories of our Bucerias restaurants and maybe this will help some visitors get started on finding the best places for their taste.
Bucerias has a child labor problem and the underage salespeople often end up in restaurants and beaches. DO NOT BUY ANYTHING!!! There are many other ways to donate money to Bucerias children’s charities. Buying their trinkets only continues their slavery and does not help them.
Sports Bars– I enjoy watching my Seattle teams while traveling but I really like watching soccer and local sports in other countries. I get frustrated in many countries, even in Europe, because some cultures don’t always like to watch sports in groups. I had to find the Irish pubs in France and Spain so I could watch European soccer. That is not a problem in Bucerias. There are a lot of good sports bars and while they are usually showing hockey or the Toronto Blue Jays, most bartenders will change at least one TV to something that non-Canadians want to see. Barchelata near the Decamaron is awesome. The owner Julio seems to know everyone that walks in, and is eager to chat with everyone. Lola’s on Lazaro, wants to be a cocktail bar, a sports bar and a restaurant but service has been inconsistent, so it is often not busy. Yo Yo Mo’s downtown is a old favorite that has a pool table, but is not as popular as it has been in years past. Next door is Vicki’s which is often busy, but I see more people eating food than watching sports. Miguel Angel’s has a sports bar called The Goalie above his seafood restaurant but I never have seen it busy. Buzzo’s on the North side of town has oyster and shrimp shooters called Balazo’s that are a must try. We had our first beer in Bucerias at their old location years ago and it still has a place in our hearts.
Breakfast Restaurants – Mr. Creme is really popular and usually has lines of North Americans outside during high season. They have 2 other locations in PV and Nuevo Vallarta that are also busy. Fair warning, we’ve never eaten here. Delicias Mexicanas is one of our favorite with all of their breakfast plates at reasonable prices; they also do a great lunch. Great family place connected to the owner’s house. Luna Luna is also amazing food with live music and iguanas to watch in the trees although the atmosphere has changed with the recent condos going in around it. Panquekis House and Restaurante Buena Vista next door, both across the highway, are popular among the Mexican locals for family breakfasts.
Expensive Restaurants – These aren’t really that expensive, but they are more than most of the others around here and you might need a reservation. I would call it “Fancy Restaurants” but that wouldn’t be right either. They aren’t that fancy. Meet Meat is the best steak restaurant in town and has a great view. Mezzogiorno has some great Italian food and is right on the beach for some amazing sunsets from most tables. Toscano Mia also has some good Italian and attracts people from Nuevo and PV but has no view. Sandrina’s has Italian/Mediterranean food that isn’t as expensive as the others. Encore Jazz club has reasonable prices but feels fancy because of the soft jazz piano that they usually have. La Casa by Thierry Blouet looks amazing, but we haven’t tried it yet. It is a French inspired restaurant with higher prices but is getting good reviews. Casa Triskell is French restaurant specializing Brittany style Galettes. They also have French style Moules Frites (mussels with fries). Le Bristrot is another French restaurant with more traditional French entrees.
Asian Restaurants – Kensho is very popular for their Thai food but our experience has been a bit hit and miss. Mikoh is a sushi restaurant that is a bit expensive but usually some 2 for 1 deals if you go at non peak times. N’WOK downtown has a mix of different Asian foods. I always get nervous when a restaurant tries multiple different Asian culinary styles, but people seem to like this place. The same goes with El Gran Dragon across the highway on Motomoros. If you are missing takeout North American Chinese food then this would be the place to go.
Beach Restaurants – Karen’s is the longest running and favorite of the Gringos. Many people make it a tradition to see a Karen’s sunset on their first night back in Bucerias. Oye Henry’s is a real “feet in the sand” place just South of the Decameron. Food is just fine but they are a bit isolated from everything else and don’t have full electricity in their kitchen which limits their options. Fat Boys, aka El Gordo, has 2 locations and both allow you to get some good fish or shrimp tacos with your feet in the sand. Adrianos is the big orange place right next to El Centro that seems to be empty most of the time but they sell a lot of drinks on the beach. There are several other places along the beach (Adautos, Mar y Sol, Dugarel Playa, El Brujo Playa) that have OK food and great views but none of them really stand out. The beach places closest to town are fun, but a bit overpriced, and there are many beach vendors to deal with.
Live Music – It seems that most of the restaurants in town have a guitar player singing gringo and Mexican music while you eat. That is one of the things I really like about Bucerias. But, I think the only place where music is the main attraction is Jax. They tend to have old man cover bands playing while you eat your chili dog or cheeseburger. Dancing is not unusual for those Canadians that have had a few Pacifico’s. Next door is the Voodoo Monkey Tiki bar. They aren’t an authentic Tiki bar but they always have some rather loud bands playing right on the street.
Authentic Mexican Food– One of the reasons that we keep returning to Bucerias is the food in El Centro (Zocalo). The lineup changes every night but you can usually find seafood tacos, pork tacos, oysters, and churro stands right on the streets. Just pull up a plastic chair while one of your party heads to Oxxo to pick up a bottle of wine and/or a 6 pack of beer to bring to your plastic table. This is where we have had some of the best meals in town and also the cheapest. Don’t forget to add all the condiments and sauces to your tacos to get them absolutely perfect. Los Dorados de Villa Birria is only open for lunch but serve some fantastic Birria with the consume in a little courtyard off the street. They recently moved around the corner to a new courtyard but their fans are still packing the place for lunch. Mr. Taco is in the street across from Voodoo Monkey but sells tacos for dinner at very reasonable prices. Linda’s Tacos in the golden zone also has great authentic tacos but you are tucked into a cozy courtyard so it is a bit more comfortable than street stalls. Still BYOB and there is usually a guitar player to give a different atmosphere. There are also a bunch of fantastic seafood restaurants on Dr. Abraham Gonzalez Calle near the market that seem to be doing most of their business with the Mexican locals. Most of these are only open for lunch. Mariscos Villa Real seems to be the most popular.
Italian Food- La Postal is just South of downtown Bucerias (beginning of the golden zone) and has excellent pasta and pizza with usually live music. They also have a little ice cream stand on Lazaro Cardenas. They have a small menu of some interesting pastas and it will probably be an excellent place once they get through some growing pains. La Dolce Vita is a newer place that is usually quite a busy although we have good and “so so” meals here. They also have 2 locations in PV and one Nuevo. We have heard good things about La Quinta di Francesco near the Decameron but it always looks empty so we have never tried it.
Other side of the Highway restaurants– Culi’s has some fancy food at very reasonable prices and gets a lot of great reviews, El Sabor De Chef is another family owned restaurant with some more interesting plates, they sometimes do a 3 course prix fix dinner. Cerveceria Buclas is the only brewery in Bucerias with some burgers and pizza to go with their craft beers. Bar 329 has a few vegan entrees to go with their cocktails and pizzas.
Other Bucerias Restaurants– La Negra has a great atmosphere for their Mexican food, salads, burgers and pizza. Eating upstairs under their huge ficus tree makes you feel like you are in a treehouse. Javis is known for its ribs and steaks. They have special nights for each of their specialties. You might need a reservation during high season. The Backyard is a gathering place for a lot of Expats. We tend to see big groups eating their wings, ribs, nachos and other bar food. Las Famosas specializes in burgers right downtown but has been rather empty on a lot of nights, lately. Bob Chelero’s is famous for their enormous micheladas with shrimp, olives and veggies overflowing the big clay mug. Miguel Angels has the best spot in town to serve their fresh seafood with their pet macaws and parrots watching; Mariscos El Payos serve oysters and seafood in their downtown location; Armando’s Place has a very interesting menu with some fantastic personal service. Mr and Mrs Fish one of those always listed when people talk about their favorite seafood places. I like the fish and chips. Los Pericos is good for breakfast as well as their seafood. Tortugas Bar is in the space that used to be The Sunshine Bar which was one of the original expat bars in town. I think it should be worth of a stop but we haven’t yet.
Bucerias is not really known for it’s cuisine like some of the other small towns in Mexico. But, it has some great food for it’s expats and gringos, with some great low priced traditional Mexican places mixed in. This turned into more of a list of restaurants, rather than recommendations or reviews. I would suggest google reviews if you are interested in checking out a new place, although I have found reviews to often be wrong here. Some places are worse than their ratings, and many places are way better. I have listed a lot of restaurants in this post, but there are many more to investigate- especially on the East side of the highway. Good Luck and Buen Provecho!