Nayarit remains an underdog in Mexican gastronomy, but it’s worth an hour’s drive to taste the wood-fired lamb al pastor at Asadero Las Parotas. The family-owned restaurant is located in San Juan de Abajo, a farming community that has seen steady gentrification, but the restaurant’s geographic isolation away from Puerto Vallarta and residents’ deep loyalty have allowed it to thrive. Eduardo Vielma started serving Tapalpa-style lamb al pastor in 2013, utilizing meat from lambs he raises himself. The corn tortillas are handmade and served with frijoles charros and salsas, which brilliantly cut through the fat of the meat. The restaurant also offers plantains, slowly grilled alongside the lamb, that make for a perfect smoky dessert after the feast, served with a generous drizzle of condensed milk. This lamb feast is only available for lunch on Sundays, so plan accordingly.

Seafood, charcuterie, and experimental takes on mariscos using locally grown vegetables make this unassuming restaurant a must-stop on the way out to Punta Mita. The chef is Sebastián Renner, a native hailing from Tapalpa, Jalisco, who went from cooking across Europe at Michelin-starred restaurants to cooking next to an Oxxo gas station along the side of the road. Cocina de mar is the style at Makai, where local pristine seafood, often spearfished by Renner himself, is the star. The tostadas are stacked with ceviche verde made with local fish and pepitas. The seafood charcuterie features local ahi tuna cured like jamón serrano, and bottarga made with local fish and grated over a crudo. But the sleeper hit is the pig jowl taco over a mashed plantain puree, which just goes perfectly with a cocktail made with barranca, the type of mezcal native to Tapalpa. After your meal, walk across the jungle to La Lancha, one of the last public beaches in Punta Mita. 

Pescado zarandeado is like carne asada for Patas Saladas, the celebratory dish for weekends or the feast you bring to the beach. It has reached almost mythical status along the Banderas Bay, and it’s not uncommon to hear people desperately asking where to find the best take. This version, just a few miles away from Nayarit’s coast, is that “best” version. The butterflied fresh fish is painted with a savory adobo made of dried chiles, placed in a zaranda (basket), and slowly smoked for about 40 minutes. It maintains a juicy flake and is served with a refreshing salsa verde made from raw tomatillos. Owner Fernando Olivares perfected this fish over the course of decades before passing the torch to his son, César. The camarones zarandeados, made roughly the same way, are just as delicious, but it’s the bean-filled tacos that practically steal the show; they’re filled with an almost custardy, hyper-seasoned mash of beans and dried chiles and crisped up over an open wood fire. You’ll have to drive about 45 minutes from Puerto Vallarta’s downtown, but it is worth it. Just make sure to reserve your fish a day ahead of time by calling the restaurant.

Puerto Vallarta isn’t known for heirloom masa-centric menus, but that is slowly changing thanks to restaurants like Milpa Fonda Bistro, located in the El Pitillal neighborhood about 20 minutes from El Centro. Expect gorditas de chicharrón, cappuccinos made with pinole (toasted corn), multicolor quesadillas made with two or more types of heirloom corn, sweet corn cheesecakes, and more seasonal dishes that recognize corn’s role as the foundation of Mexican gastronomy.

It’s surprisingly hard to find tortillas made with heirloom corn in Puerto Vallarta. This molino and tortillería tucked away in the Albatros neighborhood was opened by Mexico City natives Édgar and Alan Llamas and Lucia Bouchan, who nixtamalize the corn and grind it to make masa for textbook-perfect tortillas. They also press sopes, tlacoyos, and gorditas; and you can pick your choice of filling for the perfect antojito like chicharrón prensado (compressed chicharrón), requesón (ricotta-like cheese), fava beans, chickpeas, and more. El Itacate doesn’t have a storefront, so place your order via Instagram DM or WhatsApp for pick up or delivery. The masa offerings are available by the dozen and the team vacuum-seals upon request, which makes it incredibly easy to stuff these treats into your suitcase.

Puerto Vallarta’s own regional taco, the taco arriero, contains about three regular-sized tacos-worth of carne asada on a thick handmade tortilla, all draped with melted cheese, beans, and minced cabbage. The monster of a meal originated in La Aurora, a working-class neighborhood, where it was meant to fill customers up and keep them going strong. Tacos La Mucca is the latest concept opened by chef Joel Ornelas, of Tintoque and El Puerco de Oro, who elevates the arriero with tortillas made from local heirloom corn and wood-fired Angus beef. You can add bone marrow to your taco too.

It takes a lot to stand out in Puerto Vallarta’s taco scene, but this taquería, recently opened in the Versalles neighborhood, won over a loyal clientele almost immediately. Part of the Joel Ornelas restaurant group, the restaurant is run by Ornelas’s mother, Ana Martina Garcia. The menu only offers five items: tacos de chicharrón en salsa verde, the flagship pork belly tacos, bean and panela cheese tacos, quesadillas, and guacamayas (Guanajuato-style tortas filled with crispy chicharrón, except served on sourdough Jalisco-style crusty birote salado rolls). The tortillas are made from local heirloom blue corn, and El Puerco de Oro may have the most epic salsa counter in town.

Pretty brunch spots featuring millennial favorites are a relatively new thing in Puerto Vallarta. Miscelánea was one of the first and the cafe does an outstanding job, offering high-quality ingredients like sourdough bread in molletes (traditional open-faced Mexican breakfast sandwiches layered with refried beans and melted cheese), oat pancakes, and a torta stuffed with chilaquiles. The cafe also adds a tropical twist to coffee drinks, like the coco brew that’s half coconut water and half cold brew, and the moringa latte that blends the superfood powder with milk and an espresso shot.

Jacinto Macedo started selling ceviche out of a street cart and people loved it so much he built a restaurant dedicated to it. The menu has grown much larger, but the quality has withstood the test of time. Make time for a seafood feast at the original location, and be sure to order the chicharrón de pescado, taquitos de jaiba (a crab-filled cross between creamy enchiladas and tacos dorados), and the tostadas with ceviche molido, topped with your choice of raw or whole poached butterflied shrimp and layered with sliced avocado. Wash everything down with the restaurant’s tamarind margaritas made with raicilla instead of tequila. For dessert, make sure to order the carlota de limón, Vallarta’s equivalent of a key lime pie made with María cookies.

El Solar has it all: It’s a few feet away from the water. It features great local craft beer and cocktails made with raicilla, Puerto Vallarta’s regional mezcal made with tropical agave. It’s far enough from the malecón. And when you start to get hungry, you can ask for the menu from the sister restaurant next door, El Barracuda, which offers excellent botanas like chicharrón de queso with octopus and a nice aguachile. The playlist is great as well, with a nice mix of Puerto Vallarta’s signature lounge and reggae.

Even burritos get the coastal treatment at El Tacón, where they’re called burritas. They’re seafood masterpieces, encapsulating the Vallarta mariscos philosophy: affordable, high quality, filling, and delicious. The burritas have no rice, beans, or french fries, just beautiful seared seafood, a smattering of shredded lettuce, a little bit of cheese that simply acts as a binder, and sliced tomatoes. The original is filled with smoked marlin, but the versions with shrimp, octopus, smoked crab, and bacon-wrapped fish filet are all equally good (you can get a combination of fillings as well). They are big and cut in half, with each half of the burrita kissing the flat top grill to make sure you get as much browned, crispy surface as possible. This restaurant has several locations in Puerto Vallarta, including one outside the airport that makes for an excellent last meal in paradise.

Beating Vallarta’s tropical heat demands electrolyte-filled beverages, but when you’re in paradise, all you really want to drink is ice-cold beer. El Jefe solved that conundrum with the coco-chelado, essentially a coconut-water michelada served inside a freshly cracked, local coconut. A machete-wielding server scoops the buttery, tender meat out of a green coconut, fills the cavity with the coco-chelado, spears the meat on the rim with toothpicks along with a generous amount of plump shrimp, and drizzles the whole thing with sour chamoy sauce.

One of the last vestiges of old Vallarta are the vendors along the south end of the malecón (boardwalk) dressed all in white selling tuba, a traditional fermented drink made with coyol — small palm fruits that look like tiny coconuts — that is just perfect in the relentless tropical heat. The beverage dates back to the arrival of peoples from the Philippines to the ports of Jalisco, Colima, and Guerrero during the 17th century. Gilberto “El Muelas” Moyao, originally from Chichihualco, Guerrero, has been selling tuba for 30 years. His version stands out thanks to the addition of pineapple, which he grinds up using a molino (mill) before sweetening the mixture with piloncillo and leaving it to ferment in palm fronds for a day and a half. The result is a lightly fermented beverage served chilled over ice and garnished with chopped walnuts and diced apples.

Every little detail at Puerto Cafe, from the vinyl-only background music to the intentionally sourced Mexican coffee, is what you may imagine when you think of the “perfect neighborhood coffee shop.” Owner and barista Aldo Hernández is a native of Mexico City, grew up in Puerto Vallarta, and left a career as an engineer to open Puerto Cafe. There are fruity pour overs, velvety cappuccinos, and — most important of all — vibes. The team is mostly made up of young skateboarders that Hernández trained himself, and you never know who you’ll see there. If you love what the staff pours for you, pick up a bag to take back home.

This buffet-style spot is hidden deep among the many enchanting andadores (staircases) in Vallarta’s Centro neighborhood. The restaurant specialized in old school vegetarian food way before the words “plant-based” or “vegan” were heard around town. The place is open all day, and staff switch out buffet items around lunchtime, except for the legendary, flagship black beans. For breakfast, look for chilaquiles; birria made with house-made soy strips; all-you-can-drink green juice; and pancakes filled with sweet papaya, puffed amaranth, and cajeta (goat milk caramel). For lunch or dinner, depending on the day of the week, you’ll find potato-stuffed chiles rellenos, pumpkin seed albondigas, sweet potato lasagna, and banana bread pudding for dessert.

If you only budget for one splurge meal in Puerto Vallarta, make it a memorable one at this restaurant situated next to the Rio Cuale. Raised in Vallarta, chef-owner Joel Ornelas draws from his roots to create the constantly evolving menu, emphasizing locally sourced seafood, meat, dairy, and vegetables with impeccable technique-driven dishes. Ornelas’s greatest hits include an esquite made from blue, yellow, and white heirloom corn fortified with huitlacoche and cooked like a risotto (like the most extravagant street corn that you’ll ever have), a ponzu aguachile with uni that’s chock full of shellfish, and a quesadilla stuffed with sesos (brains) and more huitlacoche that becomes the main act the moment it hits your table. Tintoque also has an outstanding weekend brunch with pan dulce freshly baked by pastry chef Irving Leíja. Keep an eye out for collaboration dinners with other chefs from around Mexico.

Can a taco be “light?” Taco Light Armando’s claims to make them that way, and it’s easy to believe after you see the pile of very finely minced cabbage atop all the tacos. Come here for the tacos de tripa, which are super crispy and perfectly seasoned, enough to convince any offal-averse taco lover to give organs a shot. The taquería also rounds out every taco with a spoonful of tender cooked beans. 

If you need a break from pristine seafood and a never-ending taco crawl, head to Bonito Kitchen for alluring dumplings with fillings like short rib with pho broth, Shanxi-style pork ribs with Sichuan peppercorns, and lobster with miso butter veloute. If you find yourself hankering for ramen or pho, Bonito makes worthwhile versions of both. The ramen noodles are custom-made for the restaurant by a respected noodle maker in Mexico City, while the pho features an 18-hour beef broth and oxtail (available only on Saturdays).

The best fish taco in all of Mexico is actually sold out of this daytime-only taco stand, opened in Vallarta’s Zona Romántica neighborhood in 2001. That’s a bold claim, but the elements that make up this “taco de dedo de pescado” back it up: a slightly oversized handmade corn tortilla that’s chewy and buttery on its own, a battered and fried-to-order strip of fresh mahi-mahi, and onions marinated in a Huichol-like salsa. The rest of the toppings are there too, with paper-thin shredded cabbage, salsa Mexicana (the name for pico de gallo-style salsa in Jalisco), guacamole, and as many squiggles of chipotle crema as your heart desires. Make sure to also try the rest of the seafood guisados like salpicón de jaiba (crab guisado), smoked marlin picadillo, and calamar a la diabla.