Blog  |  Thursday, April 21, 2022

10 Lux Restaurants Run by Famous Chefs in Los Cabos

Situated at the southern tip of Mexico’s Baja California Peninsula, Los Cabos is a gastronomical mecca for well-heeled travelers who expect only the best from their fine dining experience. With readily available fresh seafood from the Sea of Cortez, a climate ripe for organic orchards and farms, and access to Mexico’s finest tequila, vanilla, cacao, and chili peppers, it’s easy to see why Los Cabos has attracted world-renowned chefs.

If you’ve been searching “restaurants Los Cabos,” be sure to add these 10 to your itinerary.

1. 1. Nicksan Cabo and Nicksan Palmilla, Chef Angel Carbajal

   With two locations in Los Cabos, Chef Angel Carbajal’s Japanese-Mexican fusion cuisine combines the culinary traditions of Japan with traditional Mexican flavors and ingredients.

   In addition to sushi, you’ll find innovative seafood, beef and chicken dishes that include avocado, serrano peppers, and mango.

   There are plenty of vegetarian and gluten-free dishes. For instance, it can be accommodated in the “Omakase” experience to give the chef creative freedom to prepare something surprising, delicious, and memorable.

2. 2. Mozza Baja, Chef Nancy Silverton

   If you’re lucky enough to be staying at Costa Palmas Resort when you visit the East Cape, award-winning chef Nancy Silverton’s multidimensional eatery offers the best of her Los Angeles restaurants Los Cabos style.

   Focusing on straight-from-the-net seafood, fresh produce, and local provisions, Mozza Baja’s menu is focused but not fussy. Serving lunch, dinner, and Sunday brunch, you’re sure to find perfection for even the pickiest palate.

   From grilled octopus, duck confit and funghi misti pizza to fior di latte gelato pie with honeycombs and pistachio brittle, every bite will remind you why Chef Silverton is among the most sought-after culinary artists in the world.

3. 3. Cocina de Autor, Chef Sidney Schutte

   Two-star Michelin Chef Sidney Schutte combines his Dutch heritage and extensive experience in prestigious kitchens in Europe and Asia to shape the menu at one of the best restaurants in Los Cabos.

   Recognized as “SVH Meesterkok,” the highest recognition a chef can achieve in the Netherlands, Chef Schutte’s creations incorporate the finest ingredients in the region: black truffles, seaweed, Mexican chocolate, plantains, jicama, and Mexican vanilla, to name a few.

4. 4. Nobu Los Cabos, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa

   Chef Nobu Matsuhisa’s inventive dishes reflect the best that Japanese fusion cuisine has to offer. Signature dishes like miso black cod, rock shrimp tempura, and yellowtail sashimi with thinly sliced jalapeno peppers are rivaled only by the restaurant’s seaside setting.

   You need only indulge in hot-stone Wagyu, lobster tacos, blue crab Amasu Ponzu, or yellowtail tartare with caviar to know you’re dining at one of the best restaurants in Los Cabos.

5. 5. Nao, Chef Alex Branch

   Partnering with restaurant group Sabor a Madera to open NAO in Los Cabos, Chef Alex Branch’s menu utilizes ingredients from both the Baja Peninsula and the Mediterranean to create unique culinary dishes. For example, oysters on the half shell with raspberry mignonette, habanero butter, and meyer lemon. Or head-on blue shrimp, with Yemeni zhoug, roasted carrots and salmon roe.

   Launching his career in Mexico City under celebrated Chef Monica Patino, Chef Branch has both the experience and knowledge of the region to elevate his dishes to meet the expectations of top epicures.

6. 6. Panazia and Panazia San José del Cabo, Chef Paul Zamudio

   Chef Paul Zamudio has two “Mexiatica” concept restaurants in the area. With these, Los Cabos has reached new heights for those seeking a combination of Mexican and Asian flavors. Where else can you expect to find crab wontons with yellow curry sauce, habanero and mushrooms? Or raw shrimp marinated in sweet soy, foie gras, and spicy miso sabayon?

   You also can’t go wrong with the two-course Peking Duck, mutton dumplings, or ceviche with coconut milk.

7. 7. Manta at The Cape, Chef Enrique Olvera

   Designed by Executive Chef Enrique Olvera, Manta takes its name from the manta ray. Symbolizing the kitchen’s focus on seafood and the artistic expression of the canvas (“manta”).

   The menu is inspired primarily by Mexico, Japan, and Peru. Offerings range from shrimp, scallop, and octopus aguachile to beetroot ceviche, aged prime New York strip and fried oyster burritos. Finish your meal with a Rompope cream tart balanced with matcha ice cream and kiwi. After that, you’ll have no doubt why Manta is considered a culinary centerpiece in The Cape.

8. 8. Estiatorio Milos, Chef Costas Spiliadis

   Internationally renowned Chef Costas Spiliadis founded Estiatorio Milos, recognized as one of the finest Mediterranean seafood restaurants in the world. Dishes delight and impress and focus on sourcing only the best raw materials. For example, they source oil from centuries-old Koroneiki olive trees. In addition, salt from the rocks of Aegean islands, and locally grown fruits and vegetables.

   At the Costa Palmas location, guests can enjoy the raw bar, savoring oysters and clams in a lime and shallot vinaigrette or bluefin tuna sashimi. Fresh soft shell crab, carabineros, or grilled lobster with ladolemono are among the top offerings for seafood lovers. While lamb, rib eye, roasted chicken and filet mignon will satisfy any craving for top-tier meat.

9. 9. Tamarindos, Chef Enrique Silva

   Although most Los Cabos restaurants incorporate local fruits, vegetables, and seafood, Chef Enrique Silva’s Tamarindos has its own organic farm. In addition to purchasing fish right at the marina, raising quail and Cornish hens and sourcing lamb from a nearby farm, Silva produces and bottles his own brand of organic mescal.

   By nurturing his crops from seedlings to maturity, Tamarindos can ensure his seasonal crops are at their peak for flavor. Chocolata clams, catch of the day with guajillo pepper salsa, and wood-oven-roasted lamb with grilled vegetables guarantee to be among the freshest finds in restaurants Los Cabos boasts.

10. 10. Sunset Monalisa, Chef Hector Morales

    With views of the Cabo San Lucas Arch, it seems unlikely that food could hold its own against the view at Sunset Monalisa. But Executive Chef Hector Morales pours his passion, talents and conceptualization into every dish he creates.

    Sunset Monalisa offers three menu options—a prefixed a la carte menu, a 5-course signature menu, and The Monalisa Experience. Guests can dine on truffle pasta, rack of lamb, Wagyu ribeye encrusted in 24-karat gold leaf, among other mouth-watering options.

Want to learn more about Costa Palmas Resort, including its restaurants and activities? Check out the Costa Palmas video gallery for more information.