One Fantastic Meal: La Palapa Restaurant in Puerto Vallarta

< La Palapa Restaurant - Puerto Vallarta >

After our afternoon sunbathing and drinking cocktails (margaritas, naturally) at the very gay beach at Blue Chairs Resort, Andreas and I decided to walk around the area to see if we could find a place to eat. We debated whether to take a taxi back to the Oosterdam and eat dinner at the Vista Dining Lounge or to wander around to find restaurant. We chose the latter … how many times would we get to travel to Puerto Vallarta again, afterall?

While cocktail’ing at the beach, I did an initial search on my favorite foodie Web site Chowhound for restaurant recommendations – I used my Kindle. Many of the Chowhounders recommended the La Palapa Restaurant (Púlpito 103 · Col. Emiliano Zapata), an iconic fixture in Puerto Vallarta for the last 50 years. And from the reviews the restaurant sounded fantastic. Andreas agreed. Since we didn’t know how to get there from the beach, we decided to cab it there the next day for lunch.

As we strolled a few blocks down from the beach on the cobblestone road, Andreas and I spotted a promising side road extending towards the beach. There was a restaurant at the corner that drew us in. As we perused the menu outside, we realized that the restaurant was the one-and-only La Palapa Resturant! We had no reservations – which was highly recommended by Chowhounders. It was about 6pm, the sun was just about to set, and we thought for sure we couldn’t get a table. Surprisingly, there was hardly anyone there yet and we got a table immediately.

< La Palapa Restaurant Menu >

All of the tables had fantastic views of the beach. There are tables in the restaurant, where we were seated, and on the beach. And obviously everyone wanted the beach seating. We were very happy with our seats. Our servers were very attentive and were more than happy to answer all of questions. They also spoke very good English. While the dishes on the menu are on the pricey side (as of writing this: 1 USD = 11.7 Mexican Peso), Andreas and I decided to splurge. We both had appetizers and entrees.

< Grilled Adobo Fillet - La Palapa Restaurant >

My entree, the Adobo grilled choice fillet, was phenomenal, priced at $310 pesos ($26). The meat was tender and seasoned to perfection. The treat for me was the prosciutto in the dish.

< Mussel Appetizers at La Palapa Resturant >

Oh and the mussel and stacked tune appetizers were absolutely delicious. I could have ordered seconds on each. They did a wonderful job plating each dish.

< Stacked Tuna Appetizers - La Palapa Resturant >

Andreas enjoyed his seared day boat scallops, as did I (I could stop asking him for tastes of his meal).

< Day Boat Scallops - La Palapa Restaurant >

It was serendipity that we stumbled into La Palapa! We absolutely enjoyed our delicious meals, and would highly recommend the restaurant to everyone. We felt a bit down in general about Puerto Vallarta, but La Palapa is truly a “must-do” when you are there. Go just before sunset. The view is spectacular.