Restaurants in Puerto Vallarta
Puerto Vallarta is a vibrant coastal city that offers great Mexican culture, cuisine, and hospitality. There is an endless supply of great restaurants and activities to help make up your vacation days.
At present, there are over 400 restaurants, cafes, and informal food joints in the Vallarta area, providing an international array of cuisine, from Italian to Austrian, and of course, authentic Mexican dishes. Every November, food connoisseurs from around the world flock to Puerto Vallarta to part-take in its annual Gourmet Dining Festival. This festival features world renowned chefs; a distinctive festival which ignited Vallarta’s (now) distinguished reputation for being the cuisine capital of Mexico.
Quality, fresh ingredients from both the sea and land, coupled with brilliant executive chefs from around the world, empowers Puerto Vallarta’s restaurant and food industry to remain cutting edge and competitive in the global market. There is a wide range of culinary options here that will fit your lifestyle, diet, and spending allowance. Ranging from casual and cozy cafes serving vegan dishes to gourmet and pricey 5 meal plated dinners, this luscious coastal town has a lot to offer.
Although there is an abundance of international dishes to choose from, seafood and authentic Mexican cuisine prove to be the most popular among tourists and the locals alike here. Traditional Jalisco food favorites include pescado embarazado (catch of the day fish roasted on a stick), birria (fresh chili and lime blended into a spicy meat stew and served with tortillas), pozole (a hearty pork or other meat broth served with sun dried tortillas and other fresh ingredients), tamales (doughy white corn pastry loaded with a salty or sweet filling), and tortas ahogadas (a generously sized pork sandwich smothered in spicy chili and tomato sauce). Each of these fan favorites can be paired with authentic Mexican beverages such as local beers, wines, tequilas, mezcal, and raicilla.
Many of the restaurants and cafes in Puerto Vallarta offer a variety of mid-range discounts on select 3-course meals and feature menu promotions during the peak season. Puerto Vallarta celebrates a week long “restaurant week” each year at the end of May which features half-off meal prices at numerous dining spots. On average, food prices can range between $15 to $30 per plate, depending on the dish and elegance of the venue.
Due to the high volume of yearly visitors from around the globe, the hub of Puerto Vallarta’s tourist district is flooded with international fast-food chains such as McDonalds and Hard Rock Café. You will have no trouble finding typical western cuisine in this area, but if your palate craves something exquisite and wonderful, you’ll need to explore the greater Vallarta area to find some of the most delightful and hidden gems of this coastal town.
In Vallarta, you can easily curate your mood to the cuisine you’re craving. Whether your dream dining experience is in a 5-star restaurant perched on top of a cliff wearing formal attire, or strolling along the beach in shorts and sandals with a hankering for fresh food a-la street cart, Puerto Vallarta is guaranteed to cater to whatever it is that you’re craving!
