TSGuide
The Best Restaurants In Todos Santos
photo credit: Jorge Leon
Todos Santos doesn’t have any of those bright lights and luxury resorts you’ll see in Los Cabos. The small desert town is about an hour from the tourist-heavy hotspots, and while there are a few cool new boutique hotels, you still won’t find a single stoplight. Which makes it the perfect place for a low-key vacation when you want to relax, hang out in the desert, and eat very, very well.
While you could easily stick to downtown Todos Santos, it's absolutely worth getting in the car, driving down a dirt road or two, and checking out areas like Pescadero and Las Tunas for silky chocolata clams and scallop aguachile. Regardless of the plan, here’s where to eat when you’re in Todos Santos, from pizza and salads in a garden, to agave-based cocktails at a beachfront bar and fancy steak dinners in town.
THE SPOTS
photo credit: Alicia Vera
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When the sun goes down, there’s always a crowd at this giant open-air restaurant and garden. They’re here—like you should be—for wood-fired pizzas and the house specialty, roast suckling pig. (Other menu highlights are the spicy fish tostadas, barbacoa tacos, and grilled octopus.) You’ll need a reservation, but if you can’t snag a spot, there’s always Jazamango Café in downtown Todos Santos. It’s a more relaxed, daytime option where you can sit outside and drink a “breakfast margarita” with some tacos or huevos rancheros.
The deluxe new Paradero Hotel is a big, concrete compound surrounded by fields and desert, and this restaurant is right at the center of its grounds. It’s one of the only fine dining spots in Todos Santos, so save it for a special occasion when you want to sit at a wooden table outside and be lit by lanterns in trees like you’re in the penultimate round of a reality dating show. You’ll eat soft shell crab tacos, grilled chocolata clams, and maybe a vegetable or two like roasted cauliflower topped with truffle mayo and housemade pickles. Just keep in mind that you’ll need a reservation here.
photo credit: Alicia Vera
This back-road ceviche spot takes a little navigation to find (if you see the cemetery, you’ve gone too far), but it’s worth seeking out at lunchtime for the best shrimp ceviche and soft shell crab tacos in the area. With its sand floor and thatched-roof palapa, Tiki Santos is pretty casual, so it’s a great place to kick back and enjoy an ice-cold clamato with friends. Afterward, head nearby to DoceCuarenta for coffee and peanut butter-filled brownies.
Hierbabuena is the best outdoor restaurant in the area, and that’s thanks to its big organic garden. The rotating menu heavily features produce grown on-site, and the large outdoor space is perfect for groups. Grab a picnic table and share some salads made with produce from the garden, plus a few wood-fired pizzas, like one topped with smoked fish, capers, and jalapeños.
photo credit: Andrea Araiza
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Out of all the restaurants in Todos Santos, the Green Room is where you should come for a Baja Sur sunset. This seaside spot along La Pastora beach is one of the only places actually on the water, and it has a comfortable seating area with lanterns and fire pits. Come for drinks and snacks like salty margaritas and tuna tostadas before heading back to town for dinner.
photo credit: Alicia Vera
After riding the waves at Los Cerritos beach, surfers meet up at Barracuda Cantina to refuel. And whether you’re capable of standing up on a board or not, you should join them. This sand-floor taco spot serves Baja beers and spicy mezcal margaritas that are best paired with grilled shrimp tacos, smoked fish quesadillas, or a massive fried fish burrito that could easily feed two people. There’s live music on weekends and a rotating calendar of visiting breweries. Go around lunchtime, and don’t be surprised if you wind up staying past sunset.
photo credit: Jorge Leon
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This downtown spot in a restored sugar mill is slightly more upscale than most of the seafood places in Todos Santos. The industrial space has tons of decorative greenery, and works well for Happy Hour—get oysters, champagne and some tostadas. Make sure to budget some time to check out the art galleries and boutiques near the restaurant.
photo credit: Jorge Leon
Don’t be surprised if you show up here for brunch and see everyone else you were drinking too many margaritas with the night before. If you’re not exactly feeling 100% in the morning, there’s plenty of shady palms at this all-outdoor restaurant, plus fresh juices, omelets, salsa-drenched chilaquiles, a chicken sandwich, and thick sweet potato fries that should help.
photo credit: Jorge Leon
Make it to this downtown bakery before 9am and you’ll have a good chance of beating the line. You may even be able to grab one of the few tables, which you’ll need if you want to fit all the essentials: cinnamon rolls fresh from the oven, blondies, chocolate chip cookies, and lemon meringue pie. There’s also iced coffee and Baja-made kombucha at the ready.
photo credit: Jorge Leon
After surfing the waves at Cerritos Beach, fuel up at Señor Hoagie, the only sandwich truck in Pescadero. The menu has eight different subs (we like the Cerritos with pastrami and swiss, and the Scorpion Bay with roast beef and provolone), plus a make-your-own option. Order to go or eat at an outdoor table right on the sand in front of the truck. After lunch, stop by Same Same But Different for dessert and try the Chunky Monkey smoothie with chocolate, bananas, and peanut butter. You can always add an espresso shot if you still have lots of surfing to do.
1890 is a glamorous restaurant in the very small, very fancy new Todos Santos Boutique Hotel. Walk down a marble staircase lined with palms and you’ll find people in leather booths eating brioche slathered with butter or downing oysters Rockefeller under dramatic chandeliers. After you’ve had your fill of glitz and juicy, slow-grilled chicken (our favorite dish), visit the wine cellar next door, which has over 200 vintages from around the world. Or, move on to La Copa, the hotel’s cocktail bar, for a great martini.
photo credit: Jorge Leon
This Italian spot has been around since 2005, but recently moved to a larger location in downtown Todos Santos, which means it can now fit even more of your friends for a fun group dinner. The pastas—like sweet potato ravioli, linguine with squash blossom pesto, and gnocchi with gorgonzola and chile guajillo oil—are the real deal. If you’re not here with a group, at least make sure your date is down to share.
photo credit: Jorge Leon
Behind a little brick facade in downtown Todos Santos is the only natural wine bar in the area. Take a seat in the outdoor courtyard to try a low-intervention Mexican malbec or tempranillo, and snacks like octopus carpaccio or thin-sliced truffle fries topped with parmesan and parsley. Go for Happy Hour wine with friends and stay for dinner.
photo credit: Jorge Leon
If you need some comfort food after a day of hiking the Old Port of Todos Santos, make your way to Cien Palmas (literally “one hundred palms”). The downtown Todos Santos property has casitas where people can stay, plus a cafe and bar where you can choose from a short menu of satisfying stuff like crispy pork tacos, a smashburger, and patatas bravas with chorizo. The outdoor space is perfect for a relaxed evening, with tables spread around a pebble-floor courtyard, string lights overhead, and a subtly Wild West-themed playlist.
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The owner of this spot started out with a roadside produce stall, and has since grown her business into a 37-acre farm and an extremely scenic restaurant. Naturally, fruits and vegetables—chard, squash, carrots, strawberries, and much more—are the draw. Order anything with tomatoes and some tangy ceviche, and one of the excellent cocktails. It all comes with a view of farmland speckled with bright sunflowers.
photo credit: Jorge Leon
This newish beer garden is usually full of people who live in the area, and has 16 taps with an interesting selection of top Mexican and German beers on draft. Sit at a picnic table outside or the U-shaped bar inside (where there’s AC), and if it’s available, try a pale ale made locally by Cervecería Punta Lobos. Snacks like thick, pillowy pretzels served with salami, cheese, whipped butter, and mustard should help soak up all that booze.
