TSGuide

The Best Restaurants in Todos Santos

The best spots for a post-surf shrimp taco, a night of spicy mezcal margaritas, and a cinnamon roll for the morning after in Todos Santos, Mexico.
The Best Restaurants in Todos Santos image

photo credit: Alicia Vera

The bright lights and luxury resorts of Los Cabos seem a world away from Todos Santos, a small desert town about an hour north of those tourist-heavy cities. Even though the flashy Paradero Hotel opened and lots of people visited Todos for the first time during the pandemic, the town still doesn’t even have a single stop light. And there’s a lot to explore down the area’s dusty desert roads—from hidden restaurants with expansive gardens and mango orchards to beachfront bars serving top-notch agave-based cocktails and tostadas topped with fresh fish straight from the Pacific. 

While you could easily stick to downtown Todos Santos, it's absolutely worth getting in the car and exploring areas like Pescadero and Las Tunas. Down dirt roads (and maybe after a wrong turn or two), you'll discover all kinds of delicious seafood, from silky chocolata clams to buttery scallop aguachile. 

In this guide, you’ll find sand-floor cantinas with some of the best tacos in Mexico, bakeries offering delicious pastries, cafes perfect for brunch or coworking, and fine dining experiences with great outdoor setups. Here are all the best restaurants in Todos Santos.


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SIT-DOWN DINNER SPOTS


photo credit: Alicia Vera

Mexican

Downtown Todos Santos

$$$$Perfect For:Impressing Out of TownersDate NightOutdoor/Patio SituationDrinking Good Wine
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When the sun goes down, this farm-to-table restaurant and open-air garden is packed with locals who are eager to go out of their way for one of this spot’s wood-fired pizzas or its house specialty: roasted suckling pig. Dishes use fresh, seasonal ingredients and range from small plates like spicy fish tostadas and barbacoa tacos to heavier entrees, such as braised beef short ribs and grilled octopus.


Along a dusty desert road near a mango orchard in Pescadero, Hierbabuena is the best place to have dinner outside in the area. This restaurant has its own organic garden, along with extensive picnic-style seating, so you’ll find produce plucked fresh from the vine in almost every dish on their rotating menu. Because the open-air space is quite large, it’s an ideal spot to dine with a big group of friends and enjoy a garden salad paired with wood-fired pies, from classic margherita pizzas to those topped with smoked fish, capers, and jalapeños.


Because this restaurant is on the Paradero hotel grounds—by far the fanciest place to stay in the entire area—this is your best bet for fine dining in Todos Santos. Located at the center of the property, you can dine at wooden tables set below lantern-strewn trees. Some of the restaurant’s most delicious dishes include grilled chocolata clams spiced with garlic and chives, scallop aguachile, and roasted cauliflower topped with truffle mayonnaise and housemade pickles.


GREAT SEAFOOD


This ceviche spot—with its thatched-roof palapa and sand-floor setting—may be tucked away down a backroad (if you arrive at the cemetery, you’ve gone too far), but it’s the best spot for mariscos in Todos Santos. Go for the shrimp ceviche, softshell crab tacos, and fried fish sandwiches. The atmosphere is pretty casual, making it a nice place to kick back and enjoy an ice-cold clamato with friends.


Out of all the restaurants in Todos Santos, the Green Room is where you should come to enjoy a Baja Sur sunset. This seaside spot along La Pastora beach is one of the only places actually on the water with cozy seating areas filled with their own lanterns or fire pits. Come here for sunset drinks and snacks, like the salty margaritas and tuna tostadas, before heading back to town for dinner.


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, best paired with one of their specialties: grilled shrimp tacos, smoked fish quesadillas, or a massive fried fish burrito (that’s really like two burritos in one) stuffed with rice, beans, cole slaw, guacamole, and salsa. It’s best to go around lunchtime and stay until after sunset—the bar often has live music and a rotating calendar of visiting breweries.


While most seafood spots in Todos Santos are pretty casual, downtown restaurant Oystera is the exception when it comes to both the setting and food. Order some Baja oysters on the half shell with champagne or a prickly pear martini, and save room for silky chocolata clams and tuna tostadas topped with guajillo chili and fresh epazote. Before or after you dine at one of the many rattan-style seating areas surrounding the central bar, be sure to save time to check out the many art galleries and boutique shops that line the restaurant.


BREAKFAST & LUNCH


This coffee shop and organic garden is located near the private homes of Las Tunas, a laid-back residential area that’s a 10-minute drive north of Todos Santos via backroads. Go for a breakfast of milky matcha lattes, smoothie bowls, and avocado toasts at the wooden picnic tables beneath a pergola, and stick around to catch up on emails. Look out for the café mascot, Canela, a cream and caramel pup that loves to greet guests.


The holy grail of brunch spots in Todos Santos, La Esquina is the kind of place where you’ll probably see everyone you were partying with the night before (when drinking margaritas until sunrise sounded like the perfect idea). Nurse your hangovers together at this all-outdoor spot on a corner lot filled with tables and shaded by palms. Get the fresh juices, omelets, and salsa-drenched chilaquiles for breakfast and a chicken sandwich paired with thick sweet potato fries for lunch. 


This split-level, warehouse-style cafe set on the outskirts of downtown Todos Santos is the unofficial coworking space of town. By the afternoon, it’s busy with remote workers hanging out in booths, fueled by frothy cappuccinos and toasts smeared with almond butter and topped with banana slices and coconut flakes. Order one of the sauteed spinach and creamy goat cheese sandwiches if you need some extra fuel to respond to that particularly annoying email.


There’s a pretty good chance Taller 17 will have a line, but you can skip it if you arrive at this downtown bakery before the 9am rush—and you may even be able to grab one of the few tables, too. You’ll want some of the cinnamon rolls that come served fresh out of the oven, icing dripping off the dough, as well as a couple of sweet treats for later: blondies, chocolate chip cookies, and lemon meringue pies. There’s also iced coffee and Baja-made kombucha on the ready.


Set along the dirt road to Playa Cerritos, this cafe is the top pre- and post-surf spot in Todos Santos. Hike up the turquoise stairs and you’ll arrive at this open-air, mural-clad cafe with views of the ocean. It’s known for its delicious coffee and cheesy molletes, but we love it most for the thick, milkshake-like smoothies: the Chunky Monkey is the best option, a chocolatey mix made creamy with frozen bananas and gobs of peanut butter that tastes even better when spiked with an espresso shot.


Located on the highway near Pescadero, this French-Mexican bakery is an ideal stop for breakfast. Don’t miss the salmon or hummus bagels, and baked goods like pecan tarts, carrot cakes, cinnamon rolls, and buttery croissants—all of which are perfect for a post-swim snack. Not only does Petit Leon do a great breakfast, but they also make the best homemade sourdough loaves in Todos Santos, from buttery brioche to earthy rye, so you can pick up the ultimate sandwich ingredients for lunch at your Airbnb.


Home to a bunch of different restaurants and grab-and-go spots, Plaza Amigos in downtown Todos Santos has something for everyone. Head to Surf’s Up for fresh smoothies and juices, Shakti Bowl for salads and vegetable-based dishes, and Choyera Vegana for vegan tacos, burgers, and tamales. After you order from the counter of your choice, enjoy your meal at one of the interior, pergola-covered tables within the courtyard.


THE BEST ICE CREAM


This is where you’ll find the best ice cream in Todos Santos. Get flavors like chocolate chip, pistachio, or hibiscus scooped in a cone or a cup, or opt for a creamy Nutella or berries and cream paleta.

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