For a town of its size, Mazatlan has an incredibly rich variety of choices for dining. While I’ve heard many people say one of the things they love most about Mexico is the food, I’ll be honest, Mexican food has never impressed me much due to its lack of variety and nutritional value.

It surprises me that no matter how small the town, there is always a public market with an amazing selection of fruits and vegetables. Yet somehow, this produce never seems to make its way to the dining table. Mexico is filled with cantinas serving every variation on a corn tortilla, but whether it’s a taco, a tostada, or a volcane, the ingredients never vary: some kind of corn based wrapper with meat, onions, and cilantro. It’s not long before I’m starving for veggies, and last week I managed to get food poisoning because I was so desperate for vitamins that I ate untreated produce at a market stand.

Mexico’s regional foods

Many people think that Oaxaca has the best food in Mexico. One thing to note is that each state in Mexico, and there are 32, has its own specialties, and often you can only find that specific dish in that state. It’s my opinion that the state of Puebla has the most variety of foods within a state, but for selections beyond the regular corn based meals, I think Puerto Vallarta stands apart from all others.

Because it attracts people from around the world, it has the best international offerings in Mexico. There are popular Thai, German and Italian restaurants that are often booked every night. There is even an international food festival each year. But Puerto Vallarta receives over 5 million visitors a year, and Mazatlan receives only half that so I was surprised by the number of restaurants serving exceptional food.

Totem

We lucked out on our first choice. It had been a long travel day, and what drew us to Totem was the rooftop dining area and the long list of cocktails. We were also surprised by the variety of healthy options on the menu. I ordered the Salmon, and Joan ordered a tuna salad.

La Olivia

The next day we lucked upon La Olivia, a place we were to visit a few times before we left. It was one of those places you knew you’d have to return to when we found it impossible to choose from their enticing menu. They have smoothies and power shots in addition to their amazing breakfast selections.

Comiendo Sano

We spent the rest of the week with one discovery after another. Two places were recommended by one of the people we shared our AirBnB apartment complex with. The first was a vegan Italian deli called Comiendo Sano, which translates to Eating Healthy. The chef and his wife prepare a wide variety of organic based vegan foods and power drinks.

The second, Atol, was a nondescript place you’d walk by had you not been told to go inside. Of course, this theme is fairly common in Mexico as it is a holdover from the hacienda days. The earlier settlers would build a small fort for protection. The outside walls were big and ugly containing a beautiful courtyard space within. Naturally, you’d never advertise the goods within your enclosure. And that’s how it is with many places in Mexico, like The Presidio Kitchen.

Presidio Kitchen

From the non-descript door, you would never expect one of Mazatlan’s finest restaurants. It’s a two story open air courtyard shaded with large trees. The food is exquisite, and they even have my favorite cocktail on the menu, the manhattan.

Because we only had 10 days in Mazatlan, we didn’t get a chance to visit every place on my list. Just a couple years before I’d been given a tour of Casa 46, but I didn’t make it in due the vast number of other delightful choices. There’s also the cliffside restaurant, Observertario, which requires a tram ride to its dining room overlooking the world’s highest lighthouse.

Before we left, we did manage to get to street tacos just around the corner from our AirBnB. According to our AirBnB manager, Tacos Raymundo serves the best street tacos in Mazatlan, and it was located just a minute from our door. In this case, I had to agree that the tortilla based treats were exceptional, and even the street food stood out in Mazatlan as some of the best I’ve tasted in Mexico.