Deli 8 Restaurant-Bar

Address: on the Carretera Chapala - Jocotepec, in San Antonio, Tlayacapan
Phone: 376-766-1569
Hours: Open Mon - Fri 7 AM - 6 PM; Sat - Sun 9 AM - 8 PM

Wifi Available; Animal friendly.  
Credit Cards Accepted: MC and Visa
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Directions: From Walmart, drive east on the Carretera for approximately 1/2 mile. Deli 8 is located on the right, next to Handy Mail. Several parking spaces are located in front of the café and across the street on the lateral road.

First Impressions

Deli 8 Restaurant-Bar is a small, sidewalk café located in the strip of shops along the Carretera in San Antonio, Tlayacapan. There are 4 or 5 tables on the sidewalk, under an awning, and a few tables inside the restaurant dining area which opens onto the sidewalk.

This is casual dining with customers sipping coffee and reading the newspaper, others using the restaurant's wifi while expats gather for breakfast, their dogs lying at their feet.

At first glance, Deli 8 looks like just a coffee shop, but it is so much more. This is a full service restaurant that is open all day, everyday, and offers a full breakfast menu, lunch and dinner and even advertises happy hour every evening.

Menu

Deli 8 offers an amazing variety of dishes from their small kitchen. We had breakfast with friends on a cool December morning and found  a table outside. Our friends appreciated that their dog was welcome in the outside dining area.

We had heard very good things about Deli 8 but were unprepared for the large selection of tempting dishes on the menu. This included eggs any style, omelets, eggs Benedict, pancakes, French toast, waffles, oatmeal, enfrijoladas, chilaquiles, and even a club sandwich.


Two of us ordered waffles, one topped with strawberries and whipped cream and the other with cajeta - a caramel like sauce.

One of our group ordered enfrijoladas, tortillas wrapped around chicken and topped with cream sauce, and our other friend ordered pancakes and bacon.

Everything was served hot from the kitchen, though not all at the same time. The quality of our meals was so good that we hardly noticed the minor timing issue.



The enfrijoladas were the best our friend had every tasted - no other breakfast restaurant lakeside comes close, according to him. The waffles were hot and crisp, classic Belgian waffles filled with strawberries and whipped cream or topped with caramel. The pancakes were light and airy served with a generous portion of crisp bacon.

We had coffees and chai tea, but we could have chosen from a wide array of gourmet coffees, including cappuccino, hot chocolate and juices. Everything was so good that a few days later, we went back again for more.

We have only had breakfast at Deli 8, but after tasting the food, we are motivated to return and have lunch. Once we do, we will update this review. But, I couldn't let such a gem go unreported and un-reviewed another moment.

Service and Price

The service at Deli 8 is prompt and attentive. Our cups of coffee were topped off before they got completely empty. The only problem, and it is very minor, is that all of our food did not come out at the same time. The prices for breakfast start at 30 pesos with the most expensive item topping out at 65 pesos.

Their lunch menu offers a variety of baguettes, arrachera steak, spaghetti, hot dogs, hamburgers, bbq ribs, grilled chicken, salads, salmon in shrimp sauce, fish fillets, soup and more.

We can't wait to sample something from their extensive menu when we return. Deli 8 also serves wine and beer.

 

Our Recommendation ****

The owners and staff of Deli 8 go out of their way to do everything possible to delight their customers. What we liked? The delicious food cooked to order, a varied menu, attentive service, reasonable prices, wifi connection, convenient hours, and pleasant, unhurried atmosphere.

Eat at Deli 8. I insist.

La Taverna dei Quattro Mori

Address: on the Carretera in San Antonio, Tlayacapan. Across from Absolute Fenix Realty.
Phone: 766-2848
Hours: 11am-11pm Monday - Sunday. 
Visa and MasterCard accepted

Directions: From Walmart, head east on the Carretera to the first stop light. La Taverna dei Quattro Mori is on the left, just past the stop light. There is parking in front of the restaurant. Drive past the light to the next entrance onto the lateral road and park there.

First Impressions

La Tavern dei Quattro Mori opened a new location in San Antonio, Tlayacapan, recently. This is  close to where we live, so we were anxious to give it a try. The owners have turned a vacant hole-in-the-wall into a surprisingly pleasant restaurant.

There is plenty of seating indoors as well as a patio area. We dined on a cool night and appreciated the ambience of a crackling fire indoors.

Even though the café was crowded,  we found a table for four and were waited on promptly.

Menu and Prices

Good Italian food is a rare find at Lake Chapala. There are a few who try, but so far we have been mostly disappointed with their efforts. However, this evening we were impressed by the meals at La Taverna.

We ordered our drinks and the waitress brought a basket of focaccia bread. One basket is on the house, but subsequent baskets are charged at $20pesos per order. The menu offered a nice selection of traditional Italian dishes, including

pizza, fettuccine,  spaghetti, gnocchi, lasagna and minestrone soup. We ordered minestrone soup, pizza, gnocchi parmesan, fettuccine alfredo, and penne pesto.

All of our dishes were very good, and we enjoyed our meals.  The pasta was cooked just right, slightly al dente, and the gnocchi was flavorful and not overcooked.

The house red wine was Chianti, so appropriate and very good. Service was perfunctory, just fine but not overly enthusiastic or helpful.


The prices are moderate, which means that  La Taverna dei Quatrro Mori will have a lot of
customers, as we witnessed on the evening we dined there.

San Antonio Tlayacapan plays host to many expats who live within walking distance, making the decision to move their location from West Ajijic, a smart one.

Our meal, including two main dishes, an extra basket of bread and four glasses of wine, came to $360 pesos, about $26 USD

Our Recommendation ***

This is a nice café and the owners made a good choice by moving to San Antonio, Tlayacapan.

The ambience is pleasant, especially at night with the fire cracking in the fireplace, and the prices are quite reasonable for tasty Italian food. Not five star, but certainly one of the best Italian restaurants lakeside.