Avocado Club Gastro Diner

Address: Carretera Chapala-Ajijic #89, San Antonio, Tlay. Across from the Chula Vista Country Club
Phone: 766-7000
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Hours: Tuesday - Thursday 12pm - 8 pm; Friday - Saturday 12pm - 9pm; Sunday Brunch 9am - 3pm.  
Directions: From Walmart, drive east on the Carretera towards Chapala. The Avocado Club is on the right, across from the Golf Course and country club.

Watch for special events. The next is coming up New Year's Eve. Dinner and Live Music until midnight. Call for Reservations.

First Impressions

Inside The Avocado Club

Romeo Santos croons softly in the background and a soft breeze blows through the dining room located on the top floor of the Rose Bowl shopping center. The Avocado Club is the latest creation of the owner of Gossips, Ismet Jivani, a well-respected local chef who once trained with Paul Prudhomme, so you can expect a unique menu prepared perfectly under his supervision.

Warning to those who cannot manage steps well, there is one flight of steps leading to this top floor restaurant that may be difficult to climb.

Daily Specials

At the top of the stairs a waiter rushes to greet you and lead you to a seat, make sure you are comfortable, and immediately take your drink order. The service here is terrific, probably because the owner brought some of his seasoned wait staff from Gossips to help train the new waiters.

We ordered our drinks from a menu that includes wine, beer, and cocktails. The Avocado Club has  a full bar and specials every day. On the day we visited, Indio and Tecate were on draft and offered 2-for-1 between 2pm - 6pm.

The Avocado Club Gastro Diner occupies a large space that can be closed off for smaller groups or opened up to accommodate large group gatherings.

Menu

In addition to the daily specials listed on a blackboard in the center of the dining room, The Avocado Club also offers selections from an eclectic menu of appetizers, salads, soups, burgers and sandwiches as well as main dishes that include Cedar Planked Salmon, Surf and Turf, Liver and Onions, Steak Frites, Fish Tacos, Baja Coast Seafood Ciopino and more.

Avocado Hummus

Today we ordered Avocado Hummus to start, which was hummus mixed with guacamole. It was very good, though the chips were a little salty and I was disappointed that they were poured out of a giant bag that I recognized from Costco.

It is not hard to make homemade tortilla chips from the local corn tortillas - I do it at home - and I would prefer those to chips from a bag.
Otherwise, the Avocado Hummus was made in house and very good.

For our main dishes we ordered Pork Chop and Grits served with a brown sauce and grilled fresh vegetables. The pork chop was cooked perfectly, right to the bone, and the sauce was rich and made with a wine that made it taste rich and mellow.

Pork Chops and Grits

We also ordered a crunchy vegetarian salad with chickpeas, avocado, tomatoes, boiled eggs, tortilla strips and lettuce.

The chef prepared our meals in an open kitchen where we could watch him from our seats. I am always impressed with restaurants that are not afraid to show you their operation.

For dessert we ordered a piece of Key Lime Pie. It was served garnished with a chocolate sauce and fresh fruit. The presentation was beautiful, but the bottom line is that the pie was not made in-house, but was obviously from Costco. This is disappointing since I am pretty sure that the owner knows how to prepare a terrific Louisiana Bread Pudding or great Pecan Pie.

Please highlight your skill in the kitchen, Ismet, and forgo the Costco shortcuts.

Avocado Club Crunchy Salad

Service and Price

The wait staff  at Avocado Club is excellent. There is a young man that leads the wait staff who sets the tone for the entire crew and he provides great service. The menu offers a wide variety of options to choose from and all are reasonably priced.

The alfresco style atmosphere makes for a pleasant dining environment in the early afternoon, though I imagine it probably gets cool in the evenings and there is no barrier to block the breeze. Sit away from the front of the restaurant to escape the traffic noise from the Carretera.

I am posting our check for lunch, provided you don't make fun of the number of glasses of wine we enjoyed with our meal. The total price came to 612 pesos for our meal of an appetizer, 2 entrees and 1 dessert, accompanied by 3 glasses of wine each. About $30 USD.

Full Disclosure

Our Recommendation ***

Three stars. This is a good place to eat and the food prepared in house is excellent. If I had not seen the chef pour chips from a bulk Costco bag and served a Costco-purchased Key Lime Pie I would have awarded the Avocado Club Gastro Diner an extra star because I know how good the food prepared by the owner and chef can be.

Order anything at The Avocado Club Gastro Diner that is made in-house and be assured of an excellent meal. We will certainly go back for the great service, ambience and unique menu.