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
Facebook
 
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.

 

Adelita Bar and Grill

Independencia 124-A, 45915 San Antonio Tlayacapan
Phone: 376-766-0097
Website: www.adelitabarandgrill.com
Facebook Page
Hours: Monday - 12pm - 10pm, Tuesday - Thursday 12pm - 9pm, Friday - Saturday 12pm - 12am
Sunday - 12 PM - 8 PM; Reservations accepted; Ample parking in front of café ; Valet parking available
Master Card and Visa credit cards accepted
Live Music, Weekly Specials

UPDATE: Newly Renovated and Packed every night. Make sure to call for a reservation!

Directions: From Walmart, drive east about 1/2 mile to the second stop light. At the next street past the light, make a right. There is a hardware store on the right as you head down this road. Just past the plaza, the road will dead end. Make a right turn next to the plaza and then an immediate left Adelita's will be on the left, just past the church.

First Impressions

Adelita Bar and Grill looks like a cozy little café from the outside, but inside it is large, open, airy and modern as a result of the recent renovations.

The owners have done a great job remaking the dining room to accommodate more people and to create an al fresco feeling. The back of the dining room is open to the outdoors with a high ceiling partially covering the area.

Thursday evening is advertised as 'wing night' so that is when we decided to give Adelita Bar and Grill a try. The café was bursting at the seams with visitors and expats. This was our first visit and at that time, we not impressed. Everything has changed - for the better. Since the renovations, we have become almost regulars on Wednesday evenings.

Adelita Bar and Grill offers specials during the week - ribs, wings, and a deeply discounted Dinner Club night on Wednesdays. During the high season, there is a regular line up of live music performances.  A frequently updated webpage includes the daily menu and upcoming events and specials.

Menu and Service

The new staff of waiters offer prompt and friendly service. We recognized some of the waiters who had come from other restaurants in town. The menus are available in English and Spanish.

In addition to the specials, the regular menu includes comfort foods such as  hamburgers, pizza, wings, chicken fingers, steak, ribs, chicken and pasta. Warning: the house hamburger is huge, topped with fried onion rings and difficult to get your mouth around, but when you do, the reward is worth it. This may be one of the best burgers lakeside.

With the upgrades in the dining room has come an upgrade in the quality of the food and service. I was mildly disappointed in the food when we visited in December 2014, but since the upgrades were finished, we have returned a number of times and each time the food has been very good, served hot and cooked just right.

Adelita Bar and Grill caters to their - mostly - expat customers and is crowded almost every night they are open. If you go, make a reservation to ensure that you can get a table.

Ambience

The atmosphere is so much nicer with the renovations. The acoustics are better and there is plenty of space between tables, and also the room to bring tables together for a large party. There are now cozy booths for more intimate dining and a modern bar that invites singles to gather.

Our Recommendation ****

Adelita Bar and Grill most definitely caters to visitors from north of the border. There is live entertainment during the week, the café is clean and the staff friendly and fluent in English. The renovations are wonderful and the food and service has improved greatly since our first visit in 2014. We can highly recommend Adelita's Bar and Grill as one of the best places to eat at Lake Chapala.

Fonda Dona Lola

Fonda Dona Lola
Carretera Poniente 36
Ajijic, Mexic
376-766-4455
Hours: Mon - Wed 8 AM - 5 PM; Fri 8 AM - 5 PM; Closed Thursday; Sat - Sun 8 AM - 3 PM
No Credit Cards accepted

Directions: Head west from Walmart on the Carretera approximately 2 miles. Just over the hill, on the west side of Ajijic, Fonda Dona Lola is found on the left (lakeside) across from Casa del Waffle and the car wash.  Ample parking in front of restaurant.

First Impressions

The auditorium size restaurant is located on the main highway through Ajijic, just west of town. The huge brick building sits back off the highway and is easy to miss.

Steps lead into the vast dining room, however, a ramp provides access for those unable to manage the steps.

Abundant parking is located in front of the restaurant. The dining room is open and very clean and reminiscent of a school cafeteria.


Menu and Service

We visited Fonda Dona Lola based on the recommendation of a friend, who told us to try their breakfast.

We arrived early and found a table close to the door. We were one of two couples having breakfast on a Monday morning. The waiter came to our table immediately and handed us an extensive breakfast menu, written in English.

We were served coffee and a basket of toasted bakery bread while we considered what, among the tasty offerings, we would order.

The menu included an impressive number of traditional egg dishes, pancakes, fruit as well as Mexican specialties.

We settled on pancakes and were glad we did. Our breakfasts were served hot from the kitchen.
We were pleasantly surprised, as these are some of the best pancakes we have had in the area.

The bacon was crisp, just the way we like it and the scrambled eggs were cooked to retain some moisture, and were fluffy, though not undercooked. 

The waiter was attentive, filling our coffee cups several times during the course of the meal.

Price

Every menu item at Fonda Dona Lola is reasonably priced. Our pancake breakfasts, one with bacon and the other with scrambled eggs, a basket of fresh bread, and two cups of coffee came to an amazing $110 pesos, about $8.50.

Our Recommendation ***

Fonda Dona Lola has to be one of the best deals in town for breakfast. The food and service are good and it is nice to find a place with adequate parking right in front of the restaurant.

Letra CH Restoran Del Mar

Address: Carretera San Nicolas #4, Chapala
Phone: 331 117 2325 or 331 007 0216
Hours: Open daily, except Wednesdays, 1:00pm to 9:00pm
Facebook: www.facebook.com/letrach-restorandelmar

Credit Cards not accepted

Directions: From WalMart, drive east on the Carretera and turn left at the stop light in Chapala. Take Madera north to the next stop light. Turn right, onto Calle Venustiano Carranza, which runs at a 45 degree angle to Madera. Turn right on Avenida Pepe Guizar.  Avenida Guizar dead ends at Calle Gonzalez Gallo. You will see Letra CH on your left, the second building on the left. Parking is in front of the restaurant.

First Impressions

Letra CH, Restoran Del Mar

If I had not read the rave reviews of this restaurant I might never have eaten here. First of all, it is not easy to find, and once you know where it is, you are still not sure if it is really a restaurant from the outside.

I have posted a picture of the outside so hungry readers will know what this place looks like from the outside.
And, you definitely do not want to bypass Letra CH. It is a hidden treasure.

But not for much longer, once the word gets out about the scrumptious food prepared inside this tiki-hut looking structure. 

Park in front of the building and walk through the front toward the back of the restaurant and then up a flight of stairs to the thatch covered dining room. There are about ten tables in the dining area, a bar and a nice view of the lake.

Fried Calamari

We went with friends on a Thursday evening. There was one other diner in the restaurant and she left shortly after we arrived. After that we had the entire place to ourselves. The weather was pleasant so we were comfortable sitting in the outdoor dining room.

This is a family owned and operated establishment, with a small boutique hotel and spa at the back of the property.

Menu

The menu is printed on material, and one of our friends found it difficult to read.

The selections were limited to about ten tantalizing selections of seafood and chicken dishes, uniquely prepared. This place has a very interesting concept. Your meal includes the choice of an appetizer and a side dish included in the price The waiter, also one of the owners of the restaurant, took our drink order and brought out a basket of bread and herb butter.

L'Orange Salmon

Starters included salmon mousse on crisp wontons, asparagus in tequila sauce, fried calamari or soup of the day. We decided to each try something different and  share between us, and found them all delicious.

The one drawback was the very small size of the asparagus, especially considering that there was an extra $20peso charge for this appetizer.

There was also an extra $20peso charge for the fried calamari. The salmon mousse was flavorful, but we were all most surprised and impressed with the crunchy fried calamari. It was lightly battered and deep fried with not a hint of the rubbery texture I have grown used to expecting.

Nutty Sea Bass

The entrees were tantalizing and it was hard to choose between them. Fortunately, there were four of us dining so we each could order something different and share.

The menu presented us with a number of tempting choices, Nutty Sea Bass, prepared with a pistachio and pecan topping, Four Cheese Chicken, Coco Shrimp, L'Orange Salmon, Octopus, Letra CH Pasta and Citrus Tuna.

The side dish selections, included scalloped potatoes, sweet potatoes, wild rice or a green  salad.

We ordered the scalloped potatoes and wild rice, but the waiter also brought a bowl of sweet potatoes for us to sample, convinced we would love it. And we did. It was so delicious, and sweet, almost like dessert.



Brownie with Ice Cream

I had read another diner's review, raving about the Nutty Sea Bass and so this is what I ordered. I was not disappointed. The fish was fresh and lightly cooked with a delicious nut topping.

The other hit of the evening was the L'Orange Salmon, a thick piece of salmon cooked perfectly, topped with a  light citrus sauce.

We also had the Four Cheese Chicken and Coconut Shrimp with mango sauce. Several of us ordered a crisp Sauvignon Blanc to accompany our meals.

The waiter replenished our basket of bread, during the meal, which we greatly appreciated. We capped off the delicious meal with brownies and vanilla ice cream. The brownie was made in house, rich, dense, and chocolaty.

Ambience and Price

The outdoor dining room is pleasant, with interesting decorative walls made from pallets and PVC pipes filled with live plants. There is a good view of the lake from the dining room. The only drawback was, as night fell, we were annoyed by mosquitoes.

There is a short flight of stairs to get up to the dining room, which may present a hardship to those unable to climb to the second floor dining room.

The prices are very reasonable, ranging from $106pesos to $149 pesos. The ingredients used to prepare the meals are high quality and the price included an appetizer and side dish. Our meals, including wine and dessert, came to $450pesos, less than $35USD.

Our Recommendation ****

Find this place and eat here. The food is so good and this family has a very interesting and unique concept that sets them apart from the rest of the restaurants in Chapala. Make sure to go before sunset to avoid the annoying mosquitoes.

Restaurante Delicias

Address :Ave. Hidalgo #277, Chapala  
Phone: 765-5021
Facebook: www.facebook.com/desayunosdelicias
Wifi Available
Credit Cards Not Accepted

Hours: Daily, 8 a.m. - 1 pm.

Directions: From Walmart, take the Carretera east towards Chapala for about 4 miles. Delicias is on the left, just past Hotel Monte Carlo and the Farmacia Guadalajara. Park along the street. 

First Impressions

There is a reason why Delicias is a local favorite for breakfast. You can order just about any breakfast food you can imagine. The food is simple and tasty and the prices are right.

Delicias is easy to miss. It is housed in a plain brown building that fades into a long line of other, nondescript buildings along the Carretera., just west of Chapala. 

Like many restaurants in the Lake Chapala area, you cannot judge the quality of the food by looking at the exterior of the business.

The double doors open into a large, Mexican style dining room with plenty of seating. Through the back door is a pleasant patio dining room surrounding a fountain. Smoking is not allowed on the patio.

There is limited parking along the road outside the restaurant, however, if you are willing to walk about a block, you can park west of the restaurant, on the road that runs between the Farmacia Guadalajara and the Monte Carlo hotel.

Delicias is clean and pleasant. Restrooms are just off the patio area, with separate facilities for hombres and dames. They are spotless.

We seated ourselves on a quiet Friday morning and the waitress brought our menus, took our drink order and gave us time to look at the menu. She returned with a pot of hot coffee and a basket of warm, whole wheat rolls.

Menu

The breakfast menu at Delicias is extensive, offering the most varied breakfast selection of any lakeside restaurant. Eggs are  cooked almost any way you can imagine; eggs benedict, Mexican style eggs, ranch style eggs, omelets, burritos, and American style breakfast with eggs cooked al gusto ( as you like them).

You can also choose chiliquiles, served with or without chicken or chorizo and with red or green - or both - sauces. The menu also offers waffles, hot cakes and crepes.

Many meals come with bacon or link sausage, hash browns or beans. The three page menu is  chock full of choices. What do you feel like eating? It is most likely on the menu at Delicias. Beverages include coffee, tea, shakes, smoothies and juices.

We ordered the hot cake combo, served with three hot cakes, 2 eggs, 2 sausage links and hash browns and an order of waffles, with strawberries and a side of bacon.

The scrambled eggs were cooked just right, not too dry, and the pancakes were light, served with butter and syrup packets. The waffle was crisp, the strawberries freshly cut without the juice that makes a waffle soggy.

All in all, a satisfying meal. The coffee was good and the waitress came back to the table often to top off our cups.

Price and Service

Almost all the breakfast entrees are priced between $50pesos and $65pesos. Our meal, including coffee, came to $203pesos, or about $15US.

The service was very good, the waitress did not speak much English, but we were able to make ourselves understood and got exactly what we ordered. The menu was written in English, so when in doubt, we could just point to a selection.

Our Recommendation ****

We tried Restaurante Delicias last year and thought the food was quite good. We have not gone back since then because during our research, we read some bad reviews on a local expat forum. None of the negative comments we read mirrored our own experience at this restaurant, so I would caution visitors to take the information gleaned from these forums with a grain of salt. If you are looking for a delicious, hearty breakfast, at a reasonable price, we recommend Restaurante Delicias to you.

Los Laureles

Los Laureles Restaurant at Hotel Villa, Monte Carlo
Hidalgo 296, Chapala
376-765-2120
www.hoteles.udg.mx

Hours: Open 7 days; Monday through Thursday 8:00a.m. through 9:30 pm; Friday through Sunday 8 am through 10:30 pm; Sunday Breakfast Buffet
Credit Cards Accepted: Visa and Mastercard

Directions: From Walmart, follow the Carretera to Chapala. Hotel Villa Monte Carlo is on the right, as you cross the hill. Park along the street, next to the hotel.   

First Impressions

I had no idea that this restaurant existed until we joined the swimming club located at the Hotel Villa Monte Carlo in order to take advantage of their wonderful pool. This is a hidden place, without much advertising or promotions of any kind.

Sometimes a sign indicates that the local Rotary Club meets there, but otherwise, the restaurant seems to exist for the weekend hotel guests - mostly from Guadalajara - that stay in the hotel. This hotel is affiliated with the University of Guadalajara.

The restaurant is located in a nondescript building that fronts the Carretera. The indoor dining area is spacious, clean and inviting, but we always sit outdoors, under the ancient trees that surround the café, beneath the white canopies. The outdoor tables are covered in crisp white and red tablecloths. It is a pleasant  place to have lunch on a bright, not-too-breezy  afternoon.

Menu 

We have eaten at Los Laureles several times. The food and service is consistently good. This time, we arrived in the late afternoon for lunch. The waiter appeared promptly, after we had seated ourselves. He took our drink order and gave us  menus, written in Spanish with the English translation just underneath each entry. He came back with our drinks, and shortly thereafter, a basket of freshly baked rolls.

The lunch menu is extensive. There are a number of appetizers to choose from, including ceviche, to start the meal. Soups include tortilla, cream, and a ham and cheese soup, served in a bread bowl. Several salads are also offered.  


The menu includes small plates, and larger meals. Choose from a variety of sandwiches such as club or vegetarian, steak sandwich or chicken "hamburger" as well as traditional hamburgers. 

Mexican specialties include enchiladas, tacos and tostadas. There are several seafood and steak plates as well as pasta dishes such as spaghetti and fettucini. There is something on the menu for every taste and every size appetite.

We ordered a salad with shrimp, club sandwich with French fries and ham and cheese soup served in a bread bowl.  Everything was quite good.

Ambiance and Price

The service at Los Laureles is good. The waiters are pleasant and accommodating. Entrée prices range from $36 pesos to $120 pesos.

There is no loud music playing here, only the sounds of the birds in the canopy of trees, and there is a good view of the lake from the outdoor dining area. This is a very pleasant place to enjoy lunch in a lovely, quiet setting.

Our Recommendation  *** 

Los Laureles is a nice destination for lunch. The prices are reasonable and the service is good.

The food is not unique or creative, by any means, but rather standard dishes prepared well and served by attentive staff in a beautiful setting.