Tepetate Pian Thai Restaurant

Address: Hidalgo 31, Ajijic 45920

Phone:  376 766 2020

Hours: Mon. - Sat. 12:00pm - 9:00pm

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Direction: Tepetate Pian Thai is located one block west of the plaza in Ajijic. There is limited parking on the Calle in front of the restaurant, but it is tight.

 

Tepetate Pian Thai

First Impressions

There was already a crowd at Tepetate Pian Thai restaurant when we arrived just 30 minutes after they had opened their doors to the lunch crowd. The restaurant is just a block off the plaza and we walked from the Carretera. Limited parking is available along Calle Hidalgo though it is too tight for my comfort. 

 

Pian Thai is situated in a two story building and has plenty of seating in two dining rooms, one on the lower level and the other on the second floor. The lower dining room was full so we headed up the steep stairs where we had the upper dining room to ourselves for a short time until it, too, started to fill.

 

A full restaurant on a Tuesday afternoon in the low season means something good is happening in the kitchen at Pian Thai.

 

Crispy Pork Rolls

Menu

An extensive menu lists one exotic dish after another - Pad Pok, Khoa Pad, Gai Priew Wan. Fortunately, there is a full description in English and Spanish under each offering.

Appetizers include a selection of crispy rolls with vegetarian filling, ground pork or chicken and shrimp as well as chicken satay and coconut shrimp. Or, begin your meal with soup. Choose from Shrimp Soup made with lemon grass, Coconut Soup with chicken, Thai Pho noodles with beef and Thai Wanton, with rice noodles and chicken.

We started our meal with crispy rolls made with ground pork and served with a sweet and sour sauce. These are tightly rolled, crisply fried bites of deliciousness.  



Combo #1. Sweet and Sour Chicken.

There are more than 40 main dishes offered on the menu and the chef will customize the seasonings to your taste. Do you prefer more or less spice? Ask the waiter and your dish will be prepared to your specifications.

 

The menu includes several types of curry - red, green and yellow - and your choice of chicken, shrimp or fish. Or choose from Chicken Basil, Sweet and Sour Chicken and Crispy Shrimp.  

Pad Thai

We ordered Pad Thai with chicken served with a side of peanut sauce. The Pad Thai, rice noodles fried with vegetables and chicken, is bathed in a thick sauce. Combo #1 gave us a chance to taste several items on one plate - Sweet and Sour Chicken, Crispy Roll, Fried Rice and Chicken Brocheta. The crispy batter fried chicken was covered in sweet and sour sauce, almost too sweet for my taste but my companion thought it was just right.

Both meals were priced at 120pesos each.  Each  serving size is large for the price - almost more than we could eat for lunch.

We ordered glasses of Santa Alicia Savignon Blanc, a Baja California wine, to accompany our meals. Pian Thai also serves beer and some mixed drinks, as well as non-alcoholic drinks.

Tepetate Pian Thai

Service

Our waiter was prompt and professional. He knew every item on the menu and possible ways to tailor the dishes to meet his customers' preferences. Though the dining room began to fill up quickly, we never felt neglected. As I listened to him explain the Thai menu in two languages, I was struck by the intelligence and  talent it takes to be a waiter at Lake Chapala.

Our only disappointment was that there was no dessert available. We ordered tapioca pudding, but it was not ready yet and would have been a 20 minute wait. We decided to forego dessert and asked for our check. The total came to 476p for four glasses of wine, appetizer and two entrees.

 

Our Recommendation ****

Excellent, authentic Thai food, well prepared. Great service and pleasant atmosphere. One of the best Asian food restaurants in town. Muy rico!

Casa Domenech

Address: Zaragoza 109,  Ajijic

Phone: 333 150 6940

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Hours: Open Tuesday through Saturday, 9am -2pm and 5pm - 9pm; Closed Sunday and Monday

Cash Only; Accepts US $$

Directions: From Walmart, drive through Ajijic and turn left at Rio Bravo. Make first left onto Zaragosa and drive 1 block past Danza del Sol. The restaurant is half block further on the left.

Café Domenech

First Impression 

Inviting. Cool. Funky. I love this place. The owner claims an Argentinian/Mexican background and after talking to him for a while he also admitted that he is the son of San Antonio, Texas restaurateurs. So, the restaurant business is in his blood. I could sense it when I walked in the door. Central Texans have cornered the market on funkiness.

I have to admit that we knew almost everyone in the small café on Sunday afternoon. This was a good omen. People who love good food had already found this place and eat here regularly. 

Café Domenech Dining Room

The atmosphere is inviting and friendly. The chef/owner, Raymond Domenech, moves between the kitchen and the dining room, greeting guests to make sure their needs are met, then moving to the kitchen to oversee the food preparation.

The décor is colorful and eclectic. Local artist Cesar Guzman created the mural on the front of the building and painted the chairs in a variety of pastels, giving Casa Domenech its unique character. Who doesn't love a restaurateur who says, "I am opening a restaurant, I must call an artist"

A mix of modern Mexican and classic rock music plays in the background at a low enough volume not to intrude on the conversation - something I appreciate.



Salmon Raymundo, with pineapple marmalade

Chef Domenech explained to us that he has started small, but that he has enough room in his current location to expand as his business grows. I think he's going to need that extra space in the high season.

Menu

Casa Domenech offers a menu inspired by the many influences on the chef's own life. It is an Argentinian/Mexican/European fusion with diverse offerings that reflect the theme of the café.

Starters include gazpacho, provoleta, onion soup, vegetable soup and a selection of salads - Caprese, spinach and avocado, and mixed salad.

Camarones la Bruna

We began our meal with a side dish of guacamole
and an order of provoleta. Provoleta is a new dish to us, a thin slice of firm white cheese, baked in olive oil and herbs. The guacamole is freshly made with large chunks of avocado, tomato and onion.

Perhaps the chef can include bread with these starters to give diners something to hold the guacamole and to sop up every last bit of the very flavorful oil that covers the provoleta. We ordered a basket of bread and it fulfilled this function.

For the main dish, we chose from Crepes Domenech, Shrimp Bruschetta, Salmon Raymundo, Shrimp la Bruna (served in a mole sauce), Shrimp in Cilantro Sauce as well as steak and pasta dishes.



Crepes Dulce

We finally decided on Shrimp La Bruna and Salmon Raymundo, a filet of salmon on a bed of guacamole and topped with a house made pineapple and chili marmalade.

The salmon was cooked just to point of flakiness, and the marmalade - an original recipe created by Chef Domenech - was superb, the sweetness of the pineapple mitigated by the heat of the chilies.

The Shrimp la Bruna features small shrimp cooked until tender, served in a thick, spicy-and-sweet mole sauce and accompanied by rice and fried bananas. If there was a complaint to be made, it would be that there could be more shrimp in the serving, even if this meant raising the price of the dish.



Tim and Cathy helped create the Café Domenech mural

We ordered wine with our meals, an excellent Sauvignon Blanc from Baja California. I love Mexican wines and this was a good one.

For dessert, we could not resist the Crepes Dulce. I have to admit we didn't even ask if anything else was available. Guests at a table next to ours ordered this scrumptious looking concoction and dared us to try it for ourselves. This dessert is made with a thin, folded crepe topped with caramel sauce and ice cream. Muy rico! 

Service and Price

Service is friendly, accommodating and evenly paced. This is a small café and the atmosphere is cozy and casual. No one is in a hurry, but the service proceeds at a comfortable pace. We never waited long for any request to be fulfilled. The chef visits every table to welcome his guests.

Prices at Casa Domenech are reasonable, between 85pesos for the most inexpensive main dish to 160pesos for a steak dinner. The total for our meal came to 535pesos, which is less than $30US. We had 4 glasses of wine, 2 appetizers, 2 main dishes and split a dessert.

Recommendation ****

Casa Domenech is a great find. The chef is an engaging and enthusiastic fellow with an artistic flair that is evident in his cooking and in the décor of his restaurant. He already has a loyal following of satisfied customers.

Friday night Casa Domenech hosts lotteria - a game similar to bingo - with free drinks awarded to the winners. If you plan to go on Friday night, call for a reservation. And, tell them you read about Café Domenech on Lake Chapala Restaurant Guide. Buen Provecho!      

El Jardin de Ninette's

Address:Carretera Oriente 52 b

45920 Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico Phone: 376 766 4905

Hours:  Tues: 5pm - 9pm; Wed - Thur. 12pm - 9pm; Fri - Sat 12pm - 10pm; Sun 12pm - 8pm
Accepts Visa and MasterCard.
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Directions: From Walmart, drive west on the Carretera. Jardin de Ninette's is on the right before Donas Donuts. There is a small parking lot in from of the restaurant.

Jardin de Ninette's

First Impressions  

Jardin de Ninette's moved last year to a new location on the Carretera in Ajijic and made their restaurant more accessible for their customers.

The new venue has the ambience of a rustic country inn. The main dining area is pleasant and cozy. Light filters in through the skylights and large windows keep the space from feeling closed in. The atmosphere is warm and welcoming, like an embrace.

An outdoor dining room arranged under a large old tree in the back of the property provides additional space for guests.


Menu Board at Jardin de Ninette's

Though Jardin de Ninette's is in a new space, it has retained its special brand of excellence across the board - in service, food and atmosphere - that sets this restaurant above the rest.

The chef has crafted a carefully curated menu with selections that never disappoint. Some dishes were brought from their previous location, and others are new to the menu.

We visited for a late lunch, arriving before most dinner guests and after the lunch crowd had already left for a siesta. We were met by the waiter and offered menus that echoed the selections on the chalkboard out front, but with more detailed descriptions of preparation style and the accompanying side dishes.

Menu

A brief description of the menu on the chalkboard in front of the restaurant gives diners a hint of menu offerings and prices. Is there any other restaurant lakeside that serves foie gras? Jardin de Ninette's does, along with a limited but tantalizing selection of unique dishes.



Zucchini Appetizer at Jardin de Ninettes

For the appetizer, we ordered zucchinis paired with a good Sauvignon Blanc. A basket of fresh bread was served with our wine. The zucchini appetizer featured slices of zucchini broiled with tomato and cheese and dressed with olive oil and spices.
Pork Chops and Tequila Shrimp were the choices for our main dishes. One of the joys of eating at Jardin de Ninette's is the pace of the meal. Every course is perfectly spaced so that you neither feel rushed nor neglected.

Our meals were preceded by a dinner salad. This is not your usual salad-from-a-bag so common at many area restaurants. Rather, it is made from fresh organic greens, apples pieces, cheese and almonds and topped with a house-made dressing.

Our entrees arrived on hot-to-the-touch plates, the pork chop dark and sizzling, prepared with a  coffee rub that enhanced the aroma from the perfectly cooked 1 inch pork chop. The chop was served atop mashed potatoes and graced with a delicious sauce.

Coffee Rubbed Pork Chop at Jardin de Ninette's

The Tequila Shrimp has long been one of my favorite dishes at Jardin de Ninette's and I was happy to find they had retained it on the menu.

Large shrimp cooked until tender, covered in a tequila enhanced cream sauce and served with brown rice. This is one of the best shrimp dishes lakeside.

You might think we were too full to eat any more by the end of this meal, and we were. But, that did not stop us from ordering dessert, chocolate cake with ice cream and chocolate sauce. We split one dessert in order to be able to walk to our car at the end of the meal.


Tequila Shrimp



Service and Price

Enter Jardin de Ninette's and feel like an old friend of the family. At some point during the meal, the chef greets you at the table to ensure your meal met your expectations.

Of course, at Jardin de Ninette's, the food always exceeds your expectations. This is one of the true gourmet restaurants lakeside. Jardin de Ninette's sets the standard for excellence. The menu choices and the quality of the food is always superb. Que rico!

Postre at Jardin de Ninettes

Our bill came to a little over $700pesos for 4 glasses of wine, appetizer, two main dishes and dessert, around $40US.

Recommendation *****

If you want a truly gourmet experience, then eat at Jardin de Ninette's. There is no equal in the Lake Chapala area. This is the restaurant for a special romantic dinner, the place to bring guests  you want to impress or the restaurant of choice when you are in the mood for really fine dining. 

If you go, tell them Lake Chapala Restaurant Guide sent you.  Buen Provecho!

Pasta Trenta Restaurant

Address: Constitucion 33A casi esq. Ramon Corona, Ajijic
Telephone: 376 766 1121. Call for a Reservation.
Email: pastatrenta@gmail.com
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Hours: Monday - Wednesday 1 PM to 10 PM; Friday - Sunday 9 AM - 10 PM 
Visa and MasterCard Accepted. Free Wifi.  

Directions: From Walmart, travel toward Ajijic and turn left at Calle Serdan, and then left onto Calle Ocampo, which will turn into Constitucion. Pasta Trenta is on the left, just before Calle Galeana. Park along the street in front of the restaurant.



First Impressions

One of the newest restaurants in Ajijic, Pasta Trenta, is located in a cozy nook on Calle Constitucion. The understated café entrance is easy to miss if you aren't watching out for it. But, don't just pass by without stopping, especially if you are hungry for authentic Italian cooking.

The daily specials are posted on the wall just outside the entrance and this afternoon they featured ravioli made in house and a coconut garlic bisque as specials. As we were standing outside, reading the menu and trying to decide to have lunch, two women who were just leaving told us what delicious meals they had and ensured us that we could not go wrong by eating at Pasta Trenta.

That is all we needed to hear to decide to venture in and try some of the interesting looking dishes on the menu. Word of mouth - especially unsolicited - really is the best kind of advertisement.

The intimate dining room may seat 20 guests. If you are coming for dinner, make a reservation so that you will not be disappointed if the restaurant is full. After our meals this afternoon, I predict that Pasta Trent will become very popular with local diners.

The Menu

Pasta Trenta's Dining Room

As their name suggests, the menu features at least 30 unique Italian dishes. Or, perhaps the name references a town in Southern Italy that inspires their cuisine. There are dishes on the menu I have never seen at any other Italian restaurant at Lake Chapala. Someone in the kitchen knows what they are doing.

The menu tempts you with a variety of starters, including a soup (today a coconut and roasted garlic bisque was the special), several fresh salads, bruschetta, antipasto and fried calamari, to name just a few.

A chalkboard on the wall above the table lists the mixed drinks available and several coffees. The waitress brought us a wine list with a decent selection of red and white wines served by the glass or bottle. The choices were almost overwhelming and everything sounded delicious. We decided to begin our meal with bruschetta and two glasses of Spanish wine, the Tempranillo.




Bruschetta

The serving size of the bruschetta was small, but quite enough for two, prepared fresh and arranged on two slices of toasted Italian bread. The tomatoes and fresh leaf lettuce were well seasoned and the dish was attractively served on a wooden cutting board.

For the main dish, we ordered 
POLLO E FUNGHI, prepared with chicken, garlic, and mushrooms in a cream sauce for

Prosciutto E Melle

$115pesos. At the waitress' suggestion, we also ordered PROSCIUTTO E MELLE, ham, apple, and choice of pasta served in a cognac and cream sauce, and priced at $115pesos. A basket of fresh bread and a small jar of garlic spread accompanied our meal.

Pasta Trenta's  entire menu can be previewed on their Facebook page.  

By the end of the meal we were stuffed but could not pass up dessert. We split a delicious lime tart which was not on the menu but offered by our waitress. I wish I had saved room for coffee because Pasta Trenta offers cappuccino as well as café latte and café Americano.

Lemon Tart

Service and Price

Our waitress was attentive and able to explain the menu selections to us and even made suggestions of her own favorites. I am always impressed when the wait staff can explain the menu items and describe how they taste. We each had two glasses of wine during our meal, a substantial glass for a mere $35pesos.

The total price, after 4 glasses of wine, starter, two main dishes and dessert came to $463pesos.


Those who read Lake Chapala Restaurant Guide  know that when we review a restaurant we do not skimp on our meals or drinks. Can you eat for less at Pasta Trenta? Yes, but you can also splurge and still spend less than $30US for two people.

Our Recommendation ****

Delicious Italian food prepared fresh by a knowledgeable chef. Attentive, intelligent service. Intimate, pleasant dining experience and reasonable prices. We highly recommend this new restaurant for a dining experience that is different from any other lakeside. Muy rico! Tell them Lake Chapala Restaurant Guide sent you.

Mariscos Peter

Address: Carretera Poniente 524 SN, Ajijic Centro
Phone :376 766 4450
Hours: Open Daily 11am - 6pm. Closed Wednesday.
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Take Out Available
Large Area for Parking
Directions: From Walmart, drive west through Ajijic towards the Huerto Events Center. Mariscos Peter is located at the west end of this complex.

First Impression

I have often by-passed Mariscos Peter for more elegant restaurants, but on Tuesday morning we visited the Farmer's Market next door and decided to try some place new for lunch.  Most of the tables in the outdoor dining area were empty and so was the interior dining room, but the little restaurant begin to fill with Mexican patrons after noon.

The waiter greeted us and handed us menus written in Spanish. He took our drink order immediately, but since we were early, all that was available to us from the menu were the cocktails and tostadas. We were disappointed to learn that our choices were limited, but we decided to stay and order something from the list of available items.

Menu  

It was unfortunate that we could not order from the main menu, as there were a lot of enticing sounding dishes, a large variety of tacos including egg, bean, fish, and shrimp, botanas and fish and shellfish cooked to order. Half orders are available and all meals can be ordered para llevar (to go).

We settled for a tostada topped with shrimp ceviche and one topped with calamari ceviche, which was so good my husband ordered a second helping.

Our lunch was accompanied by a glass of white wine. We were surprised at the good quality wine served, Las Moras, from Chile.

Mariscos Peter has a full bar and serves wine and beer at reasonable prices. They also offer several desserts. We ordered a piece of cheesecake topped with raspberries to end the meal. The cheesecake tasted rich and creamy and it had not been frozen previously, though it obviously was not made in-house. I suspect it came from Pasteleria Rochatas in Jocotepec, the premium bakery at Lake Chapala.

While we were eating, the cooks fired up the grill in the front of the restaurant and started cooking whole fresh fish and chicken. We really should have come a bit later so we could have tried some of the grilled marlin.

The ceviche on our tostadas was fresh and delicious. We sat in the open dining area for over an hour, just people watching and listening to the Mexican music playing in the background. I checked the restrooms and found them scrupulously clean. Looks like we have been missing out by not visiting Mariscos Peter before now.

Price and Service

Mariscos Peter is not cheap, but the prices are reasonable and in keeping with those at other fish restaurants in the area.

Our tostadas were 18pesos and 25 pesos. Wine was 45pesos per glass for a healthy pour. Service was good and though the waiters spoke little or no English, we were able to communicate our order.

Recommendation ***

We did not get to eat from the main menu, but based on our tostadas, wine and dessert, I would certainly eat here again. The restaurant is clean and we watched as the cooks put giant, whole fresh fish on the grill.

If you eat lunch early, as we do, make sure to arrive after noon in order to give the cooks time to start the charcoal grill. Marisco's Peter is a good choice for lunch if you are looking for a place that serves fresh, grilled fish and seafood.

La Peña de Santos Rico; Cafe and Art Gallery

Address: Calle Constitucion #16, Ajijic
Phone: 376-766-0281
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Hours: 9am - 4pm, Wednesday - Monday. Closed Tuesday.
Cash Only. No credit cards accepted
Limited Parking on Street 
Features: Breakfast, Brunch and Lunch. Large selection of hot and cold coffee drinks. Wine and Beer. Traditional Mexican and Latin American dishes. Dine in the courtyard and visit the art gallery. 

Directions: From Walmart, travel west on the Carretera to Calle Serdan. Turn left on Serdan and drive towards the lake to Calle Ocampo. Turn left on Ocampo, which becomes Constitucion after crossing Colon. Drive 1/2 block further. La Peña de Santos Rico will be on the right. Park along the right hand side of the street.
 

First Impression

The non-descript building that houses La Peña de Santos Rico is easy to miss if you are not paying attention. A chalkboard on the street in front of the café announces the special of the day.

The front door opens into an inviting gallery and a partially covered dining area lies at the end of the winding brick path. Soft music welcomes guests and huge trees shade the interior courtyard.

La Peña is translated as a meeting place for artists and musicians and La Peña de Santos Rico definitely has the feel of a bohemian coffee shop, café and hang out for artists. The dining room walls are covered in original art and the glass tables sit atop roasted coffee beans.


We visited La Peña de Santos Rico on a Friday afternoon and were the only guests at the restaurant. We were greeted by our waitress and given menus - written in English - with a surprising number and variety of breakfast and lunch dishes offered at incredibly reasonable prices.

The two page spread of hot and cold coffee drinks will make this a popular place with coffee enthusiasts. Que rico!

Menu

When we first heard of La Peña de Santos Rico it was based on their reputation as a great place for breakfast, and indeed, they offer an array of dishes, that includes Eggs Benedict, molletes, chilequiles, omelets, fresh fruit and yogurt. All breakfast plates are served with juice or coffee and no meal is priced over $60MX.

Our intention on this particular afternoon was to have lunch, though I made a mental note to return soon for breakfast. My friend was impressed with the drink menu that features wine for $30MX and beer for $20MX. These are just about the best prices in town for wine and beer.

I questioned the waitress about the wine, since such an inexpensive price usually means a cut rate brand, but this was not the case at La Peña de Santos Rico. We were served a healthy pour of a very nice Cabernet Sauvignon. The beers available are Victoria and Corona and an artisan beer called Berber, brewed in Zapopan.

The lunch menu lists traditional Mexican dishes, such as Chiles Rellanos, Chicken Enfrijoladas, Sopes, Fish Tacos al Pastor, Chicken Chipotle and the daily special, Carne en su Jugo. Again, nothing is priced over $60MX.

We ordered the Chicken Enfrijoladas and the daily special. While we waited, the waitress brought two tasty salsas and totopos to our table.

The Carne en su Jugo was different from anything I have tasted in local restaurants. A stew-like dish full of beef, beans and bacon in a rich stock. It was served with fresh handmade corn tortillas.


The traditional enfrijoladas featured four thin tortillas rolled around chicken and covered in a bean sauce, sprinkled with cheese and topped with thinly sliced avocado. Both dishes exceeded our expectations.

This is one of the few restaurants in Ajijic that focuses exclusively on traditional Mexican and Latin American dishes.

With two pages of specialty coffees, how could we resist trying at least one for dessert? We both ordered the Café Santos Rico made with expresso, Baileys Irish Cream, Kahlua, cinnamon and frothy milk and served with a cookie. The price? $60MX.

Muy sabrosa! But, will we be able to sleep tonight?

Price and Service

Our waitress was polite and prompt. When I got up to look at the art, she came over to tell me more about the paintings and the opportunity to meet the artist at an upcoming art sale. The paintings and photographs were beautifully framed  and reasonably priced.

The total cost of our meal - four glasses of good red wine, two main courses and two cups of alcohol infused coffee came to a modest $360MX. That is about $20USD. You can dine well for a lot less than this at La Peña de Santos Rico, but we like to have wine with our meal and something sweet afterwards.

You can eat breakfast or lunch at La Peña de Santos Rico for less than $5 if you are on a strict budget, which I may have to go on if I keep eating like this.

Our Recommendation **** 

What a great new place! La Peña de Santos Rico is a perfect place to meet friends for coffee or to gather a group for breakfast or lunch. There is plenty of seating and the atmosphere is pleasant and tranquil.

The café is open for breakfast and lunch every day but Tuesday. Bring cash, no credit cards accepted. Our next trip to La Peña de Santos Rico will be for the gallery showing and art sale. Stop by and try their specialty coffees or indulge in a traditional, and delicious, Mexican meal.

Buen Provecho!

Perry's Pizza; Pizza Place; Fish and Chips Shop

Address: Carretera Poniente #31, Ajijic Phone: 376-766-2841
Hours: Breakfast 8:30 AM - 11:00 AM; Lunch/Dinner 12:00 PM - 8:00 PM, Monday - Sunday.  
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Webpage

Reservations Accepted.
Voted Best Pizza in 2015 in a People's Choice Award.

Directions: From Walmart, travel west through Ajijic about 1 1/2 miles. Perry's is on the right at the top of the hill before the rumble strips as you are leaving Ajijic. The restaurant is located in a colorful building with an outdoor dining area and parking in front.

First Impressions

Perry's is a restaurant in search of an identity, changing shapes and definitions about as often as I change my clothes. First came Perry's Fish and Chips Shop, located in a tiny storefront in the village of Ajijic. Then, a wood-fired pizza oven was installed and a variety of pizzas added to the menu. Suddenly, Perry's added daily breakfast service. Tomorrow, who knows what new shape Perry's will take.

The limited parking and dining areas in their former location hampered growth. The new location, along the Carretera west of Ajijc is a welcome change for Perry's loyal customers. The newest location offers outdoor seating, bright, umbrella shaded tables crowded onto a wide front porch. There are a few indoor tables and adequate parking.

We visited for lunch on a Wednesday afternoon. There was one other occupied table when we arrived. A pleasant young waitress greeted us and handed us menus and allowed us our choice of table.

Then, she stood expectantly - tapping her pen against her order pad - while we decided what we wanted to eat. We ordered a couple of beers in order to give us some time to look at the menu out from under the impatient scrutiny of the waitress.

Menu

Perry's, as mentioned above, is searching for an identity, for some magic formula  that will appeal to customers. The menu offers fish and chips plates prepared with either dorado or tilapia, fish tacos and a daily fish lunch special that includes chowder, one piece of fried fish, French fries, onion rings and coleslaw. Also on the menu are hamburgers, chili burgers, salad and a variety of pizzas.

I took a friend who had tasted the pizza and declared it the best in the area. There are many reviews that corroborate his statement, along with customers who nominated Perry's for an award in 2015 for best pizza.

This afternoon we ordered the daily fish special and the bacon-bacon cheeseburger.


My first choice had been fish and chips, made with the dorado. However, the waitress informed me that there was no dorado that day, only tilapia. This was the first disappointment of the afternoon.

There are only two different fish on the menu. A restaurant that advertises itself as a fish and chips shop ought to have the fish available that is advertised on the menu - or at least a decent substitute. I changed my order to the fish special made with tilapia.

My meal began with clam chowder. The base was thick and flavorful, but I never did find any clams in the soup. The potatoes, though, were quite plentiful, but they were not thoroughly cooked. Rather they were hard, little chunks. I suspect this dish is a doctored version of a pre-packaged soup and not made in house.  Clam chowder is an easy dish to prepare and ought to be made fresh, from scratch, every day.

The fish and chips looked delicious, crisp brown batter fried fish served on a generous portion of French fries and accompanied by two onion rings and coleslaw. The fries were crisp, fried perfectly and served hot. I could not taste the grease, which means it was clean and heated to the correct temperature - something a lot of local restaurants have a hard time doing.

The fish was another story and the most disappointing feature of the meal. The batter was, indeed, crisp on the outside, but the inside was doughy and undercooked instead of shatteringly crisp as I expected. What had happened?

The fish was most likely still frozen when dipped into the batter and fried. It should have been defrosted, dusted in flour, salt and seasonings and then dipped into the batter to prevent this problem. The tilapia was flaccid and tasteless - certainly not what I expected from a place that bills itself as a fish and chips shop.

The coleslaw was also a disappointment. The tiny cup of slaw consisted of carelessly cut hunks of cabbage and carrots, completely without seasoning, with almost no dressing. Shred the cabbage and carrots, Perry, and make a seasoned dressing in which to marinate the vegetables.

On the other hand, there were a few pleasant surprises. My friend said that the bacon cheeseburger he ordered was probably the best he had eaten since moving to the Lake Chapala area. The burger was large, cooked perfectly and piled with bacon. The plate was served with fries and a side of fresh vegetables.

Perry's serves the usual soft drinks and iced tea but also offers a nice selection of beers, including craft beers, and wine. Dessert is also available.

Price and Service  

Perry's prices are very reasonable. They are open seven days a week and now serve breakfast, as well as lunch and dinner. Service is fast and friendly. Our entire bill for two meals and three beers was $210mx - about $12USD. We rarely eat this much food for this little money at other restaurants in the area.

Perry's is well known for their fish and chips so I was surprised at the disappointing quality of the fish special. I think the problem may have originated with a novice cook in the kitchen that afternoon. I am going to assume that this poor representation of their fish and chips plate was an anomaly. Perry should drop the tilapia from the menu and stick with mahi-mahi, even if an adjustment has to be made in the price. The better quality of the fish would make it worth the extra cost.

Our Recommendation ***

Go to Perry's for an excellent burger and the best pizza in town and skip the fish and chips.

Perry's biggest mistake is trying to be all things to all people. The Pareto Principle states that 80% of the effects (profits) come from 20% of the effort. Perry should take this to heart and refine his business to concentrate on those menu items that bring in the most satisfied customers and greatest profit.

Breakfast at a fish and chips and pizza shop? Why? This is an area that already has several popular breakfast restaurants. Perry's should pick an identity - just one - then concentrate on being the best they can be.