La Mesa Restaurant

Address: Carretera Peniente 19A, Ajijic
Telephone: 376 766 2948
Hours: 12pm to 10pm Monday - Saturday. Closed Sunday
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Now featuring live music on Friday evenings. Wine night on Wednesdays - house wine half priced.

Directions: From Walmart, drive west on the Carretera approximately 2 kilometers, through Ajijic.  La Mesa is on the right side of the road just as you drive up the hill after Colon Ave. Park along the Carretera on the wide shoulder.
 

FIRST IMPRESSIONS

I had heard some good things about La Mesa before finally deciding to give it a try. The one thing that kept me from visiting before now is the lack of parking. On the afternoon we visited there was plenty of parking on the wide shoulder along the Carretera in front of the restaurant.

La Mesa Restaurant is not clearly visible from the road, and even after I entered the front yard, I asked my companion if we were in the right place.

What a lovely surprise when we walked through the front door and into what felt like a French Bistro. Soft jazz played in the background. There are wooden tables covered in brown parchment and local artists' paintings on the wall. The dining room is light, and airy with large windows and a view of the lake just above the buildings across the street.

Here is a place where you want to spend all afternoon, chatting over lunch and a few glasses of wine - which is what we did.

Menu

We were warmly welcomed by the waitress, and after we were seated, one of the owners came to the table to greet us and offer us a sample of the house chili beans, which were delicious.

We were given two menus to order from, one with the lunches - salads, soups, sandwiches - and the other a dinner menu that featured more substantial fare. We were invited to order from either menu.

We started with wine - an excellent Tempranillo - and the salmon cake appetizer pictured above. The salmon cakes arrived after a reasonable wait. They are made with flaked salmon, chopped potatoes and parsley with a hint of onion. The homemade dill-flavored sauce perfectly complemented the crisp salmon cakes.

As our entrees, we ordered the sirloin steak sandwich and Cobb salad. The steak sandwich was stuffed with tender, thinly sliced sirloin and served on toasted white bread with sauteed yellow, green and red peppers and smothered in cheese.

The Cobb salad is presented in a large salad bowl and topped with olives, tomatoes, avocado, crumbled bacon, cheese, hard boiled eggs and chopped red onions, all on a bed of crisp lettuce with blue cheese dressing on the side.

We also ordered two more glasses of Tempranillo.


Then it was time for dessert. Alfajor piqued our interest, so we asked the waitress to describe it to us. It is an Argentinian dessert, consisting of shortbread-style cookies filled with cajeta (caramel made from goat's milk) and topped with vanilla ice cream. We split this dessert, but I wish I had ordered my own. It was heavenly and different than any dessert I have tasted at Lake Chapala. I was impressed not only by the well prepared food, but also the uniqueness of the menu.

Service and Price  

Our waitress was pleasant, knowledgeable about the menu and attentive. The owner came to our table and introduced herself and welcomed us. We enjoyed the relaxed pace or our meal and never felt rushed.

The price, $490mx, may seem high to some, but once we were in the restaurant we decided to splurge. Honestly, it is one of the best restaurants we have dined at lately and when you find a place like this, you want to do it justice.

The wine prices are some of the best around, at $35mx per glass for a good red wine. We ordered wine, appetizer, two main dishes and dessert for less than $30US.

Now that we have visited for lunch, I am anticipating my next visit, this time for dinner.

 

Our Recommendation ****

This is the best new restaurant in town - a place where you take guests you want to impress, meet friends for dinner or have a romantic lunch for two. The chefs know what they are doing and turn out food that shows off their knowledge and technique.

The restaurant needs a better sign to let their customers know where they are and a more welcoming entrance, but that should not stop anyone from enjoying what has to be the best new dining experience in Ajijic.  I can't wait to return.

Buen Provecho!

Mom's Deli and Restaurant

Address: On the Carretera, in the Riberas del Pilar area
Telephone: 765 - 5719
Hours: 7am to 2pm, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday Friday. Closed Wednesday
Saturday - Sunday 7am - 2pm Brunch 
Cash only; No Credit Cards Accepted
Take out available.

Directions: From Walmart, drive east on the Carretera approximately 2 miles to the Riberas del Pilar section of Lake Chapala. Mom's Deli is on the right. There is parking out front and on the side of the building.

First Impressions

Mom's Deli and Restaurant is a bright, clean, pleasant breakfast and lunch spot right on the Carretera in Riberas del Pilar. There is plenty of parking on the front and side of the building and along the quiet road that runs next to the building. The dining room has high ceilings and plenty of tables for customers.

This diner and bakery is always full of gringos, and for good reason. The food is reminiscent of a typical diner north of the border. It is good, hardy food. The coffee is steaming hot and ice tea is done right and constantly refilled.



Breakfast is a popular time for locals to gather at Mom's Deli and Restaurant. The menu includes fresh baked muffins and scones as well as pancakes, eggs, home fries, and fruit. The cinnamon roll French toast, pictured at left, is a favorite  among Mom's regular breakfast customers.

The Lunch menu always includes a daily special as well as a variety of sandwich plates that include egg salad, bacon lettuce and tomato and sliced beef and au jus, as well as salads, soups, and traditional meatloaf.

Included with the sandwich plates is a small side salad of either coleslaw, potato salad or macaroni salad. I had the macaroni salad which I thought was tasty. The coleslaw is very popular with diners.

One of our friends always orders the Asian salad, pictured at right, which she says is the best around. It is a huge serving with a tasty Asian dressing.

If you go, make sure to inquire about the daily special.

Ambience and Price

Eating at Mom's Deli and Restaurant is like your lunch break at the warehouse. The ceilings are high, the noise reverberates off the walls and if your dining companion is not right across the table from you, you may not be able to hear what they are saying.

There is no music playing, just the noise of others talking. I had breakfast with a group of friends and we could not hear each other.

However, the food was good and the service is fast and friendly. The waiter is a man with a local mission to children who are in the hospital during the holidays so he is a very special sort of person, as well as being an excellent waiter.

Our Recommendation ***

Mom's Deli and Restaurant is not a high end eatery, nor do they pretend to be. Prices are down right reasonable for high quality, simple and well prepared breakfasts and lunch fare. The menu is limited, but what they do, they do well. If you like diners and down home cooking, you will like Mom's Deli and Restaurant.

 

El Arco de Nicholas

Address: Jocotepec-Chapala Carretera before San Juan Cosala
Hours of Operation: Daily 12 p.m. - 11 p.m.

Directions: From Walmart head west on the Carretera towards Jocotepec. Past Los Sabinos and Lago Encantado there will appear on your left a succession of restaurants along the lakefront. El Arco de Nicholas is the first of these restaurants. Parking is available in front of the restaurant, and valet parking across the highway.

First Impressions

El Arco de Nicholas clearly appeals to families with children. The décor features  larger than life replicas of circus animals and a playground for young children located near the entrance.

A long path leads to the open dining room situated on the water, with a few tables positioned between the lake's edge and a large pool. We arrived early, just after the restaurant  opened on a crisp Saturday afternoon. We were seated immediately and given menus, in Spanish, and the waiter brought us a glass of the house red wine, which was surprisingly good.

Popular music played in the background and there were two televisions tuned to soccer on either end of the dining area. The restaurant seems to be a popular place with parents of young children, as every family that was seated during the time we were dining had several small children.

Even the bathrooms are labeled "ninas and ninos" and sport shorter than normal toilets and a large changing table.

It was too breezy to sit next to the water, but fortunately the dining area is enclosed by glass which protects diners from the January breezes off the lake.

Menu

The waiter brought a plate of packaged totopos and saltines to the table, but no pico de gallo or salsa, only bottled hot sauces. This was a disappointment since other places along the lake serve salsa, bowls of sauces and even pico de gallo before ever taking an order.

The menu is limited when compared to offerings from nearby restaurants that provide customers with a book of options.  A variety of fish and shrimp dishes are on the menu, as well as steaks and chicken. There is also a small children's menu.

The second page of the menu is filled exclusively with liquors and beers. We began with an order of shrimp empanadas. They were served fresh, a large corn tortilla stuffed with chopped shrimp, tomato sauce and vegetables accompanied by a side salad.


We decided to order to shrimp. My companion ordered Camarones 4 Quesos (4 cheese shrimp) and I ordered Camarones Coco (coconut shrimp).

The dishes were served with French fries, garlic bread and salad. Presentation was beautiful, as you can see from the pictures. The French fries were crispy and hot and everything looked delicious except for one problem.

The Shrimp Coco was prepared using small shrimp that had been butterflied before cooking, meaning that the result was overcooked and very tough. I was able to eat only a few of the shrimp, the rest were so hard and tough that they were unedible. Too bad, since the mango sauce was delicious.

My companion thought his meal, 4 Queso Shrimp, was better than mine, though when I tasted it I thought that the shrimp had not cooked long enough and the cheese sauce was cold. 

Ambience

The dining room at El Arco de Nicholas is pleasant and right at the water's edge. The background music was too loud, making it hard to have a conversation, and I was distracted by the televisions featured prominently at either end of the dining pavilion. 

There were children everywhere, as El Arco is tailored to appeal to families. I love children so was not bothered by the noise or the frantic activity, but be forewarned that this is not a place to have a romantic lunch or quiet conversation.  The wait staff are very attentive and the service from the kitchen is fast, though not as careful with preparation as I would expect of a lakeside seafood restaurant.

Price

The price of our meal was $610mx for four glasses of wine, 2 shrimp meals and an appetizer. The price is comparable to  other lakeside restaurants in this area but the quality of the food is not. The waiter did not offer us coffee or dessert at the end of the meal, another disappointment.

Our Recommendation: ***

If I had guests with small children, I might take them to El Arco de Nicholas for the ambience which is welcoming to families with small children. However, I would probably order a hamburger, which looked delicious when it came out of the kitchen, and not shrimp.  The food is adequate, at the very least. But, this restaurant is not as good as several of the other restaurants on this stretch of high end, seafood restaurants.

Nuevo Cafe Paris

Nuevo Cafe Paris
Address: Madero # 421, Chapala, Mexico

Phone: 3767655353

Facebook

Website (in Spanish)

Hours: 8am - 10:30pm Tuesday - Sunday

Live Music Wednesdays at 7:30pm

Directions: Nuevo Café Paris is located on the main route, headed north through Chapala towards Guadalajara. The café is on the right, just before the recently renovated plaza. Parking is available in front of the café and along the malecon. 

First Impressions

Café Nuevo Paris

Nuevo Cafe Paris is located on the main boulevard that runs through the middle of Chapala,  just a few steps from the central plaza and indoor farmer's market. The café looks brand new, though the plaque displayed prominently by the entrance boasts a history that dates from the mid-1950s.

Parking is available on the street outside the café, but we parked along the malecon and walked the short, two blocks to the restaurant to avoid having to back out into busy traffic when we left.  

The restaurant is open and airy, giving the feel of a casual, urban coffee shop. The dining room is bright and modern. Pictures of Paris line the walls. This morning, there were young couples sharing  milkshakes and several tables of businessmen, briefcases open, engaged in serious conversation over huge cups of coffee.  

Cafe Latte at Nuevo Cafe Paris

Because we had read online reviews that characterized Nuevo Café Paris as a breakfast and brunch cafe, we were surprised to learn that in addition to breakfast, Nuevo Café Paris also offers a lunch menu featuring hamburgers and fries, sandwiches and salads as well as a tantalizing selection of dinner entrees.

Nuevo Café Paris opens at 8am for breakfast and closes at 10:30 pm. every night except Monday. Wednesday evenings, live music begins at 7:30pm.  

   

Menu

Scrambled Eggs at Café Nuevo Paris

We found a table  against the picture lined wall and the waiter appeared immediately with menus written in Spanish and in English.  The breakfast menu features a variety of traditional Mexican dishes as well as American standards,  including hot cakes and eggs, breakfast burritos,  enfrijoladas, eggs benedict and frittatas. Light menu choices such as yogurt and a fruit plate are also available. 

And then there is the coffee - Cappuccino, Café Latte,  Cafe Americano, Espresso,  Café Paris (with a touch of flavor) and hot chocolate.

We ordered a Café Americano and a Café Latte, both served steaming hot in over-sized cups. The foam on the latte was embellished with a design that was a work of art. It was almost too beautiful to drink. This is probably the very best cup of coffee I have had in Chapala.



Enfrijoladas

After pouring over the menu selections, we finally settled on a traditional American breakfast of scrambled eggs served with hash browns, beans and a toasted muffin and enfrijoladas, a  Mexican breakfast dish. 

The eggs were scrambled until dry, which is common in Mexican restaurants, and the hash browns crisp with no hint of grease. The muffin was split, buttered and seasoned.

The enfrijoladas, cheese filled tortillas topped with a thick, cream sauce, demanded an order of tortillas to sop up every last bit. This was a satisfying and delicious meal.

 

Service and Price

Dining room at Café Nuevo Paris

Service at Nuevo Café Paris is prompt, friendly and professional. We were served quickly and our waiter checked to ensure we were enjoying our meals, though we never felt rushed.

Like most other restaurants in Mexico, the bill was not presented until requested. The menu items were all moderately priced. The cost of our breakfast only $169pesos, less than $12usd.

Our Recommendation ****

We highly recommend Nuevo Café  Paris for breakfast or brunch. We had no idea, even after living lakeside for nearly two years, that Nuevo Café Paris was anything more than a coffee shop, and that is why we had not visited earlier. Don't make the mistake that we did - visit Nuevo Café Paris for good food served with an artistic flair, friendly, attentive service in a pleasant, bistro-like environment.

Ocampo 71

Address: Melchor Ocampo # 71, Ajijic, Jalisco, Mexico

Phone: 376 108 0862  Reservations accepted

Hours: 2pm to 12pm, Wednesday - Sunday ; Summer Hours 4pm - 12pm
Wifi Available
Live Jazz every Wednesday, at 7:30 pm
Facebook Page

First Impressions

Ocampo 71

OCampo71 opened recently as a neighborhood bar and pub in Central Ajijic, just two blocks west of Calle Colon. It has a friendly, "everybody knows your name" feel with a full bar, comfortable seating areas for groups to gather and dining tables in a covered outdoor dining room as well as a pleasant indoor area.

We visited on a Thursday evening when the café was moderately busy. We had reserved a table but there was no reason to on this evening as there were plenty of tables available, though as more people learn about the pleasant, comfortable ambience and friendly service, that will most likely change.

Propaganda Craft Beer

Ocampo 71 has live jazz on Wednesday evenings, starting at 8pm. We were a day late on this visit, but won't be next time.

Menu

We were seated promptly and the waiter brought the drink and food menus. We were waiting for friends to join us for pizza and botanas so ordered drinks and took a few minutes to peruse the items on the menu. Ocampo 71 features a full bar with a large selection of Mexican craft beers.

For those who like a light, IPA, Propaganda Beer, brewed in Monterrey was a favorite of the table. We also sampled the Tijuana Moreno which is a dark stout, and 7B, an amber beer brewed in Mexico City.

Pizza Menu

This is a casual eatery, so the offerings include foods you can eat with your hands, like nachos,  French fries, baguettes, hamburgers, sandwiches and a special pizza menu. When our friends arrived, we ordered fries and nachos and Pizza Margherita.

This is a thin, crisp crust pizza with tomatoes, cheese and basil and was good without being too filling, and is just enough for two people. The nachos were crisp and the topping had just a little kick.

Carlos waited on our table and provide lots of good information about the different Mexican craft beers and also made recommendations. We lingered over our pizza and botanas for two hours, never feeling rushed.

Nachos and Pizza at Ocampo 71

Service and Price

The service at Ocampo 71 is attentive, informative and friendly. The customer is king here. This is a great place to meet friends to chat over a Mexican craft beer and botanas.  Prices are reasonable. Our bill, for pizza, nachos, 3 craft beers and 3 glasses of was $445 pesos, about $30USD. Try getting something comparable north of the border for this price.

Our Recommendation ****

Blu Velvet Plays on Wednesday Evening
 

We like Ocampo 71 and will return for Jazz night. This is a great place to meet friends for a pizza or hamburger, accompanied by a craft Mexican beer. It is within walking distance for visitors staying in Ajijic and one of the few places in the area open until midnight. We made it back to Ocampo 71 recently and spent a nice evening listening to a really good jazz quartet. There is even room for dancing, if you are so inclined.

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.