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.

Peacock Garden

Address: Calle Colon #8, Ajijic
Phone: (376) 766 1381
Website: thegardenajijic.com
Contact: thegarden_ajijic@hotmail.com

Hours of Operation: Monday - Friday 11 AM to 8 PM;  Saturday 9:30 AM - 8 PM; Sunday 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Sunday Breakfast  9 a.m. to 12:30 p.m.
Credit Cards Accepted

Directions: From Walmart, drive west on the Carretera to a right on Calle Juarez, one block past Calle Colon in Ajijic. Turn right onto Calle Flores and right on Calle Colon. Drive toward the lake. The Peacock Garden is on the left 1/2 block past the Central Plaza. Parking along Calle Colon is limited.  

First Impressions

The Peacock Garden is located in the heart of Ajijic on the main road to the malecon. The walls of the entrance are decorated with murals of Indios fishing the waters of Lake Chapala.

Beyond the walls, birds sing in the garden and a parrot squawks as you pass into a lush green outdoor dining room.A fountain bubbles up in the corner while peacocks and multiple varieties of chickens roam among the guests.

If Alice in Wonderland inspired a restaurant, this would be it. Peacock Garden is a fantasy restaurant come to life.

Menu

Once seated in the patio area, we were given a menu, in English, with multiple pages of tempting dishes that included appetizers, soups, salads, hamburgers, club sandwiches, and baguettes. We could also choose from the lunch menu or an entire dinner menu.

The theme is eclectic, with some Italian dishes such as alfredo and pizza, seafood, chicken dishes and steaks. We felt like having Italian food the afternoon we visited, and ordered Shrimp Alfredo and a small three cheese pizza.

The thin crust pizza was served bubbling hot.  The parmesan cheese over-powered the other tastes, which was disappointing.

I especially like the taste of goat cheese on pizza, and if there was goat cheese on this pizza, it was lost in the strong flavors of the other cheeses.
The small pizza was large enough to feed both of us. We ended up taking most of this dish home with us.

The Shrimp Alfredo was served in a creamy, well balanced  sauce with lots of perfectly cooked shrimp and accompanied by garlic toast.

We paired this meal with 2 glasses of a very nice Chilean Merlot.

The Peacock Garden has a full bar and good selection of beers and wines. They also offer an interesting selection of desserts, including fried ice cream and the ubiquitous flan, but this time we were too full to order even one dessert to split.

The restaurant is open every day, and opens early on Sunday for breakfast, which is served from 9:30 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.

 

Ambiance

The Peacock Garden is like no place else lakeside. Dining here is like eating in a tropical aviary. You will almost feel guilty ordering chicken. We couldn't resist spreading crumbs around our table to summon the chickens and peacocks to dine with us.

There are arbors hanging with plants, lush stands of bananas on the borders of the garden, tables are arranged under a patio or al fresco, in the middle of the garden. A large fountain flowing at one corner blocks out any sounds of the village that may escape over the walls. This is a beautiful setting for lunch or dinner, for special events or romantic meal.

Price and Service

Service at Peacock Garden is laid back and pleasant. You can spend a long, leisurely lunch here and never feel rushed. We were well taken care of by staff, yet not bothered or rushed.

The prices are in line with the other fine restaurants in the lakeside area. A pizza was $110 pesos, the Shrimp Alfredo, $120 pesos, and wine was priced at  $40 pesos per glass.

Our Recommendation ****

I would eat here for setting alone. It is fun to spend the afternoon dining outdoors, with chickens and peacocks roaming around your feet.

The food selections are not necessarily creative, but rather standard fare well prepared. If you want to impress guests with a setting that is unique, different than you would find anywhere else in Lake Chapala, then this is the place to eat.

 

David's Cafe

Address: Calle Hidalgo #21, Ajijic
Phone: 376 766 2341

Hours of Operation: Monday - Saturday 8a.m. - 4 p.m.; Sunday 8 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Directions: From Walmart head west on the Carretera into Ajijic. Turn right on Calle Juarez, the first street past Calle Colon. Take first right on Calle Flores, then first right onto Calle Colon. Drive towards the lake for 2 blocks. Turn right on Calle Hidalgo. David's is 1 1/2 block on the right. Parking along the street is limited.

First Impression

David's Café is a small breakfast and lunch restaurant on a main thoroughfare in Ajijic. They advertise a family-style atmosphere.

There is a dining area in the front of the cafe, which is designated a non-smoking area, a short flight of stairs that leads to the kitchen and an outdoor courtyard where smoking is allowed.

Daily specials are listed on a chalkboard and customers are given breakfast and lunch menu from which to choose their meals. David's Cafe has high ceilings, plastic tables covered with multi-colored tablecloths and plenty of room between tables. It is definitely a casual place for breakfast and lunch.

The prices are very reasonable, probably some of the least expensive lakeside. We found a seat easily and were served by the proprietor almost immediately. We arrived just before noon and decided to order from the breakfast menu.

Menu

David's Café specializes in breakfast and lunch. Breakfast selections include French toast, sweet rolls, muffins, waffles, omelets, juices and coffee. Lunch selections range from traditional Mexican fajitas and burritos to hamburgers, sandwiches, and chicken pot pie.

The lunch specials were advertised on a chalk board  and included chili and cornbread, Swiss enchiladas, David's burrito and more. I ordered a sweet roll and coffee and my companion ordered a Mexican omelet with beans, sausage and tortillas. Our coffee was brought out right away and our meals served shortly after, hot from the kitchen.

The omelet was tasty, filled with tomatoes, peppers, onions and cheese. But, as you can see from the picture, only a small "dab" of beans accompanied the meal.


This was a disappointment. Beans are cheap and a good size serving would have made a nice impression on the plate and on their customer. The sweet roll was very fresh and served hot with a caramel and nut topping.

The coffee was tasty, but no one came to top off our coffee, in fact, no one ever came back to the table after our meal was served to see if we needed anything else - like a fresh cup of coffee. David's Café does not serve beer, wine or mixed drinks.

Ambiance

David's Café is kind of a cool little place, with high ceilings and a courtyard in back of the kitchen area and flags hanging on the wall to represent the native countries of their customers.

The tables are covered with clean, colorful table clothes. There is a steady stream of people in and out. After a while, I noticed that none of these people sat down to eat, but rather had come in just to use the restroom.

We did visit the restroom and were dismayed at the terrible shape it is in. There is one restroom for all genders, and it appears to be a former shower room. The sink is located outside the bathroom. Soap was available, but there were no paper towels. It is, of all the restaurants we have visited in Ajijic, the one with the most wretched washroom.

Price and Service  

Service at David's Café is average. We were served immediately after entering the restaurant, but felt abandoned after our meal was served.

No one checked on us or offered to heat up our coffee. We had trouble flagging down the waitress to get a check when we were ready to leave. 

When the check did finally arrive, however, it was quite reasonable. The cost for two to eat breakfast was $80 pesos, about $6.50. The moral of this story - you get what you pay for.

 

Our Recommendation **

Our plan was to not review restaurants unless we could recommend them to our friends. David's Café is right on the edge - it could become a really great little café with a few changes. We think it has potential. The food is good and prices are very reasonable. That is the most important factor in deciding to review this restaurant.

Service is unfocused, haphazard, as if there is no plan to take care of customers after the meal is served. The bathroom is truly terrible and needs to be updated. Management should also stop people who are not customers, from coming in off the street to use the bathroom - it is annoying. With these issues corrected, David's Café could become a great place for breakfast and lunch.

Tabarka

Ramon Corona 2-A, Ajijic, Mexico
Phone: 376 766 1588

Credit Cards Accepted - Visa and Mastercard
Hours: Tuesday - Sun 12pm - 10pm. Closed Monday.  

Facebook: www.facebook.com/tabarkarestaurante

Directions: Tabarka's new location is just north of Lake Chapala Society in Ajijic. There is limited parking along the calle.

Tabarka has a second location, Tacos Frida, located along the Carretera in San Antonio, Tlayacapan, across from Super Lake for more casual fare.

First Impressions

Tabarka serves gourmet Basque/Spanish food, some of the best we have tasted anywhere. If you want to impress guests, take them to Tabarka for dinner. This is a great restaurant in a new setting very close to Lake Chapala Society.

The owner, Chef David, is from Alicante, Spain and oversees the preparation of each dish. We love to eat lunch here in the afternoon and indulge in the tapas or paella.

 Menu

The menu changes daily and is written on a white board that the waiter brings to your table. The specialty of the house are the tapas and we highly recommend ordering the set price tapas
special and taste whatever the chef decides to prepare, based on the season and availability of fresh ingredients.

The tapas special is available for a set price or can be ordered individually. Each dish is a pleasant and delicious surprise. Slices of Spanish tortilla, exquisitely prepared small plates of fish, fried eggplant, meatballs, and tiny bowls of soup. Paella is the specialty of the house



Tapas from the kitchen

Paella is prepared fresh when ordered so your patience is requested since the chef needs at least thirty minutes to prepare this dish properly.

Tabarka has a full bar with mixed drinks available as well as selection of wine and beer. Ask for a recommendation, and the waiter will suggest a wine from the chef's home region in Spain.

 

Ambience

The dining room at Tabarka is al fresco, under  covered tables that shields from the sun and rare showers.

Art by Spanish artists covers the walls. Tabarka has created a relaxed and pleasant atmosphere for a romantic lunch, or to entertain friends. For those who are without a vehicle while visiting Lake Chapala, Tabarka is now much easier to reach in the new central Ajijic location.  

Service

Service is very good. When you order the tapas special you never have to wait very long between dishes before another scrumptious dish is placed before you.

The waiters are knowledgeable about every dish on the menu and can be trusted to give good recommendations. They bring the menu board to your table and explain each dish. 

Every time we have visited Tabarka, Chef David greets us at the table at some time during the meal. We have learned a lot about Spain and the traditional foods from this area by talking to David.

Our Recommendation  *****

If you must choose one really outstanding place to have dinner in Ajijic, go to Tabarka. This is gourmet food, prepared by a master chef who really cares about what he serves.

The open air seating is pleasant. The prices are very reasonable, especially considering the impressive quality of the dishes.

 

Gossip's Kitchen

Address: Carretera #36 at Javier Mina,  Ajijic
Phone Number: 376 766-0217
Hours: 12 p.m. to 8 p.m. Monday through Saturday, Closed Sunday
Facebook: www.facebook.com/gossips
Contact: gossips.kitchen@gmail.com

Directions : From Walmart, drive west on the Carretera to Ajijic. One block past Donas Donuts (mountainside) and Actnivar Bank (lakeside), is Gossip's Kitchen, at the intersection of the Carreterra and Javier Mina.

*Watch for their new location opening soon at the new Rose Bowl Mall in San Antonio, Tlay. which will be open for breakfast and lunch.

First Impressions

Gossips is one of our favorite restaurants. The chef and owner, Ismat Jivani, has created an African-fusion menu that is simply some of the best food you will find lakeside. Jivani was born in Nairobi, Kenya and trained at the Santa Fe School of Cooking in New Mexico. How lucky we are that he decided to open a restaurant in Ajijic in 2011, after having been the in-house consultant for former lakeside restaurant, Number 4. Gossip's Kitchen is located on a busy street corner and it can get a little noisy, since the best seats in the house are on the patio, but once you taste the food you will forget about the traffic. The restaurant has been recently updated with new paint and a sturdy barrier between guests and the street.

The Menu

Crab Cakes - My Favorite!

Gossip's Kitchen offers a number of fresh salads, soups, sandwiches, curry, gumbo and creative fish dishes such as defried salmon, oysters and Paul Prudhomme inspired crab cakes. Gossip's Kitchen serves wine and beer and a selection of interesting mixed drinks.

The dessert menu is limited, but delicious. Bread pudding made with banana bread and served with ice cream and Key Lime Pie are standards and there is usually a dessert special as well. The last time we ate at Gossips the dessert special was boozy raspberries over ice cream. The new menu has many old favorites and some new creations made to share - like Shells from Hell, lump crabmeat coated in coconut - and Satay. Oysters are still featured on the menu and there are always at least two scrumptious specials.

The only complaint I have is that they do not serve coffee, which would make their dessert course perfect.




The Service

The waiters at Gossips have worked there for as long as we have been living After only a few visits, the owner and staff make you feel like old friends. The service is friendly, prompt and conscientious. We have never had a bad meal at Gossips and have always had excellent service. It is one reason that we continue to return again and again.

Ambience

Gossips ambience is funky. It is situated on a busy street corner on the main road that runs through all the lakeside villages so it can be loud from the street noise. In the winter, they lower a plastic curtain to dull some of the noise and to keep in the warmth.

We almost always sit outside, unless the patio is full and then we sit indoors, across from the open kitchen. There is a mermaid painted on the outside wall admonishing you to "eat more oysters and love longer."

Price

Lunch for two, with a dessert and two glasses of wine apiece, about $400 pesos. Credit cards are not accepted.

Our Recommendation ****

This is a great place for lunch or dinner. Try the crab cakes or the deep fried salmon and don't leave without splitting a banana bread pudding with someone you love.