La Palapa del Guayabo

Address:  Paseo Ramon Corona #24
                Chapala, Jalisco
Phone:     376 765 4180
Hours of Operation:  Monday - Sunday; 12pm - 9pm
Webpage:  www.lapalapadelguayabo.com

Directions: From Walmart, head east on the Carratera towards Chapala, about 6 1/2 miles. Turn right at the stoplight, heading towards the lakefront. Take the next left, along the malecon. La Palapa del Guayabo is located at the end of the row of restaurants (under the big palapa) at the end of the market. There is limited parking in front of the restaurant, but ample parking along Paseo Ramon Corona.

First Impressions

La Palapa del Guayabo is in a huge, thatched roof building right at the end of the malecon in Chapala. It is the restaurant closest to the lake. Though we have been to Chapala to eat many times, we always preferred smaller, more intimate restaurants so had never tried La Palapa del Guayabo.

However, we were invited by friends who live in Chapala to try it with them, so we met on a Saturday night, before a huge fiesta and walked to the restaurant at the end of the malecon. The restaurant had very few customers, but enough to encourage the mariachis to play loudly and incessantly.

The best feature of La Palapa del Guayabo is the front seat view of the sun setting over Lake Chapala. Otherwise, it has the ambiance of a bus terminal.

Menu

The menu is in Spanish, with no English translation offered. This is okay if you have been in the area for a while, but hard for English speaking newcomers to decipher. This is the first restaurant, in our experience eating at lakeside restaurants, that has not offered a menu in English, or provided some sort of translation.

The menu has the standard dishes available at most of the restaurants in the area - arrachara, fish and seafood and some traditional Mexican plates. The waiter brought our drinks and a small serving of pico de gallo and chips to eat while we studied the menu.

We finally decided on the arrachara, a chilies rellano plate (stuffed with seafood) and molcajete de res (molcajete made with cheese, peppers, and beef) to split for two of us. The prices seemed rather high for a restaurant in working class Chapala, but it appears as though they cater mostly to tourists.

The molcajete arrived at the table bubbling hot and served with corn tortillas. The arrachara was served with french fries and a green salad. The chilies rellano was not breaded, but rather covered in a gritty cornmeal coating and baked. The seafood inside was not warm, and apparently had been prepared much earlier in the day. A small number of corn tortillas accompanied the molcajete, not enough for eating the entire bowl of meat and cheese, but we were not offered additional tortillas and could not get the waiter's attention to ask for more.

The restaurant offers a full bar, though we all drank soft drinks this evening. We inquired about dessert and the waiter told us that there was no chocolate cake, but seemed reluctant to bring the dessert menu, so we asked for the bill and had dessert at a local gelato stand. We were also not offered a way to take home the remaining molcajete.

Ambiance and Service

The best feature of La Palapa del Guayabo is its proximity to Lake Chapala. This is probably one of the best locations in Chapala for watching the sun set over the lake. The night we visited the restaurant, there were a small number of diners, but a large group of competing mariachis, who gathered around one table close to us and played all night.

They never came to our table, which seemed very odd. After a while, we felt like we had crashed someone's private party. It was so loud, that we were unable to carry on a conversation at our table.

We asked for a dessert menu, and the waiter informed us of a few choices, but he did not seem anxious for us to order anything more. I noticed that the waiters had begun to strip the tablecloths off the tables in the front of the restaurant. Our waiter was ready to go home. There was a festival in Chapala that evening and it seemed that everyone was anxious to leave work.

I did not check the restrooms at this restaurant. I have read other reviewers who commented, en espanol, that they are not in good shape, but I cannot verify that claim. It wouldn't surprise me to find that these writers are right. A place that does not care about its customers rarely bothers to keep the facilities clean.

Price

The bill arrived with a 10% propina already added and a charge for IVA (tax). This is the first time, since we have been living at Lake Chapala, that we have seen a bill with these charges added - especially for a table of four people. Our final bill, without alcohol or dessert and with two of us sharing the molcajete was
$663p, an outrageous sum, considering the quality of the food and the service that we received.

 

Our Recommendation **

Seriously? You can't find anyplace else in Chapala to eat?

Okay, we did not get sick from eating at this restaurant, and that is our standard for completely panning a place. You can eat here and not die. The view is very good. If, in the end, you must eat here as a sort of punishment to your guests whom you never care to see again, at least order the molcajete. Ask for extra tortillas, even if the waiter glares and grinds his teeth at you. Otherwise, there are many, many nicer places to eat along the malecon in Chapala, where you will be treated well by the wait staff, can eat great food, and pay much less for the experience.

Mariscos el Carnal

Address:  Carratera Oriente #1352
                San Juan Cosala, Jalisco
Phone:  387 761 1010
Hours:  Monday - Sunday 12pm - 7PM
Webpage: www.elcarnalmariscos.com

Directions:  From Walmart, head west on the Carratera towards Jocotepec, for approximately 7 miles. Mariscos El Carnal is the second restaurant on the left (lakeside, with the shark hanging at the entrance), in the line of restaurants in the Piedra Barrenada. There are some topes (speed bumps) just before the restaurant and flaggers trying to get you to come to their restaurant. Valet parking is available for about 30 pesos.

First Impressions

Mariscos el Carnal is located in what is known as the Piedra Barrenada, a tourist zone between Ajijic and San Juan Cosala, lined with lake front restaurants.

You can't miss the entrance to Mariscos el Carnal. There are large topes (speed bumps) at the beginning of the restaurant zone that slows traffic down to a crawl. Then, there are hoards of young, extremely energetic men waving frantically at every passing car, urging them to park and dine at one of the  restaurants.

And, if the flag-wavers and the topes don't alert you to the entrance of Mariscos el Carnal, just watch to your right for the giant replica of a shark that hangs out front.

On this stretch of Lake Chapala, the water comes very close to the road, so all the restaurants offer a view of the lake. Marsicos el Carnal has about the best view of them all from their open-air dining rooms.

Use the valet parking, or just pull into the parking lot across the street from the restaurant. The crazy, flag-waving hoard will make sure you cross the road safely.

Menu

The menu at Mariscos el Carnal is about the size of a small novel, offering an impressive variety of fish and seafood dishes, steaks and traditional Mexican plates served in interesting and unique ways.

For instance, you can choose a hot cheesy molcajete or a mixed platter of seafood or  meat served on a table top grill.

Package deals are available for groups who like to share. Be careful, because some of these deals include a bottle of tequila which will raise the price of the meal significantly.



When we arrived one early Sunday afternoon, we were seated by the hostess without having to wait. The waiter took our drink order while we read the menu.

Our drinks arrived quickly, accompanied  by an interesting starter that included a tasty pico de gallo and a mixed fresh vegetable dish served with crackers and packaged tostada chips.

We ordered the fried shrimp plate and seafood stuffed flautas. Frankly, I am addicted to the flautas at Mariscos el Carnal. They are so light and delicious that I could eat a dozen at one setting.

Fortunately, they only bring three, accompanied by a guacamole sauce .
There were three on the  plate, above, but I couldn't help eating one before taking the picture.

We ordered a nice Merlot to accompany our meal and ended the feast by splitting a piece of rich chocolate cake. Mariscos el Carnal has a full bar available and the menu suggests some unique cocktails and mixed drinks.

The last time we dined at Mariscos el Carnal,  we ordered the mixed shrimp grill. The waiter brought a clay, grill to the table, filled with shrimp prepared in every way imaginable - fried, diablo, garlic and butter and cheese stuffed, bacon wrapped, to name some.  The meal was accompanied by a plate of rice and salad.

This is a fun way to taste a little bit of every shrimp dish.

Service and Ambiance 

The flag wavers and the guy on stilts, yelling and motioning drivers into their establishments, are obnoxious. But, once you enter the restaurant you encounter a less frenetic environment. There are roaming mariachis and a live band plays for guests after 3 pm on weekends. There is a long pier that stretches from the restaurant into the lake.
 


The view from our table at Mariscos el Carnal

The service from wait staff is good, and I have never felt rushed when eating at Mariscos el Carnal, though we may sit and sip wine and stare across the lake long after we have finished our meal.

The view from the dining room is superb. We watched the vaqueros and their horses on the beach, speed boats pulling skiers, and jet skiers enjoying beautiful Lake Chapala on a recent Sunday afternoon.

Oddly, we are usually the only gringo diners in the restaurant and I cannot understand why, since the food is excellent and the view of the lake is unsurpassed.

The dining room is covered by a huge palapa, with an expansive view of Lake Chapala from every table. If it is breezy when you go, sit one table back from the lake's edge and avoid being chilled.

 

Price

Mariscos el Carnal is pricier than most restaurants lakeside by about 25%, not a lot when you consider the setting. It is nice to sit by the water as you enjoy an excellent meal. Dinner for two, four glasses of wine and dessert will run about $600p, or $45US at today's exchange rate.

Recommendation ****

Eat here. Excellent food. Wide variety of dishes and presentations. Full bar. Good service. The music can get loud, so if this bothers you, do as we do and come in the early on a Sunday afternoon.

La Casita del Molcajete

Address:  Paseo Ramon Corona  #132
                Chapala, Jalisco
Phone:  376 765 4906
Hours: Monday - Sunday,  9am - 11pm
Credit Cards Accepted

Directions: From Walmart, head east on the Carratera towards Chapala, about 6 1/2 miles. Turn right at the stoplight, heading towards the lakefront. Take the next left, along the malecon. La Casita del Molcajete is located in the row of restaurants at the end of the market. There is limited parking in front of the restaurant, but ample parking along Paseo Ramon Corona.

 

First Impressions

La Casita del Molcajete is in the middle of a strip of restaurants at the eastern end of the Chapala malecon. In this area, it is sometimes hard to tell where one café ends and another begins.

Perhaps that is why it took us nearly a year to get around to trying this pleasant little restaurant.




The interior is spotless, one of the cleanest restaurants I have seen lakeside. We were early and there was only one other table of diners when we arrived so we had our choice of tables covered in bright green, blue and orange tablecloths.

Menu

The maître de greeted us and introduced us to our young waiter, who immediately took our drink order and brought out pico de gallo and salsa  to enjoy while we looked over the menu.



In addition to the cafe's namesake dish, a bubbling volcanic cauldron of cheese, peppers and seafood or steak called molcajete, the menu also offered a variety of appetizers, fish and seafood cooked to order, steak, soup, salads, and a few traditional Mexican dishes. 

La Casita del Mocajete has a full bar, wine and beer as well as non-alcohol beverages.

We ordered fried shrimp and my companion said that it was some of the best he has tasted anywhere. The plate held a generous number of shrimp, steamed squash, a green salad and bread. The shrimp was lightly breaded and served hot, but not overcooked.

We also ordered chicken fajitas. The chicken was well seasoned and accompanied by refried beans, guacamole and a green salad and served with warm, thin corn tortillas. It was fresh, authentic and delicious.

Ambiance and Service

La Casita del Molcajete is a clean and pleasant café, though it appears rather dull on the outside. There is traditional music playing quietly in the background, so we were able to talk while we dined.

The young staff was courteous and paid attention to our table, attending to our needs without any prompting and without making us feel as if we were rushed.

The restaurant started to fill up just about the time we were ready to leave, and it is apparent that this is a favorite with local diners.

I stopped in the ladies' room before leaving and was pleasantly surprised. This is one of the nicest, and cleanest, public restrooms I have encountered in Mexico. I always feel good about eating at a restaurant that pays such close attention to these details.

Price

Prices are  reasonable, aligned with the cost of dinner at the surrounding restaurants on the malecon. We were happy to see that La Casita del Molcajete takes credit cards, except for American Express, though we had our pesos ready just in case.

Entrees, 4 glasses of wine and tip came to $500 pesos, less than $40US.

 

Our Recommendation ****

Put La Casita del Molcajete on your list of lakeside restaurants to try. The food is very well prepared and delicious, the service attentive and courteous and the prices will not make a hole in your budget.

El Arbol de Cafe

Address: Calle Hidalgo #236-4
               Chapala, Jalisco
Phone:    376 765 3908
Hours:    Monday - Saturday, 8am - 3pm

Directions: From Walmart head east on the Carratera approximately 4 1/2 miles. El Arbol de Cafe is on the right (lakeside) of the road, across from the murals and next to the entrance of El Quetzal Restaurant. Parking along the road is limited, but El Arbol de Cafe is a short walk from the malecon where parking is plentiful.

First Impressions

El Arbol de Café is a neighborhood coffee shop with a limited breakfast menu. I have driven by here many times without paying attention to this art-filled shop when on the way to Chapala from Ajijic.

One day we were walking up the sidewalk from Chapala and spotted a friend coming out of the shop with a bag of coffee beans.

 "Best coffee lakeside," he said. Instead of taking his word for it, we stopped in to try it for ourselves and it is, indeed, very good coffee. There are tables inside the café and outside. The café has a lot of original art displayed on the walls and also for sale.

Menu

El Arbol de Café is mainly a coffee shop. You can order your cup of java and sit at an outdoor table to take in some people watching, order a bag of whole beans to take home, or have it ground as you wait. There is also a limited breakfast menu available and a few sweet treats offered to accompany your cup of coffee.

Ambiance and Service  

This is the kind of place you can come to linger over a cup of coffee and read the newspaper, or check your email.

We ordered our coffee at the counter, but the barrista brought it to our table and checked back later to make sure that we were satisfied.

El Arbol de Café has the air of a small, independent coffee shop in the states - cool, serene and just a little bit funky.

Price  

Prices are reasonable at El Arbol de Café.  Coffee to take home is $130/kilo, or about $10 for 2.2 pounds and worth every penny.

Our Recommendation ***

Only three stars because this is not a full restaurant, but rather a coffee shop. However, we know that visitors for the weekend, or longer, like to know where to get a good cup of coffee and a decent internet connection. If you are in Chapala, El Arbol de Café is the place to go for both.

Los Telares

Address: Morelos #6, Ajijic
Phone:  376-766-0428
Hours: Tuesday - Saturday 12:00 pm - 9:00 pm; Sunday 12:00 pm - 7:00 pm
Credit cards accepted: Visa, MasterCard, American Express
Reaervations accepted

Directions: Travel towards lake on Morelos in Ajijic. Restaurant is on left before getting to lake. Parking is on the street and very limited. Drive all the way to the lakefront and park on the left or right of the pier.

First Impressions

Los Telares' rather ordinary entrance opens onto a beautiful outdoor dining room surrounded by trees and tropical bushes. Tables are shaded by brightly colored umbrellas. Soft instrumentals play in the background, it is exactly the kind of place you want to linger over lunch on a sunny late spring afternoon.



Outdoor dining at Los Telares

The high season has past in Ajijc, so we were one of only two couples having lunch on Wednesday afternoon. I often worry about the really good restaurants, like Los Telares.  How can they manage to stay in business once the snow birds and tourists are gone for the season?

The Menu

Los Telares menu offers a nice selection of appetizers and entrees, fish and shellfish cooked to order and Mexican specialties.

There is a full bar and wine and beer are  available. The waiter brought out an interesting starter, totopos with braised mushrooms and potatoes. It was very good and different from the salsa and chips served at most area restaurants.

Roasted Garlic Appetizer

We ordered the roasted garlic and bread as an appetizer. The plate came from the kitchen with three huge heads of soft, fragrant garlic. The garlic easily squeezed from the heads onto the toasted bread. This is a large appetizer and we took most of it home with us.

After perusing the large menu, we decided on chicken mole and a Cesar salad with shrimp. The chicken mole was served with roasted bananas.  The chicken was moist and tender, the mole sauce dark and just spicy enough.

The Cesar salad is attractively plated, served with tomato rings around the huge hunks of crisp romaine lettuce. The dressing is made in-house and delicious. I was tempted to ask for the recipe.

Los Telares is known for excellent coconut shrimp, which is what we ate on our very first visit and what convinced us to come again.

We were served a good Sauvignon Blanc, chilled to precisely the right temperature.

Ambiance

The outdoor dining room is shaded by large tropical trees. Clean, bright table cloths cover the  tables. There appears to be some limited indoor dining, but the attraction of eating at Los Telares is the al fresco dining.

It is a relaxing and pleasant  atmosphere. About half way through our meal, a lone mariachi approached our table and offered to sing 5 songs for us for $100 pesos.

Lone Mariachi

Though he is from Chapala, he told us that he must come to Ajijic as there are no tourists left in his hometown.

We love to engage the local people in conversation and this interlude was pleasant to us. He sang some standard mariachi songs and didn't seem to mind when we crooned along to La Paloma.

Service and Price 

As in most fine restaurants along Lake Chapala, the service is excellent, attentive, polite and prompt. The price of entrees is average for the area, in line with other fine restaurants in the heart of Ajijic.

Chicken mole priced at $90 pesos, Cesar Salad, $70 pesos. This time of year, when business is so slow, management should consider offering a lunch special.

There are separate bathrooms for mujeres and hombres, they appear to have been recently updated and are very clean. If the bathrooms are this clean, I feel confident that the kitchen is also as scrupulously cared for.

Our Recommendation  ****

We  highly recommend Los Telares as a great place for lunch or dinner. The meals are consistently good and service is excellent. The dining area is so pleasing to the senses, it makes a lovely place to linger over a wonderful meal and glass of wine.   

Maquina 245:La Estacion de la Hamburguesa

Address: Carretera #152, San Antonio, Tlayacapan
Hours: Wednesday to Monday 8 AM - 2:30 PM; Closed Tuesday
Cash Only

Directions: From Walmart, travel east on the Carretera about 1/2 mile to the first stop light. Maquina 245 is on the left (mountainside), on the second floor above the papelaria.

First Impressions


Stairway to Maquina 245

Maquina 245 is a burger place located on the second floor above a paper store. It is not accessible to anyone who has trouble walking or navigating steep stairways. The décor is interesting, once you climb the stairs to get to the restaurant, with model trains and railroad crossing signs.

There are tables inside the restaurant and outside on the porch area. Because of the second floor location, it catches a nice breeze. The restaurant appeared very clean and the owner greeted us warmly.

Menu

The menu is limited but interesting, it is a burger place, after all. There are a few starters, such as nachos, and a short list of burgers in a variety of meats, including traditional hamburger, buffalo burger, lamb burger, wild pork burger and ostrich burger. All meals come with thick, seasoned fries.



Buffalo Burger

The drink menu is limited to a few varieties of beer, white and red wine and soft drinks. We ordered white wine. Unfortunately, it was served warm and had turned to vinegar. It was a shame, since the wine was the least expensive that we have seen lakeside at $35 pesos per glass and the waitress gave us a generous pour.

But, we could not drink it. We traded the soured wine in for a Pepsi and a craft beer made in Chapala. The beer was quite good, light and red in color.

We ordered a traditional hamburger and a buffalo burger. The burgers were cooked to order and came out on huge crusty buns. The fries were well seasoned, soft and delicious.



Craft Beer made in Chapala

The burgers were cooked medium well and topped with caramelized onions and peppers. There was no dessert menu, however, the waitress brought a basket of individually wrapped cookies and offered us each one, "on the house." The cookies were fresh and moist. 

Ambiance and Price

The theme of Maquina 245 is trains and there are images, signs and train signals everywhere. The dining area is open and breezy. There are benches and wooden tables, couches and coffee tables. We sat outside and it was like being at a picnic.

The service was prompt and friendly. The waitress returned our wine immediately when we indicated that it was not good and replaced it with something else without an argument.

While we were there, a friend of the kitchen staff showed up. She appeared to be sick, coughing and sneezing, but walked right into the open air kitchen. I probably would have enjoyed my meal more if I had not seen this.


Burger Menu

Our meal came to $240 pesos for 2 burger plates, 1 craft beer and 1 Pepsi, or about $18 US.

Our Recommendation  **
The food is tasty if you want just a burger, though it is a bit pricey. Because I took a sip of very warm, rancid white wine, it soured the meal for me - literally. Have a hamburger or a buffalo burger and a good craft beer made in Chapala but skip the wine.

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.