I’ve noticed that when I’m in Mexico, I kind of like playing the role of “Tour Guide” with my family and friends when they come to visit. My parents have been the ones to visit me the most while in Mexico. I like showing them a little more of the local lifestyle that I’ve learned to live in.
In one of their recent trips to Mexico, they decided to stay in Sayulita for a week and, of course, they invited me along to stay with them.
I started visiting Sayulita on a regular basis in 2012. A lot of the time it was how I spent my only day off when I was working in Mexico but there was the occasional time when I would spend the night there if some kind of surfing event was going on that I wanted to photograph.
When my parents decided they wanted to stay in Sayulita for a week, I thought it would be a good time for them to experience some of my favourite places to eat.
I wrote up my checklist style note on my phone, checking restaurants off as we visited them, and thought I would share that same list on this blog.
The actual list on my phone excluded some of the places that they had already experienced on previous trips to Sayulita but I’ve included those places in this blog post. I also added a couple more places that I didn’t even offer as an option because I knew my parents wouldn’t be interested in trying them.
The actual checklist from my iPhone after the trip had finished.
Best Places to Eat in Sayulita
Bicho’s
I first got to know Bicho’s when it was still located in the place that is now known as Emiliano’s. It was always my “go-to” place for getting tacos and quesadillas because I always thought that the portion size was a great value for the price they charged, which still isn’t that expensive.
Bicho’s was the first place that served me that little grilled cambray onion with my carne asada tacos. I know that the grilled onion is kind of a staple with most carne asada orders but, in the past, other tacos stands and restaurants that I had eaten at had never served me the onion, just the tacos.
The quesadillas at Bicho’s were one of my favourites. The quesadillas are basically prepared in a corn tortillas that is almost the size of those large burrito-sized flour tortillas. Personally, I can’t eat more than that one quesadilla in that one sitting (and still get the grilled onion if I get the carne asada quesadilla).
Right now Bicho’s is located right behind the Tierra Viva restaurant.
Chocobanana
Banana Bread French Toast at Chocobanana in SayulitaChocobanana is probably one of the most popular breakfast spots in Sayulita. Most of my experiences at this place have been to grab a coffee or a chocobanana flavoured frappe or one of the chocolate covered frozen bananas as a cold snack.
The last time I had the opportunity to visit this place with my parents, I did have to opportunity to try out their french toast made with slices of banana bread. It was a super yummy treat for breakfast!
Chocobanana’s is not a dinner place so if you’re trying to plan when to visit this place, then I would definitely include it as one of your breakfast, brunch or lunch options.
El Itacate
If you are a meat lover that enjoys treating yourself to good piece of steak then El Itacate is the place worth splurging on.
I’m not going to lie, the prices at El Itacate are higher than what you find at other tacos stands. Many of the tacos options are in the 30 peso price range with some of their specialty items priced at 70-100 pesos. Tacos at many of the other tacos stands tend to be in the 12-15 peso price range.
What sets this place apart as a taco restaurant is the quality of meat that you’re served and the quantity that you get in each taco. At most other taco stands, I’ll order 3 or 4 tacos and that’ll be enough to fill me up. At El Itacate, I can’t eat more than 2 tacos because there’s so much meat in each taco.
El Itacate is a popular place to eat at and there is limited seating, so if you get there at one of their peak eating times during lunch and dinner then you may have to wait a little bit to sit down.
Yeikame
I first discovered Yeikame when I had to go on a bit of a soup diet after having some dental work done in Sayulita. At the time, I hadn’t been to any places that served any kind of soup because I always ate tacos when I went to Sayulita.
After looking at menus at a couple of places, I found Yeikame and was pleasantly surprised to find out that they had a couple of different soups to choose from. I can’t remember all of the soup names but I know that I’ve now tried all of them and they’re all delicious.
On one of my trips to Sayulita, I did end up trying one of their chilaquiles specials for breakfast and I remember that being tasty, too.
Yeikame is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner if you’re trying to plan your meals out for your visit.
Tacos El Ivan
If you ever ask anyone about where to go to try “tacos de pastor” then Tacos el Ivan is THE PLACE to go to. While you can many different kind of tacos at this locations, the only taco that I ever get when I’ve gone here are “tacos de pastor” with a small order of “agua de jamaica.”
Tacos el Ivan is only open at night so this would have to be a dinner option or a late night snack option. This place is a street taco stand, not a restaurant, but it is, in my opinion, the best way to experience tacos in Mexico.
Carnitas Prietos
My mom and my aunt (her sister) experiencing carnitas in Sayulita
I first got into eating carnitas when I was visiting my boyfriend in Manzanillo. “Carnitas” is basically a pulled pork type of taco and was super pleased that there was a place in Sayulita that my family was able to experience.
I am surprised that I had never been to Carnitas Prietos before. Honestly, I think it was because I wasn’t actually aware that carnitas was a popular breakfast/brunch type of food to eat and always associated tacos as a lunch or dinner option.
Carnitas Prietos is only open in the morning and early afternoon so you’ll have to keep those hours in mind when planning your meals out for the week.
Ruben’s
In a few words, this place probably offers your best sandwich option near the beach. It’s one of those places that you really can’t miss if you’re around the main town plaza because it’s located on the most popular street for photographs, the one with all the hanging paper picado banners.
I was curious to try this place out for lunch one day because I figured a sandwich might be a nice light eating option after spending the morning in the sun on the beach.
To me, Ruben’s isn’t that much different from what you would get served as a sandwich in North America, or at least in Canada, so it’s not a place that I tend to eat at often when I’m in Mexico.
My parents sharing one of the sandwiches at Ruben’s in Sayulita
Don Pedro’s Restaurant & Bar
Normally, Don Pedro’s Restaurant is a place that I know more for its Sayulita Salsa nights on Mondays. It’s not a place that I dine at a lot because its prices are a little too high for my budget.
We went to Don Pedro’s specifically for the salsa night experience and were already prepared to pay a little more than usual for our meal.
It is a great place to go to for a special occasion or just as a special treat because its beach location and ambiance are incredible. If you happen to be there on or after 8pm on a Monday night then you will probably get to enjoy the live salsa music and dancing that goes on until 12:30-1am.
Our final night in Sayulita started with drinks before a night of salsa dancing at Don Pedro’s.
Places that we didn’t get to on this trip
The following is a list of places that we didn’t get to during this week long stay in Sayulita. They are all places that I recommend going to. We just didn’t get to them because we had already tried them before or we just didn’t have anymore lunch/dinner spaces available.
Although I haven’t been back to this place since they renovated it, I have enjoyed eating their rice bowls, burritos, and pita pizzas. Both the rice bowls and burritos were pretty large portion sizes and filled me up before I could finish them.
So, this isn’t exactly a “dining” place but it is my go-to place when I’m wanting an “agua fresca” to sip on while I’m sitting on the beach or if I’m wanting to cool off with a couple scoops of ice cream.
I’m not a vegetarian but I know a lot of people who are and have said that this is the best place to go for vegetarian tacos. I’ve been to this place and enjoyed the tacos but didn’t try any of the vegetarian options.
I used to come here when Chocobanana was closed or really busy with a line up. Then, when Chocobanana stopped serving their to-go frappe drink with a straw, I started ordering my frappes more from El Espresso.
I’m all for businesses wanting to do their part to protect the environment but drinking a frappe without anything to stir the whip cream/foamy parts when you’re half way through is kind of annoying.
I ordered from La Empanaderia for a quick breakfast or snack. It’s really just a bakery store from that specializes in empanadas. There is no seating at the this place but still a great choice if you want to pick up something to take back to your room or munch on at the beach. If I remember correctly, I believe they are only open in the morning and early afternoon.
Looking for a change from tacos and something that is “to-go friendly” to take to the beach? The tortas from El Metro are a great picnic type of food. Although they offer some sitting spaces if you want to enjoy the tortas while they’re fresh off the hot grill, they’re also great to wrap up and eat while sitting on the beach. I have tried a couple of tortas but really liked the Chicken & Blue Cheese one.
La Rustica has become THE PLACE to go to for pizzas in Sayulita. The only reason why I didn’t include this restaurant on the checklist for my parents was because I knew that they didn’t come to Mexico to eat pizza. They do serve yummy topping combinations and it is a popular place for groups to visit, but they can also be a bit busy during dinner hours.
