There are so many fantastic restaurants in Manzanillo Mexico worth checking out. If you are a seafood lover, there is no shortage of tacos and tostadas to satisfy any craving!
There are also great taco spots, fancy restaurants, hole-in-the-wall eateries, and quick food stands that you don’t want to miss. I cover them all in this article.
Manzanillo is a great small city with stunning beaches and great hiking. There are tons of great things to do in Manzanillo to turn it into a week-long holiday (if not more!).
I spent the summer of 2020 living in the nearby town of Barra de Navidad and we made frequent trips to Manzanillo. Sometimes we went just for the day and other times for a few days at a time.
Manzanillo didn’t draw me in immediately, but the more I visited, the more restaurants in Manzanillo that I tried, the more I fell for this port city.
Best Restaurants in Manzanillo for Breakfast (or Brunch)
If you’re staying at an Airbnb or a hotel that doesn’t include breakfast, fear not, there are some really great cafes in Manzanillo that you’ll want to check out not just for breakfast but for really good coffee, too.
Chantilly
This is the most popular recommendation in the whole city when it comes to breakfast. They are also open for seafood lunch, but they’re best known for their delicious morning options.
There are two locations, but I believe the original is the one in the Centro near the Malecon.
My favorite, as with any Mexican breakfast spot, is the chilaquiles. If you’ve never had chilaquiles before, it’s a very popular Mexican breakfast dish of tortilla chips tossed in a red or green salsa and topped with meat or eggs, crumbled cheese, finely chopped raw onion, and cream.
It’s decadent and you usually need a nap afterwards, but Chantilly makes a seriously good plate of chilaquiles.
For sweet breakfast lovers, they have fluffy pancakes, crispy waffles, and flavorful French toast. They also make tons of different egg dishes and other traditional Mexican food options like tamales, molletes, and enchiladas.
Messa 40
Messa 40 is another place that serves food all day, but I really loved it for a lighter breakfast option (it’s also a great bar in the evenings).
They make delicious fresh juices, nice strong coffee, and nice omelets. They also have classics like chilaquiles, French toast, and molletes.
Esperanza Cafe
Esperanza Cafe was my favorite place for a coffee. I usually start the day with just a coffee and then have fruit or a smoothie later on in the mornings, so I loved stopping into Esperanza first thing in the morning while we were in Manzanillo and have an Americano or a flat white.
They also have a nice selection of herbal teas, toasted sandwiches, and delicious desserts like their chocolate brownie. I didn’t get a chance to try their smoothies, but they looked so good and it’s already on my list to head back to when we’re next in Mazanillo.
Best Restaurants in Manzanillo for Seafood
There is no shortage of seafood restaurants in Manzanillo. The whole main road as you come into and out of Manzanillo along the coast is lined with them and it can be hard to decide which to choose.
In all honesty, we didn’t have a single bad meal in Manzanillo. It’s one of the things I truly love about this city. They take their food seriously.
These are the restaurants that we tried and that I would return to again and again (some of them we did actually go back to a few times already!).
Mariscos El Cuñado
I list this first because it is without a doubt the best meal I had in Manzanillo. It will without a doubt be the first place I head as soon as I’m next in Manzanillo.
There are a few locations, but the one on the train tracks in the Centro is the one that I went to and the one I will be returning to.
There are a few tables and plenty of options. We started with a few of their fish and shrimp tacos which were absolutely delectable. Then we had the fish and shrimp ceviche which I also really loved, especially when topped with their house-made salsa.
Then I had the best thing I’ve eaten in a very long time.
I had the octopus salad on a tostada. It was cooked octopus with some onion and seriously well seasoned, but it was cold and topped with thick slices of avocado. I will not soon forget how simply delicious this octopus salad was and how perfectly it paired with a spicy salsa and an ice-cold agua de jamaica.
Mariscos Doña Concha
I loved this place so much we tried several of their locations. The menu varies at each location slightly, but the quality of the food and service is top-notch at all of the locations we tried.
If you want individual tacos and tostadas of ceviche, then I highly recommend their location at Damien Ochoa 8. This is a smaller location where lots of local families come. They have delicious agua frescas, seriously good tacos, and very affordable ceviche tostadas.
Alternatively, their location along the main street in the hotel zone is also incredible. This has a lot more parking available and you can sit facing the ocean, which is a big perk.
At this location, they have platters of ceviche that you can order as well as orders of tacos which come in plates of three at a time. We tried a few of their breaded shrimp tacos which I absolutely loved, maybe even more than Baja-style tacos (don’t tell the fish tacos in Ensenada!).
Playa Azul Mariscos
This restaurant is right on the beach and one of the best places for a reasonably priced seafood meal in Manzanillo.
I loved their huge servings and the ice-cold beers. I loved being able to look out at the ocean while I ate and drank. The service was incredible as well and there’s ample parking in front of the restaurant.
We shared the whole grilled fish which was out of this world. It was so crispy, so juicy inside. It was perfectly seasoned and they served it with as many tostadas as I could eat.
Mariscos La Huerta
This was my favorite sort of “fancy” meal that we had in Manzanillo.
I use quotes because it’s still incredibly casual and it’s not really expensive. It was just a little bit nicer than most of the other restaurants in Manzanillo where we had lunch and dinner.
That being said, it wasn’t just fancy-ish, it was delicious.
I could eat their grilled shrimp lightly tossed in garlic pretty much every day of the week. Luke had the octopus which was so tender and the spicy sauce that it came slathered in complimented it perfectly.
Don’t miss their delicious cocktails as well, I really loved their margaritas (have I ever met a margarita I didn’t love?).
Best Restaurants in Manzanillo for Tacos
It wouldn’t be right to list the best restaurants in Manzanillo and not mention some of the best places for a good Asado taco. Asado is basically just grilled beef and is pretty popular in Manzanillo, so you’ll see it a lot.
Tacos Don Julio
This was without a doubt the home of the best tacos I’ve had in all of Colima. This little hole-in-the-wall spot is cooking up truly magical things.
While it seems the carne asada is their number one seller, I seriously loved the chuleta (pork chop) which is also cooked on the barbecue. It was juicy and slightly crisp on the outside from the grill.
When you order your food, they bring you a ton of trays of different sauces as well as some chips to start dipping away while you wait (not that you wait long).
In addition to the tacos, I also really loved their quesadillas. They’re huge and Luke and I cut ours in half to share since we’d also ordered some tacos. The cheese is perfectly stringy and you can have any of the taco fillings inside the quesadilla. Just careful with those onions, they’re spicy!
Taqueria Arandas
This is a great taco spot, especially after a few beers, or even with a few beers. We got ours to-go here and had them back in our Airbnb with a few beers and it was utter perfection.
Most of the meat is grilled on the huge barbecue that they have inside the restaurant. The chuleta was my personal favorite, but they also had delicious arrachera. Be sure to try their guacamole and their salsa roja, too. Both go perfectly with the grilled meats.
Taqueria El Pastorcito
Sometimes there’s nothing better than a good pastor taco.
After living in the home of pastor tacos for the last four years (Mexico City), I feel like I can spot a good pastor from a mile away. So when I spotted these as we drove past one day, I knew we had to try them.
They take such care of the pastor as it rotates around the fire. It is just slightly crispy on the edges, but still juicy.
The salsas that they have are all house-made and absolutely packed with flavor. My mouth is watering just thinking about those tacos again. A must-visit if you love pastor tacos.