There are so many great restaurants in Loreto Mexico that you don’t want to miss out on. This beautiful Pueblo Mágico will not only steal your heart, but it will steal your stomach!
Thanks to being right on the coast of the Gulf of California, Loreto restaurants focus heavily on fresh seafood and ceviches.
However, fear not if you don’t love fish. Loreto Mexico restaurants are also home to classic Mexican dishes from this region like juicy carne asada on homemade flour tortillas.
Don’t forget to check out my article about all the best things to do in town here while visiting Loreto.
Awesome Restaurants Loreto Mexico
These are some of the best restaurants in Loreto that you should add to your list when you next visit the city.
1. Black Bird
This is both a fantastic breakfast cafe and a cute little hipster bar. Come in the mornings for good coffee, freshly-baked muffins, and fluffy omelets packed with vegetables.
Head back in the evenings for live music, tapas dishes, cheese boards, and blueberry margaritas or local craft beer by the bottle.
The best part of this cafe is that it’s basically completely outside. You can sit in the courtyard with your breakfast and enjoy that sunshine that you came to Mexico for.
It’s a little bit of a walk from the center of town, but if you have a rental car, there are plenty of places to park along the street outside. If walking, it takes about 8-10 minutes from the Malecon.
Heading into Blackbird for a strong morning coffee (and maybe a pastry!).
2. El Zopilote Brewing
The one and only craft beer spot in town, El Zopilote Brewing are holding their own amongst the big boys around the peninsula like Baja Brewing.
They brew locally and all the beers on draft are their own. They cover everything from nice light pilsners to hoppy IPAs and rich malty porters.
The beers are delicious and pair perfectly with their wood-fired pizzas. Even if you don’t like craft beer, you should come here for their thin-crusted, saucy four seasons pizza. It was one of my favorite pizzas that I ate in the entire peninsula (and there are a lot of pizzas to eat along this peninsula).
The pizza at Zopilote is absolutely delicious as is their beer selection.
3. El Rey del Taco
This is the most famous Loreto Mexico restaurant thanks to it’s fish tacos. If you want a good Baja-style fish taco that is lightly battered and fried, you can’t beat the fluffy texture and firm fish served at El Rey del Taco.
They also have popular Mexican tacos like cabeza (cow head), tripa (cow intestine), and carne asada tacos. This is what the locals head here for, so if you’re adventurous and love delicious tacos, be sure to try one!
Like many taco spots around Baja, the taco is served simply in a tortilla of your choice (corn or flour), and you can then head to the salad bar to top it with sliced cabbage, coleslaw, tomatoes, and onions, as well as one of their many spicy salsas.
Always try the salsa before you scoop a heaped spoonful onto your taco.
The ceviche and aguachile tostadas from Buena Vida in Loreto.
4. Buena Vida Restaurante
For fresh ceviche, aguachile, and excellent fish tacos, bring the family to Buena Vida. This outdoor restaurant has plenty of tables and chairs (and parking!) and is a popular spot for the locals to come for Sunday lunch.
If you’ve never had aguachile before, it’s basically like shrimp ceviche, Mexican style. They “cook” the shrimp with lime juice and lots of chile. Every restaurant’s recipe is different, but at a good local spot, it’s usually pretty spicy.
They have ice-cold beers and a unique selection of seafood dishes. If you like spicy food, be sure to try their fish ceviche tostada topped with jalapeño mayonnaise and sliced jalapeño. Their aguachile may make you sweat a little bit in the best possible chile-induced way.
The jalapeño ceviche was so incredibly delicious, my mouth is watering just looking at this photo again!
5. Orlando’s Restaurante
I would travel back to this town just for breakfast at this Loreto Mexico restaurant.
Whenever you ask a local for a restaurant recommendation, it’s highly likely they’ll send you to Orlando’s. While they’re open for every meal of the day (and the food is excellent no matter the time of day), the line out the door is at breakfast time.
The coffee is strong, the fresh-squeezed orange juice is sweet, and the plates of food are generous and delicious.
For something you might not find on a breakfast menu elsewhere, try the Omelet Poblano. They top their cheese-filled omelet with a rich poblano-chile cream sauce. Served with your choice of bread or tortillas, you can mop up the rest of the sauce and make sure you haven’t missed a drop.
The poblano chile salsa that comes with this omelet is truly something special.
6. Asadero Super Burro
Locals pack into this little hole-in-the-wall taco spot where they make the tortillas fresh to order and the carne asada is so juicy it soaks through those fresh tortillas.
Have a few tacos or order a papa rellena, which is a baked potato that is finished on the barbecue with cheese, mushrooms, corn, and a meat of your choice. It’s served with their piping hot tortillas so that you can make your own tacos.
These fluffy, chewy homemade flour tortillas are some of the best I’ve ever had and are the perfect vessel for their juicy carne asada.
7. La Palapa Restaurante
La Palapa is a very popular seafood restaurant in Loreto Mexico. It’s best for lunch and dinner, but they also have a nice breakfast selection at a reasonable price. Some of the dishes that you won’t want to miss here include the whole fried fish, freshly shucked clams, shrimp cocktail, and seafood soup.
The seafood soup is my personal favorite with a rich tomato broth that has been developing flavor for hours before being served. Squeeze a little bit of lime in there and maybe dip a cracker or two inside for ultimate enjoyment.
They also have non-seafood options like chicken and beef as well as a few Mexican classics like stuffed poblano peppers to keep the whole family happy. Dishes range from $4-15 USD depending on what you order.
8. Jr’s & George’s
This is my favorite bar in Loreto. This is where I spent most of my nights in Loreto before heading for dinner. But one night we decided to try their tacos after one of the patrons sitting next to us promised they make the best carne asada in town. And they did not disappoint.
Right along the pedestrian street that leads from the malecón to the plaza this unassuming bar has the nicest staff you’ll meet in Loreto. Order a beer or two and they’ll top you up with an endless bowl of recently fried chips and warm house-made salsa.
In addition to cold beers, decent mid-shelf liquor, and great staff, the carne asada tacos really are excellent. They grill the meat up fresh to order and the tortillas are from a local tortillería.
Another delicious breakfast from Orlando’s is their omelet stuffed with meat and vegetables. Pair it with a fresh green juice for a slightly healthy option (it’s all about balance, right?!).
9. Mi Loreto
Although the restaurant is more popular with tourists than it is with locals, it’s mostly because of the location in the center of the city. The food is actually quite delicious and it’s a great spot to head if you are new to traditional Mexican food and want to try things you’ve never seen before.
They have a luxurious chicken mole, a rich tortilla soup, pork in spicy salsa verde, and they make a great margarita. If you still have room after their generous portions, be sure to try their homemade flan.
The beautiful cafe (hence the name, Hermosa in Spanish!) also happens to make delicious coffee.
10. La Hermosa Cafe
This is the best coffee shop in town if you enjoy strong espresso-style drinks. It’s the perfect place to head to grab a coffee-to-go and take it for a stroll along the malecón. They have great lattes, strong Americanos, and a nice selection of teas as well.
If you want a sweet treat, they also have chocolate chip cookies, a selection of muffins and pastries, and even locally made chocolate. It’s a family-run place with friendly staff.
Traveling More of Baja?
I have been writing about Baja California Sur for months. You can read all of the content that I’ve written about this incredible state here.
I also make YouTube videos of which there are countless for not only this region of the country but for tons of other places around Mexico. Watch all of those videos here.
This year, after traveling this region for six months, I published a guidebook all about Baja California Sur. It covers the best things to do, see and eat in Todos Santos, Cabo San Lucas, San Jose del Cabo, La Paz, Loreto, Mulege, and all of the beautiful spots in between!
You can get a digital copy of the book here which includes lifetime access to FREE updates of the book whenever I update it (about once every 18 months). Or you can get a hard copy of the book to take with you on your trip here.
Check out all of my Mexico guidebooks here.
Alida Birch
Friday 17th of February 2023
You really should include the Chile Relleno at Mi Loreto. It was the best we ever had! And Orlando's is so popular now for every meal, reservations are rec'd.