Gastronomy in Puerto Vallarta, enjoy as a local

Puerto Vallarta is an important gastronomic city with a vast culinary offer. This extends way beyond the famous restaurants along the tourist strip. A world of delightful options exist in local neighborhoods and streets, that have been designed to rejoice the palates of patasaladas, or how people from Vallarta call themselves, and will surely also delight visitors that want to venture into the most refined restaurant or a simple small ‘fonda’.

The Romantic Zone is the tourist area par excellence, showcasing all kinds of trendy and traditional restaurants, bars, and microbreweries frequented by both tourists and locals. But delving into its corners and streets you can find small gourmet restaurants, local Mexican fondas, as well as popular taco stands, especially during nighttime.

The Versalles neighborhood has recently been expanding its culinary offer, and a great variety of small restaurants have been opening their doors lately. Located just 10 minutes from downtown by car or taxi, Versalles is a quiet neighborhood where it’s easy to walk and explore its gastronomic offer. You will find stands and restaurants that offer amazing seafood, tacos al pastor, birria, and steak, some with music and bar service. Likewise, you’ll find specialized restaurants offering sushi, Thai, vegan, Greek, Italian, Mexican fusion, and gourmet hamburgers to name a few, as well as small trendy bars, and Mexican diners with traditional dinners, among other marvels well worth discovering.

Close to the airport is the Marina neighborhood. This area has been well known for its gastronomy and haute cuisine for quite some time, and it keeps reinventing and expanding its culinary offer, loved by both locals and visitors alike. In its open-air plazas and surroundings you’ll find restaurants serving Italian, Mediterranean, Argentinian, and fusion cuisine to name some. Ice cream shops and fast food restaurants can also be found in this area. The Marina is a great place to stroll and enjoy views of the docks.

If you want to venture and get to know more of the local Vallarta, then you should visit Los Sauce neighborhood, located 20 minutes from downtown. This area is busy during the day with shops offering local and regional products, as well as hardware and convenience stores. By night, street stands come to life, offering all sorts of tacos, burritos, churros, hamburgers, esquites, and tamales. Traditional bread and pastries, as well as some coffee shops open during this time.
And if you have an adventurous soul, then visiting the Pitillal area is a must. In the evening, around its main plaza, close to its famous church, taco stands, churro stands, and traditional Mexican diners open up to offer authentic flavors and a real Mexican atmosphere.

As you can see, Puerto Vallarta’s gastronomic offer is extensive and keeps reinventing itself all the time. This makes it a unique destination, preferred by both Mexican and foreign visitors.