Sayulita and San Pancho are known for surf, sunsets and streets strung with papel picado, and the food scene is a big part of the fun. Within a few blocks you'll find creative Mexican cooking under the palms, just-caught seafood, wood-fired pizza and family-run taco joints. Here are nine of the best restaurants in Sayulita and San Pancho, all well regarded by local guides and recent travelers, along with the stories behind them, the people in the kitchen and where the dishes on their menus come from.
New to the area? Start with our guides to things to do in Sayulita and San Pancho, Mexico.
From Coconut Oil to Foodie Town: A Short History of Eating in Sayulita and San Pancho
Sayulita grew up around a large hacienda that pressed coconut oil for soap. At home, families made their own nixtamal for tortillas and ground corn with coconut and cinnamon by hand to make cuala, a dessert typical of Nayarit, as longtime resident Simona Gómez Cibrián recalls in a local history published by Sayulita Life. When coconuts lost their value, fishing took over: red snapper, jack, sierra mackerel, lobster and shrimp. Then came the highway, the surfers and, with them, kitchens cooking for visitors.
Timeline
- 1936: The Sayulita ejido (communal land grant) is formed; San Pancho's own land grant also dates to the 1930s.
- 1940s: The coconut trade collapses and fishing becomes more important.
- 1965: The highway from Las Varas to Puerto Vallarta opens.
- Late 1960s: The first surfers start showing up in Sayulita.
- 1972: Under President Luis Echeverría, the Bahía de Banderas Ejido Union is created; San Pancho gets a government (CONASUPO) agro-industrial complex that processed coconut oil, canned goods and seafood. It was dismantled around 1988.
- 1994: According to its founder, Don Pedro's opens, today one of Sayulita's longest-running restaurants (see our Sayulita food guide).
- 2005: Gisela Marin opens Hotel Cielo Rojo in San Pancho, home of Bistro Orgánico.
- Late 2000s: A group of Sayulita moms starts the Mercado del Pueblo, a Friday farmers' market.
- Around 2009: Tierra Viva opens.
- December 2, 2015: Sayulita is named a Pueblo Mágico (Magic Town).
- 2019: Raicilla's Denomination of Origin is granted, and it includes Bahía de Banderas, the municipality that's home to both towns.
Where to Eat in Sayulita
Sayulita, named a Pueblo Mágico (Magic Town) in 2015, is the livelier of the two towns. Its restaurant scene is huge and changes quickly, so we focused on places with a track record and strong recent reviews.
Chamán Mexican Creative Kitchen
On Avenida del Palmar, Chamán serves creative Mexican food in an open-air garden full of palm trees and string lights. Think hibiscus-flower tacos, mole enmoladas, ceviches and quesabirria, with plenty of vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes. The cocktail list is built around mezcal and raicilla, and there's live music on select nights. It's open from breakfast through dinner.
Evenings are candlelit, and recent reviews often mention the bartenders by name, a good sign that chatting at the bar is part of the experience.
The story behind quesabirria. In Jalisco, "birria" originally meant meat slow-cooked in an earth oven. In 1950, a taquero from Puebla named Guadalupe Zárate began making it in Tijuana with beef instead of goat and with extra broth, which gave us birria with consommé for dipping. Quesabirria, with melted cheese, swept across North America in the 2010s. For the Jalisco original, see our guide to birria in Puerto Vallarta.
Best for: modern Mexican flavors in a laid-back, boho setting.
Tierra Viva
One block from the beach and one block from the plaza, Tierra Viva covers breakfast, lunch and dinner in an open-air dining room with ocean breezes and greenery all around. The menu blends tropical and international cooking with Caribbean touches and flavors from Oaxaca, Puebla and Veracruz. Its eggs Benedict are a local favorite, and a sushi selection joins the menu in the evening.
Its backstory is a classic Sayulita tale. Charlie and Melanie Vinge first visited in April 2011, decided within four days that they'd move, and did so that October. The restaurant had already been running since around 2009; a friend invited them in, and between 2014 and 2015 they took over first the daytime and then the evening service. In early 2016 they opened a roofless rooftop terrace, inspired by the rooftops of San Miguel de Allende and set among palms and the trees where iguanas lounge.
In a 2017 interview, head chef Víctor Arze Arias, born in Puerto Vallarta and raised in Sayulita around his mother's handmade pastries, said he'd led the kitchen since 2015 with a Mexican-Mediterranean style; his signature dish was shrimp in mango sauce. At the time, the owners said their fish came from local waters, including from fishermen in La Cruz.
Best for: long breakfasts and relaxed dinners close to the center of town.
Matiz Mariscos
For seafood in Sayulita, Matiz is a great call. You'll find it on Calle Marlín, inside Plaza Ágora on the way to the main beach, serving Veracruz- and Sinaloa-style seafood made with the local catch. Tuna tostadas, aguachile and grilled fish tacos get the most praise, along with passion fruit margaritas.
Head chef José Osbaldo Pucheta Nava studied culinary arts in Spain, has cooked professionally since 2010 and came home to Mexico to build a menu that pairs Mexican flavors with fresh local seafood. In 2017 a local guide welcomed Matiz as a new spot serving Spanish-inspired tapas; today seafood is its calling card.
Two coastlines on one plate. Aguachile ("chili water") comes from the coast of Sinaloa, where the earliest versions were boiled water spiked with tiny, fiery chiltepín chiles and made in a molcajete; over time it became the shrimp-in-lime-and-chile classic. Veracruz style has a different pedigree: the state's signature huachinango a la veracruzana blends Mexican technique with olives and capers inherited from Spain.
Best for: a fresh, easygoing meal after the beach.
Dining outdoors under palapas and trees is part of Sayulita's charm.
La Rústica
Right on Avenida Revolución, La Rústica calls itself a "modern eatery" with a wood-fired kitchen: pizza, pasta, mussels and tuna tartare, served on signature blue-and-white enamel plates. There's a full cocktail and wine list plus a coffee bar, and a sister location in Punta Mita. One local food guide even singles out its fish taco as a standout.
It's been around for years, and it's bigger than it looks: the dining room goes much deeper than the narrow storefront suggests. Street performers set up out front most nights, and its motto sums up the town: surf, eat, siesta, fiesta, sleep, repeat. Even local chefs vouch for it; in 2017, Tierra Viva's head chef named it among his favorite places to eat.
Best for: groups and families looking for a lively spot and a good pizza.
Cachasol Farm-to-Table
A few minutes south of town on the road to Punta Mita, Cachasol is something different: an open-air dining room on a small working distillery surrounded by agave. Everything is cooked over open fire and a wood-heated comal, with tortillas pressed to order, salsas ground in a molcajete and produce from its own garden and nearby farms. The estate also makes tequila and raicilla, which you can taste at the bar. Curious about raicilla? Read our raicilla guide.
The farm covers about six acres with more than 3,000 agaves. Founder James "Monty," an American craft brewer and distiller, fell for raicilla and teamed up with a fourth-generation maestro raicillero and a fifth-generation maestro tequilero. Herbs, citrus and chiles are picked the morning they're served, and the mahi-mahi comes from local fishermen. Cachasol also runs cooking and mixology workshops, and its website lists recent international awards for its tequilas.
Tools with deep roots. The comal (from the Nahuatl comalli) goes back nearly 2,700 years; the oldest known clay examples date to around 700 BCE. The volcanic-stone molcajete was already in use among the Aztecs and Maya. And raicilla earned its Denomination of Origin in June 2019, covering 16 municipalities in Jalisco plus Bahía de Banderas.
Best for: fans of farm cooking and agave spirits. Take a taxi and book ahead.
Chocobanana
One of Sayulita's oldest restaurants and a breakfast classic. It's named for its famous chocolate-dipped bananas, and the menu runs from hearty breakfasts to lighter options such as smoothie bowls. It's the spot travelers seek out when they're craving a taste of home, like a full English breakfast.
Best for: fueling up before a morning at the beach.
Where to Eat in San Pancho
San Francisco, Nayarit, better known as San Pancho, is smaller and quieter. Most of its restaurants sit on Avenida Tercer Mundo or a few blocks off it. The avenue's name ("Third World") dates to the 1970s, when President Luis Echeverría, a champion of Third World leadership who kept a vacation home here, backed a Universidad del Tercer Mundo in town.
Avenida Tercer Mundo, San Pancho's main street, where many of its restaurants are found.
Bistro Orgánico
The restaurant at Hotel Cielo Rojo, three blocks from the beach, focuses on a plant-forward menu with seafood, built on fresh, local Nayarit produce, with the goal of being fully organic. It welcomes hotel guests and visitors alike, and travel guides rank it among the best places in town for breakfast and brunch. It also opens for dinner on certain days.
It started almost by accident: in 2005, Gisela Marin was driving the Nayarit coast, saw a sign for "San Francisco," turned off the highway and decided to stay, opening Cielo Rojo that same year. The garden bistro follows a farm-to-table approach with seasonal produce from regional growers, and about 90% of its wine list is Mexican.
Best for: a healthy, unhurried breakfast.
Miralo Gastrobar & Patio
On Avenida Tercer Mundo, Miralo is a gastrobar with a patio, known for fresh food, creative cocktails and live music on many evenings. Tuna sashimi, cauliflower steak and crispy chicken are among the highlights. In high season, especially December through April, San Pancho fills with live music.
Best for: dinner that turns into a night of music and drinks.
Taquería Los Arbolitos
To eat like a local, head to Los Arbolitos, a simple, family-run taquería with home-style cooking and local prices. Expect tacos, quesadillas and volcanes, plus vegetarian options. It's on Calle América Latina, a short walk from the center, and a recent travel guide calls it one of the best no-frills taquerías in town.
Best for: a quick, tasty and budget-friendly meal.
Fish ceviche tostadas by the sea (illustrative photo of the dish, taken on the Michoacán coast).
We recommend confirming hours and availability directly with each restaurant.
Beyond the Restaurants: Market, Beach and Street Food
In Sayulita, the Friday Mercado del Pueblo (November through April, on Calle Revolución) is a nonprofit market with fruit, bread, honey, cheese and corn-based snacks. On the beach and around town you'll find banana bread, elotes, marquesitas (a rolled crepe treat from Yucatán) and ceviche tostadas. In San Pancho during high season, someone sometimes sells oysters from a wheelbarrow at the beach entrance.
To drink, beyond raicilla, the region has tuba, made from coconut palm sap and brought by Filipino sailors on the Manila Galleon, and tejuino, a fermented corn drink. Learn more in our guide to tuba and tejuino.
Visit Sayulita and San Pancho with Riviera Tours & Transfers
Staying in Puerto Vallarta? Our Sayulita and San Pancho tour runs Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday, lasts a full day, is offered in English and Spanish, and travels in small groups of up to 17 people. It includes:
- Round-trip transportation
- Certified guide
- Tasting of traditional Mexican sweets
- Visit to San Pancho's plaza and beach
- Guided walk through downtown Sayulita
- Free time in Sayulita
- 1–2 bottles of water
Optional: surf lessons at an extra cost, with a 50% discount for tour guests. Meals are not included, and the tour doesn't stop at the restaurants on this list, but your free time in Sayulita is a great chance to grab a bite wherever you like.
See dates and book the Sayulita and San Pancho tour →
A Food Itinerary for Sayulita and San Pancho
- Half a day in Sayulita: breakfast at Tierra Viva or Chocobanana, beach time and a stroll through town, then an early seafood lunch at Matiz.
- A full day: breakfast at Bistro Orgánico and a walk on San Pancho beach; tacos at Los Arbolitos; afternoon in Sayulita and dinner at La Rústica or out among the agaves at Cachasol (by taxi).
- On the Riviera tour: use your free time in Sayulita to eat near the center; save Cachasol for another day.
Tips for Eating Out in Sayulita and San Pancho
- Carry cash (pesos). Many places, especially taco stands and some seafood spots, are cash only. In San Pancho, larger businesses take cards, but cash is still widely needed.
- Book dinner in high season (roughly December through April).
- Ask about the catch of the day. It's the freshest thing on the menu on the Nayarit coast, and if you love grilled fish, don't miss pescado zarandeado, traced to the Mexcaltitán area.
- Drink bottled or filtered water, not tap water.
- Mind the clock: Sayulita and San Pancho, like all of Bahía de Banderas, run on Central Time, the same as Puerto Vallarta.
- Getting around: San Pancho is about 5 km (3 miles) north of Sayulita. Take a taxi to Cachasol after dark; don't walk along the highway.
- Budget: mix local-priced taquerías with a chef-driven meal or two.
- Rainy season (mid-June to mid-October, using Puerto Vallarta as a reference): some restaurants close for a few weeks in the off-season, so check before you go.
Looking for a place to stay? See our guide to Sayulita and San Pancho hotels, and for San Pancho's arts scene, read about its children's circus and culture.
Frequently Asked Questions
Where can I get good seafood in Sayulita? Matiz Mariscos, with its Veracruz- and Sinaloa-style dishes, is a top pick. La Rústica also gets praise for its fish taco.
Are there vegetarian and vegan options? Plenty. Chamán has vegetarian, vegan and gluten-free dishes, Bistro Orgánico in San Pancho is plant-forward, and Los Arbolitos offers vegetarian tacos.
What's the best spot for breakfast? In Sayulita, Chocobanana and Tierra Viva are breakfast classics. In San Pancho, Bistro Orgánico is a favorite.
Does the Sayulita and San Pancho tour include lunch? No. The tour includes transportation, a guide, a sweets tasting, a stop in San Pancho and a walk through Sayulita with free time you can use to eat on your own.
Where can I try raicilla near Sayulita? Cachasol makes it on its own farm and pours it at its bar, and Chamán mixes it into cocktails. The legal drinking age in Mexico is 18.
Do I need reservations? For dinner in high season, it's a good idea. Cachasol recommends booking for every visit.
What local dish should I try? Pescado zarandeado, and for dessert, cuala, made with corn and coconut.
Are Sayulita and San Pancho on the same time as Puerto Vallarta? Yes. Bahía de Banderas uses Central Time like Puerto Vallarta, even though the rest of Nayarit is on Pacific Time.
Photos: Luisalvaz / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons · Ismail Esen / CC BY 3.0 via Wikimedia Commons · Luisalvaz / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons · Josuemirandazepeda / CC BY-SA 4.0 via Wikimedia Commons
