There are so many Valle de Guadalupe restaurants to choose from, figuring out where to eat on a trip to Valle de Guadalupe can be overwhelming.
This up-and-coming wine region isn’t just home to world-class wines, it’s also a foodie mecca. Home to nearly one hundred different restaurants, the food in Valle de Guadalupe is sure to wow your taste buds and keep you coming back for more.
This small town in Baja California, Mexico has everything from fine dining, street carts, and restaurants with laid-back outdoor seating. After spending over two weeks in this area weโve created a list of what we think are the 15 best restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe right now.
Now, letโs dig in!
Things to know about Valle de Guadalupe restaurants
Before you go here are a few important things to know about dining at Valle de Guadalupe restaurants. New restaurants open up all the time and many, despite being fantastic restaurants, close their doors periodically.
Weโll do our best to keep this list updated with the hottest and tastiest Valle de Guadalupe restaurants so you never have to worry about where to eat in Valle de Guadalupe.
Cost
Prices for most restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe are similar to United States pricing. Expect to spend the same on dinner as you would in New York City or San Diego in most cases. Plates at finer dining restaurants will cost around $20 or $40 USD or more. If the restaurant offers a fixed tasting menu, expect to spend $55 to $100 USD per person.
There are more casual (and economical) restaurants as well as plenty of street carts to choose from if youโre on a budget. Food at these institutions usually runs around $5 to $10 per item, sometimes more or less depending on the type of food they are serving.
Weโll share pricing expectations for each Valle de Guadalupe restaurant on this list here with the following icons. A * indicates farm-to-table and the restaurant uses local or homegrown organic products on its menu.
$ – $5 – $10 USD per plate
$$ – $10 – $25 USD per plate
$$$ – $25 – $45 USD per plate
$$$$ – $45 USD + per plate/per fixed menu
Payments accepted
Almost all Valle de Guadalupe restaurants accept credit or debit cards. Tipping should be in cash if possible. Most restaurants here will accept dollars or Mexican pesos, however Mexican pesos is likely easier. Itโs customary to leave a tip between 10% to 15% or more depending on the quality of the service and type of restaurant.
If you want to see our favorite travel credit card we use when traveling out of our home country click here. We love that this card has no international fees and we earn miles for future travel!
Valle de Guadalupe restaurant hours
Restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe are usually open in conjunction with wine-tasting hours (11 am – 6 pm). Many dinner restaurants will close at 8:00 pm, even on the weekends. Make sure to check the hours before going and plan to have your dinner earlier in the evening. There are a few places open late, but their kitchens often close earlier than the bar does.
Reservations
Reservations arenโt required but are recommended. The hottest, newest, and best restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe will get busy on the weekends. If you want a guaranteed spot at the table itโs best to reserve in advance.
Breakfast restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe
Thereโs no better way to start a day of wine tasting than with a delicious and hearty breakfast. Breakfast is definitely the least expensive meal to eat out in Valle de Guadalupe. Though just because itโs more economical, doesnโt mean youโre giving up flavor or quality. Below are the best breakfast restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe.
La Cocina de Doรฑa Esthela
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $
La Cocina de Doรฑa Esthela is arguably the most famous restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe. Voted the best breakfast in the world by Foodie Hub in 2015. Doรฑa Esthelas put Valle de Guadalupe on the map as a foodie destination. We loved it so much that we went back three times on our trip to Valle de Guadalupe.
Her unassuming restaurant which is located down a very bumpy and rutted dirt road, has been visited by famous chefs from across the world. She won the title for being the best breakfast in the world thanks to her machaca (dried shredded meat) which is a traditional dish from Baja and northern Mexico. She makes her machaca with eggs, peppers, and onions and serves it with freshly hand-made tortillas and a side of refried beans.
Items you shouldnโt miss: The machaca (of course). Birria de res (beef) or birria de borrego (sheep). You can get a full plate of birria with consumรฉ, but we absolutely loved it in a gordita. The hot cake de elote (corn pancakes) is to die for. If you need a pick-me-up (or want to warm up on a cold Valle morning) order a cafรฉ de olla (pot coffee made with cinnamon and unrefined sugar called piloncillo). Honestly, I donโt think you could order a bad thing on this menu.
Get there right as it opens if you are visiting on a weekend. Its popularity means you will be waiting an hour or more if you wait until later in the morning.
Wa Kumiai Tabita
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $
Wa Kumiai Tabita is a restaurant on native lands in San Antonio Necua. An area about 20 to 30 minutes north of Valle de Guadalupe. This quaint outdoor restaurant serves traditional Native American food from the Kumiai people. Specifically, cordero or roast lamb. The lamb is slow-roasted over an open fire and is fall off the bone good. Their barbacoa is also very popular.
The restaurant also serves more traditional Mexican breakfast dishes like chilaquiles, menudo (stew with leftover animal parts), and tripe taquitos.
This restaurant isnโt visited by nearly as many tourists due to its somewhat distant location from most wineries and hot spots in Valle. With that being said, the servers likely wonโt speak English and you should prepare to pay for your meal in Mexican pesos (effectivo).
Lunch restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe
After a wine tasting or two, itโs a good idea to stop at a local restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe for a meal. Many of these recommended lunch spots are located at or near a winery allowing you to easily keep the vino flowing while still filling up on food. Below are our favorite lunch spots in Valle de Guadalupe.
Troika*
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$
Located next to Vena Cava winery, Troika is a food truck that serves fun, creative, and incredibly tasty dishes using fresh organic ingredients from their garden. Its menu is small and changes frequently in accordance to whatโs available and fresh at that moment.
The plates are on the smaller side (even its second-course portions). They were not quite a tapa but not a full-size plate either. We tried four different dishes during our trip and all were delicious. However, our favorite was their vegetarian dish of roasted cabbage with apples, pine nuts, roasted brussle sprouts, and ramonetti cheese (a local cheese for this region) served in a cauliflower puree. It was fantastic!
Seating is outdoor only and the truck is only open for lunch hours. We highly recommend doing a wine tasting at Vena Cava before or after your meal. But if preferred, Troika also serves craft beers from Baja to pair with your food.
Bruma Wine Garden
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$-$$$
Bruma Wine Garden can be enjoyed for lunch or dinner. But we loved making this a pit stop in between wine tastings. Their outdoor wine garden is nestled under olive trees giving its visitors the most magical dining experience. The wine garden is located on the most beautiful grounds next to a massive vineyard, organic garden, wine-tasting room, and a few houses and villas that are available as vacation rentals.
While chefs David Castro H. y Maribel Aldaco have created a delicious lineup of food to choose from, their pizzas are what they are known for. We ordered three pizzas, all of which were fantastic.
But the pizza that stood out the most (and in our opinion shouldnโt be missed) was the birria pizza. This takes delicious slow-roasted birria on top of a pizza with onions, cilantro, and even a side of consumรฉ to enjoy with each bite. It was incredible!
Highly recommend pairing your meal with one of Brumaโs wines and donโt skimp out on desserts. If youโre coming on a weekend, itโs also a good idea to make reservations.
Conchas de Piedra
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$-$$$
Conchas de Piedra is a collaboration between Casa de Piedra winery and the Deckman’s kitchen (see more on Deckmanโs below). This restaurant celebrates all things seafood, focusing on the freshest caught fish and shellfish from the region. Expect dishes like ceviche, poke, oysters, clams, or agua chile (raw shrimp, scallops, or other fish served in a very spicy lime-based salsa).
The menu changes daily based on whatโs available and fresh from local Baja fishermen. No matter what they are serving you are in for a treat. Donโt forget to order a drink from Casa de Piedra while you eat. Its food pairs perfectly with the cava and bubbly wines from Casa de Piedra.
Las Gรผeritas
Google map the location | Saturdays & Sundays only | Price range: $
Las Gรผeritas is a street stall that specializes in roasted quail and rabbit, which are traditional Kumiai foods. This stall is only open from 10-5 on Saturday and Sunday but is well worth visiting. Expect to speak only Spanish with the chefs and have Mexican pesos to pay for your meal. Itโs a super economical but delicious delicacy that is extremely difficult to find despite it being native to this region.
Dinner restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe
Dinner is where fine dining in Valle de Guadalupe shines. There are dozens of different high-end restaurants to choose from for an out-of-this-world dining experience. You canโt go wrong with almost any restaurant in this region, but some outshine others.
To help you narrow down your options and choose only the best restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe โ here are nine of our favorites.
Deckmanโs in the Mogor*
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$$-$$$$ (pre-fixe menu option + a la carte)
Deckmanโs is one of the most iconic restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe. Aside from being one of the first restaurants to open in Valle de Guadalupe, itโs also the only Michelin-rated restaurant. Owned and operated by Chef Drew Deckman, this farm-to-table restaurant takes tremendous care in the quality, freshness, and flavors of its dishes.
Everything on its menu from meat, seafood, olive oil, honey, dairy, and produce comes from Baja or is grown on its property and is 100% organic.
The restaurant is alfresco, and almost always will require a reservation to dine there. You can pair your meal with a glass or bottle of wine from Mogor-Badan vineyards, where the restaurant is located. This restaurant doesnโt have the highest reviews on Google compared to other restaurants in the area, but donโt let that deter you. Itโs by far one of the best restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe.
Finca Altozano*
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$$
Finca Altozano is one of, if not the most popular restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe. Having over 3,500 reviews on Google and a 4.6-star rating โ itโs clearly a must-eat restaurant. This open-air restaurant is owned and operated by celebrity chef Javier Plascencia. Itโs a part of the restaurant family of Animalรณn (next up on this list), and Jazzmango in Todos Santos, among several others.
The chef has done a fantastic job of serving upscale food in a casual setting. We ordered several dishes, all of which come from local ranches, farms, and fishermen in the region. Each dish blew us away. The agua chile is one of the best weโve had in all of our travels through Mexico. The roasted cauliflower with a roasted salsa, raisins, zaสผatar, and fresno chile is also a must-order.
Finca Altozano was Dennisโs favorite restaurant that we went to during our trip. The restaurant gets very busy on the weekends so we highly recommend a reservation. Donโt forget to stop for some ice cream from the local shop after dining, and visit the farm animals and gardens down the hill.
Animalรณn*
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$$-$$$$ (pre-fixe menu)
Animalรณn is a sister restaurant to Finca Altozano. Not only is it owned and operated by the same chef, but itโs right next door. Animalรณn however, is a bit more upscale and a lot more intimate. We dined under olive trees on an open-air deck overlooking the restaurant’s farm.
We loved that we could see the chefs prepare our meals in their small open-concept kitchen. Plus the food (and drinks) were to die for. Like most other farm-to-table restaurants in Valle, the menu changes frequently based on whatโs available. When we visited they were offering a la carte items, but it seems the menu has switched to a pre-fixe tasting menu.
Fauna*
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$$
Since Chef David Castro Hussong and pastry chef Maribel Aldaco Silva opened Fauna in 2017, Fauna has quickly become one of the hottest and most talked about restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe. Fauna was voted the 16th best restaurant in Latin America on the Worldโs 50 Best lists in 2022.
Located on the grounds of Bruma Winery, Fauna is a high-end farm-to-table restaurant that changes its menu daily. Expect traditional Mexican dishes, but served in a very experimental way. Despite its high-end and unique gastronomic experience, its dishes are super approachable and well-balanced.
We didnโt personally dine here, but this restaurant was one that was recommended to us time and time again by the locals and visitors we talked to. Itโs high on our list for our return visit.
Laja*
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$$$ (pre-fixe menu)
Laja is another institution in Valle de Guadalupe. Being one of the first restaurants to open in this region, this farm-to-table restaurant was ranked within the top 100 best restaurants in Latin America on the Worldโs 50 Best list in 2021.
The restaurant is in a very unpretentious indoor space overlooking its garden. Right now you can only order a pre-fixe tasting menu using local organic produce. Since the menu changes frequently you never know exactly what youโll get, but everything from its sea urchin to braised local quail is drool-worthy. Itโs right next to Lechuza Winery making it a perfect place to stop after a tasting.
Baja Omakase*
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$$$ (pre-fixe menu)
Sushi may not be the first thing that comes to your mind when you think of Baja California, Mexico. But Baja Omakase will quickly change that. Baja Omakase isnโt your typical sushi restaurant. And donโt expect any fake crab or cream cheese here.
Japanese Chef Toshiaki Tsutada is sharing the art of Omakase. Visitors will dine in a small setting next to the chef, getting small-tasting bites of carefully and craftily prepared sushi. The chef watches your reactions as you eat each bit to determine how to move on to the next piece.
This restaurant, like so many other restaurants in Valle de Guadalupe, takes sustainability and local ingredients to the next level. Expect only the best quality sushi as you dine in the open air here. Since this is an intimate experience with the sushi chef, reservations are required.
Malva
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$$$ (pre-fixe menu)
Malvaโs location on the outskirts of Valle de Guadalupe makes it easy to miss. However, this spot โ which is likely to be the next Michelin-rated restaurant in Valle is well worth visiting. Despite being an upscale restaurant that serves a seasonal pre-fixe menu. Malva is an unpretentious outdoor restaurant nestled in a funky and vibrant palapa with an open kitchen.
Serves wines from Mina Penรฉlope, which was one of our favorite wines we tasted during our trip. Owner and head Chef Roberto Alcocer have worked in several Michelin-star restaurants like Pujol, a Mexican City restaurant that is consistently voted in the top restaurants in the world year after year.
Each dish that was served to us was incredibly creative using ingredients we rarely (if ever) eat. Stand-out dishes from our visit were the roasted jicama in coconut milk with ginger and turmeric olive oil, the fish of the day served on top of a cauliflower cream, and broth of dried shrimp, corn, and beans.
We walked in for a spot here, but if you want to make sure youโre able to enjoy this delicious menu make a reservation for a weekend visit.
Bloodlust
Google map the location | Visit the website | Price range: $$
Bloodlust is the hottest new spot in Valle de Guadalupe, Baja. This unique building shaped out of earthen clay is made to look like a clove of garlic. Stepping inside makes you feel like youโre in a sci-fi movie.
While itโs known for its craft cocktails and a fantastic lineup of local wines from this region, Bloodlust also serves delicious food. It has a vegetarian-heavy menu with things like hummus, kale chicharron, and gnocchi. But its menu also has plenty of fish and fauna to choose from too.
Even if you donโt dine here, a trip to Bloodlust is highly recommended just to experience its unique architecture. Itโs also one of the only places that is open past 8 pm, too.
Quercus
Google map the location | Price range: $$
Quercus isnโt some high-frills restaurant that boasts impressive outdoor seating or an expansive restaurant setting. Itโs a quaint open-air restaurant that feels more like youโre dining in someone’s backyard. Despite this, the food looks fantastic. And reviews online would agree.
Quercus has a much more affordable price point for popular dishes of the region (like agua chile, roasted cauliflower, oysters, and tostadas). But it also has some creative dishes too, like machaca de pato (duck machaca). We definitely want to give this spot a try when we return.
As you can see there is an abundant choice of amazing restaurants to dine at when visiting Valle de Guadalupe. If you’re unsure of where to stay, or what vineyards to visit on your trip, make sure to check our other blog posts about this incredible region. And let us know your favorite restaurant in Valle de Guadalupe in the comments below.
