Best waterfront restaurant in Chapala

[Mainecoons]

Have friends from the midwest visiting and want to take them out for dinner on Chapala waterfront.  NOT on the pier.

Your opinions please as to the best restaurant there?

Gracias!

[dichosalocura]

There are no restaurants on the Chapala pier unless you are referring to La Papala del Guayabo and I wouldn't consider that a pier.  Just a restaurant on stilts.  Cozumel seems to be the most popular for the gringo folks.  Saturday night at the Beer Garden when John Fisher sings can be fun.

[Mainecoons]

48 minutes ago, dichosalocura said:

There are no restaurants on the Chapala pier unless you are referring to La Papala del Guayabo and I wouldn't consider that a pier.  Just a restaurant on stilts.  Cozumel seems to be the most popular for the gringo folks.  Saturday night at the Beer Garden when John Fisher sings can be fun.

 

Thanks but you have that backwards.  I am looking for a recommendation among the waterfront eateries on the WEST end of the Chapala waterfront, behind the beach area.   I think the Beer Garden is one of these.

Do any of the hotels on that side have decent restaurants with nice ambiance and views?

 

[geeser]

We have had consistently great food at "Mariscos Guicho" for the last 15 years or so. It is the last resturant on the east end of the waterfront past the tacky junk market by the Malecon.  We always get a Molcajete Mixto with shrimp and beef and chicken, melted with cheese. It is bubbling hot and stays hot for quite a while as the molcajate has been on the fire. You eat gobs of it on tortillas. See them on  Facebook.

[Mainecoons]

21 minutes ago, geeser said:

We have had consistently great food at "Mariscos Guicho" for the last 15 years or so. It is the last resturant on the east end of the waterfront past the tacky junk market by the Malecon.  We always get a Molcajete Mixto with shrimp and beef and chicken, melted with cheese. It is bubbling hot and stays hot for quite a while as the molcajate has been on the fire. You eat gobs of it on tortillas. See them on  Facebook.

Thank you, I was actually thinking about the west end (had it wrong in my last post, corrected) but I've heard this place is good.  But how good are the views and the ambiance?  The FB page has no photos of the restaurant itself.

 

[dichosalocura]

Well I would suggest head to Villa Monet on a Saturday night for a few drinks in a quiet environment surrounded by a gorgeous architectural ambience where Elizabeth Taylor spent some time living there.  Then when the music cranks up head to the Beer Garden for its spectacular views of the lake and the fun atmosphere.  Try to go when John Fisher is singing.  He seems to sing every other week.  That would make a good night out.  Or do it in the reverse,  eat at Villa Monet for the ambience and later head over to the Beer Garden for a few drinks.

[geeser]

3 minutes ago, Mainecoons said:

Thank you, I was actually thinking about the west end (had it wrong in my last post, corrected) but I've heard this place is good.  But how good are the views and the ambiance?  The FB page has no photos of the restaurant itself.

 

Well MC, there is no view from the restaurant. The whole thing is about the food. You might just want to do a drive-by 

[Mainecoons]

5 minutes ago, dichosalocura said:

Well I would suggest head to Villa Monet on a Saturday night for a few drinks in a quiet environment surrounded by a gorgeous architectural ambience where Elizabeth Taylor spent some time living there.  Then when the music cranks up head to the Beer Garden for its spectacular views of the lake and the fun atmosphere.  Try to go when John Fisher is singing.  He seems to sing every other week.  That would make a good night out.  Or do it in the reverse,  eat at Villa Monet for the ambience and later head over to the Beer Garden for a few drinks.

That looks like just the ticket.  What do you know about the restaurant?

[nolajoe]

Here is a recent thread about Villa Monet.

 

[dichosalocura]

We ate there a couple weeks ago and found the staff very pleasant and attentive and thought the food was pretty good nobody in my party complained about anything.  But maybe since its in Chapala, some folks here might not feel it stacks up againsts the high quality and variety of restaurants in Ajijic.  But we all enjoyed it and would go back.  Remember they are a fairly new restaurant, give them time to iron out the few wrinkles if there are any.  We didn't see anything to complain about though.

[Mainecoons]

Thank you all for the great suggestions and help.  Much appreciated!

[Tomas]

This is what we do with newbies:  Take them to the Beer Garden, a time-honored restaurant - been around almost 100 years - hard to believe. Order beer, sangria, limonada, a paloma, or water.  Don't order the margaritas - remember this is a Mexican restaurant.  Order the guacamole prepared table side.  You get to make your own guac by directing your server: how much onion, how much tomato, how much salt, how much hot. It's interactive and fun. You can let your guests do this, but you can offer guidance.  Then order queso fundido (fondue), one with chorizo, one without.  Then order a side of refried frijoles.  Then keep the chips coming.  This is more than enough to eat, and everyone leaves happy.  In the meantime, you have the wonderful view, the people watching, and the total Mexican ambience/experience.  Your guests won't be disappointed.

[Whipstock]

On 2/15/2022 at 3:34 PM, Tomas said:

This is what we do with newbies:  Take them to the Beer Garden, a time-honored restaurant - been around almost 100 years - hard to believe. Order beer, sangria, limonada, a paloma, or water.  Don't order the margaritas - remember this is a Mexican restaurant.  Order the guacamole prepared table side.  You get to make your own guac by directing your server: how much onion, how much tomato, how much salt, how much hot. It's interactive and fun. You can let your guests do this, but you can offer guidance.  Then order queso fundido (fondue), one with chorizo, one without.  Then order a side of refried frijoles.  Then keep the chips coming.  This is more than enough to eat, and everyone leaves happy.  In the meantime, you have the wonderful view, the people watching, and the total Mexican ambience/experience.  Your guests won't be disappointed.

I'll bite; why not order the Margaritas?

[Mainecoons]

On 2/12/2022 at 7:03 PM, nolajoe said:

Here is a recent thread about Villa Monet.

 

 Had breakfast there yesterday with our visitors, they loved in and the breakfast was quite competent.

Now the bad news:  The restaurant there is run by the same people who run Magnolia out on the carretera in Chapala proper.  They will no longer be running the restaurant at the hotel.  

Closing in one week.

 

[dichosalocura]

Thats sad news since it just opened up maybe 2 months or more ago.  But I'm glad your guests enjoyed it.  Hopefully another competent person will open up a good restaurant in its place.