El Malecon Restaurant

Chuck and I were strolling along the Malecon one evening, just taking everything in. We stopped and browsed all the menus posted outside restaurants just to get a feel for what was offered. When we stopped to read the menu at El Malecon, the owner came out and invited us in. He was very nice, but we weren't ready for dinner, so we begged off and moved down the sidewalk.

The owner was so nice that he stuck in our minds. When were were looking for a place to eat a few nights later, we remembered El Malecon and went there to dine.

When we approached the restaurant, the owner remembered us. He greeted us warmly and allowed us to choose a table. We decided to sit out front do we could people watch and enjoy the ocean breeze.

The owner waited on us himself. We ordered 2 Pacificos, $20 pesos each (about $1.83 US at the exchange rate we're getting). We were expecting bottles, but we got our beers in mugs. I have no idea what they were made out of. The mugs sounded like porcelain when you tapped them, but were lighter than even plastic. Whatever they were, they did and excellent job of keeping the beer cold.

The owner speaks English, but he was happy to let me muddle through and try out my Spanish. He listened patiently to my slow speech as I tried to get my pronunciation right and gently corrected me when I got it wrong. He smiled and encouraged me. It felt great to be communicating in Spanish.

We started with camerones gratin, $55 pesos (about $5.02 US). They were absolutely divine. Perfectly cooked shrimp in a sea of gooey, melty, yummy cheese. They came with warm fresh tortillas. We put the cheese and shrimp in the tortillas and made little burritos. Mmmmmm.

For dinner, we decided to split the Pescado Veracruz, $75 pesos (about $6.85US). I have no idea what kind of fish it was, don't care. It was good. It was cooked really well, flaky and tender, not dry or bouncy. It was topped with julienned tomatoes, onions, red peppers, and green peppers. The sauce was really flavorful, although I have no idea what was in it. Again, don't care. It was good. The white rice it was served with was bland. I'm not sure the water was even salted when it was cooked, but it was tasty mixed in with the sauce and helped take the edge off the mild heat.

There was a lot of food on the table. The fish came with our choice of tortillas or bread. We chose the bread. We got buttered, grilled baguette slices that were as good as any we have gotten in the states. Even though we shared 1 appetizer and 1 entree, we still has plenty of food left over. Mazatlan is going to make us very fat!

There is a fancier restaurant next door. As Chuck and I enjoyed our meal, we noticed that waiters kept coming out of the restaurant next door and into the kitchen of El Malecon. It didn't take long to figure out that all of the food for the other restaurant was coming out of El Malecon's kitchen!

Our total bill for the meal was $170 pesos (about $15.53 US). What a bargain!

You can see more pictures from this review in the photo album.