This year my husband and I spent our Valentine’s Day in sunny Puerto Vallarta. We didn’t know exactly how we wanted to celebrate, but we hoped it would involve our all time favourite “celebration food”… lobster! My husband’s parents recommended the special platter for two at one of their favourite restaurants, Cafe de Olla, fittingly located in the Romantic Zone of the city. It didn’t look like much when we walked by that afternoon but we decided to make a reservation anyway. Good thing too, because when we returned for dinner at 9:00 pm that night the waiting crowd was so large it nearly obscured the whole front entrance of the restaurant. The place was packed!
The host had warned us earlier in the day saying, “Even though you have a reservation, you’ll still have to wait. Everyone who comes here, they all have to wait. Come and you’ll get a table eventually.” At the time we’d shrugged it off, but when we arrived for dinner his words echoed in our minds. The line-up was at least 15 people long (a couple of groups) then there was a second line-up for people with reservations. It was fairly chaotic and, admittedly, we stood in the wrong line-up for at least 20 minutes, but it wasn’t a big deal.
As we stood there on the sidewalk we had a perfect view of the team chefs working in the kitchen, and they were pounding out the food at an impressive pace. Platter after platter of enchiladas, burritos, fajitas, and surf n’ turf combo’s came through the kitchen window and were carried past us, wafting the most amazing smells out onto the street. We jittered with excitement as we watched a woman halve plump red lobster after lobster, and salivated as the grill master in front of us tended to a patch of filet mignons and New York strip steaks sizzling over the flames. My goodness, we were dying to eat!
We ended up with a fantastic table just inside the front corner by the open-air window and we each immediately ordered a classic fishbowl margarita (one of their specialties). We didn’t even need to look at the menu. We wanted the special platter we’d heard so much about!
The platter, in all it’s glory, included 2 lobsters, 6 garlic prawns, 2 cheesy baked potatoes, 1 large filet mignon, rice, cooked vegetables and a bowl of heavenly and super garlicky melted butter for dipping.
It was 100% fantastic! And the wait was completely worth it.
By the end of it, our endorphins were surging. I joked with my husband that we should order a second platter. He thought I was kidding, but really I was half serious! It was just that good.
If you travel to Puerto Vallarta I would definitely recommend going to Cafe de Olla for dinner. I only regret that we didn’t have time to go back for a second visit since all the dishes that came out of that kitchen looked fantastic.
Cafe de Olla, Basilo Badillo 168, Romantic Zone, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.
Telephone: +52 (322) 223-1626
They accept CASH ONLY.
Click here for a map from Vallarta Online.
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