LA OLA RICA is probably the best restaurant in San Francisco. It opens at 3:00 PM. Nice ambience and great food. It is located on the left hand side of the main street, two blocks before you arrive at the beach.

MAR PLATA across the street from Playa Azul Hotel and down a block to the North. It has a European owner and offers a unique menu and excellent preparation.

HOTEL COSTA AZUL Follow the signs after you pass the plaza, then keep going until you come to the beach, 3 minutes driving north of town. The restaurant has a good beach view, and nighttime entertainment, not to mention good breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. This is the headquarters for special events. There is BBQ night, marimba night, and Mexican night all featuring special foods and music. If you like activity this is the place. There is a swimming pool for your enjoyment

CHOCO BANNANA is located on the Northwest corner of the Plaza. It is a breakfast and lunch place owned by an American lady. It’s a good place to meet people and find out what’s going on.

RUPERTO’S EL COSTENO, is a short walk from the from the corner of the Plaza to the beach and there it is. It is a Mexican palapa roofed seafood restaurant. I like the peeled shrimp ala diabla (red sauce) or mojo de ajo (garlic). Whole fish or fish fillet is good too, right off the fish boats.

ROLLIE’S on the main road past the Plaza about one and a half blocks is on the right hand side of the street across from the meat market. It is a fabulous place for breakfasts and now they are open for dinner too.

CALYPSO This restaurant is located across from the Plaza and has excellent food. This is where people have their Thanksgiving, Christmas & New Year’s Dinners now.

EL ESPRESSO is a good place for breakfasts and lunches.

LA CHATA BAKERY, for take out deserts, by Plaza.

New restaurants open frequently in town, and I don’t always have a chance to try them. Generally, if there’s a crowd inside, you can count on the food being good. Ask any of the restaurants about takeout if you want to eat at Casa Kestos.

The shelves of the casa hold a variety of books that you are welcome to read. Of course there’s no guarantee that you’ll find something to your taste. The bookstore in Sayulita has many used American paperbacks, but again, you might be better off bringing that novel you’ve been dying to read with you.

To light the top burners on the restaurant-style stove, turn the gas on part way and hold the lighter to the gas jets. The oven is lit by opening the door, turning on the gas, and inserting the lighter into the larger hole in the bottom panel of the oven. Light the large iron griddle from underneath. The grill can be tricky to light, as the only access is from above and the gas lighter’s flame doesn’t reach the jets. If you wish to use the outdoor grill, charcoal and lighter fluid are easily available at the supermarket in Puerto Vallarta.

The house can be stocked beforehand with groceries by the staff. The cost is US$15 an hour for purchasing and travel time. You can also request that on your way to Casa Kestos, the driver can stop at the grocery store for 45 minutes at a grocery store (longer than 45 minutes and there may be an extra charge.)

See The Casa Kestos Staff for information on having meals cooked for you at the house.

The supermarket sells Microdyn drops to add to the tap water to wash vegetables. If you use the microdyn drops, let the vegetables sit in the water for 15 minutes. Follow this procedure for any raw vegetable or fruit that isn’t peeled before eating.

We recycle beer bottles. If you arrange with me to have Alfredo purchase beer, you do not need to worry about the deposit. If you buy your own beer, ask is the bottles are deposit or non-deposit. If they are deposit, you will be given a receipt that you will need to return the bottles in return for the deposit, which is roughly $.05USD per bottle. If you do not return them for the deposit, please leave the purchase receipt behind with them so they can be recycled.